Maximum Risk (22 page)

Not wanting his mom to see Avery come down from upstairs, he asked, “What brings you over so early, Mom?”

“I’m here to check on Avery. Did she get any rest last night?”

The guilt grew heavier on his shoulders. Had he been thinking with the right head, he’d have anticipated his mother’s arrival this morning. Surprising she waited until eight o’clock to come over.

He turned to face her. “She’s sleeping now.”

His mom nodded, reaching for two coffee mugs. “Good. That will give us a chance to talk.”

No use arguing, so he didn’t. She handed him a steaming cup of coffee and he walked over to accept it, then leaned against the counter, sensing she had something more to say.

“Quinn, I owe you an apology.”

He shifted. “Mom—”

“Let me speak.”

He nodded.

“You know I love you, dear. And I didn’t mean what I said at the house. I was only protecting Dani. She isn’t as strong as we are. She needed me.” Her gaze met his, unwavering and sincere, but filled with tears. “You understand that, don’t you?”

Quinn set his cup on the counter and pulled her in for a hug. God love his mother. She had a heart of gold and compassion enough for the world, yet she was the strongest woman he knew.

“I know, Mom.”

She hugged him back, smelling of spices and coffee. The same as he remembered. But tension still rode her shoulders.

“What else, Mom?” he asked quietly.

Her shoulders hitched and she squeezed him tight. “I’m worried about Dani. She’s been losing weight. And she was too thin to begin with. You know how thin she was.”

He nodded, thinking she was right. Dani had lost a couple pounds. But that was par for the course given the events.

“I know she’s grieving, but…” She let the sentence trail and Quinn frowned.

“But what?”

“I’ve noticed things. Outbursts. Irritability that is so unlike my sweet girl.”

“She’s mourning. Grief doesn’t always manifest in reasonable ways.”

His mom sipped her coffee. “I know, and I thought of that. I just get the feeling that there is more going on with Dani than meets the eye.”

“Want me to have Evan keep a closer eye on her?”

His mom waved that off. “No. I don’t want to invade her life any more than we already have. But I would like you to watch out for her.”

Quinn stepped over and gave her a hug. “Done.”

She squeezed him hard. “Thank you. Now, about Avery. How is she doing?”

He leaned back, noticing the tears in her eyes. His mom’s compassion knew no boundaries. She truly was an amazing woman. “She’s doing fine.”

She sent him a look, then patted him on the arm and let him go, wiped her eyes, and moved to the stove where she set out a pot. “Now, go get Avery up. I’m going to make breakfast. She needs to eat. She’s much too thin too.”

Gut churning, Quinn left her alone to make breakfast and went upstairs, wondering how the heck he was going to sneak Avery downstairs.

“Everything okay?”

Her voice brought him up short. He looked over to see her sitting up in bed, the sheet clutched to her breasts. Her hair fell in tangles over her shoulders and one leg was bent outside the covers at a sexy angle.

As wrong as it was he wanted to undress and climb back in bed with her. Ravage her just so he could hear her moans of pleasure. Escape this hell for another couple hours.

No. Everything was not okay. It was a fucked up mess. No, scratch that.
He
was a fucked up mess.

“Mom’s downstairs making breakfast.”

Avery’s eyes widened. “Oh, crap.” She scooted out of bed. “She’s going to see me. There’s no way to get to my room without being seen. Can you get her out of the house for a couple minutes?”

Quinn quirked a brow.

“Damn it. Why is she here so early? Ouch.” She sat back down on the bed. “I need a new pair of feet,” she muttered.

“Can’t give you that, but I can create a diversion. Come down in five minutes.”

“Deal.”

He turned to go.

“Quinn.”

Almost made it to the steps.

“Just so you know, I’m the kind of woman who sees things for what they are. Let’s not make this weird between us.”

Never had a woman say that to him before. “What exactly is this, Avery?”

Her shoulders fell. “I don’t know.”

He didn’t push, because last night defied reason. Mistake or not, it didn’t fit into any definition.

“Five minutes,” he said and took the stairs down.

****

After the longest five minutes of her life Avery snuck downstairs wearing only Quinn’s shirt since her clothes were on the deck still. She snuck into her bedroom and dressed in record time, cursing herself for sleeping with Quinn and risking his mother finding them in bed together. She should have known Ellen would come over this morning to check on her. The woman had a heart of gold and had been worried about her from the start. It was no small miracle she’d let Avery come back to Quinn’s to rest.

But God help her, she didn’t regret making love to Quinn. Best sex she’d ever had. No, they hadn’t had sex. They’d made love. And it scared her as much as the first kiss. Sex with Tim hadn’t scared her. Or made her want to run. Making love to Quinn—definitely.

Quinn was absolutely the kind of man who took your heart and soul when he walked out the door.

She just came out of her room when Ellen called out, “Avery. There you are. Quinn was just showing me your Books for Change organization on the computer. Incredible.”

Avery pasted on what she hoped was an innocent smile and turned to face Quinn’s mother. “Good morning, Ellen,” she said. “Thank you.”

Ellen bustled over and slipped an arm around her shoulders. “You shouldn’t be walking around, dear. Over to the sofa you go. Quinn, get her a cup of that tea I brought over, will you?”

Avery could smell the fresh brewed coffee and longed for a cup, but she didn’t argue on her way to the couch.

Once Ellen had her settled to her approval, she left Avery alone and went into the kitchen to make breakfast. When Quinn brought her a cup of tea she glared at him.

“She’s making us breakfast,” she whispered, accepting the cup. “Do you think she knows?”

The corner of Quinn’s mouth tilted. “No, she doesn’t know we slept together.”

Avery clapped a hand over his mouth, glancing toward the kitchen to see if Ellen had overheard. But Ellen was busy mixing batter in a stainless steel bowl. “Are you crazy? She might hear you.”

He removed her hand. “Relax. Even if she found out she wouldn’t care.”

“How can you say that? Of course she’d care. It’s me.”

His brow quirked. “Yes, it is, and I don’t want anyone else in my bed.”

Butterflies set flight low in her belly. Did Quinn Wolff really just say he wanted her in his bed? After everything, he wasn’t turning her away?

Before she could guess his intention, he dipped his head and took her mouth in a hungry kiss that was over much too soon. She was breathing hard by time he lifted his head, the cup of tea in her hand dangerously close to spilling in his lap.

“You’re going to get us in trouble,” she said, pulling away and setting the cup safely on the coffee table. “Now go help your mother before she suspects something.”

Quinn’s gaze lingered on her lips momentarily before he rose and strode into the kitchen. Avery fell back against the sofa, resisting the urge to fan herself.

Chapter Sixteen

Quinn opened his eyes to morning sun shining through the window and Avery sprawled across his chest. One of her gorgeous legs twined with his, her face tucked into his neck. As much as he wanted to roll her over and wake her up slowly, he’d broken Rule Number One last night. His rule. Again.

After breakfast with his mom—despite his insistence to Avery, he was certain she knew he’d slept with Avery—he’d spent the day avoiding her. Or, trying to. A meeting with his brothers to discuss strategy hadn’t kept his mind off her. A swim at dark hadn’t rid his body of the sexual energy humming through his system. He’d even gone through his workout routine before his swim. Hell, he’d even tried a cold shower.

Until the vixen joined him.

He scrubbed a hand over his face. What the hell had he been thinking, making love to her? Best damn sex he ever had, but it didn’t erase the fact he’d fucked up. Again. Would he never get enough of this woman?

A soft sigh escaped Avery’s lips. He stifled a groan. Even asleep she turned him on. She rubbed her foot down his leg.

Quinn clenched his jaw. Repeating his mistake again wasn’t an option.

Her hand slid down his chest.

He drew in a sharp breath and looked down to find Avery staring back at him with a wicked smile.

“Good morning,” she murmured, wrapping her hand around him.

“It’s about to be,” Quinn growled and rolled her beneath him. He kissed her, distracted from the warning in the back of his mind by the taste of her.

A noise brought his head up.

Avery made a disgruntled sound, pulling his head down. She kissed him.

The sound came again and he pulled away with a curse.

“Someone’s downstairs.” He rolled out of bed and slipped into a pair of jeans and t-shirt. “Stay here.” On his way out the door he grabbed his 9mm off the dresser.

“What? I didn’t hear anything.”

“Just stay put.”

Taking the stairs down, he skipped the ones that creaked. The hairs on the back of his neck bristled as soon as he hit the landing. Thumbing the safety, he edged his way into the hall leading to Avery’s bedroom.

A noise from inside had him swinging into the room, gun aimed at the dark-skinned man standing over Avery’s bed with a knife gripped in his raised hand.

“Don’t move,” Quinn said.

The man turned his head to look at him and Quinn recognized him from the video surveillance footage. Fury shot through him and his finger tightened on the trigger. This was the man who had managed to get close to Avery at his parents’ house. Now he’d done it again. How the hell did he get past Chris’s security system?

Only this time he’d done more than get on the property. He’d gotten inside the house. In Avery’s bedroom.

Damn it.

Because he’d been too busy making love to Avery to set the security alarm.

“Drop the knife,” he ordered, not sure if the guy understood English or not. When he didn’t obey, Quinn took a step closer and spoke in Azebek. “I won’t hesitate to put a bullet in your brain. Now drop the fucking knife.”

Challenge flashed in his black eyes. He knew Quinn needed him alive for information.

Quinn aimed the barrel of his gun at the guy’s forehead. They both knew he would die before he talked.

“Quinn?”

Avery’s voice came down the hallway, distracted him for a split second. “Avery, go back upstairs,” he barked. Fire sliced across his midsection before the gun wrenched from his hand and was kicked across the room. It slid beneath the dresser.

Reacting, he grabbed the bastard by the throat with his free hand and slammed him back against the wall. A picture shattered to the floor from impact. The knife clattered to the floor along with it. Replacing his hand with his forearm, he leaned in close to growl in Azebek, “You made a big mistake coming here. Where’s your boss?”

The man pressed his lips together.

Quinn applied a little more pressure, cutting off more air. “This isn’t going to go well for you if you remain silent.”

A slight widening of his eyes.

Quinn reached up and tore the copper earring out of his ear. The man howled, then clamped his mouth shut.

“Quinn? What’s going on?” Avery asked hesitantly from behind him.

“Get the hell out of here, Avery.”

“But—”

“Now. And close the door behind you.”

When he used that tone no one defied him. The door closed seconds later, but not without a defiant
click.
He would handle her later.

Determination filled the man’s eyes.

“You aren’t getting to her,” Quinn told him. “It’ll be over my dead body. Then you’ll have to go through my four brothers.”

The bastard spit in his face.

Disgusted, Quinn wiped it on his shoulder and drove a fist into his ribs. The guy would have doubled over if Quinn’s forearm hadn’t pinned him to the wall.

“Were you one of the bastards in the Diakameli’s bordello?” Quinn demanded, his voice deceptively calm.

The man’s nostrils flared, but his lips thinned.

“You son of a bitch.” He pressed his arm tighter. “Did you hurt her?”

No answer, but the man’s muscles went tense and his chest heaved from lack of oxygen.

“
Did you fucking hurt her?
” Quinn shouted and jammed his fist into the man’s ribs. He gasped for air, eyes going wide.

Images of Avery, bruised and battered, filled his head and he leaned on the guy even more. “This is how Avery felt when you waterboarded her,” he thundered.

“Ah, Christ.” Kell was there to muscle him off the guy and shove him aside. “Get the hell out of here, Quinn,” he ordered. “I got this.”

Quinn glared at his brother. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“Avery called me. Now go clean yourself up.” Kell motioned toward his midsection.

Rage and adrenaline still pumping hard, he looked down to see a bloody tear in his shirt. His hand shook when he pressed it to the wound and he gave himself a mental reset. This wasn’t him. He didn’t get emotional. Or lose control.

Hell, no one ever had to call his brothers because of him. He was the one they called.

“Shit,” he muttered and left the room.

****

Avery jumped to her feet when Quinn came out of her bedroom, but stopped short when she got a look at him. This was not the Quinn she knew.

Rage tightened the lines of his face and his eyes were cold and distant when they met hers. He was in a different place. Somewhere that made him shout. Something he never did. Quinn never raised his voice. Never lost control.

Whatever pushed him over the edge had to do with her. She’d heard her name on his lips in his fury.

Her eyes dropped to where his hand covered his waist, blood seeping through his fingers. “You’re hurt.” She took a step toward him.