That’s your own fault, fucker.
Yeah, it was. But he’d had good reasons for keeping his distance and they hadn’t changed. Jack didn’t need him in his life, no matter what Lily said.
“What’s his name?” Rose asked.
“Ryan Smith, I think.” Quinn glanced at her. “Want me to send you a copy of the background check? It was totally clean.” At least, it looked totally clean and he’d thought he’d been thorough.
“No, I can run a check on him now,” Rose muttered, her attention on her screen, tapping on the keys. “Yeah, looks all legit.” Her gaze narrowed. “Hang on…”
Something caught in Quinn’s chest. “What?” he asked sharply.
“This guy looks fine. But…there’s something odd about some of these dates. I mean, I look at this stuff all the time and…” She faltered. “Some of these records basically start from a year ago and there should be more than that.” Her gaze narrowed. “There’s something I don’t like about this guy.”
Quinn went still and everyone else quieted.
Fuck, he hadn’t noticed anything wrong with the check when he’d conducted it. But then he’d still been in the Navy at that stage and on deployment and his head hadn’t exactly been in the game.
You should never have let Jack go like that.
The though nagged at him, made him antsy and as if she knew exactly what was going on in his head, Lily put her hand on his thigh under the table where it was unnoticed. She didn’t stroke him; it was a touch designed to let him know she was there.
It made his heart clench, made him feel hungry and raw and desperate. Made him want to hold her and never let her go. All the same feelings that had sunk their claws into him when Deb driven away with Jack.
“Bye, Dada,” his son had said cheerily, waving at him. Jack’s green eyes, so like his own, had been clear and he’d smiled. Not knowing that he wouldn’t see his father again.
But Quinn had decided. After Charlie had died and Rush had gone to jail, and Zane losing himself in his own grief at her death, he’d known what Deb had said was true. And that bad blood will out. That if he didn’t want his own son to be a casualty, he had to let him go. So he had.
In the end you weren’t there for anyone.
No, but he was here now. He could fix it now.
What about her? All she wants is to be safe and cared for, but can she be with you?
There was a sharp stone in the center of his chest, pushing at him, pressing against his ribs and his heart. A knowledge that he couldn’t escape no matter how much he wanted to.
He could care for her, but Lily wanted safety, security. And she’d achieved that on her own. She didn’t need him. Especially when this situation was looking more and more like something to do with him rather than her.
You can’t keep her.
The stone pierced his heart, pain radiating out, but he shoved it away. He’d always known that he couldn’t get too involved with Lily, so this shouldn’t hurt. It shouldn’t cut him the way it was doing now. So perhaps if he ignored it, it wouldn’t. He couldn’t keep her, he couldn’t. She undermined the control he’d spent years perfecting and that couldn’t happen. He wouldn’t let it.
“Shit,” Rose muttered, then looked up from her laptop all of a sudden. “Hate to say it, but Ryan Smith died three years ago in a car accident. This guy ‘ain’t him.”
“What?” Quinn tried to ignore the sickening lurch in his gut.
Rose was shaking his head. “This check is pretty good and looks totally legit, but…it’s not. There’s an obituary for some dude called Ryan Smith who died in a car accident and the background check you did was a good match for him. But then there was some credit activity that started about a year ago, which was after this dude supposedly died. So it looks to me like the fake Ryan Smith stole his identity.”
Quinn’s gut lurched even more. “So if that’s not Ryan Smith then who the fuck is he?”
FOURTEEN
Lily could feel the muscles of Quinn’s thigh go rock-hard beneath the denim of his jeans and she tensed in response, her breath catching.
This was…not what she’d been expecting. At all. And she didn’t need to see Quinn’s face to know that it hadn’t been what he was expecting either.
There were tense undercurrents happening in the room and mostly between the Redmond brothers, especially with Zane. He’d seemed incredibly offended by the fact that Quinn hadn’t told them about his son and Rush, too, had been pretty pissed. But judging from some of Zane’s comments, he’d taken it far more personally. Of course, now she wanted to know more. Though again, Quinn was right in saying that wasn’t really relevant right now.
Trying to find out what was going on with the blackmailer and the situation she was in, was more important, especially when it looked like that was getting thornier by the minute.
“I don’t understand any of this,” she said into the deafening silence. “So who would take someone else’s identity, get close to Quinn’s son, and start blackmailing me?”
“Who knows?” West spoke for the first time. “What’s clear is that this Ryan Smith isn’t Ryan Smith, which means we have to find out who the fuck he is and whether he’s connected to this call from Quinn’s son’s phone.”
“I think we can safely say that it’s not my son,” Quinn said, his typical low bass now almost a subsonic rumble. He shifted, taking out his own phone. “Fuck, I should have done this straight off. I’m going to call Deb.”
Lily shifted off the seat to let him out, forcing away her own deepening feelings of confusion. This was making less and less sense as time went on, not more and she didn’t like it. Not one bit.
“We need to think about who Quinn might have pissed off recently,” West went on. “Anyone who knew or suspected he had a kid.”
Rush already had his phone out as well. “I’m gonna call a few people myself. See if there’s anything happening underground that I should know about.”
Lily sat back down again, facing Zane, Rose and West, Rose focused on her laptop, while West watched from over her shoulder. Zane’s blue gaze was icy as he stared at Lily.
“It could still be me,” Lily said into the silence. “They might be targeting Quinn to get to me, rather than the other way around.”
“Could be.” Zane’s tone indicated that he clearly didn’t think this was the case. “Depends on who this Ryan Smith is, doesn’t it? Because if he’s the blackmailer then it’s clear he’s got it in for one of you.”
“Deb says everything’s fine,” Quinn said, returning to the table. “I didn’t tell her anything, just made it a social call. Seems Jack’s in his bed asleep as he should be at….” He glanced down at his watch. “Jesus. It’s eleven.”
“What about this Ryan guy?” Lily asked, staring at him. “Did you ask her about him?”
Quinn stuck his hands in his pockets, his green eyes very guarded all of a sudden. “Yeah, well, once she got over the shock of hearing from me, I asked her how things were going with Ryan and she said that it was all good. If this prick isn’t who he says he is, he’s not putting Jack in any immediate danger, but I’m not sitting around waiting until that happens. It’s a long-ass drive to LA and I’m starting tonight.”
West looked at him. “You sure that’s a good idea?”
“What? You got a better one?”
“We don’t know—”
“What we know is that this guy isn’t who everyone thinks he is,” Quinn interrupted, his voice hard. “What we know is that Lily got a call from that address from the blackmailer giving her one more day. Which means we don’t have time to fuck around.”
West’s jaw hardened but he said nothing, which was pretty much his version of agreement. “No need to drive,” he said after a moment. “I’ll fly you up.”
Okay, yes, that was definitely agreement from West.
“How soon can you do it?” Quinn asked.
“Helo’s fueled so whenever you like.”
&nbs
p; “You can fly at night?”
West grimaced. “Not the best, but yeah, I can do it.”
“Then now’s good.”
“Good for me too,” Lily said, sliding from the booth seat, her mind already made up.
Quinn had already turned toward the exit, but he froze as soon as she spoke, turning back sharply. “What the fuck? You’re not going anywhere.”
Lily ignored him, because she was coming whether he liked it or not. “This involves Duchess Bail Bonds’ future,” she said flatly, looking at West. “Which means we need a presence.”
“West is coming—”
“West has Rose to protect,” Lily interrupted, turning to meet Quinn stare for stare. “It also involves me since I’m the person getting all the emails and calls.” Quinn looked like he was building up for another protest, so she carried on, “You’re going to need a point of contact and that’s me, and I’m coming with you whether you like it or not.”
Anger burned in his eyes, but she held his gaze, daring him to argue with her. And for a second there was only silence in the entire bar, as if the room was holding its collective breath.
Lily lifted a brow. “Anything you want to say, Quinn?”
“Yeah.” A muscle jumped in his jaw. “Be ready in five.” Then he spun on his heel and left the room.
Lily could feel her own heart thumping hard in her chest as she glanced at West. “You okay with this?”
“Fuck no, but he’s going to go up there whether I’m okay with it or not. And for the record, I’m not okay with you going up there either.”
“Same,” Rose muttered, giving Lily a dire look from over the top of the laptop. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay?”
“She will,” Zane said unexpectedly. “Quinn needs the voice of reason with him and Duchess is it.”
Lily gave him a flicker of a smile, his sudden support a pleasant surprise. “Yes, well, I’ll do my best.” And then, taking note of Zane’s set features, added. “I’ll make sure he’s okay.”
At that point, Rush sauntered back from wherever he’d gone to talk on his phone. “Okay, so I’ve made a few enquiries,” he began, then stopped, frowning. “Where’s Quinn?”
“West is going to fly us both to LA,” Lily said. “What enquiries?”
“Oh, uh, yeah, okay.” He shot Zane a look questioning look that was clearly ‘are you okay with this’?
“Zane is quite okay with this,” Lily informed him coolly. “Not that I need his permission or yours for that matter. You were talking about enquiries?”
Rush’s gaze came back to hers. “You need backup?” There was nothing flippant or lazy about him now. He was all business. “I can come with.”
“No, let Quinn and I do a reconnaissance first. Once we’ve figured out the situation we can let you know.”
Rush nodded once. “Fine. I’ve put out word to some contacts for info on anyone who might have a grudge against Quinn.” He flashed a brief smile that was just short of savage. “No one wants to get on the bad side of a Redmond, so I’m sure there’ll be some takers wanting to blab.”
“Good,” Lily said, starting to move toward the exit. “Keep us posted. Rose, you keep digging and see what you can find on our mystery guy. West, you’re with me.” She hesitated. “Zane…I guess you can keep track of things here while Quinn and I are gone?”
“Zane’s in charge?” Rush sounded outraged, though she suspected he was only doing that for her benefit and a bit of light relief. “That’s not fair.”
“You guys figure it out,” she said. “I’ve got Quinn to deal with.”
“You really think this is a good idea going with him?” West murmured from behind her as he followed her out.
“Why does everyone keep asking me that? Look, Zane was right. Quinn needs the voice of reason, especially when it comes to dealing with his son.” She threw West a glance. “Imagine if someone was threatening Rose?”
“Yeah, okay,” he acknowledged. “Point taken."
She stopped, because she knew what he was really asking about. “I’ll be okay, West.”
He stopped too, his gaze sharp. “You’re at risk if you go, you know that, right?”
“Yes, I do.” She paused, then added. “It’s not just because of the blackmail.” It was also because she needed to be there for Quinn. And not only to be the voice of reason. She wanted to be there for him as well.
West didn’t say anything for a long moment, but he must have read something in her face, because abruptly he gave a nod. “Yeah, think I do. Okay, I’ll go get the helo up and running. I’ll meet you at the hangar.”
Lily let him go without speaking, wondering what exactly he’d read into her words and hoping it wasn’t what she thought it was. Then again, both she and Quinn had already made sure people knew that it was exactly what they thought, so it wasn’t any wonder.
What’s more, he’s right.
Lily decided not to think about that, approaching the stairs and quickly going up them in the direction of Quinn’s room.
The door was open when she arrived, so she went in to find him sitting on the couch in the living area part of the suite and checking over a handgun, while another sat on the couch cushions next to him.
He didn’t look up as she came in, his movements sharp and competent, suggesting that he’d done this same thing many, many times before. “You shouldn’t be coming,” he said, his attention on the gun in his hand, a Colt from the looks of it.
“But you’re not going to stop me.” She folded her arms and stared at him.
“No,” he agreed. “You’re the point of contact for this asshole and he was clear he didn’t want me to know you’d been talking to him, right?”
“That’s right.” She shifted on her feet. “Quinn…I don’t know—”
He looked up suddenly. “Did I scare you before?”
The change of subject took her off guard. “What? When you left my apartment? Yes, but not in the way you mean. I was afraid for you not of you.”
He stared at her for a long moment, then looked back down at the gun in his hands, resuming his check.“I need to make sure Jack’s okay,” he said. “I need to figure out who that fucker is and why he’s involving us in whatever it is he’s trying to do.”
“Yes, I understand that. But…why didn’t you tell your brothers about Jack?”
“Because they didn’t need to know. Jack wasn’t in my life and I didn’t want either of those two fuckers suddenly turning up out of the blue in his and deciding to play uncle.”
But that wasn’t the whole truth and Lily knew it.
“They wouldn’t have judged you, Quinn,” she said quietly.
“Sure they wouldn’t. And they weren’t judging me just before in the bar when they found out they had a nephew.”
“Come on. They were pissed you hadn’t told them, not about the fact that you let him go.”
But Quinn didn’t reply, putting aside the gun he’d checked and picking up the other one, beginning to examine it.
Okay, so maybe she wouldn’t push.
“So what’s the plan?” she asked when it was obvious he wasn’t going to say anything. “Surely you’re not going to rush into Jack’s house and pull his stepfather out at gunpoint?” The words were dry but she was a little serious. With Quinn, you could never tell.
“The plan is to get to LA and then assess the situation.” Quinn lifted the handgun, checking it over again. “I need to ensure Jack is safe above anything else.”
“How are you going to do that? Especially not if his stepfather is there and if he’s got anything to do with this.”
“I think we can safely say he’s probably got something to do with this.” Quinn rose to his feet and shoved the gun he was holding into the waistband of his jeans at the small of his back. Then he picked up the other one and turned toward the bedroom and vanished through the doors.
Lily sighed. As plans went it was the best they could do based on the small amount of
info they had. And Quinn wasn’t wrong in all likelihood. If the guy was using a fake name, then there had to be something sketchy about him, that was for sure.
A few minutes later, Quinn came out carrying a bag that, judging from the heavy looking weight of it, must have had at least one rifle in there. He came over to her, pausing to stand in front of her. “I don’t want you to come, Lily,” he said. “You don’t need to see me like this.”
“What? Acting like a protective father?” Her heart tightened in her chest, a thread of anger winding through her at the same time. “I see violence all the time, Quinn. I’m constantly around violent men.”
He just looked at her. “You wanted to be safe.”
“And I am safe,” she said without hesitation. “Because I’m with you.”
He was silent a moment, staring at her, a guarded look in his eyes, and she felt a distance that hadn’t been there before suddenly open up between them.
He didn’t believe her, did he?
“Quinn,” she began.
But his gaze flicked away. “Come on. Let’s go.”
They left Lone Star quickly in Quinn’s truck, driving out to the hangar where West kept his chopper. It was all juiced up and ready to go, and the formalities didn’t take long.
Lily spent the flight going over and over the situation, turning it around in her head, trying to figure out what the hell was going on and why anyone would drag her into Quinn’s issues and vice versa. The only thing she could come up with was that whoever it was had a grudge and didn’t care about taking two bail bond businesses down.
Quinn didn’t speak and spent the flight looking out at the dark landscape passing below him, his features utterly unreadable.
She wanted to put her hand in his again, but something stopped her. There was a forbidding kind of energy radiating from him, as if he’d gone somewhere in his head and didn’t want anyone to follow, so she kept her hands to herself and tried to think about other things instead.
They eventually landed a couple of hours later in Malibu, on a private helipad that was part of an estate owned by a rich friend of West’s. A very rich friend, judging by the size of the house, all flat roofs and glass, and a deep, blue pool, and perched on top of a mountain.
Black Sheep Bounty Hunter: A Texas Bounty Novel Page 26