Page 209 of Savage Suit
She glanced behind me, but the elevator doors closed, and her face fell. “No Ryan.” Her voice wobbled and she sniffled. “Did you see her?”
“Yes. She took the laptop—” Fuck, what had become of the trunk? I’d let the handle go to chase Ryan, then hadn’t thought about it. I scrubbed a hand over my face. There were no trade secrets inside, so I couldn’t care less about its fate. “Email her again, Quinn. She might respond.”
The elevator started to descend and I knew Nicholas had arrived, so I headed through the open entrance door, knowing Quinn would follow. Logan waited in the living room. When we walked in, he stopped pacing. I needed to get them to their rooms. They still didn’t know about the videos, and I wanted to keep it that way. As Quinn had done, Logan glanced behind me.
“Is Ryan with you?” he asked with hope, though his returning hurt told me he already knew the answer.
“She went to the meeting,” Quinn answered, her upbeat tone strained.
In the presence of Logan, she tried to sound optimistic. The forced cheer always had the opposite effect, and I worried about her mental state.
Logan hurried to her and pulled her into a tight embrace. “It’s okay, Quinn. Ryan’s hurt, but she’s going to come around. She loves us. Let her have some time.”
“She’s my best friend,” Quinn sobbed. “I can’t lose her.”
Logan looked to me for help. The fear on his face reminded me he was only twenty-one and had encountered too much heartache in his short life. I went to where they stood and took Quinn into my arms.
“It’s okay, sweetheart,” I said. “Logan is right. Ryan loves you both dearly.”
Clapping behind me drew my attention and I released Quinn, turning and meeting my brother’s mocking gaze.
“Are you offering brotherly affection or hunting another pussy to fuck behind Ryan’s back?” Nicholas asked casually.
Quinn gasped.
“Another puss…what is he talking about, Noah?” Logan asked.
By sheer will, I rooted to the place I stood. If I moved, Iwouldkill Nicholas. That was no bravado. It was stone-cold fury because of his crimes against my woman. Showing her a fucking video was a sin but putting his filthy hands on her and speaking to her as he had was a fucking death sentence. “Logan, take Quinn upstairs,” I directed, surprisingly calm. “I need to talk to my brother alone.”
Neither Quinn or Logan moved.
Nicholas smirked. “You didn’t know?” he asked, glancing between Ryan’s siblings. “Noah fucked Megan Buford. Her baby might be—”
I roared like an enraged animal and charged him. My fist connected with his gut and sent him flying. “You’re a lying motherfucker,” I snarled, satisfied at the thud of his body landing on the floor, and stalked toward him. He scrambled out of my reach. “That was you on those videos.” I caught him again and grabbed a handful of hair, punching his miserable fucking face. “Megan drugged me and let you into my room.” I struck him again and again, unconcerned at the pain of his cracking teeth cutting my fingers.
“Noah!” Logan yelled, his voice reaching me over Quinn’s screams.
“I’m killing you, Nicholas. Fuck with me all you wish but fucking with Ryan is a death sentence.”
“Mr. Noah!” Angelo called.
“Sir! Mr. Keegan,” Lumley cried, alarmed.
Hands grabbed me and forced me away from Nicholas. The moment I released him, he crumpled into unconsciousness.
“Noah, calm down,” Logan said, breathing heavily.
His hold slackened and I shoved Angelo back, rushing to Nicholas again and heaving him to his feet. Motherfucker was deadweight. Not that it mattered. I was livid, barely exerting effort to grab his hair and drag him toward the window to toss him the fuck out.
Quinn realized my intent first and shrieked, inserting herself between me, Nicholas, and the floor-to-ceiling glass. “Don’t do this,” she cried. “Please, please, please. Ryan needs you.”
Her interference allowed Lumley and Angelo to use their bodies to block the window directly in front of me.
“Ryan hates me. Because of him,” I spat, jerking Nicholas like a rag doll. A swath of hair separated from his skull, freeing my hold on him and he collapsed in a heap. “I couldn’t remember anything from that night,” I explained, wild. “I woke up with Megan next to me, both of us naked. I don’t even like that woman, but I let her in because she carried Reid’s baby.” It was the same reason I’d asked Nicholas to my penthouse, because of Tina’s unborn child. Why the fuck should I consider family when they’d never held me in the same regard?
“Because you’re a good man,” Quinn said around tears, and I realized I’d vocalized the question. “That’s why Ryan fell in love with you.”
I glanced at her, backed away. Staggered to the nearest chair. “As much as I loved my mother, losing Ryan is so much worse. Nicholas knows what she means to me.” I hung my head in my hands. “Nothing matters anymore, Quinn. When Ryan confronted me with the knowledge of what I supposedly did with Megan, I was too stunned and appalled to question her. I didn’t know how she’d found out.”
