by Shannyn Leah
“I’ve got it covered,” he told her with a wink.
Anya didn’t inquire additional details, instead she smiled and sunk back in the seat as they drove out of town and toward the resort.
While Anya had been getting ready that morning, he’d dug her recipe book out of her office desk. It bothered him that she was purposely ignoring it and for the last supper she had prepared fettuccini alfredo pasta instead of creating one of her masterpieces in which she took so much pride. After making a few calls, he had the ingredients waiting in her kitchen today.
Quinn cut the engine outside of her suite and glanced over to find her sleeping.
He chuckled.
If he wasn’t desperate to get the two files and move on with their lives he would have cancelled supper tonight and stayed in...in bed.
“Hey,” he whispered, lightly shaking her shoulders.
Anya groaned.
Another chuckle escaped him at how quickly she’d fallen asleep. It was less than a fifteen-minute drive out of town.
He sat back, glancing at the clock and allowing them a half hour before they needed to get ready.
He rolled the windows down and leaned his head against the headrest. He knew he wasn’t going to fall asleep, but he enjoyed the quiet. These Caliendos were a surprisingly loud group of people and Quinn was used to being on his own.
Tonight he would get his sister’s file. His mind spun with the possibilities of what it might say about her death. Quinn had carried the blame for Nikki’s overdose until the day his father had told him otherwise. Quinn should have taken better care of her. Persisted harder. Saved her.
Quinn inhaled deeply, that familiar blame clouding him.
Now, the possibility that Robert was accountable, alleviating his guilt, terrified him of what he might find. Would he be able to forgive Robert? He knew the answer to that: no. But would Robert’s actions define his relationship with Anya? Even after he’d told her it wouldn’t, he felt this anger toward Robert at having gotten away with his part in Nikki’s death. Would he be able to let his sister’s death go unjustified?
He glanced at Anya, the woman he loved. He wished he could say that his sister would want him to be happy, but she’d only ever wanted her next hit. Even without Robert’s involvement, eventually Nikki would have traveled down the road to her overdose alone. She was an addict...an addict who had never wanted anyone’s help to get clean.
“Hey.” Anya’s sleepy voice reminded him of this morning, when she had awakened in his arms.
He was happy. The happiest he’d been in a long time. He decided at that moment, glancing over at her half smile, that whatever the file said he would not let it come between him and Anya. For the first time in his life, he was whole-heartedly putting Anya first.
“Are you alright? You have a look on your face.”
He smiled at her. “Just thinking about tonight.”
“Are you worried? About what you might find? What my dad did to your sister?”
He was silent.
“I would never do anything like him,” she said. “I’m not like my dad.”
He turned to her. “I never thought you would.”
She forced a smile. He saw she wasn’t sure she believed him.
He took her hands. “Anya, whatever we find won’t tear us apart. I promise.”
“That’s a big promise for not knowing the details.”
“Have you been carrying this around with you all day?” he asked.
She shrugged. “The thought crossed my mind. I’m worried. I’m scared of what you will find and that you might become so angry that you can’t even look at me.”
“I can’t take my eyes off of you.”
“Right now. But it has to be bad. The file. Think about it for a second. She overdosed. Why? Was it about your dad? Did my dad want something on Max and your sister wouldn’t help? Did he then blackmail someone into selling her deadly drugs? Or did he have her murdered? What if he had her murdered? Then my dad murdered your sister.” He heard the hysteria rising in her voice. “Now my dad is a murderer? And what? You’re not going to want to expose him? To get justice for your sister?”
Quinn turned to face her and grabbed her hands. “Anya, whoa. That’s a lot of what ifs.”
“Yes, but it’s a lot of possibility.” She looked away. “I need to get ready.” She pulled out of his grasp and got out of the truck.
And he thought he was over thinking what was in the file.
Quinn followed her into the house.
She stopped at the island in her kitchen lined with paper bags from Carlex Grocers. Not exactly the mood he’d hoped she would be in upon finding his surprise.
“What is this?” she asked.
“Ingredients for supper.”
Biting her lower lip, she glanced into the tops of the bags. He knew the ingredients: vegetables, wrapped salmon and all the odds and ends to prepare. Her cupboards were bare and every ingredient had needed to be purchased.
She stopped at the end where a different bag piqued her curiosity.
Anya glanced at Quinn before opening it.
“What is this?”
“The secret ingredient.”
“Secret ingredient?”
Anya pulled open the bag and exposed an untreated cedar plank. On the menu tonight: Cedar-planked salmon with a maple glaze.
Anya took out the plank. “You read my recipe book?”
He nodded. “Just for the ingredients. I already knew this is one of your favorite main dishes to prepare.”
“Thank you.”
He couldn’t keep his distance any longer. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him for a soft kiss. “You’re welcome. The file won’t change how I feel about you. I promise.”
“I have to get this salmon and plank soaking. The longer it sits, the better the flavor comes out.”
He could tell she wasn’t convinced but, until they had the file, there was no point in repeating himself.
“Right.” He started gathering the bags. “Let’s go to your mom’s suite.”
***
ANYA IGNORED THE bad feeling in her chest and grabbed her recipe book on their way out the door.
Although battling what tonight’s turnout may be, she was eager to unpack the ingredients .and get to work preparing the meal.
Eliza’s door was open for them and Quinn unpacked the groceries while she put the plank and salmon into water.
“Your mom’s not due home for a while,” Quinn said, interrupting her thoughts about preparing a side dish of garlicky greens with broiled asparagus sprinkled with salty cheese and a squeeze of lemon.
“I could start looking through her office while you are preparing supper.”
Anya stopped cold.
The file.
She felt him come up beside her and touch her arm. “Anya, we still need the files,” he whispered in her ear. “It doesn’t lessen my feelings for or make it priority to you.”
“Doesn’t it?”
She couldn’t believe she said it.
He turned her around to face him, pushed her hair back and cupped her face. “No.”
Anya was terrified, but this was it. Beyond the office door of her mother’s suite were the files.
“I will come with you,” she said.
She could prepare the rest of the food afterwards.
“Okay.”
Quinn softly brushed his lips against hers before he led her to the office. This could be the beginning of another downfall between them. Anya wasn’t sure she could handle another one.
Chapter Twenty-Two
LAUGHTER ERUPTED AROUND the table and Anya lost her breath.
After finding her mother’s office empty, then sweeping the entire suite and coming up empty-handed, Anya hadn’t thought she would laugh for the rest of the night.
Her mother’s stories about her siblings proved her wrong. She couldn’t handle another tale of Kate and Marc’s reunion or Violet and R
yder’s connection. Honestly, she was going to keel over at her mother’s dining room table.
“Momma, no more,” she pleaded, her laughter slowing.
Eliza sighed. “Alright. Let’s have a glass of wine and some dessert in the living room,” she suggested, standing.
Quinn pulled Anya’s chair out for her, but she could tell his mind was somewhere else, likely debating where to look next. Anya was leaning more toward Carl’s suite, but how would they get in? Break in? This was draining.
Anya turned to Quinn, her back to her family.
She touched his chest.
“Hey,” she said softly, upset by the way his mood had changed when her mom’s office was empty. “We will find the files,” she whispered for only him. “I promise.”
He kissed the inside of her hand. “I’m sorry. I will snap out of it.”
“It’s okay.”
“Sweetheart can you help me with dessert?” her mother called from the kitchen.
Anya smiled at Quinn. “I have to help her with dessert.” She glanced down at his hand wrapped around hers and gave it a little tug free.
Dessert wasn’t on Anya’s menu, so her mother had ordered a trifle from one of the on-site restaurants, a delicious four layer chocolate and cherry masterpiece.
Anya’s mouth watered.
Eliza met her with plates and forks but set them on the counter. Anya noticed her mother’s “I want to talk” face.
“Mom, I don’t think I’m ready to talk yet.”
Eliza pressed her lips together. “We are going to have this conversation.”
“Momma−”
Eliza held a key card toward Anya to silence her. Anya looked down at it, confused. Then she saw the corner...the chip. Anya’s card.
“I found it in your dad’s office.”
Anya held her breath and anticipated her mother’s next words.
“Behind his false door in the hidden room where I suspect you were looking for your father’s files.”
Anya’s eyes fell closed for a second and she took a deep breath.
Busted.
That was likely the night her mother had cancelled their supper. She was buying time. For what? Anya wanted to talk to her, inquire, come clean, but guilt swarmed Anya.
Anya looked back up to her mother without denying the accusation. Her mother read the confirmation on her face.
“That’s what I thought. I have been contemplating what you were looking for or even how you knew about the files in the first place.”
“Dad told me before he died.”
“I pulled your file and I’m uncertain as to why you want it. There is nothing in it.”
“I’m not after my own file.”
Eliza nodded. “I assumed that as well. Who is it?”
“Rebecca Porter.”
Her mother nodded. “I pulled Quinn’s file as well. I suspect he is looking for his file. It has a lot more going on in it. His past makes me wonder why you are helping him or what he wants with his file. Whether to destroy evidence he has been involved with Robert, or for his own sake...”
Anya touched her mom’s hand. “Mom, Quinn’s a good guy. Pull Max’s file and his sister, Nikki’s file and you will see that everything Quinn did was for them. He’s not who he appears.”
Eliza rubbed Anya’s hand. “If Quinn was who he appeared to be, I would have already had him removed from here, away from you.”
Anya was surprised how much like her father, her mother sounded at that moment, but she knew it was truly out of love.
Eliza handed her the plates. “We can do this tomorrow afternoon. You, me and Quinn can meet back here and discuss the files then.”
Anya nodded.
“Let’s not ruin dinner over this and you can talk to Quinn alone.”
“Momma, I can’t just sit through dessert and pretend this is okay when I’m sure you’re having a difficult time trusting me right now. Sneaking around, breaking into Dad’s office. I didn’t mean to go behind your backs and hurt you the way I’m sure you feel. I wanted to do this by myself. At first I didn’t know that you, let alone the whole family, knew about the files. I thought I could be in and out and you wouldn’t notice.”
“I’m tired of the sneaking around and the lies in this family.”
“I know. I’m sorry. Please let me explain. Rebecca and Dad. I don’t want to wait all night feeling guilty for everything I’ve done.”
“Alright.”
“Thank you.”
***
LYING IN ANYA’S bed with her positioned in his arms, he could feel her breathing against his body, her warm breath against his bare skin, and the content aura they produced together. It was enough to start clouding his mind and the thoughts he’d brought from dinner...a little bit.
It had been one unexpected hell of a dinner party this evening. When they’d come up empty-handed in the office, then to discover Eliza’s entire suite also vacant of the files, he’d thought they were screwed. Where would they look next?
What Quinn hadn’t expected was that Eliza had known about their sneaking about in the resort, thanks to Anya’s lost key card.
Quinn couldn’t entirely let the blame fall on Anya for that mistake. He’d been too distracted with her to do a proper sweep of the room before they’d left. It had been a mistake that might have cost everything, except Eliza surprised him by being willing to give them each the files they sought.
At first Quinn was suspicious. He was in the Caliendo resort after all and dealing with these Caliendos was never this easy. Why was Eliza so willing to hand over Max, Nikki and his own files to him? It seemed too easy and drew suspicion from him...he couldn’t help it. Quinn had worked for the deceitful Robert for too long not to be a little distrustful.
Quinn had accepted her offer...what else could he do? Then he sat back and did what he did best: observed.
Eliza was a pro at masking her thoughts, evidently demonstrating where Violet picked up the art. Quinn examined the way Eliza spoke to him through her movements and every way she reacted throughout the conversation. When they finished discussing Quinn, he observed and compared Eliza’s reaction as Anya explained everything about Robert, Rebecca and where she’d been and what she’d been doing for the last two years. Everything. The end result was that he trusted Eliza and Carl. They were upfront and honest. No darting eyes as they spoke. No trickles of sweat down the sides of their face. No fidgeting or private eye looks. As far as Quinn could tell, and believed, they were sincerely sympathetic to the pain Robert had inflicted on his family.
As they walked back, hand in hand, he observed Anya. Not for lies or because he didn’t trust her, no, they were over that stage in their relationship. He noticed her smiles were wider, lighting up her eyes and the edginess she had carried, left behind. He could tell she was also exhausted after a day at the beach, an afternoon of fretting about where to find the files and an evening of revealing the truth. So when they’d returned to her suite and she’d wanted to talk about everything that had happened today, Quinn kissed her to shut her up. He kissed her in the living room, down the hallway and into bed where he stripped her down and kissed every part of her body, making her forget the day.
Now, hours later, Quinn was feeling restless.
Tomorrow afternoon was the big day, right after...the corner of Quinn’s mouth rose...yoga class. A stipulation Eliza threw in at the end of the evening, one which Quinn didn’t understand, was that Anya and himself were to join Eliza and Carl for an early morning class of couples yoga. Couples yoga? Was that even a thing? Apparently so, and Quinn and Anya had front row seats...maybe he would try to get back row seats. Nobody would want to watch whatever he was going to look like doing yoga positions. If he survived the yoga he would only be hours away from the file. Now, he not only had his sister’s file but his and his father’s.
Quinn wasn’t sure how he felt about that. Did he want to know what his father had been responsible for and have that weight on his sh
oulders too? Could he handle the years of turmoil Max was responsible for?
He felt Anya stir. “Quinn? Are you sleeping?” she asked, her tone low, her voice drowsy as if she’d fallen asleep for a bit and just awakened.
He kissed the top of her head. “No.”
She tilted her head to look up at him wearing a blissful expression from their lovemaking and a sleepy pair of gorgeous blue eyes. “What are you thinking about?” she asked.
“I wasn’t. I was just lying here enjoying you in my arms.”
Anya sent him a skeptical look. “You’re not thinking about getting access to your sister’s file tomorrow?”
“Maybe a little,” he admitted.
“Are you nervous?”
“Are you?”
She nodded. “Nervous and excited. I’m a little nervous what the file you seek says and how it will affect us.”
“It won’t.”
Anya continued. “And I’m excited to get Rebecca’s file for her. Will you come with me? To meet Rebecca and bring her home?”
He squeezed her. “Of course.”
“If everything goes okay...” Anya looked away and snuggled closer to him.
“Everything is going to be fine.”
“If you survive couples yoga,” she teased.
“If you stop talking and worrying so we can get a few solid hours of shut eye so we do survive couples yoga.”
“Goodnight Quinn. I love you.”
“Goodnight Anya. I love you too.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
“YOGA IS THE celebration of the union of your body, mind, soul and spirit naturally creating unity...” Emma spoke in a soft, serene tone that had the crowd of people under her spell.
Quinn was not impressed.
“When you are also focusing on the body, movement and breath of your partner, you will create harmony within you two as a couple.”
What in the hell was she talking about?
Anya dug her elbow into Quinn’s side as if she heard his thoughts.