Chapter 6
Chapter Six
“Hello, beautiful.”
Delaney stretched slowly in the feather-soft bed. Soft covers pressed against her, and a smile began to curve her lips.
“I hope you’re having some incredibly sweet dreams.”
Her eyes flew open as she finally registered that deep, male voice. Her gaze jumped from the ceiling to the bedside table to the doorway where a tall, hulking figure stood.
A figure who had his head turned away from her as he looked back through the doorway into the hall. A figure that was not Nash because she knew his massive body. A wild scream tore from her throat as she leapt from the bed and tried to scamper away from the man.
Where the hell am I?
The last thing she remembered was being in the front seat of a stolen ride with Nash and now, now—
“Easy.” Strong arms wrapped around her from behind. “I was just coming to wake you up. Didn’t mean to terrify you.”
She could hear the fast thunder of approaching footsteps.
Her elbow shoved back against the man who held her even as she realized that his voice was vaguely familiar.
He grunted when her elbow hit him, but he didn’t let her go. “Delaney, is this any way to greet an old friend—ow!” His hold tightened.
She let out a blood-curdling scream.
“Wait, Delaney, it’s me and, dammit, dammit, Nash, stop!”
But, apparently, those thunderous footsteps belonged to Nash and he did not, in fact, stop. He grabbed the man who held her and slung him up against the nearby wall.
A framed black and white photo—appeared to be of a waterfall—tumbled to the floor.
And Nash, wearing jeans and a white shirt that emphasized his tawny skin and valiantly stretched over his bulging muscles, glared at the man he’d just casually tossed aside.
“I said wake her up, asshole. As in, knock lightly on her door. Not terrify her.” Nash swung to face her.
He sucked in a deep, shuddering breath. “I’m sorry.
We both know that Ryan is always a bit of a dick. ”
Ryan?
“I am not.” From the man straightening his dress shirt and rolling back his shoulders. “I am an incredibly charming, kindhearted individual. I knocked softly on her door before entering. I definitely did that. It’s not my fault the woman snores like a freight train.”
She sucked in a deep, gasping breath.
Ryan Quinn—holy crap, that is Ryan!—inclined his head toward her.
He winked. “A cute freight train, of course. But I had no choice but to open the door and come inside. And then, did I not begin by saying that you are beautiful? I am sure I did. I said, ‘Wake up, beautiful.’ Or, wait. Maybe I said ‘Hello, beautiful.’ Something like that.”
Nash growled at him. “I did not tell you to come in her room. I sure as hell didn’t tell you to flirt with her.”
Ryan’s hands flew up in front of his body.
His palms faced Nash. “Easy there, bro. Rein in that jealousy, would you? You’re the one who sent me to her.
If you wanted to wake her up and call her beautiful, then you should have done that job yourself.
But, no, you probably didn’t trust yourself to come in and find her all rumpled and sexy in bed and you—Dude, I am messing with you! Do not dare take a swing at me!”
Nash had just charged at his brother.
Because Ryan Quinn was his brother. She’d grown up with them both, and while Nash had barely tolerated her during their early teenage years, Ryan had always been kind. And generally charming.
Nash had been the reserved and growly one. Or he had been, until their first kiss. The kiss on the side of the road that had changed everything.
Now the two brothers were glaring at each other, and the tension in the room had notched up way too high. “Don’t hit your brother,” she rushed to tell Nash.
Both men swung their heads toward her.
“What? It’s a fair request.” Why were they staring at her with wide eyes?
Ryan cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, I hate to point out the obvious here, but you do realize you’re wearing the remains of a bloodstained wedding dress, yes?”
She looked down at herself. Yep, she was still in the dress that would haunt her dreams. She wanted to burn the thing, as soon as humanly possible. Dried blood. Torn fabric. Hellish memories. Check, check, triple check.
“She was asleep when I carried her inside,” Nash said, voice curt and a bit too biting. “Didn’t think it would be gentlemanly to strip her while she was out cold. So I left the dress on her.”
Ryan rocked back onto his heels. “Oh, yeah. That’s you.
The super gentleman. Not like you just didn’t trust yourself with her so you probably dropped her in bed, snatched the covers up to her chin, and ran away as fast as you could.
No, sir, not like that happened at all.” He sucked in his cheeks as if fighting laughter.
“I can knock you out with one punch,” Nash assured him.
“Yes, you probably can, but I do believe that Delaney said for us not to fight, so if you punch me, you’ll just make her mad. If she’s mad, then she’ll be less likely to cooperate with us, won’t she? And we will need her cooperation for when the boss arrives.”
Cooperation. She latched onto that one word, and her brain finally started processing properly.
Delaney blinked, and her gaze zeroed in on Ryan again.
At first, she’d just figured Nash had called in his brother because he’d wanted someone he could trust at his side.
But now suspicion simmered inside of her.
Ryan stood before her, dressed in an expensive, crisp blue dress shirt.
A shirt that stretched at his shoulders and arms. Black dress pants.
Gleaming, polished shoes. He and Nash were close in height, but Nash beat his brother in muscle span.
Like Nash, Ryan also had dark hair, but Nash’s hair was pitch-black.
Ryan’s eyes were a deep, dark brown. Sometimes, his gaze would appear warm, but other times, that gaze of Ryan’s could be chilling.
Not brothers by blood, but by choice. She still remembered the day that Nash had first arrived at the Quinn house. He’d been thirteen. She’d been two years younger, and so curious about the new member of the family.
Nash and Ryan had quickly become inseparable. One always watching the other’s back and… “Oh, no.” She had to voice her suspicion. “Are you CIA, too, Ryan?”
“Dammit!” Ryan glared at his brother. “You told her? You just seriously told the woman confidential information that we are supposed to take to our graves? The kind of intel that can’t even be tortured out of us? You just gave it to your ex?”
She took that response as a yes. “Holy crap, you are.” A shake of her head. “I remember when you joined the Marines but…” But after that, she’d been out of their lives.
“You just told her, dumbass,” Nash growled back at him. “I didn’t. And, shit, I have clothes for you, Delaney. Give me a minute.” He stalked from the room.
Which left her alone with Ryan.
Ryan had rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt, and she noticed the dark lines of one scary-looking tattoo on his forearm.
Soft laughter rolled from him. “That one’s real,” he told her, obviously catching her focus on the tat. “But you should have seen some of the ones I was sporting a few months back.”
Her brows snapped together.
A sigh slid from him. “Delaney, Delaney, Delaney…just what kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into?” His arms fell to his sides as he began to advance toward her. “And are you seriously about to break my brother’s heart all over again?”
Her jaw nearly hit the floor. “What on earth are you talking about?”
Ryan just nodded. “You are. I can feel it coming.” A low whistle escaped him. “I think I should take over lead on this case. No way does Nash need to be doing the dirty work with you on this one.”
“Dirty work?” Did it sound like she was strangling? It certainly felt that way to her.
“Um. I’ll make the sacrifice. I’ll play bodyguard, and Nash can go back to handling ops in Eastern Europe. Done.”
Her head was spinning. And she was still in the stupid dress.
“So, I’ve got to ask. Did you know your groom was a psychopathic madman bent on being the number one criminal mastermind in the world when you said yes to him? Or did that big revelation come to you later?”
She blinked. “You are usually way more charming than this.”
“Noted. Technically, though, I’m usually pretending to be charming.
” A shrug of one big shoulder. “But this time, we’re talking about my brother.
You pulled him into your nightmare, and I’m trying to make sure that he’s not getting conned by a pretty face.
Your groom is a sadistic criminal who has left a trail of bodies across Europe and the US.
Let’s completely understand one another. Nash will not be part of that trail.”
One of her hands flew to her mouth. Her other dropped over her suddenly twisting stomach. “I think I’m going to be sick.” A trail of bodies? Oh, God. Oh, no.
“Here. Fresh clothes. Toiletries. Everything should fit.” Nash was back in the doorway. Filling it. Brushing his broad shoulders against the sides. He frowned at her. “Delaney, you okay?”
Nope, she was not. Delaney snatched the bag from him and dashed into the nearby bathroom. She slammed the door shut. Dropped the bag and then she turned on the water and began splashing it on her too hot face.
A sadistic criminal who has left a trail of bodies across Europe and the US.
And she had been moments away from marrying the man.
Nash frowned at the closed bathroom door. He could hear the roar of the water from inside. Before Delaney had raced in and slammed the door shut, she’d looked far, far too pale. Her gaze had been terrified, and he did not want Delaney terrified. Ever.
He stomped toward his brother. “What in the hell did you do?”
“Moi?” All innocence, Ryan pointed to himself. “I just followed orders. I came in to gently wake our old friend, and…how was I to know that she would wake up screaming? Who could have predicted that response?”
“You scared her.”