Quinn (Shadow Warriors #3)

CHAPTER ONE

Quinn Jordan was one-third of the triplet Jordan brothers. River and Finnegan, his brothers, were identical in every way. The three brothers often confused teachers, friends, and even on occasion their own parents.

The brothers trained relentlessly with their peers, parents, grandparents, and even great-grandparents, knowing that they would one day become SEALs like their family members.

All three of the Jordans were fiercely protective of their friends, family, and those who could not protect themselves.

Finn once refused to allow a known kill-shelter to get to the animals by changing the locks on the kennels.

When his family got wind of it, via his brothers, they went to the shelter, rescuing all of the animals and finding them homes.

They then promptly shut the shelter down when the owner refused to accept assistance for a larger shelter with donations of food and medical treatments given by the animal sanctuary of Belle Fleur.

But for Quinn, it caused him physical pain to see the weak, the small, those unable to defend themselves, being abused.

Being overseas taught him that he had to control his urges to help everyone. Some countries didn’t see women as anything of value. They were treated as animals, beasts of burden, and had he stepped in, he would have endangered the entire team.

In time, Quinn always got his revenge and spent more than his fair share of pay in relocating women and families to safe countries. His brothers always helped when they could but it was the big-hearted Quinn that seemed to attract them like bees to honey.

“River!” yelled Finnegan running toward his brother. They’d finished baseball practice and Quinn wasn’t anywhere to be seen. “River!”

“What? I’m right here, stop yelling,” he said as Finn stopped in front of him.

“You need to come quick. It’s Quinn.”

River followed his brother knowing that Quinn wasn’t in any trouble. He was obscenely strong and quick, most adults unable to keep up with him. But Quinn’s heart usually got him into trouble.

“What’s wrong?” said River running next to his brother.

“Old man Talbot picked up Brian again.”

“Damn. He’s drunk?” asked River.

“As ever. I’ve called Dad and notified the coaches but the coaches are scared of him too. He beat the shit out of Brian for missing that play at second.”

“Shit,” he muttered slowing as he saw Quinn, with Brian behind him on the ground.

“Get out of the fucking way you little bastard!” growled the drunken man.

“Mr. Talbot, you’re not yourself, sir. I’m sorry but I can’t let you take Brian right now. You’ve been drinking and you’ve hurt him bad.” Quinn could hear the boy behind him, his breathing clearly indicative of at least one broken rib, if not more.

“You little fucker! You and your rich parents aren’t gonna tell me what I can do with my kid.”

“Mr. Talbot, please sir. We’ve called the police,” said the coach.

“You weasel! You fucking weasel!”

The coach stepped back knowing he didn’t want to tangle with the man. He wasn’t big in a muscular way but big in the way a man gets from hard labor, hard life, and hard fighting.

Talbot started to come toward Quinn when River and Finnegan stood beside him. The boys were impressive. Easily six-three or -four, over two-hundred pounds, and trained as well as anyone could be.

“Talbot you take one more step toward my boys and you’ll regret it,” said Patrick. Christopher, Ham, Ethan, and Mo were right beside them. “You’re drunk and you’re not going to touch that boy again.”

“My kid. I can do whatever the hell I want,” he snarled.

“No, you can’t. The law is pretty clear about that. You won’t be touching your boy again,” said Ham. “Brian? You okay son?”

“C-can’t breathe,” he gasped.

“Can’t breathe,” mocked his father. “You little pussy! Fucking no good piece of shit. All you do is cause me grief. You’re nothing. Nothing!”

They all stood their ground as Ham and Ethan knelt next to the young man, checking the damage done by his father. Although the primary pain at the moment were his ribs, his face was a mess. The beefy hands of the old man had done a number on poor Brian.

Although he was the same age as the Jordan boys, he was significantly smaller at only five-feet-nine and around one-hundred and sixty pounds. His father outweighed him by at least a hundred pounds.

When the sheriff pulled up, they all felt a bit relieved.

“Talbot, what did you do now?” asked the sheriff.

“None of your damn business or theirs. Give me my kid and I’ll leave!”

“You’re not taking the boy,” said Ham. He looked at the sheriff, then back at Brian. “He’s beaten the boy half to death, sheriff. It’s clear it isn’t the first time.”

“Brian, how old are you now, son?” asked the sheriff.

“S-seventeen,” he stammered. The sheriff nodded.

“You can be treated as an adult in this state. Who would you like to go with?”

“H-hospital, I need a h-hospital.”

“We’re going to get you to a hospital Brian,” said Patrick. “Would you like to come with us, to our home?”

“H-he’ll come for me,” he whispered.

“If he does, it will be the last thing he ever does,” said Ethan. “We’ll make sure you’re okay, son.”

“W-with you,” he murmured.

Ham picked the boy up in his arms, carrying him toward the SUV. Talbot watched as his son was carried away. They could see that he was contemplating jumping Ham but they also could see he wasn’t quite that drunk.

“You like beating kids, Talbot?” asked Ethan.

“My kid.” He looked at the triplets and frowned. “And kids that interfere in my life.”

“Well, beating a kid is an easy win, isn’t it. I tell you what, why don’t you and I go a few rounds. Right here, right now, in front of the sheriff so everything is fair.”

“Wait a minute,” said the coach.

“No, you wait a minute. Your responsibility is to protect these kids on school property. You failed to do that. Had these three not been here, that boy would be dead. So, you don’t get to tell me what happens next.”

“Don’t matter,” said Talbot with a smile, “I’ll take you on. You don’t look like much to me.”

No words ever spoken could have been more inaccurate. Ethan Dunvegan was an anomaly.

After joining the Army, he became number one in his class at Ranger School. After two years of being a Ranger, he wanted to challenge himself further and transferred his time to the Navy. When he told his commanding officer that he wanted to be a SEAL, he laughed at him.

“Nobody becomes a Ranger and a SEAL.”

A year later, his father was pinning his trident to his chest. For four years, he was deployed with his SEAL team in the worst possible parts of the world. Time and time again, he showed his prowess and abilities, saving his entire team, not once but twice.

Then he was bored again. MARSOC. Delta. Green Berets. Each time he was told no one could pass all of the elite soldier, sailor, Marine training. And each time, he did it. When five spec ops emblems hung from his uniform, command took notice and later, the men and women at Belle Fleur.

“I feel it’s my duty to warn ‘ya, Talbot,” said the sheriff smirking in his direction.

“Fuck off,” growled the old man.

“Someone get this on camera,” smiled Christopher. “It will be fun to watch later.”

It really was sad. Talbot was so drunk he could barely stand straight. He’d only gotten to Brian because he was smaller. When he threw the first punch at Ethan, he easily maneuvered to the side.

“Stop now, Talbot. That’s my first warning,” said Ethan.

The man became angrier, running straight toward Ethan like a raging bull. When he sidestepped the man, he shook his head and shrugged, looking at the other men.

“You warned him,” said Patrick.

River, Quinn, and Finnegan watched with interest, knowing that they would learn as much from this encounter as from training with the men.

Talbot was so angry, he was no longer thinking straight.

A wise man, a sober wise man, would have known that he was outmanned.

Obviously, Talbot was neither wise, nor sober.

He danced around Ethan looking for his opportunity and when he charged him once again, his fists raised, Ethan simply took him down with a roundhouse kick to the jaw.

They all heard it. The cracking of bone as the big man fell face down in the dirt. The sheriff knelt to feel for a pulse and Ethan raised his eyebrows.

“Gotta be sure he ain’t dead. That’d be a whole lotta paperwork. You boys help me throw him in the back of the car?” They laughed, nodding at the sheriff as Talbot was taken away.

“We’re gonna keep that boy safe at our place until school is out and then help him get away,” said Christopher. “Does he have anyone? A mother? Grandmother?”

“Not that I know of,” said the sheriff. “Coach? What do you know?”

“I’ve only ever seen his father bring him to school and come to the games. I’ve never once heard him mention a mother.”

There was a reason for that. When they were finally able to see Brian and ensure he was okay, he spoke at length about the abuse he’d endured and about the spot in their backyard where his mother was buried.

His father had beaten her head against the floor, leaving the bloodstained carpet for him to see every day as a warning. Some men are just mean to the core.

“You have any living family, Brian?” asked Patrick.

“No, sir,” he said quietly. He looked at the triplets and smiled at Quinn. “Thanks for stepping in. I’d be dead if it weren’t for you.”

“I’m sorry you had to go through that,” said Quinn.

“What do I do now?” he asked.

“You stay here, finish high school and go to college,” said Ethan.

“Sir, I can’t afford college and my dad will come for me sooner or later,” said the frightened teen.

“Your father will be going to prison, Brian,” said Patrick. “We offer scholarships through a program at the school. I’m certain you qualify.”

“R-really?” he said with tears in his eyes. “I can’t believe it.”

“Are your grades okay?” asked Ham.

“He’s the smartest kid in the class,” smiled Quinn. “Aces every test.”

“Well then, I think you’ll do just fine.”

The boys stayed with Brian until he became tired and finally drifted off to sleep. For the remainder of the school year, he stayed with Chase and Maeve. At first, he was shy, quiet, and almost afraid to move. In time, he learned that this was what life was supposed to be like for him.

In June, Brian testified against his father for the murder of his mother. The evidence was overwhelming. Tank Talbot would be in jail for the rest of his life.

“Thank you, Quinn,” said Brian hugging his friend. “Thank you all.”

“You’re welcome,” smiled Quinn. “I hear you’re going to the University of Michigan, pre-law?”

“Yep. Seems logical, right?” he laughed. He’d grown two inches, put on twenty pounds and looked happy and healthy.

Quinn and his brothers went off to basic and eventually all three were SEALs on the same team. When Quinn came home for his brother’s wedding, he was surprised to see a fit, handsome, Brian Talbot seated at a table at the reception.

“Brian?”

“Quinn,” he smiled. “Nice to see you, man.”

“Dude, what in the world?” he laughed.

“I’m here interviewing to become part of you legal team,” he smiled. “I’ve been a criminal prosecutor in Detroit for the last few years. I wrote to Maeve and Chase and they said there might be something here. It was just luck that I caught it all during River’s wedding. He looks happy.”

“He’s blissfully happy,” smiled Quinn.

“What about you? Are you married?”

“Me? Hell, no. You?”

“Not yet, but I’m hoping,” he smiled as Wavy, Willa Avery, walked toward them.

“Hi, Quinn.” He nodded toward her smiling. “Another dance, Brian?”

“Sounds perfect. See ‘ya later, Quinn.”

“Yeah. See ‘ya later.”