by Shannyn Leah
That was all Quinn had to go on, and his search had been extensive, just like his paid jobs, but still he’d come up empty-handed. The couch was clean, the pictures hung on the walls had no safes behind them, and there were no hiding compartments or pouches in the furniture. Quinn knew how to meticulously search an entire room and this one was clear.
Quinn’s previous search prevented him from diving into a search now. He stood back and watched the magic Anya was going to pull out of her black top hat. The unsettled feeling in his gut that they were walking out of this office without any files plagued him.
Once their eyes adjusted to the darkness, Anya walked to the far wall and touched a picture.
I checked behind that picture and there was no more than a hanger.
As if reading his thoughts, her fingers moved away from the picture and ran slowly across a seam on the panelled wall.
Alright, I didn’t do that.
She stopped at another picture and pulled it from the wall.
Quinn sighed inwardly.
This was getting them nowhere.
Just as he’d seen when he checked for a safe, the only thing behind that picture was a thick, industrial style picture hook. It wasn’t alarming considering Robert had extreme taste in expensive art. Using the proper hook to ensure their safety was wise.
If Quinn took anything out of tonight, he supposed that it would be the time he’d got to spend with Anya. He hadn’t known how much he missed her until he saw her again. Not that it made a difference and her hatred and distrust for him was the only thing keeping them from expressing their real feelings.
Anya glanced over her shoulder at him and even in the darkness he could see that she was entertained by something...but what?
She answered his question turning back and pushing the hook up. The solid hook moved upwards like a light switch.
That wasn’t what dropped Quinn’s jaw.
The wall wasn’t a wall at all. It was a door...a secret door.
Anya disappeared beyond the shadowed opening as Quinn struggled to register what had happened. He didn’t understand what he was witnessing until light filtered from the room beyond the door.
Quinn took a surprised step forward.
Past the wall, Anya stood beside another old desk touching the lamp she’d lit and looking pretty proud of herself.
A hidden room? A hidden room!
Quinn would have smirked at the brilliance of it if he wasn’t mentally kicking himself for missing the switch when he’d swept the room. He had been one fake wall away from having that file after Robert died. One fake wall away!
Quinn walked inside the room, deliberately taking his time to absorb the surroundings. His question about what format the files would be in was obvious. The entire room−hidden room−was lined with antique large wooden filing cabinets.
It was incredible and terrifying at the same time.
Quinn was constrained momentarily in his own world of twisted emotions. Happy at being steps away from his sister’s file and fearful that every filing cabinet might contain the lives that Robert’s greed and control had shattered.
The embossed brass alphabetically labeled plaques gleamed in the light illuminating Quinn’s inner success, but yet he couldn’t move.
Anya crossed the room to the cabinets he feared.
This was it. This was the moment he had been anticipating and had consumed the last four years of his life. His hands were eager to dig into the cabinets, but the results petrified him. What would he find? How could Robert have been responsible for Nikki’s death? Quinn didn’t explore that question because Robert was relentless and his motives were corrupt.
Anya’s shoulders rose deeply inhaling as her hand touched one of the shiny brass handles.
Quinn felt his breath catch in his chest as each second passed before she pulled the drawer open.
She stiffened right away, unmoving.
Why? What was in there? Was it far worse than they’d both expected?
If those drawers were full of files, that would mean Robert had “handled” thousands of individuals.
As many times before, Quinn wondered how the rest of the Caliendos were either not aware of Robert’s private business or how they could so easily turn a blind eye on what was so obvious.
After Robert’s death, Marc and Carl had indirectly expressed their aversion with Quinn’s side position. At that moment, being given an “out” so to speak, regarding his job with the resort, Quinn had ruled out the family participation in what Quinn believed was Robert working to control the town−or the man in charge of the town: the Mayor.
It wasn’t a surprise that the mayor of Willow Valley wasn’t exactly who he portrayed either and digging up his background had been quite a task for Quinn. Along the way, people had gotten hurt, or been forced by Robert to do things in order to keep their secrets hidden. To add to the suspicion, Melissa, the mayor’s daughter, was a long standing employee at The Caliendo Resort. For the wealthy woman she was, position as the Caliendo’s personal assistant, seemed shady. It all seemed connected, Quinn knew it, but he just hadn’t linked it together yet.
Pulling himself back into the present, he noted that Anya stood staring far longer than the shock of finding the mass amounts of files should take.
Was she evaluating? The files? Or...them?
Quinn wanted to do the same, but it was a useless debate that would have him slamming his head against a wall. There was nothing to ponder between them. Her father was responsible for the death of his sister. How could they live with each other with that hanging over their heads?
Anya moved to the drawer below and pulled it open. She stopped short again and stared. Now moving faster, she opened the one drawer underneath before moving onto the next filing cabinet and then the next.
With each movement her body seemed to grow more hysterical. Finally she turned to Quinn.
“They’re empty,” she said.
She pulled another drawer open, as if the half dozen she’d already yanked out weren’t enough proof.
“They’re gone. All the files. There is not one in here,” she said. “They were here. I saw them.”
Another drawer, and another, in a straight line down the row of cabinets.
“Where are they? Where would they be? Did someone take them? Mom? Uncle Carl? Marcus?” She was talking to herself, consumed in her own horror. She gasped. “Did Dad destroy them? He wouldn’t. But why would he keep them knowing he was dying? Knowing that I knew about them.”
Anya’s evolving worry was turning into a panic attack with every step she took, every empty drawer she opened, and every word she spoke.
Quinn wanted to tell her to calm down but he was working on his own clenching jaw and trying to control the panic arising within him. All these years this was the closest he’d ever come and the files were gone? Gone?
Was he wrong about her family? Were they somehow involved? Had they taken them? Or had Robert eliminated them?
Quinn walked over, quicker than he would have liked with the sickening feeling in his gut. He glanced into the empty drawers.
Disappointment sunk in.
He helped Anya until every drawer in the room had been thoroughly checked, followed by the walls, the desk, everywhere.
They came up empty-handed, standing in the middle of the hidden room and unsure about the next step.
Hopelessness consumed Quinn. So close just to be shoved back was maddening.
What the hell were they supposed to do now?
Quinn needed to know what Anya was thinking before he made any decisions. Quite possibly she was aware of another hiding place in the resort.
Before they could even discuss the possibility of locating the files there was a sound at the office entrance.
Quinn and Anya’s heads snapped in the direction of the office door.
Someone was coming.
If they were caught in this room their chance of finding the files would decrease drasticall
y. With her family already suspicious of Anya’s unannounced return, being busted in the empty file room would put them on high alert.
“Cut the light,” Quinn ordered, already across the room pulling the hidden door shut.
Darkness and silence enveloped the room like the hidden room it was.
Quinn strained his ears to hear who was on the other side of the fake wall and what they were doing. Since the files were missing there was a good chance whoever was entering could know about the room...was even heading for the hidden room. Worse than being caught in the room would be being caught in the room hiding with the lights off.
Laughter echoed through the wall, easing his worry. He couldn’t recognize the voices and their low whispers made it impossible to comprehend.
He felt Anya beside him even before her side rubbed up against his, sharpening his senses.
They listened, but Quinn was getting nothing.
“It’s Marc and Kate,” Anya whispered.
That didn’t relieve him. Marc could know about the room after taking his father’s position in the business. The questions remained: did a Caliendo have the files or had they been destroyed?
Quinn didn’t see a positive in either of those choices. If a Caliendo possessed the files there was a high chance they were involved. If Robert destroyed them how could Quinn return home and face Dave without the answers he’d left to retrieve?
Quinn was hoping to be no more than two days and back before Dave discovered he’d taken off and to where he’d gone. The more days that passed, the more chances his brother would find out and he would be furious. If Quinn returned with nothing, Dave would never let him live it down. He despised the Caliendos. To Dave it was black and white. The Caliendos were monsters. The end.
Balancing with one arm against the wall, Quinn pressed his ear against the wood trying to decipher what sounded like a television.
Were they watching TV? In Robert’s old office?
There wasn’t even a TV in the office.
“I think they’re watching TV,” Anya whispered.
It wasn’t her husky whisper that immobilized Quinn...although the lowness of her voice extracted a yearning to explore his desire for her. It was the way she wiggled her small body between him. The wall and the warmth of their bodies assembled a cocoon between them. With one arm resting on the wall, and the flat palm of his other hand, she’d wedged herself into his space, against his body.
“Why are they watching TV at this time?” she asked as if her senses weren’t acutely on high alert of their current stance like Quinn’s.
Why was she finding it necessary to wiggle her body against him and taunt his sanity with the smell of warm vanilla...her smell.
“And why in Dad’s office?”
Why was she asking him? They were her family.
The lose strands of her hair tickled his chin like a torturous kind of foreplay. His fingers balled into fists to keep from touching the silky strands. When his lips pursed to kiss the top of her head, he closed his eyes to put his mind back in check.
It was helpful when Anya stopped moving, but eliminated the moment she turned, pressing her back against the wall and her whole front against his.
“The files aren’t here,” she said.
He was fully aware of the current discovery...but the files were the last thing on his mind. If she pushed her waist against the area below his waist one more time...
“Maybe it’s Uncle Carl. He’s a wonderful man. I mean he was there for all of our whole lives, but there is no way he was oblivious to my dad’s bad dealings...”
Quinn agreed, with a tightening of his lower area generating more space between them.
“Is there?”
He couldn’t answer her question. Until tonight, he’d ruled them all out as partaking while acknowledging their awareness.
“It makes me wonder if my mom knows too...”
Probably...maybe I should step back.
“I wonder if they are in my mom’s suite.”
He was glad one of them was forming a plan because he was trying to form a plan to not scoop her into his arms and kiss her quiet.
Anya jumped and Quinn groaned as her leg rubbed his inner thigh.
“Or Carl’s,” she said, oblivious that right now Quinn wanted nothing more than to kiss her rambling lips.
“Since Carl is shacking up with my mom. Which is weird by the way.” She poked his chest. “You could have given me a warning about that. My uncle and my mom. That’s a hard one to wrap my head around.” She paused and took a deep breath. “But then again, you didn’t do much warning when you threw me into the wolf pack.”
Like she’d dumped a bucket of ice water over his head he snapped back to the present and back to Anya. She wasn’t standing in front of him wanting him to touch her, kiss her, or make love to her...even if that’s where his head was. They were bound together by circumstance and he’d forced her into a situation she detested. Standing in front of him she didn’t trust him nor want him. He’d be better to remember that.
“To be eaten alive,” she continued, her resentment evident. “Alone.”
Alone, like she’d been the last two years. If anything he’d given her the people he was convinced she needed.
Quinn lowered his head to her, arching his back away from her body.
“You weren’t alone. I was right there.”
He rubbed the sides of her face with his thumb. It wasn’t a good idea, but it seemed nothing between them was a good idea.
“You weren’t there for me. You were there for yourself.”
Maybe he’d stuck around to coordinate a plan with her to find the file or maybe he’d stuck around to make sure she was alright...maybe both.
He couldn’t pull his fingers away from her skin or his eyes from hers. When he was trying to console her, he found his touch was opening her to the intimate vibes coursing between them. Her eyes widened and her lips parted like an invitation to take them. Her legs stirred against his, suddenly conscious of their contact.
This was not a good idea. His head told him no, but his body told him yes. It was a battle that he couldn’t guarantee which side would win, but knowing he better try and dissuade it.
His finger stopped, but didn’t move from her velvety skin. “Your family aren’t wolves. You know that.” He could barely get the words out. “If anyone is the wolf here, it’s me.”
Anya was quiet.
His eyes had long adjusted to the darkness and although he couldn’t define small features across her face, he could see she was assessing his words.
What was she looking for? What would she find?
She took a deep breath before saying, “They say when a wolf mates...” She swallowed hard. “...it’s for life.”
Is that what she wanted? Him forever?
After everything he’d told her and everything he’d done, was it possible she dug deeper than what he allowed? Was it possible she’d gotten access to the parts of him he gave to no one? Did she know him better than he knew himself?
What she didn’t know was he would hurt her again like he’d hurt her two years ago.
“Anya, I’m not your soul mate.”
***
ANYA, I’M NOT your soul mate.
She knew that.
Anya clenched her hands so she wouldn’t reach out for him, or slap him...she couldn’t decide how she felt yet. She bit her lower lip to keep from saying something else she might regret...or so her lips didn’t reach up and meet his. How the touch of those lips could make her forget everything...except him.
What was this dangerous game she was playing with him?
What was the dangerous game he was playing with her?
They were like two lost adolescents incapable of saying their inner feelings, but powerless to keep from expressing them.
You’re beautiful. I’m not your soul mate? What do you need me to do?
Talk about mixed signals. And why hadn’t he moved away from her
now, separating them and reinforcing his lone wolf core?
Anya could feel every inch of his thick body, his warm breath caressing her cheek and the way his fingertip had massaged her jaw made her mouth go dry. It hadn’t been a friendly touch. There was nothing platonic about the way he touched her and she saw the desire cloud his gorgeous, yet sinister, eyes. She watched his eyebrows draw together and his jaw tighten as he fought what they both felt. He tried to hide it, but he couldn’t.
I’m not your soul mate.
But that was where it stopped. Desire. Lust. He wanted no more than the enticement between them. No future. Not her.
But Anya didn’t want a future with him either. She hadn’t come home to pursue potential prospects with Quinn. She hadn’t even considered him being here and bumping into him wasn’t even a possibility at the time.
Darn you Quinn Barker.
She pressed her hands against his chest and his heartbeat thudded against her palm. She was almost tempted to run her fingers up his torso and pull his mouth to hers. To take the one night that he offered instead of nothing at all.
His body tightened and she knew he was moments from walking away. She wasn’t ready yet.
Anya tightened her fingers around his shirt, clutching the material so he wouldn’t leave. Not yet. She gripped the black and dark grey plaid, western style shirt, loving the rugged look it gave him and wishing he would ruggedly take her right now.
Is that all she wanted from him? A one night stand? No strings attached? Because that was all he was offering.
Her pulse thumped and her heartbeat sped up as she chose her next move. The move was hers. They were stuck in this office and if she made the move and kissed him they could spend it ravishing each other. For one night.
Then what? Walk away?
Anya wasn’t so sure she could do it twice. It went deeper for her, and to pretend that it was deeper for him too, even for just one night, would crush her. Anya wasn’t sure how much she had left in her to crush before she crashed and couldn’t get up.