Quinn II (Undaunted Men #2) (26 page)

I don’t know how I’m going to manage the drive home in this condition, let alone drive even two blocks, but I can’t sit here in his driveway and have a meltdown. My eyes burn with hot tears that I refuse to shed on his property. I start the engine, and by some miracle, I somehow manage to turn the vehicle around. I make it out of his driveway, and drive almost a half-mile before the tears slip out one-by-one. There’s no stopping them.
 

The road becomes less distinct. The ice and snow crunches loudly underneath the weight of my tires, and I realize a little too late I’m driving partially on the shoulder of the road.
Shit, I’m headed for a ditch
. I take my foot off the gas pedal and jerk the wheel, swerving the vehicle in the opposite direction to get back on track, when the tires hit a patch of ice. The car slips and slides as I frantically try to steer in the direction of the slide to regain control, but it’s too late. I refrain from hitting the brakes too hard, but I’m headed for a deeper ditch on the opposite side of the road, and there is nothing I can do about it but brace myself.

In the blink of an eye, a massive surge forward has me straining against the strap of the seatbelt. The car comes to a dead stop and I find myself stuck in an embankment.
“Well shit,” I mumble.
I take a deep breath, regain my composure and focus on getting back on the road. Trying to pull out of the ditch covered in ice and snow, I only wind up spinning my wheels. The rubber tires protest in a high pitch whine as they spin in vain, seating my car deeper into the embankment. I realize at this point I'm going to need a tow truck to pull me out.
Can today get any worse?
 

All of the pent up emotions decide to overtake me, everything coming to a head. I let out a loud, piercing and gut-wrenching scream, filling the vehicle with horrid sounds of despair.
My cries turn ugly with loud convulsive gasps, my lungs struggling in a futile attempt to fill with air. I can't breathe, and I don't care.

I pound on the steering wheel for all the humiliation, anger, resentment, and every other indescribable emotion coursing through my veins. I beat the wheel until my hands are battered and bruised, and stabbing with pain.
 

As tears stream down my cheeks, a shooting pain comes out of nowhere, starting in my lower back and radiating downward to my pelvis. The pain is so intense it steals my breath away. I grasp the steering wheel with a death grip and hang on for dear life. The cramps are wickedly intense, and suddenly I’m scared. I need to get my emotions in check so I can call for a tow. After a minute, the pain finally recedes to the point I can inhale and then exhale with a deep breath of relief. “Holy Hell, that was astronomical.”
 

I loosen my grip on the wheel, and my hands begin shaking. I suddenly feel sick and dizzy. I wipe the back of my hand against my forehead, feeling clammy, and something tells me this isn’t a good sign.
 

I forced myself to push her away once and for all with vile remarks that would scar her for the rest of her life, just as she did me. Did it make me feel better? No, not like I thought it would. She ruined me for all women, and I would never put my heart out on the line ever again. Her betrayal polished off my last little bit of faith in all womankind.
 

Alexis, the one and only true love of my life, had handed back my mother's angel pendant. If it couldn’t belong to her, it was to belong to no one, because of all the women in the world, she was the only one I wanted. If I couldn’t have her, I didn’t want another, and I’ve never been more dead-set on my resolve.

I didn’t want to kiss Victoria the way I did in front of Lexi, but I was on the other side of hurt and angry; I was in a realm of evil, so I reacted as such. For the past seven months, I had been trying to get on with my life, and then she comes and shows up on my doorstep.
 

Enraged, I bend down and pick up a shoe from the front foyer and throw it with brutal force down the hallway. Its rubber sole has it bouncing off the wall, and it pisses me off even more when it doesn’t do any damage. Breathing heavily, I look around for something else to destroy. I need to smash something to smithereens. Seeing her on my doorstep was something I never would have expected to see, not in a million years. She totally blindsided me, and I wasn’t emotionally prepared. I doubt I could've ever prepared myself for such a visit.

She had this pregnancy glow going on, which made her look even more beautiful than I remember her, and that pisses me off further. I curl my hands into tight fists and growl in frustration. I pull back my arm and lunge forward, thrusting my fist into the wall. A loud crunching noise ensues, along with a thud as the drywall gives way. The walls shake and reverberate just like my rage. I look at the gaping hole in the plaster, thanking God I didn’t hit a joist. I never thought it was a bright idea to hit a wall in the first place, but I’m seeing red.
 

If I would've let her in my house, I wouldn’t have trusted myself with her. I have no doubt I would’ve caved and believed any sob story she had to offer, and that couldn’t happen. I’m definitely not a man of fear, but Lexi had always been able to undo me in ways no one else had the power to do, and I don’t like being out of control.
 

Victoria comes to the top of the stairs with a sheet wrapped around her naked body. “Quinn,” she whispers with trepidation. “Are you all right?”
 

I take a deep breath, trying to control my emotions and not take my anger out on her. I look up at her standing at the top of the stairs, and carefully measure my voice. “You need to leave,” and then I sternly add, “now.”
   

She nods her head, knowing I’m not someone to be fucked with. I’m most likely scaring the hell out of her. I don’t think anyone has ever seen me this way, except for my comrades, and that was in my military days.
 

Since the day Lexi left a gaping hole in my heart, I needed a distraction damn near every night to take away the heartache. Victoria has been my lady of convenience for a couple months now, and for some reason, one I cannot explain, she stays. She knows she's a rebound, but that hasn't stopped her from warming my bed when I want sex. It’s simply a roll in the hay for me.

Kimber comes up beside me and nudges her nose underneath my fisted hand. She’s whining for something I can’t give her. Yet another reason I couldn’t let her in. Seeing the two of them together re-bonding would’ve reminded me of what we had on the trails, and Kimber wouldn’t have understood when it came time for her to leave. The emotional boomerang wouldn’t have been fair to Kimber, but it looks as if I’ve already failed.

“I’m sorry, girl. Please forgive me,” I softly speak to her, a stark contrast to what I’m feeling inside. I lean down and rub over her back with soothing strokes, trying to console her. She whines again, and it fucking breaks my heart. I know how attached these dogs get to certain people, and her not being able to see Lexi...well, I’m sure it feels equivalent to experiencing a death. “We’ll get through this. I promise.”

I swear on all that is holy, I owe Stryker and Hunter my life for saving Kimber. I don’t know where I’d be without the technology that allowed me to communicate with my comrades out on those trails. I had called them the night before we were to meet, giving them the coordinates and times of where and when they were to pick us up in the mountains. They must’ve just missed Lexi and me, showing up probably mere minutes after Vince and his men had captured us.

With Stryker previously being a medic in the military, he knew exactly what to do in order to keep Kimber alive until he could get her to a vet. The guy has continuously amazed me with his medical knowledge. He’s always been anal about having a medic pack handy, and I used to tease him about it.

Hunter found a local vet and paid him off to keep the gunshot wound under wraps. He flashed an old FBI badge around, acting all important. The bullet went in through the front of her shoulder and exited out the back. If she’d gotten shot from a different angle, it would’ve nailed her in the heart or hit a main artery. She was lucky…damn lucky.

Victoria comes down the stairs fully dressed, and I can tell I’ve put her on edge. I place my hands on her shoulders and apologize, “I’m sorry. It’s not you.”

“I know.” She frowns, placing her hand on my chest and giving it a pat. “Whatever that girl is or was to you, maybe you ought to straighten it out,” she softly suggests.

“There’s nothing to straighten out.” My nostrils flare at the mere mention of her.

“If you say so.” She leans in and gives me a kiss on the cheek, and then walks toward the door. When her hand turns the knob, she looks over her shoulder and adds, “You should’ve heard her out.”
 

I pinch the bridge of my nose with my fingers, close my eyes, and sigh, “Goodbye, Victoria.”

“You know I’m here if you need me.”
 

I nod my head, staying silent, and then she leaves.
 

I head into the kitchen and glance at the clock on the wall. It’s a little after two, and I decide it’s not too early for a bit of whiskey. I open the cabinet, where I keep a few bottles, and grab the first one I see. I don’t even bother with a shot glass. I take a huge swig and let it burn the back of my throat. I close my eyes and focus on the trail of warmth the liquid makes as it slides down my throat and into my chest. I take a deep, cleansing breath and exhale slowly, and then repeat the drinking process to calm my racing heart.

I need a shower. I need to wash the sticky sweat and sex off me. I take the bottle of whiskey with me upstairs. Walking into the master bedroom, I take pause and look at the sheets. They’re all in disarray, and what I would’ve given for it to have been Lexi making a mess of my sheets instead of Victoria. Another deep swig of whiskey hits the back of my throat, and I growl against the burn. I still want to break something.

My phone rings on my nightstand, but instead of ignoring it like I want to do, I traipse over to the side of my bed and pick up the phone to see who it is. It’s Victoria, maybe she forgot something.
 

I swipe the screen and answer, “Yeah?”

“Hey, I don’t know if this means anything to you or not, but I just passed that girl who was at your door.”
 

I close my eyes and sigh.
 

“Go on,” I prompt in a gravelly voice.

“She’s run her car off into a ditch, Quinn. I think she’s stuck. I would’ve stopped, but…well, somehow I think I’m the last person she’d want to see. I think she was crying. I couldn’t tell, because her face was buried in her hands.”

I want to punch another hole in the wall. I don’t want to see her, but I can’t have her pregnant and stuck on the side of the road in this weather either. I know I’m a bastard, but I know where to draw the line when it comes down to doing what’s right.
 

“Okay, I’ll take care of it,” I tell her gruffly. “Thanks.” I hang up the phone and quickly get dressed, throwing on a pair of jeans and a Henley. It’s bitter cold outside, and judging by the weather, it would probably take forever to get a tow this far out of the city. I head downstairs, throw on my boots, grab a jacket, and put on my ball cap.

With Kimber underfoot, I get down on one knee, pat her head, and have a chat with her. “Hang tight, girl. Looks like you might get your wish after all.” I grab my keys off the key rack by the door and head outside to my truck. I might be able to get her unstuck myself, and then she can go on her merry way. The sooner, the better, is what I’m thinking. The winter wind nips at my ears as I click the garage door opener and tromp into the garage, looking for my set of chains. I grab them from the wall and throw them into the back of my truck.
 

What the fuck was she thinking to drive in her condition in the middle of winter? Why now, of all times, to knock on my door?
I rub the back of my neck, trying to displace the tension in my muscles. Slamming my truck door shut, I crank up my diesel engine, and it roars to life. I put the gear into four-wheel drive then take off in the direction Victoria takes to go home.

Not even a mile down the road, I see her little car sitting off to the side in a ditch. Not understanding what’s going through her mind, I shake my head at her stupidity. I pull up behind her and put the truck in park. Keeping it running, I get out of the truck, and then walk to the driver's side window of her car. Sure enough, she’s leaning into the steering wheel, and her shoulders are shaking. I can hear her bawling, and the sound rips right through me.
 

I tap the window with my knuckles then place my hands on the roof of her car. Startled by the noise, she whips her head up, and her eyes bolt open wide in surprise. I’m sure I’m the last person she thought she’d see. Her eyes are bloodshot red and her face is flushed. She slowly rolls down her window with one hand while covering her mouth with the other, trying to stifle her sobs.
Fuck me, I’m a real asshole.

When she finally looks at me, there’s a long moment of silence between us as neither one of us can speak. I'm the one to finally break the silence. “I brought some chains to get you unstuck,” I announce, holding back any emotion from my voice.