Havenfall Harbor: Book One

by Albany Walker

  “I think we should spend more time with her. Be nice to her, show her we’re interested, but give her time to adjust.”

  “When do we tell her we’re a package deal, and what if she won’t go for it?” Griff voices a concern I think we both have.

  “I think we should be subtle about it at first, but never dishonest. If the question ever comes up, tell her the truth. Otherwise, let’s just show her the benefits.”

  “And what is the truth, Evan? Do you feel the mating bond with her? Because I’m pretty sure I’m feeling something along those lines.” Hearing Griffin admit he might be blood sung to Quinn comes as a surprise. I’m not surprised that he is—I think I knew that from the beginning—but I’m surprised by the admission.

  “I’m pretty sure that’s exactly what I’m feeling.” I meet Griff’s gaze and watch as his shoulders relax, the tension around his eyes and forehead melting away. He’s relieved. It could be for several reasons, but I don’t want to ask him why just yet.

  “We need to put a stop to this shit happening in her room, make it clear that kind behavior won’t be tolerated.” Griff changes the subject quickly. If I know him at all, it was hard for him to admit he’s going to stop fighting the inevitable with what is happening with Quinn. But I completely agree with the sentiment.

  I nod my head slowly, my mind already working on how to deal with Letty. Should I continue to allow her to believe that Quinn is just a human, or would it be better to let her know that I’m more invested in finding out what’s going on than just doing my job? “I don’t think I ever mentioned it to you, but did you know Letty left Quinn down at the gate, had her walk up?”

  “No, and she never mentioned it either.” Griff is referring to Quinn.

  “I doubt she would have ever said anything to anyone if I hadn’t found her walking up the road.” I purposefully keep my voice lowered, but Quinn hasn’t stirred at all.

  “Did you ask Letty why the fuck she would leave her, or anyone else for that matter, to walk?” Griff nearly growls, half incredulous.

  “I talked with her after it happened, and she made up an excuse about running off some girls who were trying to sneak into the staff wing, but she could have sent someone else to take care of that.”

  “Is this the first time she’s been a problem?”

  “Yeah.” I blow out a breath. “Honestly, she’s driven. Always willing to cover a shift, never lets her personal life interfere with work.”

  Griff grunts. “Until now.”

  I nod. “I’ll talk with her tomorrow morning. See what she knows.” We fall silent again, the low sounds of the television playing in the background, but neither of us are paying it any attention.

  Chapter 20

  Quinn

  After waking up in Griffin’s bed—with no recollection of how I got there—I help myself to his shower. I found my bag placed on a chair in the corner of the room, my items situated just like they were when I gave over the bag to him yesterday.

  I take a few seconds to regret my wardrobe choice. Jeans and a sweatshirt seemed good yesterday, but now it feels too casual. I look down at my watch. I still have enough time to do a quick shirt change and get down to the cafeteria to grab something to eat if I rush.

  As soon as I open the door to exit Griffin’s bedroom, the front door closes. Evan comes into sight with a lunch tray in his hand. The smell of coffee hits me first. While I don’t drink much coffee, even I can admit the scent is divine.

  “Morning,” he calls out.

  Griffin uncoils himself from the couch, turning his neck left and right like he may have been there all night.

  “Morning,” I utter lowly, not sure Evan was even talking to me.

  “I can see my timing is impeccable, hungry?” Evan inquires, setting the tray from the cafeteria down on a table near the entryway into the kitchen.

  I look over at Griffin, expecting him to answer, but his eyes are already on me. “I asked Josie what you usually get, so blame her if you don’t like bagels.” Evan reaches for one of the tall, thermal cups and lifts the lid off before bringing it up to his lips for a drink.

  “What did I do to warrant the royal treatment?” I half chuckle, feeling very much like I’m missing something. “Did someone trash my room or something?”

  “Just go eat,” Griffin grumbles, and walks past me. I swear I hear him drag in a breath as he does. I scrunch up my nose, I know I don’t stink. I just took a shower using all his soaps and shampoos.

  “He’s a grump in the morning,” Evan tells me, eying me over the rim of his cup.

  “Just in the morning?” I step closer and spy a yummy fresh bagel and a single packet of cream cheese. I knew I liked Josie.

  “I’m not grumpy.” Griffin saunters up to my side after leaving the bedroom quickly. “Did you sleep well?”

  My cheeks heat, it feels strange having him ask how I slept in his bed. I reach for the bagel and tear off a chunk. “I did, though I don’t remember going to sleep.” I pop the food in my mouth swiftly, so I don’t have to say anything else.

  “Do you have any plans today?” Evan asks, ignoring me mentioning getting to bed.

  I plant my palm on my forehead. “I forgot it was Saturday.” I was thinking I would be in my office all day. Now what am I going to do? I don’t want to go back to my room, not until the lock is fixed.

  “Does that mean yes? This for me?” Griffin questions, looking over at Evan who nods and continues to sip from his cup, watching me.

  “Nope, no plans for me.” I rock back on my heels and focus my attention on picking my food into bite-sized pieces.

  “We should show you around!” I look up at Evan after his proclamation. “Alice was going to take you to Bakersville, right? You didn’t get to go. We can take you.” Evan lifts his hand and waves at Griffin, including him in on the plan.

  “I mean, that’s really nice of you, but you guys have already done enough for me.” I push away the idea and how appealing it sounds.

  “Do you not want to go with us?” Griffin picks up his own disposable cup.

  “It’s not that.” I peer between the two of them. “I just don’t want you guys to feel obligated to hang out with me.” I tuck a piece of damp hair behind my ear—good thing I remembered to grab my brush and a few other things to put in my bag yesterday.

  Evan leans his wide shoulder against the wall and peers at me with his chin lowered just enough that it seems like his eyes are smiling at me. “I wouldn’t offer if I didn’t want to take you. Plus, you’d be doing me a favor.”

  Evan makes it easy to want to go. “And what favor would that be?” I plant my empty hand on my hip, waiting.

  “It’s two-fold really.” Evan runs his thumb down the side of his jaw, slightly scratching the scruff there. “Griffin barely speaks, it can get kind of lonely, but more importantly, we can get to know each other better.”

  I furrow my brow, is Evan Winters flirting with me? I can’t even form a response before Griffin adds, “All of us.”

  I glance between the two of them, suddenly feeling like it’s getting warm in here. Playing it cool, I reply, “Where are we going? I might need to change.”

  “No, you’re good. Perfect.” Evan hides his smile behind the rim of his cup, but I can see the crinkling around his eyes. Now I feel like he’s poking fun at me. I cast him a sideways look, checking out what he’s wearing. Different jeans from last night and a dark gray t-shirt, which is fitted in all the right places in that effortless guy way. It would take a tailor to get that kind of fit on a woman.

  “Okay then, looks like you’re stuck with me playing third wheel.”

  Evan places his coffee back on the tray with a slight scoff. “Not a third wheel, think of us more as a trifecta.”

  “Should we get going?” Griffin pipes up before I question Evan’s word choice, drawing my attention to him.

  “Are you ready?” The question pops out as I look at him. He’s wearing dark linen pants and a black
thermal shirt. The same clothes he was wearing last night. “Did you sleep on the couch?” I ask, getting back to my original thought when I first saw him.

  “A little.” Griffin shrugs indifferently.

  “I thought you were going to Evan’s.” I glance over at Evan as he reaches for a glistening doughnut from the tray.

  “Well, I didn’t. Neither did he.”

  “We both dozed off,” Evan agrees, acting like it’s no big deal. I think back to all the times I would wake up and find a friend of a roommate crashed on the couch.

  “Okay, I just don’t want to be the cause of you guys losing sleep,” I divulge, but if they aren’t going to make a big deal about it, I’m sure not going to.

  Evan leans his head a little closer to mine and mock whispers, “It was worth it. We had fun.” He makes sure to look over at Griffin as if he’s including him in the statement. A grin tugs at my mouth. I had fun too, even if I was here for a strange reason. Which reminds me why I’m really here in the first place.

  “Think we could stop by the hardware store? I can pick up an interior deadbolt for when I’m in the room.”

  Evan leans back, his face smoothing out quickly. “Sure, we could find something.” His tone goes from playful to much more serious.

  “You’ll still need to stay here though,” Griffin says, as he turns to head back to his bedroom area.

  I furrow my brow. “I can’t stay here forever. I just need a better lock.” My voice rises as Griffin continues to walk away from me. I look at Evan, feeling a little exasperated. “He does that to me all the time, just leaves when he feels like it.”

  “He’s a royal pain in the ass, literally. Don’t let it bother you, he barely speaks to most people.”

  “Yeah, you’ve said that.” I look down the hall where Griffin disappeared. “Did you find anything out about the keypad lock, or when we could install it?”

  Evan looks down at the tray and picks up his coffee again. “Unfortunately, no. My tech guy won’t be back until Monday, he had plans for the weekend.” Evan meets my eyes again, watching me when he adds, “I could ask someone else, but he’s the best and I trust him.”

  My heart falls a little. I feel like the longer I wait to go back, the harder it’s going to be when I do, but that’s not his fault. “I really need that interior lock then. I can’t keep making him sleep on the couch.”

  Evan wraps his arm over my shoulders. “I promise he doesn’t mind. That stuff I said about being lonely, it’s true. Griff doesn’t let anyone in. If he didn’t want you here, he would have found a place for you to stay. If you were anyone else, that’s exactly what he would have done.”

  “Ready?” Griffin grouses as soon as the door to the bedroom opens, revealing him dressed in a pair of dark jeans and a long-sleeved white shirt. It makes the brightness of his eyes pop.

  Evan gives me little squeeze, dragging me into a near hug for a second before he steps back and wipes his hands together in an eager gesturer. “About time. Let’s go.”

  “I need to grab my purse. Do you mind if I…?” I lift my hand and halfheartedly point to the room Griffin is exiting. I left my purse in my bag, not really thinking I would need it.

  “Be my guest.” Griffin moves to the side so I have enough room to pass him. The clothes he was wearing are tossed carelessly on the end of the bed. I rush over to my bag and pull my small purse out of the bottom, checking to make sure my wallet is inside.

  When I head back into the living room, both men are standing close together, and Evan’s head quickly pops up. My steps come to a quick halt, feeling like I’m interrupting something. I have second thoughts about going. Maybe I should just head down to the main floor and see if I can catch Alice or Rob at breakfast.

  Griffin pivots so I can see the side of his face, he doesn’t look upset. “Got what you need?” he asks.

  “Yeah, I should be good.”

  Griffin

  “You’re freaking her out,” I accuse Evan the moment Quinn is out of earshot.

  Evan scrunches up his face patronizingly. “I’m letting her know we’re interested. Stop pretending you aren’t.”

  “She’s human, don’t you think she would run for the hills if she knew what we wanted?”

  Evan chuckles darkly. “You’re not giving her enough credit, Griff. You’re acting like she’s some naïve virgin we’re trying to defile.”

  Quinn comes out of the room, and I know she didn’t hear our conversation, but she pauses like she knows we were talking about her. “Got what you need?”

  Quinn glances between the two of us, and after a short pause, answers, “Yeah, I should be good.”

  We file out the door, Evan in front, Quinn between us, and me bringing up the rear. It’s still pretty early, plus it’s a weekend, so I don’t expect to run into too many others on our way out. I’m sure rumors are already flying after I laid claim to Quinn in front of Noah, I knew it would happen. That wasn’t intentional, I was acting on instinct. Funny I’ve never felt that way about Evan, maybe it’s because he’s not another vampire, or maybe it’s because I know and trust him. Thank fuck either way.

  Quinn quickens her steps when we make it to the front foyer. There’s a newly blooded vampire behind the desk and she’s headed right in his direction.

  “Hey, Wes,” she greets him with enthusiasm, it’s clear they know each other.

  “Hey, what are you up to?” He comes around the desk after giving Evan a short nod. His eyes dart over me, but he looks away quickly.

  “I’m tagging along with these two into town, you working all day?” Quinn stops in front of the vampire, and I move a little closer to her back. If she notices, she doesn’t react, but the vampire does. He swallows and takes a step away, pretending to straighten a log-in sheet on top of the counter.

  “I’m off around two. Alice and I were going to grab lunch with Rob and Noah.” He blinks rapidly several times. “You’re welcome to join us if you’re not busy.”

  “She’s busy.” My voice comes out expressionless, but not lacking intent. Quinn snaps her head around and gives me a glare.

  “We’re headed into Bakersville, it’ll be a while before we get back,” Evan interjects, smoothing over my objection.

  Quinn turns her attention back to the other vampire. “Will you tell Alice I said hi? Oh, and can you give her my cell number?”

  “Suuure, I can do that,” he says slowly while looking at me, waiting for my reaction. I make sure my face remains blank, even though I want to snarl at him. When he looks away, I glance over at Evan above Quinn’s head. See? I’m being nice.

  His head shake makes me think he’s not giving me credit for not biting this guy’s head off. Quinn gives the small vampire her number, which he smartly jots down on a slip of paper instead of entering the number into his own phone.

  “I’ll make sure she gets this. Have fun?” The last part comes out like a question.

  “Thanks, maybe I’ll see you guys later this evening.” She waves and steps toward the door Evan is already holding open for us. Quinn passes through, giving him a soft, “Thank you.”

  The smile on Evan’s face falls away as soon as she’s out the door, and his annoyed gaze lands on me. “You need to work on that.”

  “On what?” I know what he’s talking about, but I can play dumb.

  “She’s going to be around other people, talk to other people.” Evan keeps his voice low, but lacking any heat.

  Quinn continues down the stone steps, peering over her shoulder to make sure we’re following. “I was just telling him she’s busy,” I defend.

  Evan scoffs, “You were staking a claim.”

  “She doesn’t know she’s ours yet.”

  “So you wanted to make sure he does? It doesn’t work like that, Griffin. She’ll only be ours if she wants to be.” Evan halts on the stairs halfway up, and I pause with him. I get what he’s saying, I do, but I don’t find that option acceptable. “The quickest way to ensure she doesn
’t want to be with us is by taking away her options.”

  I sigh, he’s right. “Fine, I’ll try harder, be better,” I grumble, and resume walking down the stairs to meet Quinn, who’s now waiting for us at the bottom. Evan is quick on my heels. A worm of doubt wiggles its way into my thoughts. Maybe I should just let her and Evan be? I’m probably going to keep fucking up.

  Quinn spins around when my shoes crunch on the walkway to the drive. There’s a slight smile on her face, making the corners of her eyes crinkle. “It’s a beautiful day.”

  I take the opportunity to look beyond her to see the bright blue sky with a few wispy clouds dotted here and there, the wildflowers blooming along the edge of the woods and the warm breeze stirring my hair.

  Living as long as I have, you come to take these things for granted. There truly is something to be said for stopping to smell the roses. “It is,” I agree, but my eyes don’t wander off her for long. She’s what makes it possible for me to appreciate the beauty around her. If someone would have said the same words to me a few weeks ago, I would have ignored them, probably thought something cynical about the person’s motivations for even speaking to me, but not her. She’s an open book. She is sharing her thoughts, not because she wants to impress me, but because she wants to.

  “The garage is just around the corner,” Evan chimes in from my side. Quinn takes one last look around the estate, the grin still on her lips, and follows him as he walks around the east side of the building.

  With a wave of Evan’s keycard, the double wide garage door opens, revealing what resembles an underground parking structure. Several UTVs are parked in the west corner, while numerous cars and SUVs are parked on the east side. Evan walks over to a large metal box hanging near the entrance. I know from experience each slot has a number and the key of every vehicle is placed in the corresponding spots. With a quick flick of his eyes to confirm the number, he grabs a key fob and hits the unlock button.

  Quinn and I head over to the black SUV whose headlights flicker on. I reach for the rear door and open it for her. She thanks me and climbs easily into the backseat.