Page 19 of Parker

Jinx!

A wave of the same heartbreaking regret she’d felt that night came crashing down on Quinn, but she pushed it aside and focused on the present. Picking up the pace, she quickly covered the final stretch of asphalt to where her car was parked.

Out of habit, she waited to press the button on her fob that would unlock the doors until she was almost there. After securing the groceries on the car’s back seat, she slammed that door shut before climbing behind the wheel and buckling herself in.

Quinn gave the small, built-in screen on her dash a quick glance and sighed. It was already after eight…and she still hadn’t had supper.

At this rate, it’ll be midnight before you get around to eating.

Making a legal U-turn at the next light, she hit the nearest fast-food drive-thru and ate her dinner as she drove. By the time she was pulling into her garage, Quinn’s grilled chicken sandwich—and the small bag of fries—were little more than a memory.

Pressing the button to close the garage door, she retrieved her phone from the passenger seat and slid it into her pocket. Turning the ignition off and freeing her keys, she unfolded herself out of the car.

Quinn reached back inside and grabbed the paper sack from her impromptu meal. Cleared from the car once again, she gave a practiced flip of her wrist, the trash from her less-than-satisfying meal landing in the large can by the door with ease.

Getting the sacks of groceries from the back seat, she used her hip to shut the car door before making her way up the two concrete steps and into her home.

The two-bedroom townhouse was a rental, but with areas of exposed brick, tons of natural light, gorgeous hardwood floors throughout, and a kitchen that made her want to cook, it was one she was damn proud of.

Given some of the dives she’d called home in the past, this place was like living in the lap of luxury. It was also a symbol of how far she’d come.

And a reminder of what she stood to lose.

“Here, kitty, kitty,” Quinn called out for Oreo. She set the bags down onto the spacious island’s pristine, granite countertop with a sigh. “I brought you a surprise.”

Shaking the small bag of cat treats, she attempted to entice the sweet animal to join her while also toeing off her slip-on canvas shoes.

When Oreo didn’t show, Quinn put the treats away. “Fine, be that way.”

With the assumption that her recently acquired pet was either napping or simply disinterested, she began emptying the bags one-at-a-time, putting everything exactly where it went.

She didn’t used to be so particular with her things, but after taking a job with the FBI, Quinn had finally been able to afford a decent place to live and a nice, reliable car. The job she had now—freelance cybersecurity work from home—paid even more, which provided Quinn with the opportunity to upgrade a few things…

Desktop, laptop, tablet…and even the occasional mid-level wine as a treat.

It was more than some and much less than most. But she woke up every day feeling grateful as hell for her change of luck, and she never, ever took any of it for granted.

Too bad you can’t change your luck in the romance department, eh, Quinnie?

Jawbones clamped tightly together, she ignored her mother’s imagined quip and marched back to the table. Grabbing the empty plastic bags, she quickly checked them each for holes before nesting them one inside the other and shoving them in their designated basket under the sink.

She exhaled slowly, ready for a relaxing shower and some quality time with her DVR. But first…

Quinn walked over to the refrigerator and opened the door. Enveloped in a rush of cool air, she reached inside and pulled out a half-full bottle of wine. A recent, albeit accidental, discovery was such that two small glasses before bed tended to dull the details of her dreams.

And since she was doing everything in her power not to think about how much she missed talking with ByteMe69…

Don’t mind if I do.

Quinn pulled the cork free with a loudpop. Grabbing the glass she’d used last night from the wooden drying rack to her left, she turned it over and began to pour.

The first sip had her eyes closing and her shoulders relaxing.Thiswas what she needed. A moment to herself with nothing on her mind but the sweet taste rolling over her tongue.

She opened her eyes and took another sip before turning to leave. She barely made it a full step when a dark figure appeared before her.

Several things caught her attention at once, but Quinn could see and understand them all clearly. Almost as if time had been altered, and everything had begun to move in slow motion.

The glass fell from her hand. Sharp shards of cheap crystal burst across the floor around her, the crimson liquid that had been inside splattering into a puddle at her feet.

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