Page 2

Two

Roman

I tilted my head back and felt the cold chill as the beer slid down my throat. It was hot and muggy, making the buttoned-down white shirt stick to my body. The music played loudly throughout the backyard as lights lit up the dance floor where a handful of women in super short dresses were dancing.

I didn't have to look at them to know that they were watching me.

Each time the song changed, they would glance at me over their shoulder as they rubbed their hands up and down their body and thrust their hips along to the beat.

There was so much effort put into each move, and I couldn't find the energy to try to engage any of them.

There was only one woman who had caught my attention tonight, and it fucking sucked because there was no way that I could talk to her.

It wasn't like I was shy or didn't know how to talk to women.

It was because she was my best friend's little sister, and I knew that he would kill me if he knew the thoughts going through my head every time I looked at her.

Quinn wasn't anything like the other women around us.

Her raven black hair was pulled into a loose ponytail, high up on her head, and she looked comfortable in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.

She didn't wear the club outfits, or the heavy makeup that Mike's cousins were wearing—who I was informed weren't off-limits when I tried to get out of having a drink with one of them.

She also looked more relaxed than the handful of FBI agents that lined the wall with their water bottles clutched to their chest, leaving wet marks on the silk dress shirts they probably wore every day, even outside of work.

I knew I shouldn't be so judgmental about the people Mike worked with, but it had kept me entertained for the past hour as I studied everyone at his birthday party and decided who was family, who was a coworker, and who was the unfortunate soul lucky to be considered a friend—me.

Mike didn't want a big party for his birthday, but his baby sister, Sonia, decided they needed to have one.

His mom gave in, and they put together a big bash in her backyard and told him he had to invite a few friends.

Sonia had handled the rest of the guest list—which explained why half of their cousins and other distant relatives were there.

"Why don't you come dance with me, Papi?" one of his cousins—I had no fucking clue what her name was—asked me, breaking me out of my trance as I stared at Quinn while she spoke to her daughter, Rosie.

"Na, I don't dance," I lied, leaning back to avoid being too close to her.

"It's okay, I can teach you," she purred, reaching for me with the longest red nails I had ever seen.

"He doesn't need dance lessons," Mike cut in, stepping around her to take the seat next to me. He handed me a beer and rested his ankle on his knee. "He’s the best dancer here.”

This made her eyes light up as my eyes narrowed in his direction.

“Go on, Papi ,” he taunted, nodding toward the dance floor. “Show her what you’re working with.”

I was about to open my mouth to object when I spotted Quinn being led to the dance floor by Rosie.

“Fine,” I muttered, setting my beer bottle down on the table between us. I got up and took her devil claw as she shimmied her hips toward the dance floor.

Once we were on the wooden deck with everyone else, I tried to force a smile as she looked at me over her shoulder while grinding her ass against my groin.

Quinn turned in time to see it, her cheeks splitting while she tried to contain her laughter.

She pulled her lips together in a thin line and held her hand in the air as she twirled Rosie a few times.

It only took half a turn before she spotted me and released her mom’s hand to rush over to me.

“Dance with me?” she asked, putting her hands together in front of her as she begged. I smiled down sweetly at my favorite “niece,” thankful that she had just saved the day.

“Sorry, I can’t say no,” I said to the devil woman and turned to Rosie before she could object. I caught a brief glance of her flicking her long, dark red hair over her shoulder before stomping off in her stripper heels.

“You saved me, kiddo,” I said to Rosie as I held her hands and danced with her.

“Yeah, you looked super scared,” she giggled. “Mommy says we should always help people when they need it.”

“Your mommy is right,” I agreed, looking up at Quinn as she watched us.

I spun Rosie around, noticing how much she looked like Quinn with her dark hair and brilliant blue eyes.

Quinn’s eyes were a light shade of blue that sometimes turned gray, like Mike’s, but Rosie had more of her dad’s sapphire blue eyes that made them absolutely mesmerizing.

I dreaded the day when she was old enough to date, knowing that Mike would have his hands full as an overprotective uncle.

We danced for a few more minutes until the song ended, and Rosie declared that she needed a drink of water. Quinn was about to go with her when her mom held up a hand and waited for Rosie to join her before leading her into the kitchen.

“Do you want to dance?” I asked, holding my hand out and hoping she would take it.

“Sure,” she smiled, letting me pull her into me as we moved our hips to the salsa music.

People who really knew me knew that I loved to dance. When we were younger, I was always known as the life of the party because I couldn’t sit still. It didn’t matter what kind of music it was—I was moving.

Tonight was different, though. Maybe it was the gentle breeze that brushed past us and caressed our hot skin, or maybe it was how Quinn’s petite body fit perfectly against mine.

Either way, I didn’t want to stop or let go.

The song changed, and I looked up in time to find Sonia watching us with a mischievous grin as a slow, sexy song started playing.

I felt Quinn’s body tense slightly with the way I held her and thought about pulling away some so I didn’t make her uncomfortable.

“I can’t remember the last time I danced like this,” she said nervously, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

“Me neither,” I agreed. But it wasn’t because I didn’t dance much these days; it was because I had never danced with someone who made me feel what I was feeling while holding Quinn.

“I don’t think Justin and I even danced like this at our wedding,” she laughed, then looked away. I knew that it was still hard for her to talk about him after he died tragically on the job. Justin was also in the FBI—witness protection, just like Mike, though they rarely worked together.

I didn’t know what to say, so I stayed quiet and gently rubbed my thumb soothingly over her back.

Her mom came out of the kitchen a few minutes later without Rosie. I noticed her at the same time that Quinn did. Suddenly, she pulled away from me, her hands still gripping my biceps as her eyes rapidly scanned the backyard.

“Where is Rosie?” she asked, panic heavy in her voice.

She spun around, standing on her tiptoes, trying to get a better view.

“Let’s go ask your mom,” I offered, gently leading her that way with my hand on her lower back.

The party was still going with people packed into the small backyard. We wedged our way through until we reached Sandra.

“Mom, where’s Rosie?” Quinn asked, grabbing her arm to spin her away from the older man she was talking to.

“She’s inside using the restroom,” her mom answered, her brow furrowed in response to Quinn’s tone.

“By herself?” Quinn muttered angrily before rushing inside.

I followed behind her, ready to help with whatever was upsetting her.

She rushed through the kitchen, bumping shoulders with a few people before she started pounding on the bathroom door.

“Rosie! Open the door,” she yelled.

A few minutes passed before she pounded again.

“Rosie—” she started but was cut off when Rosie came out of a bedroom with a man behind her.

“I’m right here, Mom,” she said.

Quinn’s eyes widened as she looked between the two of them.

“What were you doing?” Quinn asked, reaching for her daughter and pulling her out of the man’s grip as he rested his hand on her shoulder. She squatted in front of her and held her hands.

“I needed the bathroom, but someone was in it. So then I went to Grandma’s, but I couldn’t figure out how to get the door to close because it was stuck. Uncle Saul heard me and came to help me.”

Quinn stood up and tucked Rosie into her side, facing me instead of the man she was calling Uncle Saul.

“You only have one uncle, Rosie, and that’s Uncle Mike. We don’t go anywhere with someone we don’t know, understand?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Rosie replied quietly, tucking her chin.

“It wasn’t a big deal,” Uncle Saul said. “I didn’t want her wandering around by herself, so I popped in to check on her.”

“Thank you,” Quinn said through clenched teeth. “In the future, she needs to come find me instead.”

“Hey, no harm, no foul,” he laughed and held his hands up while Quinn shot daggers through her eyes. He walked by and patted Rosie’s head before getting lost in the crowd.

“Mom, can I go outside again?” Rosie asked, tugging on her arm. “Uncle Mike is right there.”

Quinn turned her head and nodded as Mike gave her a quizzical look. He reached his hand out and waited until Rosie took it before leading her outside.

I stood by Quinn and noticed how her fingers trembled while she closed her eyes and let out the shaky breath she had been holding.

“What’s going on, Quinn?” I asked, gently touching her arm.

She crossed her arms tightly over her chest and avoided looking at me.

“Nothing,” she lied.

“Bullshit,” I hissed out quietly to avoid drawing attention to us.

Her brow raised.

I folded my arms over my chest, matching her, aside from my chest being much broader and more muscular than her feminine one that I was trying hard not to stare at.

“It’s my job to read people, and I can tell that you’re lying.”

When she continued to refuse to answer me, I let out a heavy sigh and tilted my head to look at her.

“Just tell me what’s going on, Quinn.”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because I can’t.”

I paused for a moment, trying to figure out the best way to approach this. I knew Quinn well enough to know that once she shuts down on something, there’s no coming back from it. Something was going on, and I was determined to find out what it was.

“If the US Government thinks that I’m trustworthy, surely you can too,” I offered with the smile that usually got me whatever I wanted.

For a split second, she looked like she was considering telling me before she snapped her jaw shut and pulled her shoulders back.

“It’s getting late. I need to get Rosie home.”

She didn’t look back as she stormed out and found her still with Mike, dancing happily in the grass.

I followed after her but kept my distance, watching as they made their way to his mom to say goodbye.

She frowned and looked disappointed but could tell by Quinn’s face that it wasn’t the time to press her to stay.

They slipped out quietly, with Quinn keeping a hand on Rosie’s shoulder the entire time, almost like she was afraid to let her out of her sight. I walked over and sat down next to Mike in the same seats we were sitting in earlier. I scanned the crowd noticing it had started to thin out some.

I looked down at my watch. It was barely after ten, but apparently, people our age didn’t party as hard as we did twenty-some years ago.

I spotted the guy who had been with Rosie in her grandma’s bedroom and was about to ask about him when I heard Mike mutter, “who the fuck invited her?” before slouching down in his chair and pulling his Yankees ballcap lower over his face.

“Nice to see you too,” the woman said with fake enthusiasm, hitting the side of his arm with her tiny purse. I knew it had an official name, but I could care less what it was.

“To what do I owe this pleasure?” Mike asked, looking her up and down before getting bored and looking away.

Whoever she was, was dressed nicely in a black dress wrapped tightly around her body, showing off some major curves. Her black heels gave her an extra four inches, making her look even taller than she already was.

“I’m here to meet someone,” she replied. She looked around as Mike stood up, then seemed to notice me. Not wanting to be rude, I joined them and extended my hand to hers when she said, “I’m Anastasia.”

“Roman,” I said, biting the inside of my cheek when I realized exactly who she was. “It’s so nice of you to join us for Mike’s big birthday bash.” I clapped my hand on his shoulder and felt him elbow me in the ribs.

“Well, given that I know how much he would enjoy that, I’m not here for it.” She laughed lightly and looked around. “I’m supposed to meet someone here, but I don’t see them.”

“Meet someone?” Mike asked, head tilted to the side. “Like as a date ?”

I watched the blush creep up her neck.

“If you must know, yes, like a date.”

“Dressed like that?”

“What’s wrong with how I’m dressed?” She planted a hand firmly on her hip.

“Nothing, it’s just a little...” Mike threw his hands in the air when he couldn’t think of the words he wanted to use.

“Sexy?” she offered with a smug smile.

“There you are,” a man interrupted, bumping my shoulder as he squeezed his way between Mike and me to hug her. “Are you ready to go?”

“I sure am,” she replied sweetly, almost flinching when he slid his arm around her waist.

“Cool,” he said heavily, the smell of beer heavy on his breath. “Happy birthday, man. See you on Monday.”

As they left, I felt my stomach knot tighter when I watched Uncle Saul walk out with Mike’s archnemesis from work.

“Who is that guy?” I asked, nodding to them as they left.

“Saul, he works with me. So does Satan’s mistress.”

“I’ve heard a lot about Anastasia,” I laughed. “But you never mentioned that she’s fucking hot.”

“She’s not hot,” he scoffed and furrowed his brow. “She’s an annoying pain in the ass who gets in my way instead of helping.”

“Sounds like you like her,” I teased. “Maybe you should ask her out?”

“Over your dead body,” he grunted.

“Isn’t it supposed to be over your own dead body?” I asked.

“Not with her. She’s like a fucking cat, and there's no escaping once she digs her claws in. I’d have to use your dead body as a barrier first.”