Chapter 3
Well paint me green and call me a pickle because I’m done dillin’ with you bitches.
— Text from Quinn to his brothers
QUINN
8 weeks later
I was angry.
Livid , actually.
Two months I’d been gone, and the moment I get back, she’s on a date?
The anger and resentment inside me at the knowledge that she hadn’t waited, that she hadn’t tried to fight harder, had been like an acid burn for going on a few hours now.
That was why I’d said yes to a date.
Had agreeing been the smartest move on my part? No .
Had doing the agreeing in front of my sister been smart? Absolutely not.
Had I gone on the ‘date’ anyway? Yes .
But the date hadn’t gone on long.
She’d realized rather quickly that the date I’d agreed to had been for a different reason than her.
I.e ., she knew that I was still really stuck up on Shayne .
I’d pretended, though, until I saw her walk in.
The moment she saw me, I knew.
I hadn’t necessarily seen her face, but the entire restaurant had felt like it’d gone chilly.
My date, who’d been facing the entrance to the side of the building where Shayne had come in, had seen her, and upon the look on her face, I knew that Shayne hadn’t been able to control her emotions.
She never had been great at that.
“ Why did you two break up?” Dali asked.
I leaned back in my chair, wondering if I should answer honestly, and decided… fuck it.
Why not tell her why?
“ Because my parents are police officers. I’m now a police officer. And Shayne’s family is a bunch of criminals,” I said. “ Her brother is the hot shot gang leader of the Breakers , and he’s gone out of his way to let anyone and everyone know that he doesn’t approve of a relationship between Shayne and me. We broke up because I couldn’t continue to be with someone who would knowingly associate with a man who saw nothing wrong with attracting young, impressionable kids into his clutches, and teaching them that the only way is the Breakers way.”
Her mouth pursed. “ I think maybe you could’ve allowed her to graduate first before you broke up with her, though. What was she supposed to do? Leave her family? She’s only seventeen.”
She had a point.
But …
“ There was an absoluteness to the way she shared that she wouldn’t consider leaving her brother,” I said, almost a little too honestly.
“ Why did you agree to this date when you’re still incredibly in love with her?” Dali continued to push.
“ Because I don’t want to be.”
Anger at myself, and at Shayne , fueled me through the next few days.
Then , starting at the Dallas Police Department kept me going through the next two weeks.
It was only after I heard a passing comment from Ande in the kitchen when she was talking to Garrett , our youngest brother, when I realized my mistake in ignoring Shayne .
In doing so, I didn’t know what she was doing until it was too late.
“ Wait a minute,” I said to Ande , stopping in the middle of the kitchen. “ Can you repeat what you just said?”
Ande’s eyes were narrowed. “ No , I won’t.”
“ Why not?” I asked.
“ Because I don’t like you very much, Quinn ,” she said. “ I told you in the beginning that if you hurt her, I’d hurt you. And since I can’t physically do it, I emotionally can.”
Then Ande left, angry as hell, leaving me with way too many questions and no answers.
I looked at Garrett and said, “ What was she talking about? Where is she?”
We both knew who ‘she’ was.
There was no beating around the bush for either of us.
“ Shayne joined the Army .”
“ She what ?” I asked, thinking I didn’t hear correctly.
“ She joined the Army ,” he answered again. “ She shipped out two days ago. Applied for early graduation and got it. Her brother signed the documents necessary for her to join at seventeen. She’s gone.”
She’s gone.
Two words that had the power to change my life.
SHAYNE
9 weeks later
My stomach dropped out from under me at the sight.
Quinn looked good.
Pissed off, but really, really good.
“ Tell me you didn’t.”
I frowned. “ Tell you I didn’t what?”
“ Tell me you didn’t join the Army ,” he growled.
He had to know exactly what I’d done seeing as he was in Missouri , where he most certainly didn’t live.
My brows raised. “ And what business is it of yours, Quinn Carter ?”
“ What business is it of mine?” His voice got quieter, which was so much more intimidating than him yelling.
“ Yes ,” I said, stiffening my spine. “ What is it of yours?”
“ You are mine, Shayne .”
I scoffed. “ If I was yours, why did I see you out on a date before I left?”
He snapped his mouth shut, then opened it just as fast. “ It was a friend thing.”
“ It looked friendly all right,” I rolled my eyes and started to push past him, heading to my car. “ If you’ll excuse me, this box is heavy.”
It wasn’t, but he didn’t need to know that.
“ Anyway , did you care about me at all? Or what about your safety? Do you care that you getting hurt would break me?” he snapped at my back.
I froze, then turned to look at him.
“ Do I care about you at all?” I laughed. “ No . I don’t think I do. You were able to end us so easily, without a single ounce of discussion about your choice, and you expect something different from me? At least I was in the right, here. I have no boyfriend. I don’t need to share my life with strangers and people I once knew. So no, I don’t care about you anymore, Quinn . You saw to that.”
Two days later, I was on a bus heading to Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri , fresh out of bootcamp, with an anger burning deep inside of me that would continue to overwhelm me for a long time to come.
And everything about Dallas and Quinn Carter was in my rearview mirror.