Chapter 2
Quinn
I’m pretty sure Clara doesn’t want to shoot Reid intentionally, but the housekeeper’s hand shakes violently, and the gun she’s picked up off the floor still has the safety off. If Reid tries to disarm her, there’s a good chance I’m going to get covered in brain matter.
This is not how my day was supposed to go.
I should have followed my gut about Ridgemont Solutions.
I knew something was off, but Strider had checked them out and assured me they were legitimate.
My best friend likes to think he’s the world’s greatest hacker, but he’s just been outclassed by Mace Griffin. He’s not going to like that.
As prepared as I was for this job, I hadn’t anticipated this level of interference from the Griffins.
I’d assumed they’d want to stay away from the scene of their crime, but maybe the Irish aren’t done with Poulton Springs and are putting pressure on the brothers.
This place is quickly becoming a pressure pot ready to explode.
It makes me nervous, but I’ve spent a year preparing for this.
I need to be here when it all blows up in Ilya’s face.
But it’s Reid I face now. Beads of sweat glisten on his brow, and his piercing green eyes are fixed on mine.
He’s the youngest of the Griffin brothers – technically a half-brother, and the fourth son of the late James Griffin.
From the limited information available on this secretive family, Reid dropped out of law school a year or so ago to join Ash, Hunter and Mace in the family firm.
He’s annoyingly charming, which makes it all the more disappointing that he’s chosen to be on the wrong side of history.
Sibling loyalties have a lot to answer for.
I’m just grateful he’s lost that infuriatingly smug grin. The pressure of his erection against my stomach has eased too. “I’d do as she says,” I warn.
Goosebumps prickle my skin as Reid peels himself off me very slowly.
I miss our shared body heat despite loathing this man and everything he stands for.
Maybe the world would be better off with one less Griffin in it, even one with stupidly beautiful green eyes that glance at my exposed cleavage as he rises.
Clara keeps the gun pressed to Reid’s temple as he stands. Her long blond ponytail swishes as she tilts her head back, her arm rising as Reid stands to his full height.
“If you were any other Griffin, you’d be dead right now,” she says, her voice carrying a conviction that belies her shaking hand.
Clara has more reason than most to hate the Griffins. Her late husband was the security guard killed on the night of the fire last year. She has a young daughter to protect, a child who deserves to grow up in a rural town that isn’t crawling with criminal gangs.
Rising to my feet, I grab my gym top and slip it on quickly before helping Clara.
“It’s OK. I’ve got this,” I tell her gently. She’s a year older than me, but evidently has less experience handling a firearm.
Barrett’s housekeeper lets me take the gun. “Are you alright?” she asks, surveying my body for obvious signs of injury.
“Not a scratch.”
“This is just a misunderstanding,” Reid tells Clara, his shoulders relaxing. He seems to be under the impression he’s safer with me holding the gun.
“And what kind of misunderstanding leads to you stripping a woman at gun point?” she asks.
Reid turns towards me, quirking an eyebrow as he waits for me to explain that the gun was mine, and the stripping part was an accident. He sighs when I don’t.
“Do you think you could put the safety back on that thing so we can get this wrapped up?”
I keep the gun pointed at his head. “No.”
“Quinn, I don’t have to be your enemy. If you just tell me your real…” His words trail off deliberately.
He wants my real name, and this is a warning that he could start unravelling the story I’ve told my new employer with just a few well-placed comments.
The last thing I need is anyone finding out who I really am.
I have to remain in Poulton Springs long enough to catch the cockroaches I’m expecting to come out of the woodwork.
Clara’s laugh interrupts our silent negotiation.
“You think you aren’t the enemy?” she asks, her words filled with anguish that Reid won’t understand.
“I know you’re just a kid, but have you been taken in so completely by your big brother?
Ask anyone in town and they’ll tell you the same as me.
The Griffins are a plague on us all. You didn’t just burn down a factory, you killed a community.
And if you can’t see that, then maybe it’s too late for you.
” She swallows hard. “I hope I don’t come to regret not pulling the trigger. ”
“I don’t know where you got your information, but we didn’t burn down the factory,” Reid says through gritted teeth. “That’s not who we are. I’m proud of my brothers and everything they stand for, and I’ll gladly follow in Ash’s footsteps.”
Clara flinches. “Then I feel sorry for you.”
“I’m not claiming any of us are perfect, but I suggest you pay more attention to what Barrett gets up to.”
“There you go, spreading more lies and poison,” Clara says, her strength leaving her with a sigh. “Does it ever end?”
“It ends when you open your eyes,” Reid grits out. “And when the time comes, I just hope you choose the right side.”
I’m holding a gun to his head, and the bastard still thinks he can threaten us. “That’s it, time to go,” I say.
Reaching for Clara, I make sure she stays at my back as I circle Reid, placing him between us and the exit. Reid turns with me so we remain facing.
“It looks like this is goodbye. For now,” he tells me, his annoying smirk returning. “Until next time, Quinn.”
Reid recovers his briefcase, and I’m trailing him to the door when a thought strikes me. “Wait!”
Reminiscent of our earlier encounter, Reid raises his hands in surrender. “What now?”
I get close enough to press the gun to his chest. Standing on tiptoe, I pinch his chin between a finger and thumb. The return of skin-to-skin contact sends a jolt through my body that Reid must feel too because the bastard’s smile broadens. Does he think I’m going to kiss him? “Open,” I command.
Understanding flickers across Reid’s face, and his jaw slackens, but he still manages a smirk. He’s going to enjoy this.
I grimace as I push my pointer finger into his mouth, and as I explore the inside of a warm and wet cheek, Reid’s tongue strokes, and licks, and tastes me.
The sensation makes the muscles in my core tense, but I ignore the need it awakens.
I’d been wrestling with that particular urge earlier when he was lying on top of me, and I know how to defeat it.
I just have to think of all the people who were exploited to pay for his custom-made suit, or the Griffins’ private jet.
Trailing my fingertip beneath his wandering tongue, I move to the other side of his mouth. Reid’s eyes twinkle, but I won’t be distracted. Finally, I find the strands of hair Reid had bitten off during our tussle. I quickly withdraw my finger and wipe my hand on my leggings.
Reid glances over my shoulder towards Clara. God knows what she thinks is going on, or what excuse I’m going to have to come up with to explain letting Reid suck my finger. At least I’ve deprived the Griffins of their DNA sample.
“Now you can go.”
Rather than stepping away, Reid leans in closer. His hand rests on my arm as he whispers, “I hope you enjoyed that as much as I did.”
“Go to hell, Reid,” I reply. My mouth is close to his ear when I add, “And fuck you too, Mace. The only thing you need to know about me is that I’m your worst nightmare.”
By the time I reach the kitchen, Clara’s tremors have transferred to me.
“Here, drink this,” she says, setting down a shot glass on the oak table.
I take a sniff. I’m not a particular fan of whiskey, but I swallow it in two gulps.
Heat flares at the back of my throat then travels down to dissolve the band of tension constricting my chest. When I’m able to breathe deeply, I free myself from the memory of having Reid’s arousal pressed against my stomach.
“Why did you call him a kid? He’s not that much younger than us.” I ask as I picture Reid’s face hovering over mine. Such a handsome face too, and those dazzling green eyes.
“He’s a kid compared to the other brothers,” Clara says as she pours herself a shot.
“I pray they won’t decide to show up too.
Assuming they’re not here already.” She lifts her glass to her lips then thinks better of it.
“I might collect Piper from Pre-K early. I could bring her back here if you don’t want to be alone? ”
“Or you could take the rest of the day off. Tandy and I can manage on our own, and I’m sure Barrett wouldn’t mind,” I say, but my stomach drops. I need to let our boss know what’s happened. “It’s not you he’ll be mad at. I was the one who told him Ridgemont Solutions checked out.”
“He’ll be angry, but not at you,” Clara assures me. “You were assaulted, Quinn.”
“Technically, I made the first move. It was my gun, Clara,” I admit. “He had to disarm me.”
I’m relieved when she seems more impressed than shocked. “He wouldn’t have needed to disarm you if he hadn’t sneaked in here under false pretenses. You should phone Barrett. He needs to know,” she says, nodding to my cell balanced on top of my purse. “I can stay if you want some moral support?”
“No, you go,” I insist. There’s another, more urgent call I need to make first, and one I don’t want Clara to hear.
As she gathers her things, my plans for privacy are dashed when Jason storms into the kitchen.
“One of the guys says we had an intruder,” he says. “Did he hurt you?”
He’s looking at Clara. “Quinn took care of him,” she says with a note of pride.
“Those useless fucking security gua–” Jason doesn’t need to see the warning glare I aim in his direction. Those useless security guards were Clara’s husband’s colleagues. “Sorry, Clara.”