Page 26 of Whatever It Takes

The vein in his neck pulsed, as his eyes glanced around my yard to make sure no one was listening. “Grant was delivering drugs on the night of the accident. That’s why he ran.” His eyes studied mine while my chest heaved up and down with heavy breaths. “The amount of cocaine in his briefcase that he took off with was worth more than he would ever make on his measly public servant salary. Our informants on the street have confirmed that the Philly PD aren’t the only people looking for him,” he said with a delivery that sent my world spiraling.

How the fuck was this happening? This couldn’t be right. Grant was many things, but a drug dealer? No. I wouldn’t accept that.

I shook my head, refusing to believe what he was saying. “This has to be a mistake.”

“I wish for yours and Emery’s sake, it was.”

I always knew that there was something off about my husband, but thinking it and knowing it were two completely things. Him running from the scene of the accident never made sense to me. There were things that I suspected, but nothing to this level. “How long have you known this?”

He took a deep breath, pushing his hand through his hair. “We’ve had our suspicions, but nothing solid until tonight. I know you have a ton of questions, but I don’t have all the answers right now.”

I stared at him, feeling my mind twist and turn with a panic like I’ve never felt before. “You’ve got to give me something.”

He looked at me carefully, like he didn’t know what to say. “We still don’t know all the facts, but he was dealing with some pretty shady people. I wish I had more to tell you, but it seems that we are just scratching the surface. You didn’t happen to get the license plate of the car yesterday, did you?”

“No. I didn’t get close enough. I never saw that car before. I couldn’t even tell you the make and model. Do you think it was Grant?”

He clenched his jaw. “I have no clue. But I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

Marco quietly approached, his eyes bouncing between Quinn and I. “I’m going to have a patrol car stationed outside your house, and make sure there is someone watching you and Emery twenty-four seven.”

“Do you really think that’s necessary?” I asked, glancing between the two men, almost afraid of the answer. “Are you trying to say that my daughter and I are in some kind of danger?”

Marco shook his head, his face was filled with sympathy. “It’s too early to rule anything out. That’s why we need to take extra precautions.”

Quinn gripped the back of his neck, his biceps flexing with each pull of his hands. “You don’t need to send anybody. I’m going to stay here with her until things settle down.”

Marco quirked an eyebrow. “When you say stay until things settle down, do you mean tonight, or…”

“As long as it takes,” Quinn hissed out.

I stumbled backward. “Um…excuse me. I don’t remember us discussing this.”

Did hell freeze over? Because last time I checked he had his own place. Not to mention I don’t remember inviting him to crash at my house.

“Quinn.” I closed my eyes and shook my head. The idea of him staying with me was not even a possibility as far as I was concerned. He was always a weakness for me, and I was only human. This brave front that I like to put on for show would only last for so long. “You are not staying here. I’m perfectly fine with having whoever Marco assigns to watch over us.”

He stared at me, looking cool and unfazed by my rejection, while I felt like I had stepped into an alternate universe where pigs could fly.

He put his hands on his hips. “You got a problem with me staying here?”

I looked at Marco for help, only he backed up and held his hands out. “Don’t look at me. This is between you two.”

“Could you please explain to Detective Walker that this is highly inappropriate?” I asked nicely, hoping I could bring him to my side of thinking. There was so much to unpack from tonight, I wasn’t sure where to begin.

“It’s only temporary, Charlotte.” Quinn sighed as if that explained everything. “I just need to sleep under your roof until Grant is behind bars and you and Emery are both safe. That little fucking weasel put a target on both of your backs.”

I scoffed. “You’re being irrational. Grant may be many things, but he would rather swallow broken glass than allow anyone to harm a hair on his daughter’s head. And even though our marriage has been strained, he would never allow anyone to hurt me either.”

He loomed over me, his strong jaw ticked like it was ready to pop through his skin. “Christ, woman. You are so fucking stubborn. He killed five fucking people. Did you ever imagine him doing that? No, you didn’t. You also didn’t know that he was dealing dirty on the side either. So, let’s face it, you don’t know what he’s capable of.” His face turned to stone as he continued his rant. “And I can’t believe that you’re seriously defending that piece of shit.”

“Can you back the bus up for a second, please?” He needed to take a step back. He was too close to me. I couldn’t think with him breathing down my neck. The more he pushed, the more my anxiety peeked.

“You and Emery are all he has left in this world that are of any value. These scumbags that he was involved with will use whatever means necessary to get to him, and I’m not taking any chances.”

He had a point, but I didn’t want to admit that to him. What he said was scaring the shit out of me. It had me questioning everything. “I don’t know what you all want from me.” I looked over at Marco thinking he was the safe one to focus my attention on. “I’ve never been in this situation before, but I know that Quinn can’t stay here with me.”

There is no way I could handle having Quinn rooted that deep in my life. He was already way more involved than he should have been. The thought of him edging in any deeper terrified me.

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