by Vonnie Davis
Footsteps trunked up the steps. “Cassie? You up?”
She gasped and snatched the covers over her head. “Stop yelling, Wolf. And don’t come in, I’m not decent.”
“You’ve got ten minutes to shower and get dressed. Becca’s at work, but she put some clean clothes on the vanity in the bathroom for you. I’m making breakfast and then we’re talking. Don’t dawdle.”
“God, I feel like I’m fourteen again.” How many times had he told her not to poke around, and how often had she done it just to hear him growl. After her parents died, he’d become her rock, her security.
Footsteps sounded on the steps as Wolf descended. “Hell, if you were fourteen, you’d be grounded and on some serious-assed restrictions. Ten minutes and counting.”
She rustled under the covers and scratched behind Einstein’s ears again. “Big man doesn’t scare us, does he?”
Einstein whined and licked her face.
A pink wrapped gift on the nightstand caught her eye. Was it for her? Or was it something Wolf had left for Becca? But why would he put it here and not in Becca’s bedroom? She reached for the oblong package and fingered the silver ribbon. A small gift tag read “To Cassie, from Quinn. Happy Birthday, Peanut.”
Her heart rate kicked into the happy-to-be-me category. He’d bought her a gift. Even if it was something cheap and goofy, he’d thought enough of her to buy it and have it wrapped. So why didn’t he bring it to her birthday party? Her eyes narrowed. Oh yeah, his mystery female visitor.
Pushing that thought aside, she slid the metallic ribbon off the box. No way could he have wrapped it so carefully. She slid her fingernail along the taped edge and folded back the iridescent pink paper. The embossed logo on the white jeweler’s box impressed her. Had Quinn really gone to Zales to buy her a gift? She snapped the lid open and gasped. From a delicate gold chain dangled a filigree heart pendant. An angel nestled within the open scrollwork edging the heart. Small brilliant diamonds covered the angel’s outstretched wings.
She blinked back tears. “Oh, Quinn, you do care. No matter what you say, you do care.” When he’d kissed her last night, he’d called her his angel. Is this how he thought of her? As an angel who’d wormed her way into his heart? She slid two fingers beneath the pendant, the warmth of the gold soaking into her skin like the sun’s rays on a bright June day. So beautiful. So fragile-looking and yet solid, just like her feelings for him.
She pressed the white box to her heart and sighed. Her first jewelry gift from a man, and the man was Quinn.
Einstein sniffed what she held and then laid his chin on her shoulder, his black eyes studying her. She ran a finger between his eyes and down his muzzle. “I have an admirer. He’s just too scared to admit it yet. Poor schmuck.” She giggled with glee and the dog licked her face. “Poor chicken shit schmuck.” The canine’s tail beat a happy rhythm on the bed.
“Cassie? Six minutes and thirty seconds!”
Her brother’s booming voice snagged the dog’s attention and he growled deep in his throat.
She placed a hand on Einstein’s head. “Doesn’t that man know I have a hangover? Why does he have to yell?”
The German shepherd woofed once. He bounded off the bed, charged to the top of the steps and barked as if he were saying, “Shut the hell up! Woman with a hangover up here!”
“Six damn minutes! Einstein? Want some kibble?” Toenails jangled down the stairway. Evidently the canine’s stomach overrode being chivalrous.
Cassie placed the gift from Quinn back on the nightstand and slowly sat, willing her aching body to cooperate. Just to prove Wolf didn’t scare her with his macho bossiness, she took ten minutes to shower, dress and put on her angel necklace. Although if she were honest, she had to move slower than normal to lessen the effects of the Westminster chimes gonging in her head—in triplicate. If she lived through this hangover, she’d never drink booze again.
Wolf sat at Becca’s dining room table, his rigid body posture familiar. He was about to give her holy hell. His narrow-eyed gaze swept to her before he pointed to the chair next to him. “Tomato juice. Drink. Coffee. Drink. Fried eggs. Eat.”
She pointed to him. “Mouth. Close.”
“Don’t fu…play with me, Cassie. I’m not in the mood. You had no business doing shots and getting shitfaced.”
A long-suffering sigh escaped. “I’m twenty-one. I can drink if I want.”
He crossed his arms and assumed his faux-father bearing. “Being twenty-one also carries a passel of responsibilities, young lady.”
Oh God, he was dragging out the “young lady” speech. She gulped the tomato juice and choked. “Holy hell, what’s in this?”
“Two raw eggs, minced garlic, Tabasco sauce and a shot of whiskey.” He had the audacity to wink. “Hair-o-the-dawg. It’ll cure what ails ya.” He made a wiggling motion with his fingertips. “Drink up.”
“Will I feel better or worse?” She forced down a little more and her stomach churned and clenched. Then she noticed his winking expression continued. She tilted her head and studied him. “What’s wrong with your eye?” His broad hand rose to cover it and she coiled her fingers around his wrist to yank it back. For a few seconds they played tug-of-war in the air until he relented and relaxed his muscles.
She stood and leaned over him, peering closely at his face. “Wolf, your eye is swollen. It’s turning black and blue.” Her fingers lightly traced the curve of his face. “Your cheek is bruised and your bottom lip is split. Are these work-related injuries?” His silence was telling; so was the fact he wouldn’t make eye contact. “Were you in a fight?” This was so unlike her brother. “What on earth happened?”
“Quinn’s fist and I had an intimate conversation.”
“Quinn did this?” She collapsed in her chair and sipped more of the doctored tomato juice. “Why?” Quinn and her brother were close. Sure they teased, but never got out of hand with it. If either one needed help, the other one was there in a heartbeat.
Wolf gulped his coffee and slung an arm over the back of the chair. “I was pushing him. Trying to find out his true feelings about you.”
Her hand covered the golden angel pendant. “And?”
He pointed to her eggs. “Eat those before they get any colder than they already have.”
What had Wolf said to Quinn to set him off? Knowing her brother, if she didn’t eat, he’d never tell her. She shoveled in a couple of bites and washed them down with coffee. Just to be sure he’d answer her questions, she drank most of the god-awful tomato juice, gagging a time or two. She blotted her lips with the napkin and tossed it at him.
Wolf snatched it mid-air, his normal smirk somewhat crooked since his cracked lower lip grew puffier by the minute.
“Okay, I’ve done like you asked. Now, it’s your turn to tell me what happened between the two of you.” She hoped their friendship wasn’t ruined because of her. In some ways, Wolf and Quinn were as close as brothers.
Wolf leaned back in his chair, the front legs rising from the floor. “I’ve always suspected how Quinn felt about you, but after the way he spoke to you yesterday, I wasn’t sure. Becca overheard him whispering some things to you after he’d put you to bed last night.”
“What kind of things?” So Quinn had put her to bed. Had he taken off her clothes? No biggie, really. They’d gone swimming together before, so seeing her in a bra and thong wasn’t the end of the world. Perhaps with another man, yes, but not with Quinn. Still, what had Becca overheard him saying to her?
“You’ll have to ask Becca.”
She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at her brother. Damn, he could be so annoying. “If you know, why can’t you just tell me?”
Wolf stood to retrieve the coffee carafe. He filled his mug and then topped off hers, before setting the empty pot on the table. “Because.” He slumped in the chair and brought his mug partway to his lips. “Conversations between a couple are private. You’ll learn that one day.” He slurped his coffee and shook
his head. “Okay, sis, here’s the thing…” He ran a hand across the back of his neck and exhaled a long sigh. “Quinn turned in his notice this morning. He’s leaving the station, and Florida.”
Cold fingers of panic clutched her lungs and wrung every centimeter of air from their spongy honeycomb confines. Leaving Florida? No, he couldn’t. Not her Quinn! “He what?”
“He’s leaving. He’s freaking scared and he’s running. The man’s in love with you.” Wolf pointed to his face. “The fact he attacked me when I teased him about the guys at the station coming on to you after he leaves proves that. I wasn’t sure before, but I am now. The thought of another man touching you drove him freaking crazy.”
Her index finger caressed her angel necklace. “Why move away? I don’t understand.” Maybe Wolf didn’t either. If she wanted answers, she needed to go to the source. “I’m going to his place. We need to talk.” A thousand things, like grains of sand, sifted through her mind. “I’ve waited on that man for three years.”
“Three?”
She stood, gathering her dirty dishes and silverware. “That’s right. I fell in love with him when I was eighteen, but I sensed the situation was hopeless. For one, he treated me as if I were too young. And number two, would you have allowed me to date him?”
“When you’d just turned eighteen? Hell to the no. He’s seven years older than you, which might not be so bad now, but not then.” The sharp tone of his voice caused Einstein to whine.
“Exactly. So, like a good baby sister, I waited until I turned twenty-one.” Meanwhile, she’d done the responsible thing. She’d earned her associates degree in business and then her cosmetology license. “If he thinks he’s getting away from me now, he doesn’t know how damn determined a Wolford can be.” She charged into the kitchen, began loading the dishwasher and spun to shake a fork at Wolf. “I will hunt that man down.”
Her brother followed and placed his hands on her shoulders. “Listen to me, now. Something happened to Quinn in his past. I don’t know what it was, but I get the gut feeling it was bad.” He turned her to face him. “Real bad, Cassie. I’m guessing it was job-related, yet I get the feeling some parts of it were personal and have warped how or why he can’t handle his feelings for you.” His brown eyes bore into hers. “If anyone can tear down the walls he’s built, I’m thinking it’s you. If anyone can show him how to feel again after some catastrophe, sis, it’s you.”
Tears pooled. “You’re talking about my cutting.” She extended her arms, studying for the millionth time the faint scars scoring her flesh from her wrists to the bend of her elbows. Because she hadn’t been home the night the arsonist started the fire that killed their parents, she’d blamed herself. The worst part was she had lied. Told her mom and dad she was at a friend’s pajama party when, instead, she and Renee, both barely thirteen, had gone to a party with some older kids. Her sense of culpability numbed her and she began cutting herself to feel pain.
His hand trailed over her hair. “Don’t go back to your dark place, Cassie.” Her brother knew her too well, could read her body language. “A lot of kids lie about where they’re going. Doesn’t make it right, but it happens. Hell, I did it a time or two, myself. The fire was not your fault. You know that.”
She nodded. After a couple of years of counseling and an intervention by her siblings, she’d finally released the guilt. “So you think Quinn’s in the same emotional place I was? He’s always joking and acting a fool.”
“Yes, but sometimes a man wears a mask, especially when he can’t face the man in the mirror. I bet you dollars to donuts, he’s using the laughing disguise to hide his pain. He’s a good man, sis. Beneath all the smart-ass attitude, he’s a decent sort. Loyal. I’d want him guarding my six any day.”
She studied him for a few beats. “What’s changed your mind?”
He snatched two sugar cookies from the cookie jar, shoved one in his mouth and tossed one up for Einstein to catch mid-air. “Some things men just don’t discuss, you know?”
She poked a finger into his stomach. “You are so full of that macho shit.”
Her brother grinned before he enveloped her in his arms for a hug. “Yeah, but my woman digs it.”
“Well, not your sister.” She punched him lightly in the shoulder and he laughed. Still, what Wolf said made sense. If Quinn was hiding behind a false face of humor, he’d never heal. Hadn’t she’d learned that during her intense, often agonizing, counseling sessions? The man she loved would always hurt. Her heart ached for him. If anyone knew the hopelessness of that kind of emotional torment, it was her.
She had to convince Quinn to stay, to face his demons. If he moved away, he’d take a large piece of her soul with him. Her stomach swirled and twisted like a cyclone, the resulting pain making her gulp for air. She couldn’t deal with the loss of him or the dream of a shared future.
By damn, she wouldn’t allow it.
“I have to go. If that man thinks charging into a burning building takes guts, just wait until he comes up against Cassie Jacqueline Wolford when she’s in a full rant. I’m telling you he doesn’t stand a chance.”
Wolf laughed behind her. “You go, baby girl. Show numbnuts who’s gonna be boss of this outfit.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Quinn dragged his tired, sorry ass down the steps of his apartment building, two filled boxes in his arms. He wanted his belongings packed and ready to go as soon as his final shift at the fire station was over. Acid rolled in his gut. Contrary to what Wolf and Noah insinuated, he was not running from Cassie or his feelings for her. Not in the way they suspected. Hell, it wasn’t commitment he feared.
Thanks to a recent text, it was Cassie’s safety.
He hadn’t stopped trembling since a text had dropped into his cell’s message box not more than an hour ago. Ur joggin buddy dies if U return 2 the agency.
No sooner had he read the text twice than rage and panic joined forces. He rammed his fist through the closet door in his bedroom where he’d been about ready to start packing his clothes. Unless he replaced the door with three fist-sized holes in it, he’d probably forfeit his security deposit. As if I give a good rat’s ass.
The message meant two things. One, he’d been watched for a long time, maybe his entire spell in Clearwater. And, two, one of the men he’d contacted about job openings in the State Department and the DEA was the mole who’d informed the cartel of his team’s activities years ago. Renata hadn’t been the only person to apprise the drug lords of their progress. And his team had been damn good at ferreting out intel. Working together the way they did, they’d become a very real threat to the drug trafficking in that country.
One might say he owed it to his fallen team members to find out who in the agency had ratted them out.
But he could not…would not risk Cassie’s safety to do it. She had to come first.
Returning to the grind of government work was now out of the realm of his possibilities. He’d stick to the adrenalin-pumping, rewarding fire and rescue business. He’d survived for three years without knowing the identity of the mole, but he wouldn’t survive for a minute knowing his angel had been harmed.
There’d been three responses to the dozen or so emails he’d sent before his shift at the fire station ended. A few of his previous co-workers at the State Department and in the DEA still cared enough to pass along some contact information. Two referenced security firms that did clandestine work for the government—mercenaries. Another, Lance Blakewell, shared information about an opening within the department, low-level, but it was a foot in the door. He’d considered it until he got the threatening text.
What the hell? Fuck it all, right?
After he grabbed a few hours of sleep, he’d make a list of everyone he’d contacted and contact them again. Put the word out he’d found a firefighting job somewhere.
No, that wouldn’t be good enough. Whoever the asshole was, he’d probably check behind Quinn. He’d have to apply at a few fire departments
to back up his claims. Meanwhile he’d do what he could to protect Cassie. It never once occurred to him that he or anyone he held dear would be in danger because of a mission that went bad, but why would it? And what was the reason behind keeping track of his mediocre life? What did he know that made him a liability for some lowlife who lived in the shadow of the beam of right and wrong?
Just who the hell was the ass-wipe? Did he really care enough to reenter that fucked up world of deception and danger?
If it put Cassie at risk, then no. Hell no.
He elbowed the building’s door open and trudged into the sunlight, the late-morning glare intensifying his headache. The middle of January and it was a balmy sixty-eight degrees. Man, he was going to miss the hell out of Florida. Life here had practically been a ceaseless vacation, even with the forty-eight hour shifts at the station. On days off he jogged on the beach with Cassie or went to beer parties or Buckaneers football games with other firemen. Often he rode his Harley, Cassie’s arms and legs wrapped around him, across Dunedin Causeway to Honeymoon Island, a favorite snorkeling destination of theirs. Wolf and Jace included him in their jet ski races off Gulf Boulevard. Then there were picnics and beach-combing on Caladesi Island, also with Cassie.
He would miss it all—the weather, the beautiful scenery, his friends, the satisfaction of his job.
Cassie.
If sadness had a color, it would be navy blue, for damned if a severe case of blues wasn’t settling in. He’d have so many memories of Clearwater, Florida, and almost every one would revolve around Cassie Wolford.
“Well, well, well…if it isn’t Mr. Hot Lips Chicken Shit.”
Fuck.
He plopped the boxes at the rear of the U-Haul trailer he’d backed into one of his two assigned parking spaces before unhitching it from his Wrangler. With a push of one hand, he slid open the retractable door. Meanwhile, he braced himself for the five-foot-five, dark-haired tirade barreling down on him, that infernal streak of red hair standing on end as if it were a battle flag flapping in the wind. By the murderous expression on her face, now probably wasn’t the best time to mention the hairdo. What the hell made women do that to their hair anyway?