Page 77 of Dust to Dust

The corners of his lips quirked. “I would think of it as more of a date.”

Brooke snorted. “That’s a fucked up date when your girl parades around half-naked for patrons.”

Before I could admonish Brooke, Quinn narrowed his eyes on her. “I thought we were on the same side.”

“You assume too much.”

“Is that right?” Quinn countered.

As she nodded, Brooke took a step towards Quinn. “I never wanted her in your fucking club to begin with, and I sure as hell don’t now that she’s been assaulted. I begged her to take my inheritance for school. Anything to keep her from doing what she’s been doing.”

Cutting his eyes to me, Quinn said, “I didn’t know she had other choices.”

I squared my shoulders to face both my sister and him. “I did, but I didn’t. I made the choice that I felt was best. Despite what happened last night, I’d do it again.”

“Why?” Quinn demanded.

My heart started beating wildly in my chest. “Because without the club, I never would’ve met you.”

Quinn’s blue eyes popped wide at my admission. As he continued standing there in astonishment, I added, “You were worth it.”

“Seriously, Isla?” Brooke demanded with a wounded look.

“I’m sorry, B. I never wanted to hurt you with my decisions. But you know as well as I do, you can’t help who you fall for.”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “I would think that you could try not to fall for the dangerous mafia man,” she countered.

“Brooke, please.”

With a shake of her head, she started out of the kitchen, but Quinn stepped into her path. “I can understand your aversion to me.”

“That’s astute of you,” she snapped.

Although his jaw clenched, Quinn remained cool and calm. “The moment I first saw your sister, I knew there wasn’t another woman in the world I could possibly want. But I fought my feelings. Like you, I didn’t want her involved with a man like me. I didn’t want to do anything to hurt her physically or emotionally.”

He drew in a ragged breath. “Staying away from your sister has been miserable. But I would continue to do it if she didn’t want to be with me. I don’t know what the future holds. A month or a year from now maybe she’ll finally discover she’s way too good for me–”

“Quinn,” I protested.

“Let me finish.”

“Fine.”

“If she discovers she’s too good for me and leaves, I’ll always make sure she’s protected from my world. And by extension you and your son. You have my word.”

When Quinn extended his hand, Brooke eyed it with disgust. At the same time, Henry lunged in her arms and reached for Quinn. At first, she stared at Henry in horror. And then the longer Henry babbled and stretched out his tiny arms for Quinn, the more her horror faded.

Finally she gave in to Henry and handed him to Quinn. Tears stung my eyes at the sight of Henry patting the scars along Quinn’s face, and the sweet expression on Quinn’s face as Henry did it.

With a sigh, Brooke shook her head at Quinn. “I still don’t like the world you come from and the danger you put Isla in. But I suppose it’s only fair for me to give you a chance.”

“How diplomatic of you,” I mused.

With a shrug, she replied, “It’s the truth.” A smile tugged at the corners of her lips. “They say children are a good judge of character, and in this case, I’ll go with Henry’s, rather than my own.”

Quinn gave her a genuine smile. “While I appreciate his choice, I would argue that perhaps he’s drawn to me more because I have a penis than because I'm a good person.”

As my eyes bulged in horror, Brooke laughed. “True. You are an oddity considering we don’t have too many men around here.”

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