Sworn to Protect

by Katie Reus

* * *

  From the parking lot next door to the grocery store, Glenn remained hidden in the shadows as he watched Quinn exit with that smart-mouthed bitch. She was pretty, but that mouth of hers, the disrespectful way she’d talked to him… Glenn had wanted to backhand her just to wipe that look off her face.

  Approaching her like that had been a test. Hell, he hadn’t been sure if he would talk to her at all tonight, but when she’d gotten up in his face he’d wanted to scare her. He’d wanted to see terror in her eyes.

  Now Glenn was glad he had because she clearly mattered to Quinn. He hadn’t been certain if she meant anything to that bastard. She could have just been a co-worker. Today Glenn had seen them having lunch together, but that could have been a work thing. Sure, they seemed to have chemistry but there hadn’t been any hand-holding or any other little signs they’d been a couple.

  So Glenn had planned to tail her for a few days, to see where she went and who she visited. Following her would be a lot easier than keeping up with Quinn. Quinn was trained and would see a tail a lot quicker. Not the dark-haired woman whose name he was going to find out very soon. She’d been completely oblivious that he’d followed her from work. She’d stopped a couple places before hitting the grocery store.

  Soon he’d find out her name and where she lived. He still had some contacts he could use, one in particular. Because following her tonight would be stupid, especially when it appeared Quinn was taking her home. Either to her place or Quinn’s, it didn’t matter to Glenn.

  Now that he’d made contact, had let Quinn know he wasn’t safe, it was time to play. Glenn hadn’t done anything illegal and it was his word against some woman’s if she said anything to the police. He was well within following the rules of his parole requirements.

  He’d keep doing so for a while. At least until it suited him. He needed to buy a new ID and papers just in case he had to run later. He wasn’t going back to prison but he wasn’t stupid enough to think that he might not get caught going after Quinn. The new ID would be his backup. Though he still needed to lay his exact plans out, figure out his best plan of attack. That meant he’d have to watch this bitch, learn more about who she was, her habits, everything.

  So if he had to flee, he’d be ready this time. No matter what happened, Quinn was going to get exactly what was coming to him and Glenn wasn’t going back to prison. Never again.

  Chapter 5

  Athena caught Quinn’s look of surprise as she gave him her address. He’d been about to plug it into his GPS until he clearly recognized the name of the street.

  “You live next door to Belle and Grant?” he asked, glancing in the rearview mirror before reversing.

  “Yeah, moved in a few weeks ago. She still hasn’t let go of her old place and it makes more sense to rent it than letting it sit empty.”

  “I’m surprised they haven’t rented it before now.”

  Athena shrugged. Since marrying Grant, Belle had been trying to decide if she should rent or sell and Athena moving back had given her an excuse to prolong making the decision to sell. “You don’t want to talk about my living situation any more than I do.”

  Quinn let out a short laugh. “Not really. I need to make some calls, then we’re talking. Okay?”

  She nodded, letting him do what he needed to. Being with Quinn after that strange confrontation soothed most of the jagged edges of her nerves. Not completely, because that guy, Glenn White, had seriously scared her. Now that she knew he was a former cop the whole thing was even more worrisome. She was so thankful that Quinn was taking her home too because she didn’t trust herself to drive. She was too shaky and for all she knew, the guy could have tried to follow her. At that sudden thought, she turned around in her seat.

  Quinn, who was on the phone, she’d surmised with Grant, shook his head and held the phone away from his mouth. “I’ll know if we have a tail,” he murmured.

  Okay then. She sat back against the comfortable leather seat and didn’t wonder why he was taking all sorts of random turns. If someone was following them, Quinn would figure it out soon enough. It relieved a bit of pressure in her chest to know that he was trained.

  She didn’t live far from the grocery store, roughly about ten minutes, but Quinn had made enough turns that it took double that. By the time they pulled into the driveway, Quinn was getting off the phone with Grant—and Grant and Belle were waiting in the driveway.

  Belle practically had the passenger side door open before they’d parked or Athena had unstrapped her seatbelt.

  “Athena!” Her cousin dragged her into a surprisingly tight hug.

  “You’re squeezing really tight,” she rasped out.

  Belle immediately loosened her grip and stepped back, but not by much. She grasped onto Athena’s shoulders and looked her up and down, as if looking for injury.

  “What exactly did Grant tell you happened? I’m fine.” Jeez, Belle had been through a heck of a lot worse over a year ago, being kidnapped by a crazed maniac who turned out to be a serial killer. Athena getting approached by a jerk in a grocery store wasn’t on the same scale.

  “I know, I just worry about you.”

  Athena just smiled, knowing it was their family way. Belle was only a few years older, but older cousins and sisters or brothers always looked out for the younger relatives. It was just the way it was, and something Athena was grateful for. “Thank you, seriously. But I swear I’m fine.” She turned to look at Grant and Quinn, who both stood there like formidable warriors near the closed garage door.

  “I’ve already swept the house,” Grant started. Of course he would have. They had the security code and an extra key. “And I called in one of our guys to pick up your car. He said he’d call me if Stephanos gave him an issue, but I doubt he will. Stephanos and Steven were worried, so they’ll be happy to help.”

  Athena simply nodded. They’d left her car keys with Stephanos and Quinn had said he’d contact the man when they’d figured out what they planned to do about her vehicle. “Is your guy bringing it here?”

  Grant shook his head. “No, he’s taking it to Red Stone where it will remain in secure parking overnight. I’m going to have it swept for bugs or trackers.”

  “Wait…what?” She stepped closer to Quinn and Grant, staring at her cousin-in-law as if he’d lost his mind. “This guy just approached me in a grocery store. Don’t get me wrong, it was creepy, but sweeping my car for bugs, seriously? That’s overkill.” She figured that if he wanted to find her, he could just use her license plate number and attempt to track her that way. Thankfully she hadn’t updated her address yet.

  But of course the man just shrugged as if what he was doing was no big deal. Worse, Quinn didn’t seem fazed by it either.

  “I don’t care if it’s overkill,” Grant said, his tone resolute. “I almost lost my wife to a serial killer. You’re family and we look out for our own. Deal with it.”

  Athena blinked, realizing that even if she argued it would be pointless. There were certainly worse things than an overprotective family. “Okay, thank you.”

  Grant’s eyes narrowed a fraction, as if he didn’t quite believe Athena’s acquiescence. Belle slipped her arm through Athena’s, tugging her closer. “We’re just worried about you.”

  Athena nudged Belle with her hip. “I know, it’s why I’m not going to argue. As long as you don’t tell my mom. Or your mom,” she rushed on. If her mother or pretty much anyone in the family found out about this, they’d rush over to her house like madwomen with covered dishes and desserts. As if someone had died. She’d just started a new job and had a stressful day; she couldn’t handle her family descending upon her.

  “Well, we won’t,” Grant said before Belle could respond. “But you know Stephanos—”

  “Oh, hell, I wasn’t thinking,” she groaned, wondering which of her family members would now show up tomorrow morning before she had to leave for work. Because she knew it was happening. There would be a little army of them. Her mom for
sure. Not her sisters because they’d all be in school. But her mom, likely two of her aunts, and—

  “Grant.” Quinn’s voice cut off her train of thought and internal pity party.

  Athena looked between the two men as they seemed to have a telepathic conversation. Which she knew was ridiculous, but something passed between them as they stared at each other. Finally Grant nodded and they both turned back to her and Belle.

  “I’m going to grab my bag from the truck and I think it wouldn’t hurt to park in your garage. If you have the room.” Quinn’s first words since they’d gotten out of his truck could have knocked her over.

  She knew she wasn’t misunderstanding either. “You want to stay with me?”

  “Either he stays over—in your guest room—or you stay with Belle and me…or I call your mother. If you let Quinn stay I’ll call Stephanos right now and tell him to hold off on contacting your family.” Grant gave her an easy smile that she wanted to knock right off his smug face.

  “That’s blackmail,” Athena muttered. “And it worked.” She shot Quinn a grim look. “You can stay.” Definitely not the way she’d once imagined him staying at her place, but it was late, she was hungry and she wasn’t going to waste any time arguing. “I’ll go inside and open the garage door.”

  Quinn’s expression was too hard to decipher. She couldn’t tell if he was pleased to be staying with her. Though she wasn’t going to admit it, and even if she did think this whole thing was overkill when she wasn’t even a clear target, she was glad he’d be at her place tonight. She’d certainly sleep better with him under the same roof. She’d just have to ignore her growing attraction to him.

  * * *

  Quinn looked up from the island in Athena’s kitchen as she stepped inside. He’d heard her on the stairs and knew she’d be here soon, but seeing her in the flesh still seemed to knock him back a few steps every single time. She’d already shown him to the guest room, where he’d left his duffel bag, and had told him she was changing out of her work clothes. While she’d been in her room he’d decided to put up her groceries and start on dinner for her.

  Which clearly surprised her, given her raised eyebrows as she raked a gaze over him. “You’re cooking?”

  “Figured you could use the break.” He’d already peeled the eggplants and was dipping the slices in egg yolk to roll in breading.

  “I feel like I should tell you that you don’t have to, but… I’m mentally exhausted and starving. So thank you.” She gave him a tired smile and headed for her refrigerator. “I don’t think I have beer or anything you’d like.”

  “Water’s good for me.” He motioned to the water bottle he’d grabbed earlier.

  “You sure?”

  He nodded, watching out of the corner of his eye as she moved to another counter and slid out a bottle of red wine before pulling down a glass from one of her cabinets. She was wearing a soft-looking gray and white striped sweater paired with gray lounge pants that fit snugly over her ass. He’d had a likely inappropriate amount of fantasies about what it would be like to run his hands over her ass—and entire body.

  At that thought, his dick decided it had a mind of its own so he turned away and focused on the food. “How’re you feeling?”

  “Eh, okay. The whole thing is disturbing but you and Grant are right. I’d rather be smart about this while you figure out what to do—and I assume you’re already doing something about White, right?” She pressed play on the small silver CD player on her counter and soft notes of jazz music filled the kitchen.

  “Yeah. I’ve put in a call to an old buddy of mine from the local PD and he’s going to find out who Glenn’s parole officer is. What he did today wasn’t illegal, and since no one else heard him, it’s a case of he-said, she-said regardless. He won’t be called in for questioning and there’s nothing for you to do at this point other than just be aware, but I want someone official to know about this situation for the record.” Quinn hated that they couldn’t get Glenn on anything right now, but even drinking alcohol likely wasn’t going to work against him unless Glenn’s probation specifically stated he wasn’t allowed to consume alcohol at all. And in Florida unless the crime was alcohol related, probationary terms usually outlined something along the lines of not drinking to excess. Which was too damn vague in Quinn’s opinion.

  “So,” Athena said, taking a seat on the opposite side of the island across from him. “Who is this guy to you? Give me all the details.”

  He’d been ready for that question, and he owed her the truth. “Long story short, he was a wife-beater and I helped convince his wife to leave him.” Quinn was thankful every day for how brave Suzanne had been. She’d been so terrified of her husband’s position and looking back, Quinn realized what a leap of faith it had taken for her to come with him that day when he’d basically been a stranger to her.

  “And he was a cop.” Athena sounded disgusted, the words more of a statement than question.

  “Yeah. He never should have been in the position he was, but he was smart. Suzanne, that was his wife, had been terrified to leave him. Things hadn’t always been like that from what I eventually learned. Not that it would have mattered if it had been, but she married a different man than the one she ended up with.” For the most part. The signs had been there, Suzanne just hadn’t seen them. Most people wouldn’t have because while Glenn was unstable, he was manipulative and smart.

  For a moment, Quinn debated whether he should tell Athena everything, but decided for full honesty. There was no reason she shouldn’t know, and to some extent she was involved with Glenn now too. “I was new to Glenn’s squad, but during a chance run-in with Suzanne I realized she was being abused. Only later did I find out that two members of our squad knew, or at least had guessed, but did nothing.” Quinn’s fingers started to clench into a fist so he forced himself to ease up. It might all be in the past but he still got pissed when he thought about two men looking the other way when a woman had been in constant danger. After everything came out, they downplayed it, made it seem as if they weren’t really sure, but screw that, Quinn didn’t care. They should have said something to someone. When he glanced at Athena, her expression was soft and understanding.

  She’d worn her dark hair down and washed her makeup off. She looked so damn innocent sitting there. Probably too innocent for him, but he wasn’t walking away. Not again. “But you did something.”

  He nodded and ripped open a bag of shredded mozzarella cheese. He’d already done the first layer of eggplants, now it was time for the cheese and sauce layer. “Yeah, got her to a shelter and from there, the system did its job for once.” Thank God. It didn’t always work out that way. Of course Suzanne would have had to skirt the system in order to get a new, fake identity and he was glad she’d found those resources.

  “So he went to jail for abusing his wife and what, blamed you for the fact that he beat his own wife?” Now Athena sounded incredulous and pissed. Her tone made him smile and when he looked at her again, her Mediterranean blue eyes were sparking with anger.

  “That and…” He internally cringed. No way around telling her. “He tried to kill me. Came to my house to supposedly just talk but then attacked me with a pistol in full view of some neighbors. I disarmed him, but one of my neighbors got it on video, along with him clearly stating he was going to kill me.” Quinn hadn’t been sure if he should tell her, but hell, she needed all the facts, especially since Glenn had personally come in contact with her.

  Athena let out a small gasp, her fingers clenching around the stem of her wine glass just a fraction harder. “How is he out of prison then?”

  Quinn’s jaw tightened again, but some things he had to let go. The justice system was broken and he could get angry about it, but it wouldn’t change anything. “Him trying to kill me was actually a blessing. For Suzanne at least. He wouldn’t have gone away for as long as he did for just spousal abuse.”

  “So how long did he get sent away for?”

&nb
sp; “Six years.”

  She was silent a moment, watching him curiously. He swore he could actually hear her thinking. “That’s how long you’ve been with Red Stone.”

  He nodded. “Yes, and to answer what you’re not asking, that whole incident is why I left the police department. Well, part of the reason anyway.” Quinn would tell her all the rest eventually, but it wasn’t important now.

  “Six years doesn’t seem like a long time for murder.”

  “Attempted murder. He took a deal and accepted a lesser charge to avoid a trial. And the term was eight to ten years but he got out early for good behavior. That shit…ah, stuff happens all the time, unfortunately.” He shook his head in disgust.

  “So what happened to his wife, or ex-wife, I’m guessing now?” Athena took a small sip of her wine.

  “I honestly don’t know. She ghosted out of town, cut contact with anyone from her past. I think she probably got a new ID and settled somewhere far from here. Just a guess, of course, but I’m glad.”

  “You think he’ll go after her?”

  Quinn shrugged. “No. I think if he could find her, he absolutely would, but my gut says he won’t.” Because if Quinn couldn’t locate Suzanne, then no way in hell would Glenn be able to. He didn’t have the resources anymore. Suzanne had deserved a fresh start and the truth was, just moving wouldn’t have saved her. Glenn would have come after her later and eventually killed her if he’d been able.

  She shook her head. “That’s terrifying.”

  “Yeah, but he fu…screwed up tonight with you. I’m on guard now, and he’s not getting past me.”

  Athena was silent, contemplative for a long moment, but he saw the relief in her eyes. “What happened to the men who looked the other way, the ones who were with your squad?”

  “They were eventually let go for unrelated issues. Technically anyway.” Finished with the layering, he opened her oven and slid the glass casserole dish inside.

  “Ah, so the powers that be couldn’t fire them for looking the other way, but found another reason to get rid of them.” Her tone was approving.