Justice for Hope

by Susan Stoker

  Sophie shrugged. “You know how they are. There’s no way they would let us get a cab home.”

  Quinn plunked her head down on the table, not even caring about germs and stuff. “Kill me now,” she mumbled.

  The others all giggled at her theatrics.

  “Come on, Quinn. Give John a chance. He likes you. Seriously likes you,” Mackenzie said. “I know I don’t hang out with you guys as much as I’d like to, but it’s obvious even to me, and that’s saying something. Put the poor man out of his misery and tell him you’ll go out with him.”

  Quinn picked up her head and looked at her friends. She envied them. Their men were amazing. Even though Penelope wasn’t officially with Moose, it was obvious that she was everything to him.

  “Whoops!” Sophie said. “Looks like I was wrong. They won’t be here in fifteen m-minutes after all.”

  “They won’t?” Quinn asked, feeling relieved.

  “Nope. They’re here now. Guess they couldn’t wait any longer.”

  Quinn turned to see Dean, Moose, Roman, John, and Dax headed their way. She put her forehead back down on the table and closed her eyes. “Seriously, kill me now. Please. It’d be more humane.”

  She heard her friends giggling again—but didn’t lift her head until she felt a hand on her lower back and John whispering in her ear.

  “You okay?”

  Quinn sat up quickly, not noticing that she’d almost beaned John in the face with her actions. “I’m good. Great. I think I’ll get another shot before I head home though.”

  She went to stand up and would’ve fallen if John hadn’t been there to catch her. “Easy, Emmy.”

  Quinn almost groaned. He’d started calling her “Emmy” after deciding her eyes were the color of emeralds. She’d protested, saying it was ridiculous, but…every time he called her Emmy in his deep, rumbly voice, she got goosebumps. All her life she’d been given nicknames, but none were nice ones.

  “I’m good. Fine. Great,” she told him as she struggled to stand without keeling over. She always felt out of place around John because he was tall, blond, blue-eyed, and absolutely gorgeous. She was already self-conscious because of her looks, but being around him made it that much worse. She was almost jealous of him. How handsome he was. He had people staring at him all the time…but it was because people admired his looks, rather than being shocked or disgusted by them.

  “Come on. Let’s get you home,” John said.

  “Sophie said she’d take me,” Quinn blurted.

  “S-Sorry, Quinn. Roman and I have plans,” her friend said, throwing her under the proverbial bus.

  “Same here,” Adeline chimed in.

  “Us too,” Mack said, barely keeping a chuckle from escaping.

  Quinn turned to Penelope and Moose.

  Penelope held up a hand and refused to say a word.

  Sighing, Quinn said a little ungratefully, “Fine. Whatever. I’m ready.” She turned to grab her purse from the back of the chair when she heard raucous laughter coming from a table nearby.

  Turning toward the sound automatically, Quinn stiffened when she saw three men staring at her. She ducked her chin and turned away, but it wasn’t quick enough.

  “Damn, you’re right, Jim. It’s hideous.”

  “Right? I bet her boyfriend has to fuck her with a bag over her head.”

  When the laughter continued, Quinn tried to do what she always did…ignore them. But at the sound of a low growl from next to her, she couldn’t. She turned to look at John—and froze at the fury on his face.

  “I’ll be right back. Don’t move,” he told her.

  Quinn tried to grab his arm, to tell him not to worry about it. That she heard much worse all the time, but she was drunk, and uncoordinated, and her hand caught nothing but air when she reached for him.

  “Oh, shit,” Daxton said. “Mack, wait here.”

  Quinn stared at John’s back as he stomped over to the other table and leaned on it. He was obviously exchanging words with the group of men, but she couldn’t hear what they were saying.

  “This is exciting,” Sophie said with a grin.

  Quinn turned to her and snapped, “It is not! Shut up.”

  “Yes, it is,” Sophie returned without an ounce of worry on her face.

  “I told you,” Penelope said.

  “Told me what?” Quinn asked.

  “That Driftwood almost beat the shit out of Squirrel for saying something that wasn’t even derogatory. That he wouldn’t put up with anyone saying anything about your face.” She gestured to the men. “Case in point.”

  Quinn turned back to look at John. His face was red and his stance was definitely hostile, and the men seemed to get the message loud and clear. They looked worried and were nodding their heads rapidly.

  John said one last thing to the group before turning and heading back in her direction, with Dax at his heels.

  He didn’t look at anyone but Quinn as he returned to her, and she couldn’t take her eyes from his. When he got within touching distance, he reached out and put his arm around her waist and pulled her into him.

  Quinn stumbled, but she knew John wouldn’t let her fall.

  “Enough is enough,” John said gruffly. “I’m done with this shit. From this second on, we’re dating. Anyone who dares say anything insulting about your beautiful face will have to deal with me directly.”

  “Um…” Quinn ventured tentatively, not wanting to upset him further. “We’re dating?”

  “Yes,” John replied succinctly. Then he turned so they were hip to hip and started walking them toward the door of the bar without another word.

  Quinn wrapped her arm around his waist to make it easier to walk and looked back over her shoulder at her friends.

  All four were standing by their table, smiling hugely. Sophie even lifted a hand and gave her a thumbs-up as John dragged her off.

  Quinn wanted to blame her immediate acquiescence on the amount of alcohol she’d consumed that night, but she couldn’t. She’d had the biggest crush on John ever since she’d met him, she’d just been scared to do anything about it.

  She wasn’t sure how she felt about him declaring they were dating, but she couldn’t deny the little thrill inside of her at his protectiveness. Not once in her entire life had a guy stood up for her like he just had. Not. Once.

  Sure, Sophie and the others were quick to come to her defense when someone said something insensitive, but somehow that was different than when John did it.

  They exited the bar and headed for his truck. He got her settled inside and stalked around the front to get in on the driver’s side. He took off without saying a word, but Quinn noticed they weren’t going toward her apartment.

  “Um…where are we going?” she asked.

  “My place,” John told her.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  “Tough. You’re drunk. I’m not leaving you alone in your apartment. What if you puke in your sleep? You could die. Not gonna happen on my watch.”

  The thought of her throwing up in front of John made her panic. “I can’t puke in front of you!” she exclaimed.

  For the first time since she’d overheard the men talking about her, John’s face relaxed. He didn’t quite smile, but it was close. “Too bad.”

  Quinn groaned and rested her head on the seat behind her. “Next time Sophie wants me to go drinking with her, remind me of this moment, and lock me inside my apartment, okay?”

  She didn’t see him, as she’d squeezed her eyes shut, but she felt him pick up her hand and rest it on his thigh, covering it with his own large, warm palm. “You got it, Emmy.”

  “I think we should talk about this dating thing,” Quinn ventured.

  “Shhh,” John said. “Later. Just rest. I’ll take care of you.”

  And that was what Quinn was worried about. That she’d get addicted to him taking care of her. That she’d love him with everything that was in her, and he’d eventually get sick o
f defending her, of looking at her flawed face, of everything…and leave. Just like everyone she’d ever gotten close to.

  “Don’t leave me.”

  “I’m yours as long as you’ll have me,” John said.

  Quinn was horrified she’d said the words out loud. She hadn’t meant to. She wanted to believe him, but it wasn’t that easy. Was it?

  The last thing she remembered was John picking up her hand, kissing the back of it, and placing it back down on his thigh, before she finally passed out.

  Look for the next book in the series…Shelter for Quinn As you can see by the end of this book, Driftwood is done messing around. See if he can convince Quinn that she’s beautiful.

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  Also by Susan Stoker

  * * *

  Badge of Honor: Texas Heroes Series

  Justice for Mackenzie

  Justice for Mickie

  Justice for Corrie

  Justice for Laine (novella)

  Shelter for Elizabeth

  Justice for Boone

  Shelter for Adeline

  Shelter for Sophie

  Justice for Erin

  Justice for Milena

  Shelter for Blythe

  Justice for Hope

  Shelter for Quinn (Feb 2019)

  Shelter for Koren (June 2019)

  Shelter for Penelope (Oct 2019)

  * * *

  Delta Force Heroes Series

  Rescuing Rayne

  Rescuing Aimee (novella)

  Rescuing Emily

  Rescuing Harley

  Marrying Emily

  Rescuing Kassie

  Rescuing Bryn

  Rescuing Casey

  Rescuing Sadie

  Rescuing Wendy

  Rescuing Mary

  Rescuing Macie (April 2019)

  * * *

  SEAL of Protection: Legacy Series

  Securing Caite (Jan 2019)

  Securing Sidney (May 2019)

  Securing Piper (Sept 2019)

  Securing Zoey (TBA)

  Securing Avery (TBA)

  Securing Kalee (TBA)

  * * *

  Ace Security Series

  Claiming Grace

  Claiming Alexis

  Claiming Bailey

  Claiming Felicity

  Claiming Sarah (Sept 2019)

  * * *

  Mountain Mercenaries Series

  Defending Allye

  Defending Chloe (Dec 2018)

  Defending Morgan (Mar 2019)

  Defending Harlow (July 2019)

  Defending Everly (TBA)

  Defending Zara (TBA)

  Defending Raven (TBA)

  * * *

  SEAL of Protection Series

  Protecting Caroline

  Protecting Alabama

  Protecting Fiona

  Marrying Caroline (novella)

  Protecting Summer

  Protecting Cheyenne

  Protecting Jessyka

  Protecting Julie (novella)

  Protecting Melody

  Protecting the Future

  Protecting Kiera (novella)

  Protecting Dakota

  * * *

  Stand Alone

  The Guardian Mist

  Nature’s Rift

  A Princess for Cale

  A Moment in Time- A Collection of Short Stories

  Lambert’s Lady

  * * *

  Special Operations Fan Fiction

  http://www.AcesPress.com

  Beyond Reality Series

  Outback Hearts

  Flaming Hearts

  Frozen Hearts

  Writing as Annie George:

  Stepbrother Virgin (erotic novella)

  About the Author

  New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author Susan Stoker has a heart as big as the state of Tennessee where she lives, but this all American girl has also spent the last twenty years living in Missouri, California, Colorado, Indiana, and Texas. She’s married to a retired Army man who now gets to follow her around the country.

  She debuted her first series in 2014 and quickly followed that up with the SEAL of Protection Series, which solidified her love of writing and creating stories readers can get lost in.

  If you enjoyed this book, or any book, please consider leaving a review. It’s appreciated by authors more than you’ll know.

  www.stokeraces.com

  susan@stokeraces.com