Page 8 of Ignite: Tony's Story
I hold up my coffee cup from my stop on the way here. “I’m all good, Quinn, thanks.”
Tony gestures that he doesn’t want anything, looking around Quinn’s apartment. It’s a tiny studio apartment off someone’s garage, but it’s filled with natural light from a large sliding glass door that leads to a small deck. We’re only a few blocks from the beach, so the view from here is spectacular.
“It’s not much, but it’s all I need,” Quinn says, noticing Tony’s attention to the features of the room.
Tony points to the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves on one side of the room. “Do you mind?” Quinn shakes his head, gesturing for Tony to poke around as much as he likes.
“I thought you were still living with your sister?”
“Reina is doing so well, I thought it was time to give her some space.”
I raise an eyebrow, unconvinced.
Quinn huffs. “Fine, she kicked me out. She’s been dating someone, and they moved in together. Apparently, I made her girlfriend uncomfortable, so I wasn’t invited to stay.”
“Your name is Rutherford?” Tony blurts out, holding a framed diploma.
“No, it isn’t. Just Quinn, please.” He says it politely, but firmly enough that there is no room for further discussion on the matter. Tony nods, getting the point.
Trying to change the subject, I joke with Quinn. “I can’t imagine how an overprotective little brother third wheeling all of their dates and private time would make anyone uncomfortable.”
“You know what−” Quinn makes like he’s going to lunge for me, and I shriek, too easily falling into an over-casual playfulness. He chases me around the small kitchen island like we never parted ways. Like I never ghosted him.
Tony clears his throat, and I force my shoulders back. Right. Professionalism, Mara.
“How about we get to the point, yeah?” Quinn says, winking at me. “I’ve been at work all morning, but I just about finished last night,” he tells Tony as he pulls out the documents I know he must have spent all night on.
I leave the two of them to bond over illegal document forgery and walk over to the bookshelves. He’s got so many pictures of himself and his sister Reina framed and displayed all over his apartment. You can really feel how much he loves her.
She’s the reason he got into this business. Nearly twenty years ago, when Quinn was eight years old and Reina was sixteen, she was kidnapped and sold to a trafficking ring. They come from a wealthy family, so at first, their parents and the police assumed they took her for ransom. But no one ever contacted them for money.
It took over ten years for her to be found and brought home, and the only reason she was found was because of Quinn. At eighteen, he did some snooping around his father’s office and learned the truth. Rutherford Quinn Senior had sold his daughter into a human trafficking ring to save his own skin and fortune after a deal gone wrong. It’s why he refuses to use his first name, why he cut all ties with his family, and why he moved all the way from Hawaii to get away from his family and help Reina get a new start.
On top of running the library’s information center, Quinn makes good money forging all forms of identification and documents. It allows him to invest in his true passion, which is providing new identities to women who have been trafficked, abused, or escaped dangerous situations. He set up an entire underground network to help women like his sister, pouring his entire self and every dollar he can into saving them.
A few hours and a pizza delivery later, Tony has a packet of new identities in his hand.
“So, are you going to tell us who they’re for?” I ask, picking the onions off the thin crust veggie delight pizza that Tony insisted on ordering.
Tony looks apprehensive, and while I want to be annoyed, I also understand.
“Look, you know both of our real identities now. You know where Quinn lives and what he does, considering the packet of perfectly forged documents in your hand. And I’m sure soon enough you’ll probably know where I live, too.” Tony’s eyebrow lifts, Quinn snorts, and I try to cover the blush that creeps up my neck with an eye roll.
“The point is, I could really use your help, and I think you could use us, too. You have a vested interest in Jackson Adley, and I can get you information. But I don’t want a partnership with you if we can’t trust each other.”
He hesitates for a moment, his jaw working as he contemplates his next move.
“Bennet Adley,” he answers my question simply, like it’s no big deal. He’s looking me in the eye so I know he’s serious, but disbelief has me wanting to jump out of my skin.
My heart drops. Of all the luck… “You’re kidding me, right?”
“Who’s Bennet Adley?” Quinn asks, looking back and forth between me and Tony like he’s watching a tennis match. We both ignore his question.
“I’m not, but he has more interest in taking his father down than you do, believe me.”
Quinn’s mouth gapes open, his eyes lit with excitement as he puts the puzzle together. “Whaaat?” he whispers, rubbing his hands together. He seems to be enjoying the unfolding drama.
“So Bennet Adley is, what, trying to leave the country? Is he running?”
