What They Never Said

by Avery, Quinn

  “She’s everything,” Lincoln snarled. “So I’d strongly advise you to think carefully. You’ve already hurt her enough by killing her father. Hurt her again, and I’ll hunt down every last person who ever meant anything to you, and do the same to them right before I carve your beating heart out with a dull knife.”

  “I don’t wish to hurt her, but I will not go to prison.” Agron’s brow furrowed. “How do you propose we end this?”

  “With you in a body bag,” Lincoln suggested. He fired into Agron’s hand, knocking the gun to the ground. Howling, Agron cradled his injured hand and rose to his feet. He made a mad dash for the elevators as the next bullet grazed over his head.

  “Dammit!” Lincoln roared, glancing down on Cameron. As much as he wanted to see the Russian die, he couldn’t let his girl bleed out.

  “Get her to a hospital!” Duke yelled over his shoulder, only steps behind Agron. “I’ve got ‘im, and Rogers is waiting downstairs!”

  “Roger that,” Rogers confirmed in the earpiece. “We won’t let him get away, Twitch!”

  Lincoln shoved his gun into the back of his jeans, then rushed over to place his fingers on his father’s neck. No pulse. Lincoln bowed his head, wishing the old man’s death had drawn out longer to inflict a fraction of the agony he'd caused Cameron and her mom.

  Beside him, Kellen rolled off Cameron and landed on his side, wheezing and clutching his massively bleeding chest. “Linc…help me.”

  Lincoln’s first instinct was to dig his fingers into the wound and make his brother squeal like a stuck pig, but he didn’t have time to mess around. He bent to find Cameron’s pulse, and assess her wound. The shot appeared to have passed all the way through her shoulder. She didn’t move when he ripped a square of material off the bottom of her sweatshirt to press over the pool of blood. At least her pulse continued, strong and steady.

  From where he crouched on the floor, he glanced over at Kellen. He hoped his brother was in a lot of pain, and bled out slowly. “You got what you deserved. You’re done hurting her.”

  “Please…call…ambulance.”

  “Are you kidding?” Lincoln snarled. “I only wish I had the pleasure of shooting you myself.”

  “You…that was you…in those pictures…in the Caymans…you took my money.”

  “Your money?” Lincoln barked out a laugh. “Cameron knew you and Agron were stealing from this place. She was only pretending to marry you so she’d have time to get her hands on it.”

  Kellen’s eyes squeezed shut. “Keep it…every last cent.” He paused, coughing up a splatter of blood, then gave a pathetic, pleading look. “Just don’t…let me die.”

  “Thanks, but I plan on keeping it either way, you spineless coward. If Cameron had filled me in on what happened at senior prom, I would’ve killed you that night.”

  A sickening smile spread across Kellen’s bloodied lips. “She…wanted it. She slept with me first…Alan’s party…freshman homecoming. Gave me…her…virginity.”

  Kellen’s confession hurtled into him like a torpedo. He remembered finding Cameron throwing up outside Alan’s house that night. He had practically lifted her into the taxi.

  All at once, he felt the full scope of his brother’s depravity. He’d never lived by a moral code, thanks to their old man. He was as sick as they came, and received gratification out of hurting others. If he let Kellen walk out of there, he’d ruin more lives, even if Lincoln didn’t let him get anywhere near Cameron again.

  Retrieving his gun, he aimed it between his twin’s eyes.

  “Linc…what are you—?”

  “She’s mine. Always has been, always will be. This is one competition you’ll never win.”

  Kellen’s head jerked back. The bullet created a puckered hole right between his eyes. For a satisfying moment, Kellen’s body convulsed. Then he became still, lifeless eyes fixed on the ceiling.

  Pressure released inside Lincoln, rolling his shoulders forward. As a kid, he had always wondered if anything bad were to happen to Kellen, if he’d feel it too because of some twin connection. As he lifted Cameron into his arms and stared at his brother’s lifeless body, the only thing he felt was closure.

  “Twitch, you there?” Duke asked inside his earpiece. “We got ‘im. It’s time to clean up this mess, and get the hell outta here.”

  “On my way,” Lincoln answered.

  With one last glance at half his family lying dead behind him, he kissed Cameron’s forehead and started for the elevators. Whether she forgave him or not, he was at peace.

  She was finally safe from the wrath of the Farrington men.

  * * *

  After feeding a well-crafted domestic dispute story to the police that involved Kellen shooting Cameron and fleeing the scene, Lincoln paced the emergency room as he waited for an update from the doctors. Cameron had still been unconscious when he brought her in, but the paramedics had been confident she’d pull through.

  He hadn’t heard from Duke or Rogers since leaving Luxco and leaving the earpiece behind, but he was certain no news was the best news, all things considered. The loose ends were left in the hands of the best possible crew for the situation.

  After what felt like days, a small blonde woman in a white coat emerged from the swinging doors. “Lincoln Farrington?” When he rushed toward her, her gray eyes skated over Cameron’s blood dried on his arms and shirt.

  “I’m Dr. Kendall, your fiancée's surgeon. We were able to effectively stop the bleeding caused by the bullet. It left a clean wound that we were able to successfully patch up. I expect her to make a full recovery.”

  “Thank god,” he muttered, running both hands over his tired face. He offered his hand to the woman. “Thank you, Doc. Can I see her now?”

  She shook his hand and frowned. “She’s coming down from anesthesia, so it’s best if you let her rest.”

  “Please?” He flashed one of his charming grins. “I just need to see with my own eyes that my girl’s okay.”

  A blush filled the surgeon’s cheeks when she ducked her chin and smiled. “I guess as long as you promise to let her sleep.”

  “I will,” he swore.

  Dr. Kendall led him back to the private recovery room where Cameron was hooked to machines. Eyes closed, hospital gown pulled down off her shoulder to reveal a patch of bandages, she looked far too vulnerable. With sharp pain rippling through Lincoln, he hoped like hell that he’d never have to see her that way ever again.

  “If she wakes, press the call button beside her bed, and a nurse will come to help manage her pain,” Dr. Kendall instructed. Her fingers touched his forearm. “You might want to take a minute to wash up before she’s awake. I’ll have one of the orderlies drop off a clean shirt. There’s a private bathroom back in the corner.”

  “Thanks, Doc,” he said, turning with a nod. “I don’t mean for the shirt—I mean for taking good care of Cameron. She’s everything to me.”

  “Sounds like she’s lucky to have you, Mr. Farrington.” With a kind smile, she patted his arm and left them alone.

  He clenched his fists, ready to bust something. Lucky to have him? That couldn’t have been any further from the truth. Every bad thing that happened to Cameron since her dad’s death was all because Lincoln couldn’t let her go. Even with his father and Kellen dead, he couldn’t help wondering if he’d only bring more pain into her life.

  What if something happened to him while out on a mission? How could he ask her to suffer again because of his choices? And what if she still hadn’t forgiven him?

  He cautiously moved over to the side of the bed. Taking her cool hand, he bent to kiss her forehead. His throat ached. He’d give anything to absorb her pain.

  Without letting go of her hand, he settled into the plastic chair beside the bed. He grabbed the remote, quickly muting the TV before navigating through local channels. He stopped on a live feed of a female reporter standing in front of a fire truck with several firemen scurrying behind her. He leaned forward on
his knees, watching the camera pan out to show the Luxco building engulfed in flames. The banner on the bottom read:

  LUXCO CEO HOWARD FARRINGTON AND SON KELLEN FARRINGTON STILL UNACCOUNTED FOR. AUTHORITIES INVESTIGATING POSSIBLE ARSON.

  He gently squeezed Cameron’s hand. “See that? No one messes with my girl.”

  Her thin fingers jerked. She let out a quiet little moan.

  Lincoln jumped to his feet, smoothing the hair on her head. “Quinn? Baby?”

  The sight of her crystal blue eyes fluttering open and staring back at him had the effect of a sucker-punch to the face. “Linc?”

  “Yeah, it’s me, baby.” His fingertips trailed along her cheek. “They had to operate on your shoulder, but you’re going to be okay.”

  A tear slipped down her temple. “I was terrified that Kellen had done something to you. I didn’t think I’d get the chance to tell you that I forgive you. I love you so damn much, Linc! My life would be meaningless without you.”

  The words—her forgiveness—cut through him like a sharp blade. It was more than he could’ve hoped for.

  “I love you, too,” he said with a twitch of a smile.

  He pressed his lips to hers, intending for the kiss to be gentle. She gripped the short hairs on the top of his head and kissed him back with a surprising amount of strength. The uncertainty and fear that she’d reject him rolled off his shoulders.

  There wasn’t any letting her go, whether it was best for her or not. She’d become a part of him in every way imaginable, and that wasn’t something he would ever walk away from. He wouldn’t make that mistake again.

  Epilogue

  “Buon pomeriggio!”

  Lincoln’s Italian was nonexistent when arriving days ago, but he decided it was improving the way the elderly woman smiled, greeting him back with the exact same words. Pleased with himself, he shoved his hands into his pockets and whistled “Don’t Stop Believing” the entire stroll up the rocky path.

  He’d been around the world, experiencing some of the most beautiful landscapes in existence, but none of them compared to Positano. As he glanced down from the rugged cliffs, he made a note to give the travel agent a bonus for making it the trip of a lifetime like he’d requested. The dramatic view of the water licking along the coast, dotted with brightly colored villas, was something that would stay with him until the day he died.

  Fingering the key in his pocket, he was eager to give his wife the surprise that he hoped could provide her with one last piece of closure on her dad’s murder. He’d kept the final secret from her since his father and brother died, and it was the last one he planned to hold back. At least this one wouldn’t cause her more pain.

  The fire that destroyed Luxco made world headlines. Not because it killed the CEO and his prodigy son, but because a leader of the Russian mafia was seen entering the building with two men on security footage before the wires to the cameras were cut. Agron was never seen or heard from again. Authorities assumed the fire was the mafia’s doing, making their investigation pretty cut and dried. But as a precaution, Rogers was able to thoroughly cover their asses by altering the airline’s records to show they’d been on a return flight from New York at the exact time the building came down.

  Cameron only spent one night in the hospital after surgery, and was sent home with a sling and pain meds. When Lincoln broke the news to her that everyone had died in the gunfight, she flung her arms around his neck and sobbed. She later confessed that she was happy they were gone, but felt bad that he’d lost most of his family—even though they weren’t good people.

  While he resumed training, merely catching serious heat for going UA with Duke and Rogers, Cameron quit her job and moved into his little apartment in downtown San Diego until they had time to find a new place.

  True to his word, three days before he was deployed on another mission, they were married in the Presidio park. Her friend Pamela became ordained online and officiated the service with Cameron’s mom as their only witnesses. His mother was not invited. He wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to forgive her for standing at his father’s side, supporting his unethical business practices. As far as Lincoln was concerned, Cameron was the only family he had left, and he’d gained a mother-in-law.

  When he reached the little gold villa where his girl stood in the doorway, fresh pink flower behind her ear in the same shade as the tiny print on her flowing white dress, golden curls tumbling around her glowing face, he decided he was truly in paradise. She greeted him with a broad smile that once again made him thankful beyond words.

  Since the showdown with Agron a year ago, he’d been haunted by the fear of almost losing her. The six months he was deployed were worse than any hell he’d known. He’d jolt awake covered in sweat from nightmares involving the gun Agron had held to her head. Sometimes he’d wake all the guys, roaring her name. He never told Cameron about the nightmares because they went away as soon as they were reunited.

  The whole experience made him question his future as a SEAL to the point that he looked into becoming a BUD/s training instructor. He caught flack from his team, but Duke and Rogers at least seem to understand why he’d want to keep Cameron close after seeing firsthand what they went through. It was hard to protect her if he was on the other side of the world. Ever since they'd landed in Italy for their belated honeymoon, he’d only let her out of his sight a few times.

  “Ciao, Bella.” The greeting came out as a needy growl. He gathered her in his arms and ran his lips across her smooth jaw, breathing in her intoxicating scent. “Has anyone told you that you’re the most beautiful creature to walk the earth, Mrs. Farrington?” He took her earlobe in his teeth. “In fact, you look good enough to eat.” He scooped her off the ground and threw her over his shoulder.

  “Linc, wait!” She playfully slapped his back, giggling. “You promised you’d take me out tonight for pasta! We’ve been holed up in this villa for days! As much as I love you and your hot body, I don’t think I can take any more! It’s exhausting!”

  He set her down and cradled her face, wanting to consume every last inch of his beautiful wife. Wanting to mark her in every way imaginable. Wanting to show her how much she was loved.

  At the time, it didn’t seem possible that she was back in his life, or that there wasn’t anything in their way of being together. He tried his damnedest not to think back on everything she’d been through merely because he wanted to know more about Scott Quinn’s daughter. Those were the days the darkness crept back in, and he still worried he wasn’t worthy of her love.

  He vowed to spend the rest of his life doing whatever it took to prove he was the only man who would ever love her the way she deserved.

  * * *

  After they were stuffed with bread and a mouth-watering carbonara, Lincoln suggested they take a stroll to the marina. A sea of stars dotted the dark sky, and the gorgeous little villas overlooking the cliff glowed from strings of lights.

  Whenever she thought back to what they’d gone through together, it felt too surreal. After Lincoln’s father and brother died, they hardly ever spoke of them again. The dark cloud of crippling secrets looming over their heads was at last lifted.

  In the agonizing months Lincoln was deployed, she started to rebuild her life. She formed a strong bond with her mom unlike anything they’d had in the past. She reached out to her old friends from college, and they gave her a programming job with their starter company—something she was able to do from their new home in Oceanside. After Lincoln left, she spent all her free time fixing up the little two-bedroom cottage.

  In addition to keeping in close touch with Pamela, she’d befriended a few of the other SEALs’ wives. She also became tight with their new Marine neighbor and his bubbly wife who’d recently given birth to twin girls. She was still lonely until she babysat the neighbor’s 3-legged Lab while they visited family in Minnesota. When they returned, they suggested she rescue a dog from the local shelter. On first sight, she fell in love with a lit
ter of 9-month-old Chocolate Lab puppies that had been abandoned, but sadly only adopted one.

  Twitch hadn’t been sure about Lincoln at first, even growling at him a few times when he got anywhere near Cameron. But it made Lincoln feel better knowing she was being well taken care of when he couldn’t be there—by both the dog and their fiercely protective neighbors. After a few days, Lincoln and Twitch became good buddies.

  Cameron’s heart swelled as they approached the fleet of sailboats bobbing against the Italian coastline. She was standing in the same place her dad had promised to take them one day. She squeezed her husband’s hand with tears springing to her eyes. “Oh, Linc…it’s so beautiful.”

  Chuckling, he bent to nuzzle her neck. “Hold on, sweetheart. The best is yet to come.”

  He steered her toward one of the larger sailing yachts on the far end of the dock before releasing her hand. As he stepped up onto the stern, she studied the monstrosity and guessed it to be near 70’ long. The masts were bare, and the black fiberglass on the hull shined in the moonlight like it had just been delivered from a factory.

  Her breath caught when she read the name of the boat displayed on its side in elegant white script.

  The Scott Quinn.

  “You like it?” Lincoln asked, his voice huskier than usual. He threw her the sexiest grin in history, eyes gleaming with pride, and bent to pull her up next to him. Then he pressed a key into the palm of her hand. “It’s a wedding present for my bride.”

  She covered her mouth as a sob slipped out. Of course she liked it. It was the ultimate tribute to her dad. She couldn’t imagine anything more thoughtful.

  “I bought it with the money from the Caymans,” he told her, pulling her up tight against his chest. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the money sooner, but I wanted to surprise you. I’ve hired a captain and a small crew for the week.”