Page 24 of Whatever It Takes

“Are you ready to go?” she asked, grabbing her purse off the counter.

“Yeah,” I said, not having a fucking clue what I was going to do, but knew I had to be smart. I reached for her hand and led her out the door. This weekend was going to be a huge test for us.

Once we were in the elevator, Bree stared at me as if she were trying to figure me out.

“Is everything okay, Quinn?”

“Why are you asking me that?” I asked, pressing the button to the ground floor. I snuck a quick glance at my watch. Charlotte and Emery were probably eating dinner right about now. I wondered where the ended up going and what time they would be home?

She worried her bottom lip between her teeth. “You seem distracted.”

“I’ve got a lot going on at work,” I commented, knowing that the truth was that I needed to get my head out of my ass and stop thinking about Charlotte while I was with Bree. Clearly, this wasn’t the best way to start off the weekend.

“You also haven’t kissed me once since I’ve gotten here.”

If I was going to make this work, I needed to put in a little effort. I ran my hands up and down her back and pressed my lips to hers. “I’m sorry,” I said, keeping the kiss light.

“You can talk to me, you know.” Her big blue eyes told me that she knew there was more going on with me than I was letting on.

The elevator doors opened, and I reached for her hand. There were a couple of guys in suits stepping in as we walked out. I noticed them staring at Bree. It should have bothered me or at least made me jealous, yet I didn’t feel a fucking thing.

When we got to my truck, there was a folded-up piece of paper stuck to my windshield under the wiper blade. I snatched it off the window and unfolded it, expecting it to be another annoying flier from the Mexican restaurant down the street. All the color drained from my face when I read the handwritten note.

Stayaway from MY wife and daughter!

My eyesfrantically searched the parking lot, looking for the piece of shit that had left me the message. My blood ran cold, and it felt like the world had come to a stop. I shoved my door open as Bree rounded the hood of my truck. “Get in,” I barked.

“What’s going on?” she asked cautiously, her gaze flashing around the parking lot.

I grabbed my phone out of my pocket and dialed up Marco. He answered on the second ring. “What’s up, Quinn?”

“Get to Charlotte’s house now. That motherfucker is here in town. He left a note on my windshield. Call it in. I have no idea when he left this, but I was only inside for an hour or so. I’m going to forward you the number to the management company that owns my building. See if they have anything on the security tape.”

My stomach twisted as I peeled out onto the street. Every decent law-abiding part of me left my conscience as I sped toward Charlotte’s house. I knew I had to keep calm, but I was freaking the fuck out.

“It’s going to be fine. Calm down,” Marco said, sensing my panic.

I gritted my teeth. “No, it’s not fucking fine. As long as that son of a bitch is still out there, it won’t be fucking fine.”

I didn’t give a damn what Marco thought he knew about Grant Anderson. Everyone on the planet was looking for him. He’d gone to a lot of trouble to keep out of sight. It took tremendous balls to pull a stunt like this, knowing what might happen if he got caught.

I ended the call and dialed Charlotte’s number. The call went straight to voicemail. I gripped the steering wheel, refusing to believe that he had gotten to her in some way. She wanted to believe that he was harmless, but after this stunt, I wasn’t taking any chances. He was a man with nothing left to lose and my experience taught me that was never a good thing. Suddenly, the only thing that mattered was making sure she was safe.

“Who’s Charlotte?” Bree asked, interrupting my thoughts.

I kept my eyes on the road and a firm grip on the steering wheel. My windows were fogged up from my intense breathing, and I knew this conversation was going to happen eventually. This wasn’t my case, but there was no question that I had inserted myself so deep, there was no end in sight for me.

I weaved through traffic and merged onto the highway. “I know you want answers Bree, but my mind is going a million miles a minute.”

She deserved so much better than what I was giving her. She was gorgeous, kind, affectionate, and everything I could ever want in a woman. But I didn’t realize it until then that she wasn’t the woman I wanted. The one I spent the last seven years trying to forget but couldn’t. “Charlotte and I have a past.”

“She’s the one you told me about? The one you were engaged to marry?”

“Yes.” I drew in a shuddered breath.

I saw a tear drop from her eye as we drove toward Charlotte’s house without any more words between us.

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