Page 119 of Something like Redemption

Quinn sighs, the deep sound resonating in his chest. “Abi.”

“What do you mean?” I ask, confused.

“After I calmed down, I listened to my gut. I just knew we hadn’t seen the last of Justin, and the more I thought about it, I realized his note was some fucked-up forewarning of things to come. I just had a bad feeling, and that bad feeling told me he’d come back for you.” He grinds down on his jaw.

“So I called Abi and asked if her dad could pull some strings with the cops. I had Justin’s license plate and asked if Abi’s dad could trace him. And they did.

“I don’t know just who Abi’s dad is, but he’s one powerful man. He has connections everywhere.”

When Quinn frowns, I understand why.

Even with his connections and power, he still can’t clear our names. We’re in so deep.

“The moment she told me where he was, I stole a truck and broke every traffic law to get to you. But I still didn’t get there in time.”

“Hey,” I say, not liking the guilt I see. “If it wasn’t for you…”

But I can’t finish.

We both remain silent, no doubt processing what would have happened if Quinn had not found me.

“Tell me what happened.”

He has every right to know, but when I tell him, will he think differently of me? I guess there’s only one way to find out.

“I dealt to Justin’s dad.” I sigh, the truth burning an acidic hole in my throat.

When Quinn remains quiet, I continue. “Not that it makes it right, but I didn’t know it was his dad. His dad…he died because of the drugs I sold him.”

Quinn is silent, his heavy breathing echoing throughout his chest.

“Justin and I, we kissed twice in high school.”

As Quinn’s body tenses under me, I quickly add, “But that’s all we did. He told me he loved me, and I didn’t even know he existed.” I come clean with a hint of remorse in my voice. It’s a horrible reality knowing your feelings aren’t reciprocated.

“He saw me dealing to a classmate and figured out I was dealing to his dad,” I say, leaving out the irrelevant details.

“So he wanted revenge on you?”

“Yes.”

“Motherfucker,” he utters under his breath.

“I dropped out of school and never saw Justin again. The whole time, however, he was scheming ways to pay me back for what I did to his dad. I gave him the perfect opportunity when I drew attention to myself by shooting my father.”

“He knew my dad would be looking for me, so he made a deal with him and Phil. For information on my whereabouts, they would pay him fifty grand.”

“How did he know where we were in the first place?” Quinn asks. I know I’m leaving out a big hunk of the story, but I want him to know the essentials before I pass out.

“Stacey. He came looking for me in South Boston, but we had already split. Stacey was more than happy to rat us out since she had all the info from Brad.”

Quinn’s chest expands as he takes a lungful of incensed breath, but he allows me to finish.

“The day Justin ran into us was his lucky day because he’d made another deal with my dad. They were supposed to give him eighty grand for information on my whereabouts. And of course, my dad agreed. But Justin was a fool for ever believing he would see that amount of money. I have no doubt they would have killed him before we left the room.

“But it wasn’t enough for Justin because as much as he wanted the money, he also wanted his vengeance. He toyed with Phil and my dad. That was why he didn’t turn me over right away. He wanted power and control, and he wanted to fuck with me for as long as he could. However, things turned sour when his plan backfired.”

And by backfire, I mean he tried to come between Quinn and me, but when he saw he couldn’t break the foundation of our strange but solid relationship, he’d had enough and wanted his money and his revenge.

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