Page 134 of Savage Suit

She and I looked at Reid.

“I’m insulted!” he said in outrage.

“Enough,” Soraya inserted. “We need to get back to the matter at hand. The way you two—three,” she amended at Quinn’s raised eyebrows, “are skulking like preschoolers behind Ryan’s back and have the fucking audacity to bring me into your bullshit.”

“As I was saying, Ryan has issues,” Quinn said. “Fuckhead wasn’t happy being miserable on his own. Nor was he content with my mother’s wretchedness. He had to fuck up my sister, too.”

“Quinn, your father—”

She stiffened. “Fuck him, Reid.” Her voice trembled and her hazel eyes glistened. “I’m worried about Ryan.” Drawing in a deep breath, she swallowed then focused on Soraya. “I’m going to tell her. I just want her to give Noah a fair chance. I think she has fallen for him. Once she accepts desiring someone doesn’t make her a whore, any embarrassment on her part, when she discovers the truth about the ball, will be inconsequential.”

“Your father was ill, Quinn,” Reid said softly, his look tender and unguarded.

Anger and pain settled into her features, and she swallowed. “Undoubtedly. I could’ve forgiven him for what he did to himself. Even what he did to our mother. He had been so unhappy for so long.” She blinked rapidly, then stiffened. “Fuck him. He didn’t have to take her away from us. But he knew what the fuck he planned to do. That’s why he wouldn’t let me go with them. Heknewand he allowed Ryan’s last interaction with them to be verbal fucking abuse and humiliation. Fuck him. He was a motherfucker then and he’s a motherfucker now for what he did to my sister.”

“He was,” I said, because, fuck,he was. “But hating him will destroy you, sweetheart.”

“No, it won’t,” Quinn said. “I refuse to give him the satisfaction of claiming one more woman in my family. Literally or figuratively. We’re going to win this battle for Ryan’s sexual liberation, then fuck him for all eternity.”

“You can’t win a battle that she has to fight,” Soraya told her. “And she can’t fight it if the truth is hidden from her. I know you want to protect her, and I admire how much you have her back. She deserves to know the truth though. She’ll see that no one thinks less of her. Desire and passion aren’t shameful. Deep down, I’m sure Ryan knows that.”

“Knowing and accepting are two different things,” Quinn responded.

The door opened again, this time bringing in Tig, the tattoo shop owner and Soraya’s friend since childhood, and his wife, Del. I’d met them when I first arrived, and Graham introduced us. Out of the seven of us, I was the only one in a suit. It didn’t matter. They accepted me as is, but I regretted Ryan’s absence. She would’ve enjoyed herself immensely. Having her at my side would’ve made my night out with friends special, even if we hadn’t ended up in bed.

“Yeah, nipples and tongue,” Quinn said.

What?

“Can I watch?” Reid asked.

“What are you two talking about?” I demanded.

“Quinn is getting piercings,” Del answered.

“Not tonight,” Quinn said. “I’ll book with you before I leave, Del.”

“You got it,” Del answered.

Tig lit a cigarette and puffed a couple of times. “Leroy created another drink. Soraya, Quinn, you have to taste this shit.”

“I’m not budging until we resolve this matter,” Soraya said.

“What can I say?” I asked. “I don’t know what the right time will be.”

“That’s not good enough,” she said.

“January 2nd,” Quinn announced. “Noah, Reid, and I will confess everything to Ryan. It’s almost the holiday season. Let her enjoy it. Besides, she needs to focus on her work. Also, it’ll give her and Noah extra time to get to know each other.”

“I hope I don’t regret my agreement,” Soraya said, “but, okay, Quinn. January 2ndI expect you to ‘fess up.”

Another unknown song filtered into the building, and the women laughed.

“Let me in on the joke,” I said.

“That’s Bob Marley,” Soraya answered.

“No Woman, No Cry,” Quinn added.