by Avery, Quinn
As the guys put in their usual order with Stinky Pete, their favorite bartender, Lincoln pulled his phone out and confirmed what he’d already suspected: Cameron hadn’t answered any of his messages. Not even the ones where he asked her to at least let him know she was physically okay, and not with his brother. Every last one of his instincts burned to hop on another plane back to San Francisco to check in on her, even if it meant getting kicked off the team.
Until he’d been forced to leave in time to catch his flight early that morning, he stuck around in the suite downtown, praying she’d return. Every minute that passed was like waiting for a damn IED to go off. He couldn’t watch TV, couldn’t sit still. Drinking himself into a stupor was a bad idea knowing he’d start training again as soon as he returned to Coronado. Instead, he sat down and wrote Cameron a letter that explained his feelings, and what his father had done. Six drafts later, he decided they all sounded too simple, and torched them in the fireplace.
He couldn’t expect her to ever forgive him. But it was also impossible to pretend he wasn’t still crazy in love with her, and simply move on. There had to be some way to convince her to come back to him.
In the ocean, he spent a good chunk of time trying to devise a strategy that would allow them to still live happily ever after. Inflicting vengeance against the men in his family had never been far from his thoughts since Cameron had left the hotel. He should’ve done something years ago. Hell, he should’ve turned his old man into the cops the day he shot Cameron’s father. By the time he realized his mistake, he was genuinely afraid of his father and what he was capable of doing if Lincoln were to rat on him. He’d threatened to make Cameron disappear on more than one occasion, and Lincoln was terrified he’d follow through.
He was afraid being raised by a criminal messed with his moral compass. The only thing he could be sure of anymore was that both his father and brother deserved to be dead.
“Still no word from that hot little blonde of yours?” Duke asked, shouldering him hard.
Wiping his hands over his tired face, Lincoln shook his head. He told his buddies a fabricated version of the truth of what happened when he went up to visit her, not wanting to get any of them involved in his complex web of shit. They were only aware Lincoln had confessed to something deep that she may never recover from.
Duke leaned over, passing one of the dark tap beers along. “Since you seem to be done fooling around with every hot chick who gives you the eye, and you seem to be ready for this whole serious relationship thing, I’m gonna give you a little free advice.”
Rogers chuckled from his other side. “Just because you finally found The One you’re suddenly the king of healthy relationships?”
Duke ignored the jab. Hazel eyes narrowed, he shrugged his broad shoulders. “Women need time to get over anything traumatizing. And they can hold a grudge a helluva lot longer than we can. One time while Shelly was pregnant with Ricky, I forgot to bring her ice cream from the store. Not that big of a deal, right? It took Shelly three days to forgive me. Be patient with your girl, Twitch. She’ll come around when she realizes you’re the best she can get.”
Lincoln chugged down a mouthful of beer, cherishing the warm burn as it trickled down to his uneasy stomach. How was he supposed to compare a story about ice cream to his situation?
“You could send her flowers,” Rogers piped in. “Women love that shit.”
Again, Lincoln shook his head. “It’s gonna take a helluva lot more than a bouquet of daisies for her forgiveness.”
“Maybe you should try a grand gesture,” Duke suggested, brows furrowed in thought. “Something that will get her attention and show her how much you care.”
Rogers sat taller, grinning from ear-to-protruding-ear. “Like one of those airplanes that pull signs over the beach!”
Lincoln chuckled. Rogers was a good man, but the little freckled dude was clueless on the ways of women. It was no surprise to anyone that he was single.
“No, numb nuts,” Duke said over his shoulder with a disgusted shake of his head. “Something that counts. Like doing something nice for her grandparents in the nursing home, or donating a good chunk of change in her name to her favorite charity. Hell, with all the money you come from, Twitch, you could probably afford to send her on a vacation to a five-star spa in Bali.”
Lincoln took another pull of beer before turning to them. He rested his arm on the bar as he looked Duke in the eye. “What if it’s someone else who hurt her? What would you do to someone who messed with Shelly in a real bad way?”
Duke’s lips curled with a deep sneer. “Are you kidding? I’d string him up by his nuts. Torture the asshole senseless until he bled out.”
That idea didn’t sound so bad once Lincoln put a little thought into it.
“You’re saying someone hurt your girl?” Duke bounced on the bar stool, ready to roll. “Give me a name, and we’ll help you mess him up real good.” He slapped Rogers on the arm, spilling his beer. “Right, Carrot Top?”
“Yeah…of course,” Rogers said, licking the beer off his hand while giving Duke the side-eye.
Having been deployed with his buddies several times over the last year, Lincoln had no doubt they’d make good on their word. But he couldn’t ask them to get involved in something that could end with time spent behind bars, or getting kicked out of the SEALs. They both had a bright career. And families. Rogers not so much, although his dog would miss him.
“I have to be smart about this,” Lincoln told them. “The men involved have gotten by with too much already. I probably only have one shot, so I need to make sure I hit them where it hurts.”
“Yeah, in the nuts!” Rogers shouted.
Duke turned, holding his hand up like he was going to deck Rogers. “Shut the hell up and let the adults speak!”
“Just sayin’,” Rogers grumbled to himself.
“They’re both heavily invested in the same company, and one is embezzling money beneath the other’s nose,” Lincoln said, eyeing Rogers. “What do you suppose it would take to bring them down without getting caught?”
Rogers’s eyebrows rose with interest. “You want me to hack into their system? Anything without military clearance is a cake walk.”
Lincoln sipped his beer while considering the offer. He already hated that Cameron was involved, especially when Kellen could still be in bed with Agron and ultimately, the mafia. Did he really want to get his friends involved too?
Duke clapped his shoulder, eyes hard with sincerity. “You know we’ll help you out in a heartbeat, but it’s kinda hard to know the right thing to do when we only know a portion of what you’re up against. If you decide to tell us the whole story, we’ll do whatever we can to help. If not, I’m sure you’ll find the right thing to do. I have faith in you, Twitch. After witnessing you single-handedly take those pricks out in Yemen, I know you can tackle this problem.”
Lincoln pretended to watch the sports highlights along with the guys as they drank their beers in silence, but his mind was racing with ideas. He would find a way to fix everything if it was the last goddamned thing he ever did on this earth.
* * *
Lincoln wasn’t convinced he’d actually caught any sleep when his phone rang from somewhere in the tangled mess of his bed sheets. His heart tried vaulting free of his chest as he scrambled to find it. It had to be Cameron.
But the number on the screen was blocked. Answering with a swipe of his finger, Lincoln was hopeful she was calling on someone else’s phone. “Hello?”
“You must think I’m pretty damn stupid.”
Ice ran through Lincoln’s veins with his brother’s menacing tone. “Most of the time, yeah. What do you want, Kellen?”
“You came back to the city just so you could sleep with my fiancée. Did you think I wouldn’t find out?”
Popping upright, Lincoln pulled in a calming breath. Had he followed Cameron? How much did he know? Lincoln had to play things out carefully. Whatever he said at that
point could both ruin Cameron’s game, and put her in grave danger. “What makes you think that?”
“Are you going to deny it’s true? I wouldn’t go there, brother.”
“What the hell do you care? It’s not like you’re truly in love with her. We both know you have other women on the side. You were using her to blackmail our old man into the promotion you want. Doesn’t look like it’s gonna work out the way dinner went the other night.”
“You think I’m going to let that asshole dictate my life? I don’t care if he approves of my marriage to Cameron. The whole point of a bribe is to have power over the other person. I won’t let him take that away from me.”
Teeth barred, Lincoln was conflicted between smashing his cell to pieces, and tearing Kellen a new one for taking something far more valuable the night he’d forced himself on Cameron. But he’d be severing the only way Cameron could reach out to him, and losing it with his brother over the phone wouldn’t help a damn thing. He’d be better off poking a beehive than tangling with the psycho. Cameron was too far away for him to effectively protect. He needed to find another way to diffuse Kellen before he went after her.
“It’s safe to say he received the message loud and clear that you’re willing to expose him,” Lincoln said. “You don’t need her to carry through with the threat any longer.”
“You want me to simply let her go so you can have her?” Kellen laughed in a dark, bone-chilling sound that skyrocketed Lincoln’s blood pressure. “I’m not going to give up that sweet thing. Course it won’t be nearly as fun as the first time she gave it up for me. Once I’ve knocked her up with half a dozen of my kids, she’ll be worn out.”
Uncontrollable tremors ripped through Lincoln. Clutching his phone, he sprung from the bed to pace the room, jamming his finger into the air. “You lay one goddamned finger on her and I’ll tear your heart out of your chest!” Adrenaline coursed through him so hard and fast that he was sure he was having a heart attack.
“I’m not scared of you, Linc. We both know you’re locked into your job, and can’t do a damn thing to stop me. Cameron made a promise to become my wife, and I’m sure as hell not letting her back out for anything.”
“Why the hell are you so determined to do this to her? Why can’t you just leave her alone? She’s never going to be happy with you!”
“Because I’m tired of you always getting your way!”
“Getting my way? What exactly is it that makes you think I’ve lived a charmed life? Our old man was ready to send me to prison. I volunteered to put myself through hell instead, losing my girl in the process.” Among heavy breaths, Lincoln warned himself to stay calm. “Whatever this is about, you and I can deal with it. I have Sunday off—I’ll come up there, and we can work something out. Just let her go, Kellen. She was never yours, and she never will be.”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” Kellen sneered in a raspy growl. “It’s time everyone in this family stopped keeping secrets from each other and exposed the truth once and for all. Meet me Sunday night in Dad’s office at Luxco, ten p.m. sharp. Security won’t be there, so I’ll leave the side-door unlocked. Come alone. If you love her, you’ll be there.”
The line went dead.
Heavy breaths raked Lincoln’s entire body until he was ready to pass out.
It was time to end things.
* * *
When Lincoln pulled up to Duke’s little shack with Rogers in the passenger seat, the sun was cresting on the horizon. Duke waited on the front step, head bowed, hands folded and elbows resting on his bent knees. It was the same calming pose he’d take on before they'd prepare to do something dangerous like jump from a helicopter, or ambush a target. He once told Lincoln it was a matter of getting in the right mindset—something between a prayer and a wish. He seemed to understand what was being asked of him by helping Lincoln.
Duke collected a duffel bag from the sidewalk and jumped to his feet, meeting Lincoln’s Jeep before he had a chance to pull into the driveway. Resting his arm on the open window, Duke’s eyebrows drew down and his nostrils flared. A lessor man would’ve cowered with the display of ferociousness. Lincoln welcomed it because it mirrored the determination solidifying in his soul.
“You all right, Twitch?” he asked. “What happened to your face?”
Lincoln ran a hand over his clean-shaven jaw. “I’m ready to tell you the rest of the story.” He glanced down at the bag in Duke’s hand. “You grab everything I told you to bring?”
“It’s all right here,” he said, patting the bag with his other hand.
Lincoln tipped his head to the backseat. “Get in.”
Duke threw the bag into the back, then his eyes volleyed between Lincoln and Rogers. “You do realize we’re going to be in the deepest of shit for skipping town like this.”
“That’s why we have to make it quick, numb nuts,” Rogers replied, mocking Duke’s tone from earlier. He sounded pleased with himself for being the one to get a jab in for a change.
“I’m not making either of you do anything you don’t want to do,” Lincoln said, eyeing them one at a time. “What I’m doing is just as dangerous as anything we’ve done for the military, except this won’t be regarded as heroic. If you want out, just say the word.”
Arms crossed and feet firmly planted, Duke shook his head. “No way I’m letting you do this on your own, Twitch.”
Grunting, Lincoln tossed him the phony passport Cameron had left behind in her little purse. “I’m ready to tackle this problem with Cameron head on.”
“Now we’re talkin’!” Duke cheered, glancing down at the picture of Kellen.
As he filled the guys in on the situation, Lincoln headed for the airport like the devil was chasing them.
In reality, they were headed right for him.
18
While waiting for Pamela to meet her at the park, Cameron watched the weekend crowd enjoying the sunshine, and rubbed her bare ring finger. The engagement ring and all her belongings were still in Kellen’s apartment, but she had spent the past several nights on Rebecca’s couch. Though her mom’s clothes fit, Cameron was eager to get her own back in an attempt to feel normal again. She hoped Kellen hadn’t incinerated everything after she’d changed phone numbers. If she wanted contact with either of the Farrington brothers, it’d be on her terms.
In the week since Lincoln’s return, her life had gone from being considerably messed up to utter chaos. She’d become so emotionally wrecked that going back to work would've been a waste of time. She was too focused on finding a way to acquire the money in the Caymans without Lincoln’s help.
At least the truth had begun to repair her relationship with Rebecca, and even made Cameron appreciate her mom’s struggles. Cameron could almost understand how it was better to be numb from drugs than deal with the falsified reality.
Despite being mentally exhausted, it had been impossible to catch any sleep as Lincoln’s confession ran through her mind every night. While she wasn’t about to empathize with someone who was an accessory to her dad’s murder, a part of her ached for the boy she’d cherished who was forced to watch as a man’s head was blown to bits. With a heavy heart, she had started to understand the encrypted meaning behind so many of their conversations.
While sunning themselves on Santa Cruz beach just days before their junior year, something happened to make another day in the sand extraordinary.
With her eyes closed, face tilted up to the sun, Cameron leaned on Lincoln’s chest while he played with a lock of her hair. His other hand rested on her bare stomach. Even though Lincoln’s parents didn’t know they were dating yet, their classmates knew they’d become serious, and everyone was pretty accepting. Ellee and her boyfriend hung out with them a few times, and once they were joined at the arcade by a handful of Lincoln’s basketball teammates who didn’t even give him the usual grief about spending all his time with her.
As he began to massage her scalp that afternoon, her body heated to unbearable l
evels. The shy kiss at the museum the summer before had progressed into steamy make-out sessions under the covers of the bed in his parents’ guesthouse where they tested their limits. His family was almost never around, so they were allowed ample time alone. She was nervous for the next step, but ready at the same time. Long before she gave him her body, he already had her heart.
“Are you excited about going back to school?” she asked.
After a long moment of silence, he answered. “Not really. You?”
“This year’s going to be…different. Do you think your brother knows we’re more than friends?”
“I won't let him bother you either way. My entire family’s messed up, Quinn. If I was ever forced to make a choice, it’d always be you.”
Sighing, she flopped around to her belly to face him. Once their eyes locked, it was hard to breathe. Between his dazzling brown eyes and the scent of coconut sunscreen on his golden skin, she was at a loss for any rational thoughts. She steadied herself on his chest as he ran his thumb across her lips.
“I love you, Quinn.”
The words were so heartfelt and so unexpected that she almost burst into tears.
“I love you, too,” she whispered.
All at once, he looked ready to cry too. “I know I shouldn’t,” he said in a voice so faint that she almost didn’t hear him, “but I can’t seem to stop myself.”
Stomach clenched, she held his hand in place. “You mean because of where I come from?”
With a quick shake of his head, he bent in for a lingering kiss, erasing her doubts. His lips were as gentle and attentive as the caresses on her warm skin.
She didn’t give his comment any more thought once they hurried back to his guest house and made love for the first time. It was sloppy and awkward because Lincoln was a virgin. She cried all the way through it because she wasn’t.