Chapter 17
Reid
It rained through the night, and a blanket of morning mist lies low on the fields as I turn off the road and head down a dirt track. The rising sun provides dappled light through the trees, and I choose a spot where the woodland is dense and my SUV won’t be seen from road or sky.
Getting out of the car, I take a couple of calming breaths of spring-fresh air. I can smell the earth awakening from its winter slumber, dangling the promise of better times ahead, but as I wait for Quinn, I test the straps of the Kevlar vest Jake insisted I wear.
When I hear the distant rumble of a car, I hold my breath and strain my ears.
I’m pretty sure it’s Quinn’s Jeep, but Mace lectured me this morning about not making assumptions.
Ilya is still at the estate and it could be someone else driving if she’s been compromised.
Or, if it is Quinn, she may not be alone.
And even if she is meeting me as planned, there are plenty of other risks I should bear in mind according to Mace.
I’ve been told not to let my dick rule my head. He still doesn’t trust her. I do.
I step behind a tree and stare at the bend in the road until silvery light transforms into the solidified form of a car. As Quinn hits a patch of sunlight, I get the confirmation I need that she’s alone. I hurry forward, reaching the car as she skids to a stop.
I yank open her door and she practically falls into my arms. When she buries her head into my neck, I hold her tight.
“I’ve got you, baby,” I whisper, pulling her from the car.
Quinn’s feet don’t touch the ground, and her dress bunches up around her thighs as she wraps her legs around my waist. My cock thickens as it always does when she’s this near, but our embrace isn’t sexual. She’s clinging to me and all I want to do is hold onto her and keep her safe.
“I can’t stay long,” she says into my neck. “I just wanted… I just needed…”
“This,” I reply, almost squeezing the breath out of her. “You just needed this.”
She sniffs back tears and as she straightens up, I get a good look at her for the first time. Bare tree branches cast shadows that deepen the hollows under her eyes. My stomach hollows.
“What happened?”
She trails a finger over my lips. “Nothing bad,” she says. “Nothing I can’t handle.”
“Which means?” It unsettles me that she’s looking at my mouth more than she’ll look into my eyes.
She leans in and trails her tongue gently across my lips. I go to suck on her lower lip but she pulls away.
“I’m OK,” she assures me. Her eyes flick up to mine, then lower again as she traces my jawline with her finger. “I had dinner with Ilya last night.”
Her eyebrow arches. She can feel the pulse in my jaw ticking upwards beneath her fingertip. I don’t say anything as I carry her toward the trunk of a tree and pin her against it so I don’t need my arms to hold her.
I grab her chin and tilt her head so she has to look at me. She fists my shirt sleeve as I fix her with my gaze. “And who else was at this dinner?”
I know through surveillance that Jason had spent the evening in a bar with a couple of Ilya’s men, and I’m not sure I’m ready for her answer.
“It was just the two of us.”
“Did he touch you?”
Her features harden a fraction at the harshness of my tone, and she shoves my hand away. “No.”
“Did he proposition you?” Her eyes flick downwards, breaking our gaze. I don’t need to wait for her reply. “What does he want from you, Quinn?”
“Not what you think,” she snaps. “And I came here to escape for five minutes, not have you interrogate me.”
I press my forehead briefly to hers. “I’m sorry. I’ve been so worried about you. I hate every minute you spend in that fucking house.”
“Ilya wasn’t there for long. He’s obviously got plenty to keep him busy at the guesthouse.”
Just the sound of his name on her lips makes my blood boil, but it’s not Quinn who deserves my anger. I force my voice to soften. “When’s he leaving?”
“This evening.”
I cup her face, gentler this time as I tempt her gaze back to mine. “What did he ask you to do?”
She bites her lip so hard the flesh turns white. “Spy on Barrett. Ilya wants to know if he’s looking for a new bride.”
I relax. That’s not nearly as bad as I thought. “And what’s he offering in return?”
She shrugs. “More work.”
I may not have qualified as a lawyer, but I know evasion when I hear it. “What work exactly?”
“Do we have to talk about this now? I have to head back soon.”
“Yes, we do.”
Quinn tightens her legs around my waist, pressing her boots into my ass as she rubs her needy pussy against me. For now, I resist.
“Quinn, I need to know how involved you’re getting in that bastard’s business. As much as I want to make you and your sister my priority, my brothers and I can’t stand idly by while Ilya processes god knows how many innocent lives through those fucking stables. We came here to do a job too.”
“I know you did,” Quinn says, her words warming my lips. “No one wants you to burn the Barkov’s empire to the ground more than I do.” She kisses me softly. “I want to be the one to strike the first match.”
When my cock twitches, it immediately assumes control of my brain. “What else do you want?”
She nips at my lower lip in answer, dragging her teeth over it before letting go.
My hands slide along the back of her thighs to her ass. “Do you want me to fuck you, Viper?”
I slip a hand into her panties and follow the crack of her ass, past her tight hole to the dripping wet heat at her center. Quinn lifts just enough for me to sink a finger into her. She hums into my mouth when I add another finger, and her pussy quivers as I tease and stretch her.
I trail kisses down her neck as I listen to the noises she makes. “You like that?”
“I like everything you do to me.”
“Then let me do every-fucking-thing to you,” I whisper.
“Reid,” she moans as she grinds against me. “We can’t…”
“You’re right,” I agree. “Not until we’re naked.”
When I step us away from the trees, Quinn tugs on my shirt sleeves. “No, not here,” she says scanning the trees.
“No one’s going to see us,” I promise, moving us towards a clearing where there’s a patch of soft grass.
Quinn thumps my shoulder. “Reid, I said no! You don’t know who’s watching.”
Keeping hold of her waist, I set her on her feet and scan our surroundings. She has me searching for the danger only she senses. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She straightens her dress. “I should go. This was a bad idea.”
When Quinn makes to step past me, I grab her arm. “I don’t think so.”
She glares at the hand gripping her. “Let go of me, Reid,” she says, her tone hardening. “Now.”
My hold remains firm. “Something has you scared, and you’re not leaving here until you tell me what it is.”
“There’s nothing to tell!”
“The hell there isn’t!” I snap. “You won’t look at me. You won’t answer my questions. And you look fucking haunted.” My voice cracks. “Whatever he’s said, whatever he wants from you, it isn’t worth it. I can’t let him break you. And he will break you, Quinn.”
Her touch is gentle as she places her hand over mine where I’m restraining her. “He won’t,” she whispers.
“It looks to me like he’s already tried. You’re fucking trembling.”
“I’m tired, that’s all.”
My heart pounds. “You’re lying. Tell me what’s happening, Quinn. Please,” I beg. “Trust me.”
She rests her head on my chest, and as I wrap my arms around her, Quinn snakes her arms around my waist. “I do trust you,” she says. “But you need to trust me. I know my limits, and I’m not there yet.”
I kiss the top of her head. “I’m so sorry, baby, but I have limits too.
I can’t let you go this time,” I say, reaching the decision I should have made days ago.
“You’re coming back to the cabin with me, and we’ll work out what to do from there.
You don’t have to go back to Ilya. We’ll find another way. ”
When she raises her head, a tear trickles down her cheek. “Don’t make this harder than it already is. Please.”
“We’ll work together to find Blake. I could introduce Strider to Mace,” I say with a tight smile. “Between them, they might be able to figure out a way of tracking her down.”
“I already know how to find Blake. I don’t need help,” she says, pulling away from me. “Not from you. Not from anyone.”
The frown forming on my brow freezes when I see the Glock. “For fuck’s sake. Again?”
She’s aiming at my cock. Given my Kevlar vest, it was either that or my head. “Give me your car keys.”
“No.”
Quinn releases the safety and fires a shot at the ground inches from my left boot.
“Fuck, Quinn!” I yell. “What the hell?”
“Give me your keys,” she repeats, far colder and calmer than I am.
“No!”
Quinn’s aim pivots to the side and she shoots one of the front tires on my SUV. “Then keep your keys.”
When Quinn backs away, I go to follow her. I don’t think for a second that she’ll shoot me, but there’s a look of pain and desperation in her eyes that stops me in my tracks. I don’t know what the hell is going on, but if I push this, it might be me who breaks her.
“Don’t leave me, Quinn.”
Her lip trembles. “I’m sorry.”
She reaches her Jeep and climbs behind the wheel while keeping her aim fixed on me. I stay close, but once the engine starts, I know the battle is over. She spins the car around and as she speeds off, I hear the clatter of my gun hitting the road.
I don’t take my eyes off the Jeep until it disappears from view, and even then, my ears strain as I listen to the engine receding into the distance. I take out my cell and dial Ash’s number.
“Something’s fucking wrong.”