Hunted (Love like Yours Series Book 3)

by Nicole S. Goodin

  Shit.

  8. Quinn

  Most awkward drive in the history of the universe.

  I slinked out of the hospital room with my tail between my legs.

  I knew I had no one to blame but myself. I’d created this mess, and now I was going to have to clean it up.

  I lurked around outside the door and listened to their whole conversation like a proper psycho. I only bailed when a nurse starting heading the direction of Harrison’s room. I’d heard a fair whack of their chat and I knew it wasn’t going to be an easy feat to explain this to Colt.

  “I’m not giving up on her. She’ll come around.”

  Jesus.

  He was delusional. I wasn’t coming around.

  Had he not felt that connection in there? I was drawn to his brother in a way that made absolutely no sense, surely he wasn’t oblivious to that? The worst part of it was I was beginning not to care anymore. I was only getting one shot at life, and I wasn’t going to waste it sitting around spoon feeding Colton Hunt.

  We’d been driving for fifteen minutes in total silence. The tension in the car was beyond uncomfortable, but what the fuck was I supposed to do?

  The first song that had come on the radio was ‘Treat You Better’ by Shawn Mendes and I’d knocked over a water bottle and dropped my sunglasses trying to turn it off as fast as I could.

  There was no way in hell I was risking turning it back on and having another song like that play.

  I stole a glance at Colt out of the corner of my eye. He was in the front seat, staring directly out of the window, his fists were rigid and tight, sitting on his legs. He hadn’t even looked at me since he came out of the hospital, pushing Harrison in a wheelchair and it made me want to just curl up and disappear.

  I peeked at the revision mirror and glanced at Harrison. He’d changed out of his hospital gown and was wearing tan chinos and a fitted black t-shirt that looked way too good on him. My gaze flicked to his face and our eyes locked, he was watching me through the mirror. Tingles raced down the back of my neck.

  His eyes were lighter today, more like the color of caramel I’d seen in the picture online. He winked at me and I totally lost my focus, accidently stepping hard on the brake.

  The car lurched to a stop, slamming me against my seatbelt.

  Fuck!

  “Jesus Quinn.” Colt reached out to brace himself on the dashboard.

  “Sorry.” I muttered, easing my foot back on the accelerator.

  Harrison groaned from the back seat.

  “Are you okay?” I asked quickly, looking in the mirror again.

  “I think…” He panted. “That… this isn’t the… gentle activity the… doc recommended.” He groaned.

  Poor bastard had broken ribs and here I was, driving my car like I’d stolen it.

  Fuck.

  “I’m sorry.” I squeaked. “I thought I saw something.”

  “Yeah you saw something alright.” Colt muttered quietly to himself.

  I drove the rest of the way to Colt’s house, biting my tongue, and keeping my eyes fixed directly on the road.

  “If it doesn’t open, it’s not your door.”

  - Author unknown

  9. Colt

  “You’re staying with me.” I told him firmly.

  We’d pulled up to my apartment and Harrison had instantly started whining about going back to his place.

  “I heard what that nurse said, and you’ll be here for at least a couple of weeks.”

  He muttered something intelligible, but put up no further argument.

  My motives for keeping him here weren’t exactly noble. Sure, he needed a hand, but he was a big boy, he could pay for a nurse if he really needed one. I wanted him here to keep an eye on him… and on her.

  “I’ll head off then.” Quinn said.

  I looked directly at her for the first time. “Can we talk first?” I asked her quietly, trying not to let Harrison hear.

  She closed her eyes momentarily. “Ah yeah… sure.”

  “I’ll just help him up.”

  She nodded.

  I hopped out of her car and swung open the back door for Harrison. “Alright, up you go.”

  I slipped my arm under his shoulder and hoisted him out of the car.

  His hand caught the door as I went to push it shut.

  He leaned back inside the car. “Thank you Quinn.”

  I narrowed my eyes at the back of his head.

  “Oh, ah… you’re welcome Harrison.”

  There was no ‘I hope you feel better soon’ or ‘It was nice to meet you’ or ‘Good luck with everything’, like you normally would say when you were dismissing a stranger that you knew you’d never see again. There were just all of these unsaid words, husky voices, and promises of more to come.

  Fuck.

  ***

  “Do you want to come and sit out here with me?” I asked as I ducked my head into her car.

  I’d dropped Harrison and his bag on the couch and come straight back down here to see Quinn. I was pretty pissed off, and really confused about this whole mess, but I knew one thing for sure, I didn’t want her to drive away from here thinking that I hadn’t wanted to fight for her.

  Even if it is a losing battle.

  “Sure.” She undid her belt and slipped out of the car.

  I sat down on the bench seat out the front of my apartment building and patted the spot next to me.

  She sat, further down than I intended, but she was here and willing to talk. That was what mattered.

  Now that I had her alone, I didn’t even know where to begin. I had so many questions, I couldn’t figure out which was the most important.

  The silence stretched.

  “I know what’s going on in your head.” She told me softly.

  “You do huh?” I huffed out a breath.

  “Yeah I do. You’re confused as hell.”

  I chuckled darkly. “That doesn’t quite cover it.”

  “I don’t know what to tell you Colt.” She sighed. “I’m drawn to him.”

  I could feel all of my frustrations coming to a head. “Why? Why him? You don’t even know him.” I knew I sounded desperate, pathetic even, but I was past caring.

  “I don’t know.” She shrugged. “I can’t give you any answers because I don’t understand it myself… it’s not rational.”

  I wanted to be angry with her, but she was as lost with all this as I was, I looked over at her and I could see how torn up she was. Quinn was a woman that was always in control of her life, and right now she looked like a lost little girl on the verge of tears.

  “I really care about you Quinn.” I told her genuinely.

  “I know you do.” She gave me a small smile. “And I care about you too, I don’t want to see you hurt, and that’s probably why I’ve let this go on the way it has.”

  I sighed.

  “And I know you think that we have a future… but the reality is that we don’t. It’s just not in the cards for us. And I know it’s a clique, but it’s not you.”

  “It’s not you, it’s me? Really?” I muttered.

  “No.” She insisted. “It’s not me either.”

  “Huh?”

  “It’s just us, together. We’re not right and that’s just the way it is. I know that you’ll find the right girl for you one day, and you’ll look back on this and laugh at yourself for getting it so wrong.”

  I wanted to believe her, but it didn’t feel wrong. Letting her leave – that’s what felt wrong.

  “I could make you happy Quinn.”

  She sighed and rubbed her temples like she had a headache. “This is going to sound harsh, but you couldn’t, not like –”

  “Not like him?” I interrupted, pointing up in the direction of my apartment.

  She glanced up at the building and her eyes fixed on something. I didn’t even turn; I knew he’d be watching us.

  She pulled her eyes from the building and shook her head. “I don’t know.” She
admitted. “I just know that there’s more than this, and that we both deserve to find out what that is.”

  She stood up suddenly. “I’ll give y’all some space okay? He’s your brother and I’m not going to get in the middle of anything. I’ve caused enough trouble.” She was wringing her hands together nervously.

  She took a few steps towards her car and stopped, looking back at me. “For what it’s worth Colt, I am sorry, I never meant for this to happen. You’re an amazing guy… but just for someone else.”

  She looked like she wanted to cry again. I might have been getting dumped good and proper, but it gave me a small win knowing she wasn’t totally unaffected by this situation.

  She looked at me with sad eyes and I knew it was final this time. There was no more cat and mouse… no more Quinn and Colt.

  She glanced back up at my building once more before rushing to her car and driving away.

  10. Quinn

  I sniffed and tried to wipe the tears from my face. “I just feel so cruel El. But I can’t help it. I see you and Lawson and I want…” I hiccupped a sob. “I want a love like yours. He just wasn’t the one, I never wanted to hurt him, but he just wasn’t the one.” I hung my head and let the tears fall, letting the guilt pour out of my body.

  I’d driven straight over to see Ellerslie as soon as I left Colt’s place. West had taken one look at me and shoved me into El’s office, declaring that he’d hold all calls until I came back out.

  He’s such a gem.

  El pulled another bunch of tissues out and stuck them in my hand.

  “Jesus Quinn.”

  I looked up at her, my eyes still full of tears.

  “You’ve used the whole box.” She shook it upside down dramatically.

  I burst out laughing and she joined me.

  She slid in next to me and wrapped me in her arms. “You’re just going to have to try and let it go babe.”

  I nodded.

  “He’s going to be fine Q. You know he’s going to be fine.”

  “I know.” I mumbled.

  He would be fine. I knew he wasn’t as in love with me as he thought he was. I truly believed what I’d told him about finding the right person for him one day – I wanted that for him.

  “You’re worried about how he’ll handle it when you start dating Harrison… am I right?”

  “If.” I interjected. “If I date Harrison.”

  She rolled her eyes at me as though I was being stupid.

  “I might hate him El. He could be a total pompous prick.”

  “It’d totally be easier if you thought that. Then you could go find another one whose brother you hadn’t already shagged.” She joked.

  “One thousand time easier.” I agreed. Her kidding was making me feel better already.

  “And he’s Reeve’s best friend so that could be awkward too.”

  “What? Why?”

  “If you broke up.” She shook her head as though I was dumb for not getting it. “You’re like a sister to Reeve, and he and Harrison are pretty close.” She explained.

  I tried not to groan. Ellerslie didn’t know, we’d agreed it was a necessary secret to keep from her, but Reeve and I had hooked up once. It was years ago, on a family trip I joined them on. El had gone to bed early since she wasn’t feeling well, and Reeve and I had stayed up drinking. Long story short, we both drank way too much, and one thing began leading to another.

  Thankfully we’d come to our senses and put a stop to it before it went over the line of no return. It wasn’t that I didn’t like Reeve, he’s a great guy. Attractive, caring, funny…any girl would be more than lucky to score a guy like him, but he was never more than a good friend to me. Sleeping together would have just mucked that up.

  “You’re right.” I nodded. “If this were a pro and con list, the cons would be streaking ahead.”

  “But then there’s the fact that he’s gorgeous, smart and successful, and underneath all his bravado he seems like a really sweet guy.”

  I narrowed my eyes at her. “You know him.” I pointed a finger at her accusingly.

  “I met him.” She confessed. “Just once when I went into the office to visit Reeve.”

  I couldn’t believe it. I had been dying to find out what he was like and all this time I had the key to the information right in front of me.

  “I’m going to pretend that you haven’t been withholding vitally important information from me and jump right to the part where you tell me exactly what he’s like.”

  “You’re crazy. I met him once.” She shrugged. “And vital information...” She scoffed. “Stop being such a drama queen.”

  I scowled and waited for her to spill.

  “Okay, okay.” She resigned. “So I was walking down the hallway with Reeve…”

  I resisted the urge to pull out a pen and paper and write it down word for word.

  ***

  After my talk with El, I headed to my office to get some much needed work done. My work rate had been shocking these past couple of weeks; my head just wasn’t in the game.

  I thanked god every day for my assistant Macie. I was yet to find a task that was too challenging for her.

  I gave her a wave and a smile as I passed her on the phone at her desk.

  I relaxed a bit as I entered my office. It was nice in here. I’d decorated it how I wanted it, large prints on the walls and a floor to ceiling bookshelf in the corner. I had a couch, my desk, a couple of arm chairs and a small table in the middle. It was simple, but effective.

  The view was the real winner. El and I had snagged the best views in the place.

  I was staring out the window, totally lost in thought when a voice came from behind me.

  “Alright, who is he?”

  I spun around.

  Dammit.

  I wasn’t expecting Lawson.

  “He who?” I asked, feigning confusion.

  “Save it Q.” He chuckled.

  “There’s no guy.” I insisted.

  “Just tell me so I can deal with him.”

  “He doesn’t need dealing with.” I replied too quickly.

  My brother’s sly grin let me know I’d lost this round.

  Shit.

  “So there is a guy.” He replied smugly.

  “Get out.” I pointed to the door.

  “Tell me his name and I’ll get out.”

  “Macieeeee!” I hollered out the doorway, jumping to my feet.

  She appeared in front of me, a smile playing on her lips. “What can I do for you?”

  I rubbed my temples. “Get him out of my office please.”

  Macie looked Lawson up and down. “Ah… I’m not sure that’s going to be possible.”

  Lawson plopped his ass down on my couch. “That’s all for now thanks Macie.”

  “Don’t dismiss my assistant.” I cried.

  I was getting desperate, this was not a conversation I was ready to have with my brother, but it appeared that I didn’t have a choice in the matter.

  Macie retreated from the room. “So… I’ll just leave you to it.” She replied, clearly amused by my current predicament.

  “Traitor.” I hissed at her as she backed out and shut the door behind her.

  Lawson and I stared at each other. Both of us hoping the other would give up.

  “I take it Colt got the flick.” He stated.

  He won’t leave until I talk…

  I breathed in deeply and sat back down in defeat.

  “Can we not do this right now?” I pleaded.

  He didn’t even answer me. The smug bastard just sat there, knowing he could out wait me any day of the week.

  “Urgh fine. Can we just cut the act though? I’m sure your wife already told you everything.”

  “Believe it or not, we’ve got much more exciting things to do with our spare time other than talk about you.” He winked at me.

  Always with the over sharing.

  “Gah.” I shook my head. “Yes. I ended things wit
h Colt.”

  “For real this time?”

  “For real.” I confirmed.

  “Long overdue.” He stated. “And then what’s happened?”

  The stare off began again.

  I looked at him.

  He looked at me.

  I waited.

  He waited.

  “God you’re infuriating.” I hissed when I couldn’t take it any longer. “And I met someone else. That’s it. End of story. Nothing more to tell.”

  He watched my outburst with amusement. “Who is it Q?”

  “No one.” I muttered.

  He regarded me curiously. “No one… like his best friend or something?”

  I groaned.

  He barked out a laugh. “No shit? His best friend?”

  I lay my head down on the desk and admitted total defeat. “His brother.” I murmured into the files.

  Nothing.

  Complete and total silence.

  I sat up and looked at him.

  He was holding to together – but barely, he was a mere stone’s throw away from erupting into laughter.

  “Go ahead.” I waved a hand at him.

  He lost it.

  “His brother.” He choked out.

  I picked up a book and threw it across the room at him. “It’s not fucking funny Lawson! What the hell am I gonna do?”

  He caught it effortlessly in one hand and it just pushed my buttons even further.

  I picked up a second book and hurled that at him too.

  He was nearly doubled over laughing, his suit getting all creased and wrinkled.

  Lawson Pierce. Not a care in the world.

  “Lawson!”

  “Sorry!” He was still holding his side.

  I got up from my desk and sat down next to him, punching him in the leg as I went

  “You are not helping the situation.”

  He wiped the tears from his eyes and finally calmed down.

  “Sorry Q.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him.

  “Really.” He insisted.

  “You get that giant grin off your mug and I just might believe you.”

  His smiled widened. “No can do.”