by Shannyn Leah
“What? What happened?”
Did he miss something? He could have easily just fallen asleep.
She glared at him then smiled and turned away. Code for Quinn’s outer body was being obvious that he wasn’t impressed with the class.
“When you and your partner practice your yoga poses, trust in each other. Rely on your partner to hold and balance you and create that reassurance with one another. You will create your own special bond.”
Quinn and Anya could have a lot of special bonds at five in the morning that didn’t include him wearing sweat pants.
“Now please sit cross-legged across from your partner, knee to knee, and we will begin today with a heart hug.”
They turned toward each other. Anya had a big grin on her face. How was he supposed to be serious when she was sending him these adorable grins?
“I will show you a heart hug,” Quinn said, and Anya shook her head and hushed him.
“Put your left hands on each other’s hearts.”
Anya placed her hand over Quinn’s heart. Reluctantly he followed suit.
“Now place you right hands together in a prayer pose.”
Their hands met in the middle. Their eyes followed.
“You’re now in the opening posture and I want you both to take a few deep breaths. Allow your breathing to fall in sync. Open your eyes and look at your partner.”
Anya and Quinn were having no problem in that department. If this woman’s intention was to speed up their heartbeats it was working.
But then, like something he’d never felt, he actually felt Anya. In the silence, without any sexual tension between them, he saw Anya and the amazing, beautiful woman she was.
If this yoga class was the path to the files, he had better cooperate because he never planned on leaving her again.
“Now hug or kiss your partner and thank them for joining you today.”
Anya smirked and he knew she was smirking because he didn’t want to be anywhere near this class, but he didn’t want to be anywhere away from this woman.
He cupped the side of her face, leaning his body toward her and pulling her to meet in the middle, still holding her other hand. He brushed her lips with tenderness he felt and whispered, “Thank you for joining me.”
When normally she would have laughed out loud, Anya caught his sincerity and repeated the words to him.
“Now we are going to move onto the double boat pose. Is everyone ready?”
Double boat pose?
Maybe he wasn’t that thankful.
***
ANYA HELD QUINN’S hand as they walked away from the yoga class.
After a night of incredible lovemaking that she’d only ever known with Quinn, she was certain no matter what happened after the file meeting today they would work it out together. Maybe they could lead a normal life. Something both of them longed to have...together.
She also longed to have a shower with him before lunch and his playful winks were a sure indication they were on their way.
They rounded the lobby, having already parted from her mom and Carl, and Anya laughed heartily as Quinn described some of the yoga poses he was never performing again. He’d been such a good sport and surprisingly flexible, but with his fit body she shouldn’t have been that surprised.
“So future yoga classes are out,” he was saying.
“But I want to bring you to hot yoga,” Anya said.
He slowed his walk and turned her to face him. “Hot yoga?” he asked, but she could see his mind had taken a ninety-degree direction change from doing yoga. “I like the sound of this hot yoga.” The last two words pushed out in his sexy bedroom voice.
Anya laughed. “I don’t think you know the definition of hot yoga.”
Quinn kissed her then and said, “My definition could be put into action when we get back to your suite.”
Anya laughed. “I think I like your hot yoga better.”
“Oh you won’t get enough of my hot yoga.”
She bit her lip. All these promises.
“Quinn!”
Anya jumped at the loudness of his name being yelled across the foyer.
Quinn straightened and stiffened even before his eyes looked behind her.
Anya looked over her shoulder, following his stare directed at a man standing across the foyer.
He made no attempt to walk toward them, the tight features of his chiselled jaw expressing his anger. There was no mistaking that this man was related to Quinn. He was the same height with Quinn’s thick build. Only he was a younger version with an almost baby boy face, where Quinn’s was rugged. His stance matched Quinn’s, solid strong...this was obviously Quinn’s brother.
Why did he look so angry?
Anya looked at Quinn.
Why did he look so angry?
“I will be right back.” Before he could stalk off, Anya squeezed his hand to catch his attention.
He glowered down at her.
“No more secrets,” she said.
She saw something battling inside him. His eyes darkened, his jaw twitched and Anya knew what he was going to say.
“I will be right back.”
Just like that he walked away and took his secret with him.
***
QUINN WASN’T SURE how Dave found him, but he was damn sure that this wasn’t going to be pretty. Dave detested this family and he’d just witnessed Quinn’s affection for Anya. Without an explanation, he could imagine what was going on in his brother’s head.
Quinn had known he was going to have to explain Anya to him eventually, he just thought he would be able to do it after he showed him the file that had possessed so many years of Quinn’s life.
Quinn was angry and frustrated and when he opened his mouth to talk to his brother and his words came out harsh. “What are you doing here?” he said under his breath.
Dave had never been one to stand down to Quinn. They stood at eye level and the rift radiated between them. What, the hell, was he doing here anyway? Not once had Dave cared enough to come two years ago and now Quinn was gone for less than a week and he took the few hours’ drive to get here and what? Drag him back? That was a waste of both of their time. Quinn wasn’t leaving without the file and after that he wasn’t ever leaving Anya again.
“I could ask you the same question.”
“Only you know the answer.”
Dave folded his arms across his chest. An intimidating stance that would have made Quinn chuckle if he wasn’t so annoyed.
“Do I?” Dave looked past Quinn toward Anya.
Quinn’s hands fisted at the disgusted look across his brother’s face. He was ready to punch it off of him.
“Because to me it looks like you’re here playing house with a damn Caliendo.”
Damn it. Playing house? He wasn’t playing house. He was in love with Anya, getting their sisters file and anticipating the rest of the files to fix the wrongs he’d made. Having Dave here just brought a whole new level of disorder he didn’t need right now.
Quinn didn’t respond. He wouldn’t dignify that ignorance with a defense. He wasn’t going to lie about his relationship with Anya.
Dave continued anyway. “I dropped by your house. You haven’t been home for a week or so and I really thought, no I hoped, I would be wrong, but here you are. Again.”
Dave didn’t understand. Quinn was fixing it this time.
“I didn’t expect to find you were here screwing the woman whose father destroyed our family.”
That was Quinn’s limit.
“Don’t talk trash about her.”
Dave scoffed. “So you are screwing her.”
“Dave I am warning you.”
“No, I’m warning you. Get out. Dad wouldn’t have wanted this. I thought you were finished.”
Quinn opened his mouth to tell Dave to piss off and let him finish this when commotion behind his brother caught both their attention.
“Uncle Quinn!”
Quinn gave his
four-year-old nephew a smile as he watched him tug his mother’s hand to go faster. A very pregnant Pamela Barker flashed Quinn an apologetic smile before Memphis’s begging took her attention.
“We’re inside Mommy. Can I go to Uncle Quinn now?”
Pamela sighed. “Yes, okay.” She let his hand go and stopped walking, taking a deep breath and rubbing her hands over her protruding middle.
Quinn had seen her three weeks ago and she hadn’t looked so pregnant. She was due soon.
Why, the hell, was Dave dragging them both across the countryside? Oakston to Willow Valley wasn’t over the countryside, but three hours was far enough away from home.
Quinn didn’t have a chance to slap his younger brother upside the head. Dave turned and walked to his wife, tenderly taking her arm and helping her to catch up with Memphis who was on a straight, speedy path to Quinn.
Quinn caught the jet and tossed him in the air.
“Hey buddy.”
“I missed you,” Memphis said through an explosion of laughter caused by Quinn’s fingers ticking his side. “Stop, Uncle Quinn.” False begging.
As Dave and Pamela stopped in front of him, Quinn sensed Anya beside him. He glanced at her and watched the different emotions run through her face as she looked from Dave to Pamela then up to him and Memphis. Confusion, questioning and hurt.
How was he always hurting her? Even after he’d promised himself he never would.
“Anya, this is my brother Dave, his wife Pamela and their little rascal Memphis.”
“I’m not a rascal. I’m a superhero,” Memphis declared throwing his hands in the air like he was flying.
Anya chuckled, but Quinn heard her hesitation. “It’s nice to meet you Memphis. My brother had a bat cave when he was little.”
“That would be awesome!” One more Barker won over. Now they only had to sway Dave...he was the steadfast one.
“This is Anya Caliendo,” Quinn said to Dave and Pamela, hoping his softened tone with a dash of protectiveness over Anya didn’t go unmissed.
Anya offered her hand, and Dave surprised him by almost faking a good, “Nice to meet you.” Almost.
Quinn caught the flicker of blame in his brother’s eyes. He clenched his hands, begging him to slap that look right out of his brother. At the same time, Quinn did understand where Dave stood on the topic and why. As indirect as it was, Dave was involved. That was why Quinn planned to discuss Anya with his brother, alone. He had been anticipating that Dave might need some time to mull over Quinn and Anya’s relationship. Throwing him into the middle of it right now was worrisome. He didn’t want anything said that couldn’t be unsaid. Quinn didn’t want to choose sides and divide his family. He hoped Anya would feel as welcomed in his as he was in hers.
Pamela was acutely aware and up-to-date to the Barker’s background with the Caliendo’s and Dave’s judgmental position in the situation. Dave didn’t keep things from his wife. Not the way Quinn and Anya had, but all that was changing.
Quinn was glad when Pamela sent Anya a genuine smile. “It’s nice to meet you Anya. So this is your resort, right? It’s amazing and I’ve only walked inside the foyer.”
Anya relaxed and smiled as she sensed the sincerity from Pamela.
Maybe this won’t be so bad. He doubted that was accurate.
“Thank you. It’s a family business that has been passed on through generations.”
“That’s nice.” His muttering brother drowned out Pamela’s comment.
“It’s amazing what families can pass down.”
No one missed the thinly veiled accusation.
Pamela elbowed Dave lightly but no one missed that either.
“Are we interrupting? Are you two just getting back from a workout?” Pamela asked.
Change of topic. Another point for Pamela.
“You’re not interrupting at all. We are heading back to my suite after a...” Anya glanced up at Quinn with a smirk. “...workout,” she answered, leaving out the parts he wouldn’t have to explain. Couples yoga. Couple. But it was all the parts that made them who they were and he wasn’t running from that.
Quinn balanced Memphis on one shoulder, while the youngster still thought he was flying. “We were at a couples yoga.” He took Anya’s hand and felt the resistance. “As a couple.”
Dave’s face transformed into a furious snarl. He had no idea how much creasing his face like that made him look identical to Quinn. It was uncanny.
Pamela’s shocked look was quickly masked with another smile.
It was Anya who Quinn was really worried about. When he glanced down at her, she met his gaze with a delighted look in her eyes. He was prepared to provide that look to her for the rest of their lives. They probably stared at each other longer than they realized, but Quinn didn’t care.
Finally, Anya turned to Pamela and Dave. “Are you hungry for breakfast? We would love it if you would join us at my suite.”
Dave didn’t move. He sent Quinn a glare, but Quinn was not about to back down.
“That would be fantastic. We left so early this morning we haven’t eaten yet,” Pamela said. “And Memphis could use a nap afterwards,” she whispered, but through her son’s sound effects, he heard her.
“No Mommy! I’m not tired.” Although he lost the battle with the yawn that followed.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“DOES SHE KNOW who you are?” Dave’s undertone was filled with anger. Now that the brothers were alone, after Pamela and Memphis had followed Anya to the spare bedroom and bathroom to freshen up before breakfast, Dave was not holding back.
Quinn remained calm. His brother had a right to be concerned.
“Yes.”
“Does she know what Dad was doing here? What you were doing for two years here? Looking for Nikki’s file?”
“Yes.”
“You told her that you’re looking for Nikki’s file?” he asked skeptically.
Quinn nodded.
“I guess she’s aware that her father is a manipulating asshole who has ruined our lives?”
And her life. Quinn didn’t say that.
“Yes.”
“So now you’re here playing house with a Caliendo. Have you forgotten what you were doing here in the first place? What you plan to do once you get Nikki’s file?”
“Dave, she knows everything you know.”
If not more. She knew about the parts of him that Quinn would never admit to his brother. His fears, his regrets and the turmoil his actions had caused. In a lot of ways Quinn had tried to hide that part of him from Dave, just like his dad had done from them. Probably just as unsuccessfully.
“How does she feel about you exposing her father?”
How was Dave going to feel after he revealed that he didn’t plan on exposing Robert?
“Dave, it’s not black and white.”
“That’s funny because that’s what you’ve been saying it was for the last four years while you’ve let this file corrupt your life. I have watched you pull away from reality, away from your family. You quit your job to come work for a man who bled our father dry.”
He stood silent allowing his brother to vent before the women returned.
“You stopped hanging out with your friends, dating, everything. Man, you stopped living. And I’m not talking about just the first two years you were here. How about the last two years? Hiding yourself away in the country. Alone. This family has destroyed you and now you’re going to couples yoga with one of them. Couples yoga!”
“Couples yoga is very relaxing. Soothing to the soul. You should try it.”
Dave’s forehead burrowed together in confusion. “What?”
“It connects you with your partner on a level−”
Dave cut him off. “I don’t want to talk about damn yoga!” He yelled louder this time.
Quinn felt his own anger dissipating. Anya was the love of his life and Dave was his brother, he would understand.
“Robert destroyed us. Not his fa
mily. And certainly not Anya.”
Dave stepped toward him, doubling in anger. “Do you actually believe that?” he snarled.
“Do you think I am here and haven’t done my homework? I have scoped out each Caliendo and not one of them were involved with Robert or anything he’s done.”
Dave scoffed. “Bullshit. Like they didn’t know who he was.”
Quinn stepped closer to his brother. “Isn’t that calling the kettle black?”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“Like we didn’t know what Dad was doing? The files we found that night when he had his first heart attack.” It was five years prior to the one he’d had driving down the slick winter roads. “Those files were proof of what we both thought and neither of us did a damn thing about it. We turned our eyes and walked away because if we hadn’t, Dad would have paid. How does that make us better than this family? It only proves we are just as bad. How can we judge them when we hid Dad’s secret?”
“Dad was looking for Nikki,” Dave argued.
“That’s a bullshit story you tell yourself. Dad worked for Robert long before Nikki died. Something obviously happened between them that dragged Nikki into the middle of it, but it sure as hell wasn’t only Robert to blame. We knew about Dad’s involvement with Robert and we didn’t do a damn thing. We are as much to blame for Nikki’s death as Robert and Dad themselves.”
Dave’s jaw twitched. His hands balled into fists and the threatening glare he sent Quinn was proof of his own guilt.
“Hit me,” Quinn said. “Get it out of your system and, when you’re finished man up to the blame so we can both move on.”
“So you can keep screwing a Caliendo.”
Quinn shook his head. “I swear man, you disrespect her one more time and I’m going to−”
“To what? Hit me? Hit your younger brother? Over a Caliendo?”
“Don’t tempt me.”
Dave shoved his chest. “Tempt. Tempt.”
Quinn sucked in a deep breath.
“Memphis is down,” Pamela said, entering the room. “I guess he was more tired than I thought. I walked away for a second and he was sleeping.” She stopped beside them, looking back and forth between them. “No thanks to you two. Am I interrupting the scuffle?”