Sworn to Protect (7 page)

“That’s blackmail,” Athena muttered. “And it worked.” She shot Quinn a grim look. “You can stay.” Definitely not the way she’d once imagined him staying at her place, but it was late, she was hungry and she wasn’t going to waste any time arguing. “I’ll go inside and open the garage door.”

Quinn’s expression was too hard to decipher. She couldn’t tell if he was pleased to be staying with her. Though she wasn’t going to admit it, and even if she did think this whole thing was overkill when she wasn’t even a clear target, she was glad he’d be at her place tonight. She’d certainly sleep better with him under the same roof. She’d just have to ignore her growing attraction to him.

* * *

Quinn looked up from the island in Athena’s kitchen as she stepped inside. He’d heard her on the stairs and knew she’d be here soon, but seeing her in the flesh still seemed to knock him back a few steps every single time. She’d already shown him to the guest room, where he’d left his duffel bag, and had told him she was changing out of her work clothes. While she’d been in her room he’d decided to put up her groceries and start on dinner for her.

Which clearly surprised her, given her raised eyebrows as she raked a gaze over him. “You’re cooking?”

“Figured you could use the break.” He’d already peeled the eggplants and was dipping the slices in egg yolk to roll in breading.

“I feel like I should tell you that you don’t have to, but… I’m mentally exhausted and starving. So thank you.” She gave him a tired smile and headed for her refrigerator. “I don’t think I have beer or anything you’d like.”

“Water’s good for me.” He motioned to the water bottle he’d grabbed earlier.

“You sure?”

He nodded, watching out of the corner of his eye as she moved to another counter and slid out a bottle of red wine before pulling down a glass from one of her cabinets. She was wearing a soft-looking gray and white striped sweater paired with gray lounge pants that fit snugly over her ass. He’d had a likely inappropriate amount of fantasies about what it would be like to run his hands over her ass—and entire body.

At that thought, his dick decided it had a mind of its own so he turned away and focused on the food. “How’re you feeling?”

“Eh, okay. The whole thing is disturbing but you and Grant are right. I’d rather be smart about this while you figure out what to do—and I assume you’re already doing something about White, right?” She pressed play on the small silver CD player on her counter and soft notes of jazz music filled the kitchen.

“Yeah. I’ve put in a call to an old buddy of mine from the local PD and he’s going to find out who Glenn’s parole officer is. What he did today wasn’t illegal, and since no one else heard him, it’s a case of he-said, she-said regardless. He won’t be called in for questioning and there’s nothing for you to do at this point other than just be aware, but I want someone official to know about this situation for the record.” Quinn hated that they couldn’t get Glenn on anything right now, but even drinking alcohol likely wasn’t going to work against him unless Glenn’s probation specifically stated he wasn’t allowed to consume alcohol at all. And in Florida unless the crime was alcohol related, probationary terms usually outlined something along the lines of not drinking to excess. Which was too damn vague in Quinn’s opinion.

“So,” Athena said, taking a seat on the opposite side of the island across from him. “Who is this guy to you? Give me all the details.”

He’d been ready for that question, and he owed her the truth. “Long story short, he was a wife-beater and I helped convince his wife to leave him.” Quinn was thankful every day for how brave Suzanne had been. She’d been so terrified of her husband’s position and looking back, Quinn realized what a leap of faith it had taken for her to come with him that day when he’d basically been a stranger to her.

“And he was a cop.” Athena sounded disgusted, the words more of a statement than question.

“Yeah. He never should have been in the position he was, but he was smart. Suzanne, that was his wife, had been terrified to leave him. Things hadn’t always been like that from what I eventually learned. Not that it would have mattered if it had been, but she married a different man than the one she ended up with.” For the most part. The signs had been there, Suzanne just hadn’t seen them. Most people wouldn’t have because while Glenn was unstable, he was manipulative and smart.

For a moment, Quinn debated whether he should tell Athena everything, but decided for full honesty. There was no reason she shouldn’t know, and to some extent she was involved with Glenn now too. “I was new to Glenn’s squad, but during a chance run-in with Suzanne I realized she was being abused. Only later did I find out that two members of our squad knew, or at least had guessed, but did nothing.” Quinn’s fingers started to clench into a fist so he forced himself to ease up. It might all be in the past but he still got pissed when he thought about two men looking the other way when a woman had been in constant danger. After everything came out, they downplayed it, made it seem as if they weren’t really sure, but screw that, Quinn didn’t care. They should have said something to someone. When he glanced at Athena, her expression was soft and understanding.

She’d worn her dark hair down and washed her makeup off. She looked so damn innocent sitting there. Probably too innocent for him, but he wasn’t walking away. Not again. “But
you
did something.”

He nodded and ripped open a bag of shredded mozzarella cheese. He’d already done the first layer of eggplants, now it was time for the cheese and sauce layer. “Yeah, got her to a shelter and from there, the system did its job for once.” Thank God. It didn’t always work out that way. Of course Suzanne would have had to skirt the system in order to get a new, fake identity and he was glad she’d found those resources.

“So he went to jail for abusing his wife and what, blamed you for the fact that
he
beat his own wife?” Now Athena sounded incredulous and pissed. Her tone made him smile and when he looked at her again, her Mediterranean blue eyes were sparking with anger.

“That and…” He internally cringed. No way around telling her. “He tried to kill me. Came to my house to supposedly just talk but then attacked me with a pistol in full view of some neighbors. I disarmed him, but one of my neighbors got it on video, along with him clearly stating he was going to kill me.” Quinn hadn’t been sure if he should tell her, but hell, she needed all the facts, especially since Glenn had personally come in contact with her.

Athena let out a small gasp, her fingers clenching around the stem of her wine glass just a fraction harder. “How is he out of prison then?”

Quinn’s jaw tightened again, but some things he had to let go. The justice system was broken and he could get angry about it, but it wouldn’t change anything. “Him trying to kill me was actually a blessing. For Suzanne at least. He wouldn’t have gone away for as long as he did for just spousal abuse.”

“So how long did he get sent away for?”

“Six years.”

She was silent a moment, watching him curiously. He swore he could actually hear her thinking. “That’s how long you’ve been with Red Stone.”

He nodded. “Yes, and to answer what you’re not asking, that whole incident is why I left the police department. Well, part of the reason anyway.” Quinn would tell her all the rest eventually, but it wasn’t important now.

“Six years doesn’t seem like a long time for murder.”

“Attempted murder. He took a deal and accepted a lesser charge to avoid a trial. And the term was eight to ten years but he got out early for good behavior. That shit…ah, stuff happens all the time, unfortunately.” He shook his head in disgust.

“So what happened to his wife, or ex-wife, I’m guessing now?” Athena took a small sip of her wine.

“I honestly don’t know. She ghosted out of town, cut contact with anyone from her past. I think she probably got a new ID and settled somewhere far from here. Just a guess, of course, but I’m glad.”

“You think he’ll go after her?”

Quinn shrugged. “No. I think if he could find her, he absolutely would, but my gut says he won’t.” Because if Quinn couldn’t locate Suzanne, then no way in hell would Glenn be able to. He didn’t have the resources anymore. Suzanne had deserved a fresh start and the truth was, just moving wouldn’t have saved her. Glenn would have come after her later and eventually killed her if he’d been able.

She shook her head. “That’s terrifying.”

“Yeah, but he fu…screwed up tonight with you. I’m on guard now, and he’s not getting past me.”

Athena was silent, contemplative for a long moment, but he saw the relief in her eyes. “What happened to the men who looked the other way, the ones who were with your squad?”

“They were eventually let go for unrelated issues. Technically anyway.” Finished with the layering, he opened her oven and slid the glass casserole dish inside.

“Ah, so the powers that be couldn’t fire them for looking the other way, but found another reason to get rid of them.” Her tone was approving.

Another reason—not that he needed one—he wanted to kiss her. “Yep. They deserved it too.” As he moved to the sink to wash his hands, she spoke again, and this time her voice was tentative.

“So…it’s none of my business, but you opened the door earlier so I’m just going to ask. When you said you haven’t gone out with anyone since me, does that mean you haven’t slept with anyone else either?”

Because the two were very different things.

She didn’t say the words, but he heard the silent question just the same. Grabbing a dishtowel, he dried his hands as he turned to face her. In that moment he was struck by how innocent she looked. He hadn’t thought he wanted that in a woman, hadn’t thought he wanted to settle down at all, but being in Athena’s kitchen now…he could see getting used to this, being with a woman like her day in and day out. Hell, not like her,
only
her.

“I haven’t slept with anyone else. Haven’t wanted to.” Confessing that took a lot more effort than he’d realized, but he was glad she knew. He wasn’t done pursuing her, not by a long shot.

Her lips parted just the slightest fraction, as if he’d truly surprised her. Good. Taking a chance, he covered the short distance between them and moving slowly, reached out and tucked a few stray strands of her dark hair behind her ear.

She sucked in a shaky breath, her eyes flaring with an emotion he recognized well; lust. He wondered if she was remembering just how hot things had been between them. He hadn’t been able to get her out of his head for two months. Hadn’t been able to forget the way she’d looked as she straddled him in his truck, the little moans she’d made when he’d gently teased her nipples with his fingers—unfortunately over her lacy bra. She’d been so sensual, so reactive, and he couldn’t get enough.

When she swallowed hard enough for him to hear, he let his hand drop.

Not because he thought she wouldn’t be receptive if he kissed her. He could tell she was. Their attraction wasn’t the issue. But he didn’t want her to ever come back and say she’d made a decision under stress, that she regretted it. The next time they came together it wouldn’t be because of a situation where they were forced together and she’d just been terrified by an asshole.

Because the next time, they weren’t stopping at just kissing and he wasn’t letting Athena go. Clearing his throat, he took a step back. “I’m going to grab a shower, but the timer should go off in an hour.” He’d be back down before it did, but needed some distance or he was going to forget his good intentions.

Chapter 6

One week later

Athena peeked through the peephole of her front door and let out a little sigh of relief to see Ivan Mitchell waiting for her. She was flying out on one of Red Stone’s private jets today and he was her escort to the airport. Harrison wanted her in Vegas a day before the tradeshow started and that was fine with her.

The past week she’d practically lived at the office, mostly because of work, but she’d also been taking all her lunches in the lobby deli because of ‘the incident’ as she’d begun to think of it. She’d literally just gone from home to work and back again. Since the past week had consisted of a lot of conference calls and other types of planning that she could work on in-office, the schedule had been fine. But it wasn’t a long-term option and she wasn’t screwing up her new job because of this thing with Glenn White. If she needed to meet a potential client out for lunch—which she knew would happen often—she was doing it.

On top of everything else, she’d spent one night at her parent’s house because her mom had freaked out when Stephanos—the traitor—had broken down and told her about what happened. Not something Athena wanted to repeat any time soon. Whenever she went home her parents treated her like she was twelve. To top it off,
all
her sisters were in high school now so it was constant World War III drama over there. Thankfully she, with Belle and Grant’s help, had managed to convince her mom that she was fine to move back home. Athena would have left regardless, but it was nice that her cousin helped smooth the way.

Glenn White hadn’t made any more contact with Athena and none at all with Quinn. Since White hadn’t done anything illegal the police weren’t involved. That didn’t mean Quinn wasn’t in a sort of protective overdrive mode. Which she understood, but she couldn’t let her life revolve around something that may or may not happen. And he’d wanted to stay over too, but after that first night she’d had to say no. She had a security system—literally the best since it was from Red Stone’s very small residential department—so no one was getting into her house. Plus Quinn and Grant made her check in with them every night and every morning. Overkill, but not the worst thing in the world to have people care about you.