Page 36 of Between Love and Honor

Twenty minutes later, he arrived back at the White House. He bounded up the stairs to the second floor of the residence. Following the laughter, he made his way to the private family dining room at the end of the hall. His friends were seated around the table spearing pieces of wedding cake with their forks.

“Ben!” Marin jumped up. “You’re back. Just in time to break the tie. We’re debating which flavor wedding cake tastes best.” She grabbed a plate and fork from the side-board before shushing the others. “No one says a word. We need this to be objective.”

But he wasn’t interested in the cake. His heart stuttered as he glanced around the table. “Where’s Quinn?”

The four occupants of the room looked away awkwardly and his panic piqued.

Had she disappeared again? Damn. She wasn’t strong enough to be out on her own. Not after what she’d been through the night before. The idea of losing her again so soon suddenly made his throat unbearably tight. And not because he needed her to sort out this case. He had a scary feeling he just plain needed her.

And he swore never to let that happen again.

“I said, where is Quinn?” he demanded when his friends remained close-mouthed.

“She’s upstairs,” Marin finally offered up. “I . . . I might have made her feel uncomfortable earlier.”

He had to work to keep the snarl from his voice. “Uncomfortable how?”

Griffin shot him a steely-eyed glare from where he was now standing behind his wife with his hands resting protectively on her shoulders.

“We were doing wedding stuff and, well, it’s not like she is going to be around at the end of the month.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “The only thing we know about the woman is that she hurt you. Badly. And I, for one, am not going to stand around and let her hurt you again.”

“She’s got a point, Bennett,” Griffin added.

Ben couldn’t believe it. He could give a rat’s ass about whether Marin had a point or not. He didn’t appreciate her going mama bear on him. Didn’t anyone think he could take care of himself? Didn’t anyone believe he had the brains to not let Quinn close enough to score his heart again? These were his friends. His brothers. They had promised to watch her, not shame her, damn it. His fingers clenched into fists.

“Forgive me for not seeing her point,” he snapped.

“You don’t have to know anything at all about that woman upstairs except that someone tried to kill her last night. All I asked was for you to keep her company. To make her feel safe. Not to judge her. I would have done the same for any of you. I have done the same for each of you.” He leveled a hard stare at Adam and Griff. “So much for that bullshit about being brothers,” he added before storming out of the room and up the stairs to the third floor.

Once again, he didn’t bother knocking when he entered the bedroom startling both women. Quinn was staring out the window, her shoulder propped up against the frame when she pivoted to face him. Something about her pose made him think she was ready to do battle.

Christine looked up from her phone, but before she could chastise him about bursting in without knocking again, he shot out a question.

“Did the doctor examine her?”

“Umm, yeah, he did,” Christine said as she got to her feet. “He said it was a miracle she was doing so well. She just needs to take it easy for another day or two and she’ll be fully recovered.”

Ben searched Quinn’s eyes. She kept her expression masked, once again donning her protective armor.

“Excellent,” he said. “You’re dismissed, Christine. Let’s go, Quinn.”

“Wait, what?” Christine looked from one to the other.

“Didn’t you hear what I just said? She needs to take it easy for another couple of days.”

“I heard you. And thanks for looking after my friend, but we’re leaving now.”

He wasn’t sure, but he thought he detected a momentary shiver from Quinn before she took a step away from the window.

“Is that wise?” Christine protested. “What if those guys figure out she isn’t dead?”

“Obviously, she can’t stay here forever,” he said. “But I know a place where she’ll be safe.”

Quinn eyed him warily as she made her way across the room. Clearly, she still didn’t trust him completely. He couldn’t decide if he was miffed or proud of her caution.

“Shouldn’t you bring someone with you?” Christine asked.

Great. Even Christine didn’t think he had the willpower to resist the temptation of Quinn. If he hadn’t already declared her body off-limits, he’d keep his hands and lips off her just to spite his nosy friends who didn’t think he had more common sense than a randy thirteen-year-old boy.

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