Page 17

QUINN

Q uinn pulled into his garage and relaxed his grip on the steering wheel as the last of his anger eased.

There was no excuse for acting like he did with Patience.

And taking her virginity? Fuck. He’d never been a gentle lover.

She’s lucky he didn’t tear her in half. His usual partners were experienced women who knew what they were getting—a hard fuck giving them multiple orgasms and him the relief he needed. No attachments, no strings.

Patience was his first virgin—any his only, he’d never made that mistake again. He’d never dated, not even in high school. There was no way he’d have exposed a teenage girl to his father. Dammit . His fingers slid through his hair again. He’d done it so often on the way home, his scalp hurt.

Anger. Shame. So many emotions raced through his thoughts as he climbed out of the truck.

Walking into the mudroom, Quinn slammed the door and yelled, “Son of a bitch!” Maybe all his anger wasn’t gone, or was it the shame?

He knew better. Could he blame it on exhaustion—sure?

It didn’t absolve him from his actions. Worse was the way he’d stormed out of her home without ensuring she was okay.

Quinn wasn’t only dangerous, but apparently also a stupid asshole.

Even his team had figured it out after the last mission.

Thankfully, they hadn’t treated him any differently.

It didn’t mean he wasn’t a grenade, just waiting for someone to pull the pin.

He could have really hurt her. Glancing at his bruised hands, he winced.

They should have been more than enough of a reminder

Except it hadn’t been. He’d fucked her. She’d wanted it as much as him, not that it justified his actions. He wouldn’t lie to himself, though. It had been incredible. She fit his cock as if she were made for him.

For as long as he lived, he’d never forget how tight her cunt was or how it fluttered around him as she came.

Patience hadn’t held back; she’d given him everything.

As much as he hated himself for fucking her, he couldn’t regret it either.

But it couldn’t happen again. Even if she begged him, he’d have to keep her at arm’s length.

Decision made, Quinn headed upstairs to take a shower and get some sleep. He had a long list of take care of after a few hours of sleep. He’d lost control, but it wasn’t the same as in Marikistan, or when he was seventeen.

Shoving his deadly hands through his thick auburn hair, he grunted. At least he hadn’t hurt her. The pain from losing her virginity had been fleeting, and he’d made sure she came twice before he did.

Still, Quinn just couldn’t wrap his brain around the fact she’d been so nonchalant about it. If it really didn’t matter, like she said, why hadn’t she told him? He knew the answer. If she had, he’d have left and never touched her. Thank God he’d maintained control.

It was a first for him. Maintaining control of his anger. Black rage hadn’t colored his vision. No, for once, it was pure lust filling him. It’s what he needed to hold on to. His desire hadn’t driven him to hurt her, only to wring as much pleasure from her as he could. But damn.

Feeling more settled than he had in hours, he quickly scrubbed himself clean in the steamy shower.

A luxury he hadn’t had since they’d been on the mission.

After drying off, he slid between the crisp sheets, the soft fabric soothing against his naked, over-heated skin.

It wasn’t long before sleep overtook his tired mind.

The ringing of his cell phone woke him. Reaching for it on the bedside table, he squinted at his clock—ten a.m. He’d only been asleep for about two hours.

“Gallagher,” he grunted.

“Aren’t you just a ray of sunshine?” Doc’s jovial voice sounded overly loud in his ear.

Quinn rubbed a hand over his face and sat up against the headboard. “It was a long night. Did you call for a reason or to just annoy me?”

“Aww, c’mon, bossman. I’d never do that, at least not intentionally. That’s only Ry.”

Doc had a point there. That man could piss off a priest if he wanted to. He was the total golden retriever around Harmony, but on a mission—holy shit.

“You’re right. What’s up?”

“Not much. That’s some blizzard out there, huh?”

What the actual fuck? Doc making small talk? He’d known him for over five years and never once had that happen. “Yeah, a helluva thing. Part of the reason for the long night. But you didn’t call for that. Spill it.”

“Fine. Two things. First, did you notice the server working with Patience yesterday?”

“No, not really. Sorry.”

“I’m not surprised. You don’t notice anyone except Patience and maybe Livie.”

“Shut the fuck up. Now, what about the other one?” Quinn couldn’t remember anyone other than Livie, Theo’s woman, and Patience’s roommate. He knew there were others, but Doc was right, he didn’t pay attention to them.

“She’s newer and older, I think.”

The way Doc was drawing this out meant he would need caffeine to get through this explanation. Fuck. Looked like he wasn’t going back to sleep anytime soon. While Doc rambled on about her, Quinn grabbed some gray sweats from a drawer and headed downstairs to make coffee.

“Wait, what did you just say?” Quinn clicked the coffeemaker on when Doc’s words finally sank in.

“She was limping and had bruises on her wrists. She kept trying to cover them up with her sleeves, but I saw them.”

“Did you ask Pam about it?”

“No, I thought about it. But the way she kept hiding them made me think she was embarrassed, and I didn’t want to make it worse.”

If anyone on their team was a playboy, it would be Doc.

He’d never seriously dated anyone since Quinn knew him.

He also was rarely serious about anything unless it had to do with a mission or treating an injury.

That he’d even noticed the server was startling on its own, but that he was concerned? That took it to a whole other level.

“You realize I should give you a load of shit right now, don’t you?”

“What do you mean?”

“After all the ribbing about Patience?”

“I didn’t say I was interested in dating her, just concerned about her being injured.”

“Uh huh. And when have you ever even noticed someone other than a teammate’s injuries?”

Doc got quiet before letting out a pained sigh. “Fine. You got me. There’s something about her.”

Quinn grinned as he grabbed the mug of coffee from the Keurig. “That’s how it starts. What’s her name? I’m sure you got it.”

“Fuck. Yeah, I did. It’s Charity Embry.”

“And?” Quinn already knew that Doc would have researched her to find out as much as possible.

It’s how they all were. No one got near their team without knowing everything about their lives first. Well, everyone but Rick Fuckface Kern.

Just thinking about what he did to Felicity had Quinn clenching his fist.

“She’s thirty, divorced, with two kids, a boy and a girl, both under four.”

“You sure you want to go down this path? You’ve never had a relationship, have you? And you’re going to take on a ready-made family? You can’t fuck with a single mom.”

“Who said I was taking on the family? I’m just concerned. I tried to get her to talk to me, but she wouldn’t. I think someone’s hurting her. My money is on her ex.”

“Definitely plausible. What do you want to do about it?”

“I dunno, bossman. That’s the first reason I was calling. To see if you had any thoughts. You’re the one with the planning skills. I’m just the fixer.”

“Well, we’ll need more intel. In the meantime, I’d still let Pam know to keep an eye out for anything weird or new injuries.”

“Yeah, good idea. Thanks.”

“Okay, what’s the second thing?” Quinn asked between sips.

“I, well, umm…”

“Just tell me, it can’t be that bad. I don’t have to bail you out, do I? Wait, never mind. You would have started with that.”

“Yeah, no, I’m actually checking on you. I know what happened in Marikistan messed you up, but I feel like there's more to it. We’re all concerned, not in a bad way. We trust you with our lives, always will.”

“Stop, right there. I told you, I’m fine.”

“Yes, you did. But not one of us believe you. Neither does Tony. He called me last night to check on you.”

“What the hell? I had my debrief. He knew I was fine.”

“Apparently, not. And it seems our friend Dickless Kern had a few things to say after you left.”

“Fucking asshole. I should have known he’d start something. Well, he’s in for a rude awakening. It seems he got a woman pregnant, lied to her about being a SEAL, and then ghosted her.”

“What? Dickless has a dick and dipped it?”

“Affirmative. There is no reason Felicity would have a reason to lie about it.”

“Who’s Felicity?”

“It’s a long story. Better told in person because all the guys are going to want to hear it.”

“Dammit. You’re going to make me wait until Monday after PT,” Doc groaned.

“Yup. You’ll survive. Anyway, what did you tell Tony?”

“That you were fine. What else would I say? It’s true, right? You’re not just covering up some deep secret?”

Quinn winced. Technically, maybe. But Tony and everyone else up the food chain knew everything about his past. He’d gone through plenty of psych exams before they allowed him to enter BUD/s. It would all be in his permanent file, but it didn’t mean his teammates needed to know.

“Quinn? You are okay, right?”

“None of you need to worry. I’m good.”

“Why don’t I feel convinced?” Doc grumbled.

“Because you are always looking for there to be something going on.”

“Well, because there usually is. Just one more thing, and then I’ll let it go. If there is something, you can talk to me. I’m like a lockbox. It’ll stay with me, no judgement at all, no matter what. Got me?”

“Yeah, I got you. Anything else?”

“Want to meet at the Ready Room later for some pool?”

“Maybe, I’ll see. Who knows if they’ll open.”

“Pam will open. She probably had Tony shoveling the sidewalk as soon as it stopped coming down.”

“Shit. If that’s the case, then I’ll probably be there. I’ll need to take Patience to work.”

“What? Why? And oh, I sense a story there.”

“Fuck off.”

Doc howled with laughter and Quinn had to pull the phone away from his ear. Fucker. “I guess I’ll see you later, bossman.”