How to Seduce a Fireman: HarperImpulse Contemporary Romance (21 page)

“Jace, does Wendy Anne know about all this excitement? You know how she worries. Did you call her?” The whole family tended to overprotect Jace’s wife. She was entering her sixth month of pregnancy, after losing their first child.

Jace seemed lost in his own world, staring out the side window of the car. “No, she has no clue. She thinks I’m at work. But then we didn’t tell her about the text either.”

“What text?”

“What text? Oh, the one Quinn got the other day from that guy, threatening to kill you if Quinn went back to work in DC. You know, that’s one thing I still can’t figure out. What difference would it have made to Chris if our man went back into government work? Chris was doing his own mercenary thing. Right? I can’t get it all to settle right in my head. Something’s off.”

“When did you get the text?” She tried making eye contact with Quinn, but he stared at his thumb, rubbing gentle circles over her knuckles.

“Maybe the dude was afraid of being discovered and arrested. He probably knew Quinn would keep digging through files until he figured out who wiped out his team.” Wolf emptied the bottle of water he drank. “Man, I’ll be glad to get a shower later. Once we know Cassie’s all right, I’m going home to Becca to snuggle in for the night.”

She slid off Quinn’s lap to sit between him and Jace. “
When
did you get the text?”

Quinn rubbed his forehead and tensed. “The day you unloaded my U-Haul in one of your hissy fits.”

“So, the first time we made love, you knew my life was in danger and you never thought to mention it?”

“Whoa!” Wolf held up both hands. “TMI in this car right now. I do not want to know my baby sister is having sex.”

“Butt out, Wolf.” She shifted in the seat to stare at Quinn. “You sent me off afterward as if I was nothing more to you than a one-night stand, knowing some wacko out there had me in his sights?”

He exhaled a shaky breath. “I didn’t want you to be scared.”

“So, when did you tell Wolf and Jace?” And
not
me.

“Last night, after we made up in the hospital.”

“After you told Dr. Paxwell how much you respected me and my intelligence and my strength.” The joy slowly seeped from her body like air from an inflated balloon. “Did you tell my sisters?”

“No, we were still arguing that out.” Wolf glanced over his shoulder at her. “Jace wanted to, so they could keep a closer eye on things, but I was afraid you’d find out. Quinn wanted them to know, too, but I felt you were under enough stress, having started with the cutting again.”

“Maybe, had I known, I’d have paid more attention to my instincts about the nurse Chris was imitating. I got this really bad sense about him. He didn’t act like a real nurse. Nor did it seem kosher that he gave me a shot in the neck. Maybe, had I known, I could have protected myself. Wait. That policeman in the hallway. He was for me, wasn’t he?”

Quinn clamped his broad hand over her thigh. “Calm down, angel. We were only doing what we felt was in your best interests.”

“So I was in enough danger to have a policeman stand guard over me, but I wasn’t important enough to tell?”

“Being in the hospital the way you were, what could you have done? That guy who followed you on the Kawasaki the other day?” Milt glanced in the rearview mirror when he stopped for a red light. “That was Chris. You were in more danger than you can imagine, sugarplum, and these guys were just trying to protect you the best way they knew how.”

“How old am I going to have to be? Thirty? Forty? Fifty? How old before you all deem me strong enough to take care of myself?” She was tired and sore and in need of a bath. Yes, she was being cranky but, dammit to hell, she’d had a long, hellacious day. Her nerves were shot.

Quinn snatched his hand from her leg and glared at her. “Maybe when you start behaving in a more consistent manner, then we’ll know how to treat you. One day, you’re the sweetest person on this earth. The next, you’re ready to fight whoever gets in your way. On another, you’re on the phone to one of your big brothers because your car’s not running the way it should or you can’t get the stove to work right. Then, when things get really tough, you resort to the teenage behavior of cutting. So which Cassie are we dealing with here, because I’m damned tired and I’d like to know.”

Quinn tapped Milt’s shoulder. “Pull over up here. I’ll call for a taxi. I’ve had enough of Cassie’s tirades. I need to be alone for a while.”

“You’re an asshole for talking to me like that.”

He smiled in an almost cold-hearted way. “Hell, I’ve always been an asshole. You just now figuring that out?”

Milt eased the Cutlass to a stop, and Quinn waited for him to get out to open the door from the outside. “Have you given any thought to the fact that all of us put our lives on the line for you tonight? We risked everything for you and you want to throw a teenage bitch fit because you were left out of the loop.

Well, try thinking what the last forty-eight hours have been like for your brothers and for me. You know, trying to carve out a spot in your life is damn hard for any man when your big brothers are always going to come first.”

He leaned toward her until they were nearly nose to nose. “And a woman’s pussy is called a cunt. Grow the fuck up and learn to say it.” The door opened and Quinn jumped out. He strolled across the street with his hands jammed in his jeans pockets. His head down and shoulders slumped, he walked out of her life, but most definitely not out of her heart.

Milt settled himself behind the steering wheel and started the car’s motor again. “He’s coming down from that flashback he had. My brother sometimes acted the same way.”

Wolf’s phone rang and he answered. “Okay. Will do.”

“Was that Quinn?” Jace turned from the window.

“Yeah, he wants to know how she is once the physical is over.”

“Like he cares.” She folded her arms and shifted in her seat. The things he said to her were so not true.

“What Quinn said held a lot of truth. You keep bragging how you’re twenty-one, yet you still expect baby sister rights.” Jace glanced at her, his eyes narrowed in an expression almost accusing her of something. “Wendy Anne said nearly the same thing to me once. That she felt at the bottom of my female priority list. I almost lost her to you sisters soon after we married. Not that she doesn’t love you all. She does. Sometimes, she just feels lost in the crowd. We’re a close-knit family. Not everyone can handle the strong bond we share.”

Jace ran a hand behind his neck and kneaded the muscles there. “Quinn had a flashback tonight, trying to rescue you. I never understood the torment of that experience until I heard it coming from his soul. With Milt and me hearing every bit of communication going on, it was rough hearing Quinn fighting his demons. Made chills go up and down my spine. He finally worked through it by chanting your name over and over.”

“Damn near brought tears to my eyes.” Milt shook his head as he pulled up to the emergency room entrance. “You brothers take her on in. I’ll find a parking spot and wait in the waiting room once I get some coffee.” He got out to open everyone’s doors and glanced back in the direction from which they’d come. “I hate the thought of him out there all alone. Claimed he’d call a taxi, but I bet he’s not in the presence of mind to do it. He’ll just keep plodding along until he sees home or the station or some other spot he recognizes.”

****

A gentle rain had started sometime during Quinn’s trek home; he couldn’t recall when. Before long, the squishing droplets had turned into a stinging precipitation, plopping off wide palm fronds. He’d found Cassie and lost her again, all in the span of an hour or more. A wiser man would have kept his damn mouth shut, but sometimes she drove him fucking nuts. He loved her, but, hell, she needed to understand a man had a right, a duty, an innate need to protect his woman.

An all-night restaurant sat at a corner, its lights blinking a cheap-ass red and yellow welcome. He stepped inside and slid into a booth. The odors of burgers frying and coffee brewing made him realize his stomach was so hungry it was chewing on his backbone. He ordered a cheeseburger special with extra fries, apple pie and coffee. It didn’t take him long to wish Cassie was there to share the meal with. God, what had he done yelling at her like that?

He beat the bottom of the ketchup bottle with his palm. Okay, so maybe not telling her about the text was wrong. Maybe. But if he had it all to do over again, chances are he’d do things the same way.

Still, the issue with the text wasn’t the only thing stuck in his craw. Having her break free from his arms to run into her big brother’s chafed his ass like hell too. He’d played second fiddle to his dad’s career and his mother’s devotion to her husband. Damned if he’d come in second or third place to her brothers. Until tonight he’d never noticed or comprehended the strength of her connection to them. And, fuck all, it shamed Quinn that he was jealous of her family, especially when they’d treated him so well.

He paid his bill, left a generous tip for the waitress who looked as exhausted as he felt and then turned the corner toward his neighborhood. His apartment complex finally came into view and he trudged one rain-sodden boot in front of the other. A hot shower and he and Furball would sleep for hours. Right now, he didn’t care if he made it to work on time or not. He didn’t much care about anything.

His jeans were so wet he could barely get his fingers in his pocket to retrieve his keys. He opened the door and was surprised that Furball lay on the top of his computer. The only time the cat laid on it was when the laptop was warm from recent use. “Did you and your bottomless pit of a stomach miss me?” Quinn bent to untie his boots and take them off before dragging mud through his apartment. The first thing he saw behind his feet was a pair of shiny black leather shoes. The second was total darkness.

****

The incessant ringing of his cell phone slowly pulled him from his unconscious state. Furball’s sniffing his face and hair further woke him. He finally shoved the cell from the pocket of his damp jeans. “Yeah.” Christ, his head hurt.

“I was beginning to worry.” Wolf’s voice boomed over the phone and Quinn winced at the loud noise. “This is the third time I’ve called you.”

He gingerly touched the pulsing spot on the back of his head and looked at his bloodied fingers. The room spun when he tried to sit up. “Someone was in my apartment when I got home. He hit me across the back of the head and knocked me out. As soon as the place stops spinning, I’ll get up off the floor.” He relaxed against the linoleum of his foyer. “Until then, I’ll just lie here… Wait! Cassie. Is she okay?”

“She’ll be fine after some rest. We’re on our way over. Don’t move.” The line went dead.

Don’t move? Hell, as if I could with my apartment turned into a fuckin’ merry-go-round.

The next thing he knew four pairs of eyes were peering down at him while four pairs of knees pushed into his sides. How did they get in his apartment? Oh yeah, Milt kept a set of keys.

“He’s white as a sheet.” Cassie pressed feather-light kisses to his face.

Quinn reached to cup her cheek. “Angel, will you be okay? What did the doctor say?”

“He said I’m to crawl in bed with the best-looking man I can find and stay there for hours and hours.”

“Lucky bastard.” Too bad it wouldn’t be him. Not after the way he’d talked to her.

Jace rolled Quinn onto his side and examined his head. “Look at the size of that goose egg. Someone get me a clean, wet, soapy washcloth. I need to see how bad it is after I remove the dried blood.”

Cassie hurried off.

Wolf tugged off Quinn’s wet t-shirt. “What happened? Can you remember? Cassie, get him some dry clothes too. He’s drenched.”

Damn, does he need to yell? I already have bombs going off in my head.

“I walked home in the rain. As soon as I stepped inside I wanted to take off my wet boots. The cat was lying on the lid to my laptop, which was odd, because the only time he lays there is when it’s warm.”

“Like after someone’s been using it?” Wolf glanced at the computer on Quinn’s desk.

“Yeah. Then I bent over to untie my boots and I saw these shoes behind me and some bastard hit me in the head.”

Cassie returned with a wet washcloth and an armful of clothes.

Jace started cleaning off the wound. “He ought to have stitches. I’d say about five or six.”

Quinn wasn’t going back to the hospital. “Hell no. Put some butterflies on it. My hair will eventually cover the scar.

“I can drive him.” Milt looked and sounded exhausted.

“No. You need to take care of Killer. He’s been alone all day and night. You get some rest. Honest, man, I’m not going to the hospital. Go on home, now, and thanks for everything. We’ll talk tomorrow evening. I’ll take you out for some Italian, that place you like with the cute waitresses.”

Milt beamed. “You got it, buddy. If you two young guys can handle him, I’m going downstairs and hitting the hay.” His knees creaked when he stood. “Man, I wouldn’t have missed today for anything. I felt useful again. Getting old sucks. A man feels damn invisible.” He opened the door and ambled out.

Wolf was on the phone. “Ryder. Got another situation. When Quinn got home, someone was in his apartment and knocked him out. He’s going to need some stitches. Looks like whoever it was snooped on Quinn’s laptop. I’m thinking his apartment might need to be swept again. Thanks, pal.” Wolf ended the call.

“He’s coming over to check the place out.” He thumbed in a number. “Becca, baby, can you come over to Quinn’s place and drive us to the ER? Someone hit him in the back of the head and he’s going to need some stitches.”

“I don’t need any fucking stitches.” Was everyone freaking deaf in this family?

“Thanks, gorgeous.”

****

Six stitches later and Cassie had her damn wish. With her encouragement, emergency room staff had shaved his entire head. And damn if she hadn’t taken to calling him Quinnie Bruce. But at least she was talking to him, and maybe they stood a chance at working things out.