Quinn (The Beck Brothers #3) (17 page)

Henry placed his hand on Quinn’s shoulder and squeezed. “You
can tell us, Quinn.”

For the first time, Quinn didn’t flinch and pull away. He
needed the comfort, welcomed it even. Quinn pulled in a deep breath then blew
it out shakily; he swallowed hard and looked at each of his brothers’ faces.
They were all concerned, but there for him. Did he have the courage to tell
them the secret he gas kept inside for most of his life? What would they think
of him once they found out?

“Quinn, what is it?” Christian asked, placing his hand on
Quinn’s arm.

Quinn hesitated for a moment before speaking the words he
has never wanted or expected to say to his brothers. “When I was
ten...Johnny...he...he raped me before moving to Texas,” Quinn said, his throat
tight.

Christian and Henry both sucked in a sharp breath and
Sebastian just stared at him, his face eerily blank.

“What?” Sebastian asked low and deadly, lowering his now
bloody shirt from his face.

Quinn grimaced. “Please don’t make me repeat myself,” he
whispered.

“Quinn,” Christian breathed, his face was a mask of pain and
anguish as he rubbed his chest with the heel of his palm.

“Why didn’t you tell anyone?” Henry asked hoarsely.

“I was ten and he made me promise not to. I didn’t know any
better,” Quinn croaked.

All the emotion that he forced himself not to feel all of
these years exploded out of him. A ragged sob burst out of him. He slapped a
hand over his mouth and squeezed his eyes shut. He held it in for so long that
now that it was coming out, he couldn’t stop it. Christian was the first to
act, practically slamming into Quinn, wrapping his arms around him. Quinn
tucked his face in Christian’s neck and just sobbed, clutching the front of his
brother’s shirt for dear life. Henry and Sebastian moved in and wrapped their
arms around both Christian and him.

Quinn had no idea how long the four of them stayed like that
because they didn’t let Quinn go until he stopped crying. When they finally
broke apart, Sebastian slammed his shirt to the ground and started for the
door.
 

“Sebastian? Where are you going?” Christian called after
him.

“I’m going to kill that motherfucker,” he growled and tore
open the front door.

“Shit!” Henry said and started after him.

Christian looked at Quinn. “I wish you would have told us
sooner,” he said softly.

“I...I couldn’t,” Quinn said, his voice pained and he shook
his head.

Christian nodded in understanding. Before either of them
could say anything else, they heard Sebastian screaming viciously, “YOU SICK
BASTARD! I’LL KILL YOU FOR WHAT YOU DID TO MY BROTHER!”

Quinn groaned.
Dammit!
 
Now everyone
was going to know. Christian placed a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay, Quinn.
It’s not going to matter. We love you and we’re here for you. Mom and Dad, too.
You know that,” Christian murmured gently. “Now let me go help Henry restrain
Sebastian.”
 
He sighed and trotted
into the house.

Quinn watched through the open door. Sebastian was standing
over Johnny, his hand wrapped up in Johnny’s shirt, pulling him up slightly so
that he could smash his face with his other fist. Henry shoved Sebastian away
so he could get in a couple of good shots. Even Christian went over and got in
a hit.

His mother, Anne, was repeatedly screaming, “What’s going
on?”
 
His father was arguing with
his Uncle Jack. His Aunt Marie was standing off to the side, staring in horror.
Claire and Raelynn went out back with the kids to keep them out of the way.
Margot slipped past everyone and came out the front door.

Margot had tears running down her face and she broke into a
little jog to reach him. Once she did, she threw her arms around his neck and
kissed him fiercely. Quinn wrapped his arms around her and held her close. God,
how he needed her; he needed her like he needed air; she has become everything
to him. Margot pulled back and cupped his face in her hands.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

Quinn shook his head.

“What can I do? Is there anything?” she asked, her voice and
face tortured.

Quinn shook his head again. He reached up and removed
Margot’s hands from his face. “I need to be alone for a while,” he said.
 
He turned and started walking down the
sidewalk.

Margot didn’t argue or even call after him. She understood,
and he knew she did - just one of the things that he loved about her. She
seemed to understand when he needed space, and right now, he needed it, badly;
otherwise, he was going to freak out again. Quinn walked until it was dark. He
didn’t pay attention to where he was going, although when he looked around, he
knew exactly where he was; however, inside he was lost- so very lost.

~~~~~

Margot stared at Quinn’s back as he walked away. She
understood that he needed some space after what just happened. She was still in
shock, too. When they walked in the door and Quinn froze as he did, staring at
the heavyset man talking to Christian, she knew. Margot knew that he was the
man who abused Quinn when he was ten.

Then Quinn went into a rage. Margot has never seen anything
like it, and it had scared the ever-living crap out of her. What freaked her
out the most was how silent Quinn was through the whole thing. He did not utter
one word, and the only sound he made was when Sebastian put him in a headlock -
even then, it was only a grunt. Scary… Quinn had been seriously scary in those
few moments while he was attacking his cousin.

Margot saw the looks on his brothers’ faces when he was
strangling Johnny. They were stunned, so dumbfounded that they just stood there
and watched for what seemed like forever. Finally, Sebastian snapped out of it
and grabbed Quinn before he could kill the man. Sebastian really used his
muscle, too, because Quinn did not want to let go.

Margot turned and walked back into the house. Christian was
trying to hold back both Henry and Sebastian as they argued with Johnny and his
father. Johnny screamed that he was going to call the police and press charges.
Henry Sr., who had been silently watching, burst into action; he gripped Johnny
up by his shirt collar and got right in his broken and bloody face.

“If you think for one second that you are going to threaten
my family after what you did to my son, you have another thing coming. I will
shove a broomstick so far up your ass that you will have splinters on your
tongue.
 
Do you hear me, boy?” he
snarled.

Henry, Sebastian, and Christian all turned slowly and gaped
at their father. Apparently, they have never heard anything like that ever come
out of their father’s mouth. Margot had to agree that it was extremely
impressive.

“Yes…yes, sir, I changed my mind…I won’t press charges…”
Johnny sputtered.

“Take your son, Jack, and get the hell out of my house. I
never want to see his disgusting face again. You and I will talk later,” Henry
Sr. said to his brother as he shoved Johnny backwards into his father’s arms.

Margot and the Becks watched in silence as Johnny and his
parents left the house. As soon as the front door closed behind them, everyone
turned to look at Henry Sr.
 
He
glanced at everyone and shrugged.

“What?”

“What? Dad! That was totally badass!” Sebastian exclaimed.
“You told Johnny that ‘you would shove a broomstick so far up his ass that he
was going to have splinters on his tongue!’ Where the hell did that come from?
It was fucking awesome!”

Henry Sr. shrugged again. “That little prick hurt my son,”
he said as if that explained it all, which basically it did.

“What did he do to Quinn?” Anne asked from where she stood
by the couch.
 

Henry Sr. and his sons turned sympathetic gazes on her; she
must not have picked up on what Johnny did to Quinn. She looked between all of
them nervously. Maybe she did get it and just did not want to believe it.
Margot did not blame her, she could not imagine how she would feel if something
like that happened to her child.

“Mom,” Henry said gently. “Mom, Johnny raped Quinn when he
was ten.”

Anne’s eyes widened and she started shaking her head
furiously as she repeated, “No,” over and over. She dropped down onto the couch
and just stared off into space. Henry Sr. went over and sat down next to her;
he put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. He whispered quietly
in her ear, but Margot was too far away to catch any of it; she was sure he was
trying to console her.

“Margot?” she heard Henry’s voice ask.

Margot tore her eyes away from Anne and Henry Sr. to look at
Henry Jr. “Oui?” she replied quietly.

“Where is Quinn?” he asked, concern furrowing his brow.

“He said he needed to be alone for a while then started
walking down the street.”

“Did he say where he was going?” Christian asked.

“Non, I do not think he even knew, he just wanted to be
alone,” Margot answered.

“Alright, let’s give him some time, and if he’s not back in
fifteen minutes, we’ll go look for him,” Henry said.

Everyone agreed. Margot took a seat on the smaller of the
two couches. She could not imagine how Quinn must be feeling right now; he had
to be an absolute mess. She wished that he wanted to be with her instead of
alone, but that was who Quinn was. He would pick being alone over being coddled
any day, so all she could do now was to wait for him to return.
 

~~~~~

Christian’s cell phone rang about thirty minutes after Henry
and Sebastian went out looking for Quinn; Henry found him and was bringing him
back. Johnny and his parents left with Johnny cradling a bag of ice to his
face. That asshole had the nerve to say that he was going to call the cops and
press charges. Christian’s father, Henry Sr., threatened Johnny, saying that if
he called the cops then he would ‘shove a broom handle so far up his ass that
he’d have splinters on his tongue.’
 
Johnny’s reaction was comical; he immediately paled, and said that he
changed his mind about pressing charges.

Christian still couldn’t believe that Quinn kept something
like that a secret for twenty years! Not that Christian had any room to talk;
he has been keeping his secret for about twelve years or so. He was also the
biggest hypocrite ever, telling Quinn that his family was going to love him no
matter what. Shit, Christian needed to heed his own words. He was just waiting
for his balls to make an appearance.

Christian paced in his parents’ living room. His mother,
Anne, was sitting on the couch, staring into space. Henry was the one to tell
her what happened, and she has been out of it ever since. His father was
sitting on the couch next to her, rubbing her back. Quinn’s girlfriend, Margot,
was sitting on the love seat, her elbows on her knees with her chin resting on
her palms. Claire and Raelynn were in the kitchen feeding the kids, but
Christian knew that they were both very upset.

Christian heard a car door slam outside and turned to face
the door. Sebastian walked in, his nose a bit swollen, and both of his eyes
were turning black and blue. Christian hoped he healed fast because his wedding
was in a week, and black eyes would not look good for pictures.

“Babe? Can you get me some ice?” he called before sitting on
the love seat next to Margot.

Margot turned to look at Sebastian’s face. “Quinn got you good,
non?”

Sebastian snorted then groaned and touched his nose
delicately. “Hell yeah, he did,” he grumbled.