Chapter Ten
Quinn
THE DOOR OPENED and Max walked into the cottage, then straight over to me. I stood with a smirk on my face. I knew what was coming. He stuck out a hand, grabbed mine and pulled me into a full body hug.
“Quinn, man, I am so, so sorry.”
He was nearly crushing me.
“I’d love to breathe, Max.”
“Oh, shit, sorry.” He backed up a bit. “But I am. I’m so sorry.”
Tara’s boyfriend was staring. “That’s… that’s Max Rocher.”
“It is,” Tara laughed as Sofia walked in.
She closed the door and also laughed and then tapped Rick’s chin. “Close your mouth, darling. That’s my boyfriend and if you’re going to be hanging around, get used to it.”
Rick nodded. “Right, of course. Yes.” Tara chuckled.
I folded my arms. “What are you sorry about?”
“My fucking idiot half brother. I didn’t know that he was going to fly out here and kidnap you for his hairbrained ideas.” He scrubbed a hand down his face. “I had no idea he was in this for the fraud. I didn’t know that he was going to drop everything and come out here.”
“Max, it’s fine. I didn’t know that Jarrett was going to do anything close to this. I thought that he was done with me and I knew that you and he didn’t get along. It never occurred to me to tell you not to tell him anything. And we’ve had nearly six months to get over this.”
Plopping down in the chair, he sighed. “Sorry I haven’t been around, but I… well. It wasn’t even me—I’m no contact with him and his father. But my mother isn’t, it’s her kid. So I mentioned seeing you, and she must have said something to him. My fault, I’m so sorry.”
Andrej walked out of the kitchen with a drink tray. “Stop it, Max. Everything worked out. No one but Jarrett got hurt, and even he’s going to be fine.”
“Damn,” Max said, earnestly. “That wasn’t the outcome I wanted.”
Yet another knock on the door rang in the room and the person didn’t wait to be invited in. Agent Biddle walked in with Agent Armstrong following him.
“Grand Central around here,” Rick said.
“Just popular,” Tara said. “Hi, Agent Biddle!”
He smiled lightly at her. He had a soft spot for my sister, because she reminded him of his daughter. Biddle was a mystery wrapped in an enigma. “Hello, Miss Seward.”
“Hello, Tara,” Agent Armstrong said, making himself known with a touch of jealousy and possessiveness. Biddle lifted an eyebrow and I saw something there.
They could figure it out on their own.
“So, where do we stand?” Andrej said, sitting down on the arm of the chair I was in.
Biddle nodded. “They took the pleas.”
My surprise absolutely showed on my face, while Sofia gasped.
“All three of them?” I asked.
“All three. They’ll have to go on record in court detailing what they did, so we can get more information about all this.
But they’re already assigned to facilities,” Biddle said.
“Jarrett is going to Ray Brook in upstate New York. Lia is going to Danbury Women’s.
It’s a low security because she really was only an accomplice and her worst crime was marrying Jarrett.
And Kyle, who as it turns out is the master mind of all this, is going to Yazoo City, Mississippi. ”
“Kyle?” Max asked. “I would have put money on Jarrett.”
“Nope,” Armstrong said. “You just have more exposure to him. Kyle made the conscious decision when he was in high school that he was going to do anything he could to make sure that he lived the high life and others be damned.”
“And now he’s going to be in prison in Yahoo City Mississippi,” Tara chuckled. “That’s amazing.”
“They shouldn’t need any more of your testimony,” Armstrong said. “Everything you’ve already given has been entered to the judge and he’s going to read it.”
“You know I don’t care about coming in again,” I said.
“Yes, we know. And we appreciate it.” Biddle looked around the room, and nodded. “We basically just stopped by to make sure that you heard from us and that you’re all okay and don’t need anything else right now.”
“We have your cards,” Tara said, tapping the one on the coffee table.
“You also don’t only have to come over for information, James,” Andrej said. “You know you’re welcome to just stop by and hang out. Grab a beer, watch a musical.”
All the heads in the room turned to look at my boyfriend, and eventually Sofia shook her head and rolled her eyes. “How did you not know you were gay, bro?”
“I don’t know? All you straights had me confused.”
“Confused,” Max said. “You knew all the words to Rent and can sing Hamilton as well as Lin-Manuel.”
Armstrong covered his mouth, clearly trying not to laugh. Biddle shook his head, but without any malice. “Andrej, thank you. I will think about it. I’d actually really like a fishing trip on that boat.”
“I could do that. Dad loves fishing and I used to go all the time.” He looked at me to say something else, but he stopped dead at the look on my face. “What? Quinn, what?”
“We... um... we won’t be using the Tahitian Moon anymore.”
He looked terrified. “What do you mean? What’s wrong with it?”
“Well, I think that it wouldn’t be nice to your parents if we used their boat when we have one of our own.”
Everyone in the room sat up straight, but especially Andrej and Tara. “What?” They chorused the question.
“I was able to find a nice pre-owned boat. Its not a luxury yacht, but she’s cute and clean and down at the harbor waiting for us.’
“You didn’t even buy a house, and instead bought a boat?” Tara’s voice was pitched up.
I grabbed an envelope and handed it to her. “Sister, darling, do you think that little of me?”
Her eyebrow went up and she slipped the flap open, pulling the papers out. She glanced at the top sheet and gasped, then dove for me. “You bought it!?”
“I bought it for you.” I grinned and patted her back. “This is a perfect little house for you, with plenty of room, no stairs, and you love it here. Why not?”
Max cocked his head and stared at me. “You got house money?”
“I got part of one of my stolen fortunes back,” I answered. “I’m not holding on to this money. My sister loves this house so I bought it. I wanted a boat, so I bought it.”
Tara sat back and grinned devilishly at me. “Where are you going to live?”
“Well, I was hoping that maybe Andrej might want to share a place with me up in Kingston.”
“Holy shit, thank you!” Sofia crowed.
The blank look Andrej had been giving me for just a moment turned to a look of confusion fixed on his sister. Sofia grinned at him and pulled a black tube off the floor, and poked him with it.
“I have been sitting on these for three damn months,” she said.
“What?” He looked genuinely confused.
“Quinn has been working with my firm to get these drawn up and it has been killing me not to tell you.” She popped the end of the tube off and pulled out the plans that I’d finally signed off.
She unrolled them, and the color pencil sketch of the unassuming 2 story house I’d agreed on sat there staring at us.
Andrej’s jaw dropped. “Sof, that’s your design.”
“Of course.” She preened. “You think I wasn’t going to lead the project?”
“You’re not licensed.” Andrej looked horrified.
“Her boss and I sat down and talked. She designed it, but she’s working under a licensed architect,” I answered. “Deep breath, Anj, it’s okay.”
He looked up at me, and I could see tears in his eyes. “You really want me to live with you?”
“Of course. I love you Andrej, why wouldn’t I want you to live with me?”
It wasn’t the first time I’d said it to him, but it was the first time I think he really digested and realized that I was serious.
“You’re sure?”
“Dude,” Armstrong said, “he’s building you a house.”
“You are?”
I nodded.
He threw himself at me. “Yes, of course!” He planted his lips on mine. “As long as we can take that boat out later. Alone.”
I laughed, finally feeling I’d found home.
The End.