Page 92 of Veil of Lies

There was a long pause. “I don’t sleep well. I’m often awake at 3 AM.”

“Me too. We should start an Insomniac’s Club.”

His lip quirked upward. “What does being a member involve?”

“Playing scrabble or discussing books.”

“That sounds boring as fuck,” Harley commented while Quinn chuckled. “I can think of way better things to be doing at 3 AM. And they don’t involve sleeping.” He pulled me close for a heated kiss and I melted in his arms.

Harley had a real talent for making me forget my own name, let alone my problems. By the time I managed to pull away, Brax was staring at the TV again, his expression blank.

I frowned. Why was it always a case of one step forward, ten steps back with him? Just as we were making headway, he shut down. I went to reach for a cereal bowl and Quinn stopped me.

“Sit down, you’re supposed to be resting your shoulder. The doctor said it will heal faster if you don’t put any pressure on the joint.”

“It’s fine, I can pick up stuff,” I grumbled.

“Stella!” Quinn’s warning growl sent a shiver through my body. Was I so fucked up that being told off by a dominant asshole turned me on? Guess I was. Amazing, another kink unlocked.

Quinn pointed to the table. “Sit down and I’ll make you some breakfast. Porridge with blueberries?”

I pouted a little but nodded anyway. Five minutes later, a bowl of porridge appeared in front of me and I tucked in. The whole table service thing I could get used to. Pop tarts for breakfast had started to get real old, real fast.

“Thank you,” I murmured.

Quinn smiled softly. “Anytime, sweetheart.”

“Don’t I get porridge?” Harley looked at my bowl and then at Quinn.

“No.”

“That’s not fair!”

“You can make your own breakfast. Unlike Stella, you’re perfectly fit and well.”

Quinn smirked and then his expression turned serious. “Family dinner tonight, folks. I’m making lasagne.”

“Ooh, my favorite.” Harley instantly forgot all about being annoyed over the porridge thing. “Do we get focaccia too?”

“Of course, and a side salad.”

“What’s the occasion?” Brax piped up from the sofa.

“We need to talk about what happened in New York.”

The porridge in my mouth turned to sludge as his words sank in. I wondered how long it would take them to start asking questions after Agent Norcross’s comments. Not long enough, apparently.

Chapter 73

Harley

Ever since the shooting, I’d been on edge. I tried really hard to hide it from her, as I didn’t want to make her any more anxious than she already was. Instead, all of us had skirted around what happened. Well, Quinn and I at least. Brax had been even more monosyllabic than usual. He’d not said much but I got the impression his mother was not coping well with…things. We didn’t get any opportunity to have a proper talk in New York, but I caught him on the phone to her a couple of times, and there was definitely some tension there.

Almost as much as there was in our apartment now.

Quinn had done an amazing job in the kitchen, as always, and the lasagne was delicious. That dude would make some girl a great husband one day. Hell, I was tempted to pop the question myself, as long as he promised to cook every day.

Ordinarily, I’d be scoffing my food down in super quick time but watching Stella pushing her dinner around her plate killed my appetite. It felt like we were all waiting for a fucking execution.

---