Page 5

“Want anything to drink? I’ve got water, coffee, some sports drinks…”

I hold up my coffee cup from my stop on the way here. “I’m all good, Quinn, thanks.”

Tony gestures that he doesn’t want anything, looking around Quinn’s apartment. It’s a tiny studio apartment off someone’s garage, but it’s filled with natural light from a large sliding glass door that leads to a small deck. We’re only a few blocks from the beach, so the view from here is spectacular.

“It’s not much, but it’s all I need,” Quinn says, noticing Tony’s attention to the features of the room.

Tony points to the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves on one side of the room. “Do you mind?” Quinn shakes his head, gesturing for Tony to poke around as much as he likes.

“I thought you were still living with your sister?”

“Reina is doing so well, I thought it was time to give her some space.”

I raise an eyebrow, unconvinced.

Quinn huffs. “Fine, she kicked me out. She’s been dating someone, and they moved in together. Apparently, I made her girlfriend uncomfortable, so I wasn’t invited to stay.”

“Your name is Rutherford?” Tony blurts out, holding a framed diploma.

“No, it isn’t. Just Quinn, please.” He says it politely, but firmly enough that there is no room for further discussion on the matter. Tony nods, getting the point.

Trying to change the subject, I joke with Quinn. “I can’t imagine how an overprotective little brother third wheeling all of their dates and private time would make anyone uncomfortable.”

“You know what?” Quinn makes like he’s going to lunge for me, and I shriek, too easily falling into an over-casual playfulness. He chases me around the small kitchen island like we never parted ways. Like I never ghosted him.

Tony clears his throat, and I force my shoulders back. Right. Professionalism, .

“How about we get to the point, yeah?” Quinn says, winking at me. “I’ve been at work all morning, but I just about finished last night,” he tells Tony as he pulls out the documents I know he must have spent all night on.

I leave the two of them to bond over illegal document forgery and walk over to the bookshelves. He’s got so many pictures of himself and his sister Reina framed and displayed all over his apartment. You can really feel how much he loves her.

She’s the reason he got into this business. Nearly twenty years ago, when Quinn was eight years old and Reina was sixteen, she was kidnapped and sold to a trafficking ring. They come from a wealthy family, so at first, their parents and the police assumed they took her for ransom. But no one ever contacted them for money.

It took over ten years for her to be found and brought home, and the only reason she was found was because of Quinn. At eighteen, he did some snooping around his father’s office and learned the truth. Rutherford Quinn Senior had sold his daughter into a human trafficking ring to save his own skin and fortune after a deal gone wrong. It’s why he refuses to use his first name, why he cut all ties with his family, and why he moved all the way from Hawaii to get away from his family and help Reina get a new start.

On top of running the library’s information center, Quinn makes good money forging all forms of identification and documents. It allows him to invest in his true passion, which is providing new identities to women who have been trafficked, abused, or escaped dangerous situations. He set up an entire underground network to help women like his sister, pouring his entire self and every dollar he can into saving them.

A few hours and a pizza delivery later, Tony has a packet of new identities in his hand.

“So, are you going to tell us who they’re for?” I ask, picking the onions off the thin crust veggie delight pizza that Tony insisted on ordering.

Tony looks apprehensive, and while I want to be annoyed, I also understand.

“Look, you know both of our real identities now. You know where Quinn lives and what he does, considering the packet of perfectly forged documents in your hand. And I’m sure soon enough you’ll probably know where I live, too.” Tony’s eyebrow lifts, Quinn snorts, and I try to cover the blush that creeps up my neck with an eye roll.

“The point is, I could really use your help, and I think you could use us, too. You have a vested interest in Jackson Adley, and I can get you information. But I don’t want a partnership with you if we can’t trust each other.”

He hesitates for a moment, his jaw working as he contemplates his next move.

“Bennet Adley,” he answers my question simply, like it’s no big deal. He’s looking me in the eye so I know he’s serious, but disbelief has me wanting to jump out of my skin.

My heart drops. Of all the luck… “You’re kidding me, right?”

“Who’s Bennet Adley?” Quinn asks, looking back and forth between me and Tony like he’s watching a tennis match. We both ignore his question.

“I’m not, but he has more interest in taking his father down than you do, believe me.”

Quinn’s mouth gapes open, his eyes lit with excitement as he puts the puzzle together. “Whaaat?” he whispers, rubbing his hands together. He seems to be enjoying the unfolding drama.

“So Bennet Adley is, what, trying to leave the country? Is he running?”

“I don’t exactly know yet. There was some sort of accident, a woman was hurt, possibly running from some kind of abuse. She can’t remember anything, not even who she is. Bennet and these four other guys, all of whom he had me do background checks on, are trying to help her. He asked me if I knew anyone that could get him documents quickly just in case they needed them, said he has a bad feeling about it. They might not even use them, but keeping this girl safe is his top priority until they can figure things out.”

My gaze cuts to Quinn and I catch a little spark of admiration. This is right up his alley. “We’ll help you help Bennet,” I say, and Quinn nods.

Tony looks at both of us before clearing his throat. “Okay, yeah. I’m in.”

“Sweet!” Quinn jumps up. “I think this calls for a little celebration.”

He grabs a bottle off the top of the refrigerator, along with a few shot glasses. He sets the glasses on the table and fills them up, replacing the round cork top in the bottle.

Not noticing, or simply not caring, that neither Tony nor I have stepped up to accept a glass, he raises his shot in the air and looks at us expectantly. “Let’s loosen up. To trust?”

I see where he’s going with this, and drinking is certainly a good way to “loosen up” and get to know each other, but I’m not sure I trust myself around these two. Tony may or may not be interested in the slightest, but damn if I don’t want to make a sandwich in this kitchen.

My skin flushes at the thought and I grab my shot just to cover it, as if anyone in the room could read my thoughts.

“To trust,” I repeat.

Tony lifts his shot as well. “To trust,” he murmurs.

Each of us throws back the shot. The burn runs down my throat and into my stomach, heating me from the inside out.

“Hey Mouse,” Quinn blurts with a challenging grin, filling my glass again. “Truth or dare?”

“Nope. No. Nuh-uh. Bad idea.”

“Oh, come on, what better way to get to know each other than a little team building game?”

Cutting my eyes to Tony, I raise an eyebrow, questioning whether he’s down for this. He seems pretty uptight, so I’m surprised when he shrugs and pulls out a chair. “Sure, why not? I’m off tomorrow.”

I’m not, but Mr. Adley isn’t likely to be back in the office. As long as I answer the phone when he calls and I have my laptop and schedule nearby, I don’t have to be in the office. If Mr. Uptight is in…

“Alright, fine. But we’re going to need snacks.”

Quinn pumps a fist and grabs some veggies, hummus, and pita crackers from the kitchen.

“There you go, Bunny,” he says as he pours our next shots.

“Really?” Tony deadpans, unamused as ever.

“Dude, you eat like a rabbit.”

I nearly choke on an olive. “Ohmygod. Bugs Bunny!”

Tony doesn’t look as amused, but Quinn and I are cracking up. I’m laughing so hard tears spring to my eyes.

With his eyes rolled to the ceiling, as if searching for divine help to put up with us, Tony digs into the snacks with the rest of us.

“So, which was it going to be?” he asks.

“Do what?”

“Quinn asked you truth or dare, so are you going to start us off on this little team-building party?”

“Alright. Dare,” I say, feigning nonchalance.

“Ooh, bold little Mouse chooses dare first.”

I probably come off braver than I actually am, but I figure dares are going to be tamer before everyone’s had a few drinks. Hopefully, because I don’t want to drink too much around these two. Even sober, it’s tempting to give in to my inhibitions. I’ve been sitting between these two very overwhelming presences all day, and the pull is something else.

Absent-mindedly, I grab a lighter off a table and fiddle with it.

“Probably assumes we’ll go easy on her while we’re still sober,” Tony says. My eyes narrow at him, making denials with my expression. He smirks, and it does something to my insides.

“Okay fine, truth first then.”

“What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?” Tony asks coyly.

My heart rate increases, and I look down at the lighter, staring into the flames before closing the lid and snuffing it out. “A few years ago, I set one of Adley’s satellite labs on fire,” I whisper.

Tony just stares at me. He worked there long before I did and probably remembers it happening. It was shortly before I got my job working for Adley. I just found proof that my parents had gone through a medical trial at that lab.

“I’m not sorry. And I enjoyed watching it burn.” I’m not sure why I feel the need to add that information. But they may as well know what they’re getting themselves into.

The room is silent, and I feel positive that everyone is about to get up and walk out rather than being tied to an arsonist.

Play it cool, . You’re cool. This is fine, it’s fine. Everything’s fine.

Quinn makes a thoughtful sound, and I look at him expectantly.

“I dare you to kiss Tony. A proper kiss, slip him some tongue and all that.”

“Seriously?” I can’t even decide if I’m mad that I’m expected to take another turn. I’m mostly glad for the reprieve and the return of a more comfortable type of tension.

This project has already gone south pretty quickly.

When I grab for my shot glass, Quinn groans, disappointed that I’m not doing his dare. I take my shot, letting the burn of the tequila settle for a moment before I stand and grasp the lapel of Tony’s open button-down shirt. Pulling myself against him, I press my mouth to his, taking him by surprise.

At first he doesn’t react, his posture stiff. But after a long enough moment that I think I’ve embarrassed myself, he softens. His lips move against mine, tentatively at first, but then his arm wraps around my back, pulling me up to his level as his tongue runs along the seam of my mouth. Opening for him, a shiver runs through me as his tongue dips into my mouth, caressing mine and pulling my mind even farther into the gutter.

I don’t know if five minutes go by, or an hour, but I get lost kissing Tony. It’s not until the pungent smell of weed fills the air that I remember where I am or what I’m doing. I’ve crawled into Tony’s lap, straddling him. My breaths are heavy as I break away, our eyes meeting. His eyes are dilated, lids heavy with lust, but he also looks as surprised as I feel.

The attraction was obvious, but I feel like there are literal sparks of electricity in the air. I feel like my hair should be standing on end with the amount of static in the room.

“Damn,” Quinn breathes, blowing out a puff from the joint he’s holding. He holds it out, offering it to each of us. We both decline.

Not that I’m against partaking on occasion, but I’m already a little too close to losing myself.

Climbing off Tony’s lap, noting the impressive outline of an erection down the leg of his jeans, I swallow and try to regain my composure without being too obvious. I feel a little better when I notice Tony takes the shot in front of him, even though it’s not even his turn.

Picking up the bottle, I refill the glasses, intentionally shorting mine a bit. No one balks. I’m a good bit smaller than either of these two.

“Okay, Tony? truth or dare?” I choose Tony because I feel like I need to break the tension, and also because I know nothing about him. I’m not na?ve enough to think that he’ll forget about my truth just because there’s sexual tension between us.

“Truth.”

“How long have you been working for Bennet Adley to take his father down?”

“Two years, but I’ve done security for him for longer. He eventually had to let me in on what he was doing because I would have access to some files and he needed to know if he could trust me. I’m pretty sure he was testing me for about a year, sharing intentional, but subtle, leaks. He’s a good guy, despite his father.”

“How much do you know about Jackson Adley?”

“Enough to know he’s not a good guy and that he’s definitely been involved in some illegal activity, which you already know.”

I nod. “I think BioCere could be the key to taking him down. Have you ever come across the name in any of your searches?”

“This is a lot of questions for one round.”

I can’t tell if he’s trying to deter my line of questioning because he isn’t sure he can trust me, or if he’s really interested in getting back to the game.