Maximum Risk (16 page)

Her lips parted on a sigh and his body tightened. “Somehow I knew you’d say that.”

Her easy acceptance gave him pause. “You’re not planning on sneaking out again, are you? I swear to God, Avery, I’ll handcuff you to the bed.”

No sooner were the words out of his mouth, than he regretted them. Images of her cuffed naked to his bed filled his head, her copper hair splayed over the pillow, lips parted in ecstasy.

Avery swayed toward him, bumping into his chest.

He lowered his head—

The front door opened and he took an abrupt step back, his hand dropping to his side.

Nate strode in, his eyes skimming from Avery to him. “We managed to keep you off the eleven o’clock news, but word of Avery’s presence will be on the front page tomorrow morning.”

Avery turned wide eyes to him. “They’re going to come for me. Your family is in danger, Quinn. Are you willing to bring the fight to your back yard?”

In the middle of his brother’s funeral, what choice did he have? If he had to choose the safest place to protect Avery and his family, he would opt for here. Keep them close, keep them safe.

“We’re trained for this,” he said, praying he wouldn’t fail this time.

Chapter Eleven

Dani stared at her reflection in the full-length mirror. The dark circles beneath her eyes matched her dress. She’d bought it yesterday because she didn’t own anything black. Soft shades were more her style. Pinks, lavender, blues.
Color.
Anything but this somber, drab, colorless piece of fabric wrapped around her.

Ryan would hate this color on her. It washed out her already pale skin. He used to tell her that her lilac cashmere sweater was the first thing he noticed about her. That he loved it when she painted her finger and toenails pink. The sexiest color in the world; he would smile.

Oh, God.

She clamped a hand over her mouth and ran into the bathroom. On her knees in front of the toilet she dry heaved since her stomach was empty. Weak, she collapsed against the wall and stared at the baby pink polish on her toenails.

“Dani? Shit.”

In a daze she watched Evan run a washcloth under the faucet and move to her side. He crouched in front of her and gently pressed it to her forehead and cheeks. She kept her eyes averted, staring at his dark blue shirt and tie. The resemblance to Ryan was too much for her to handle right now.

Finally, she pushed his hand away. “I’m fine. We have to go.” They were due at the funeral home in fifteen minutes.

Evan tossed the cloth in the sink and rose to his feet. He held out a hand and she allowed him to pull her to her feet.

In silence they walked out of the bathroom. With each step she took, Dani’s heart fractured into another piece.

****

Quinn descended the stairs, buttoning the cuffs on his shirt as he went. A heavy weight sat on his shoulders. For the first time in his life he wanted to turn around, go back to bed, and skip today.

Instead, he stepped onto the landing and stopped short. Avery stood in front of the wall of windows, the sun casting a warm glow over her red hair, pulled back into a ponytail, and somber profile. A pair of dark slacks and blouse hugged her slender figure. The lines of her face were creased in deep thought.

“Time to go?” she asked without looking at him. She hadn’t argued about going to the funeral. Not since the local news broke the story of her being alive and under the protection of Wolff Securities this morning. Peter Harris was behind it. The bastard had been vying for an managerial position since he’d hired in.

“Yes.” He grabbed his suit jacket off the back of the sofa and slid it on.

“Your tie is crooked.” Avery crossed the room to stand in front of him. Quinn stood still as she loosened the knot and retied it. Her fingers brushed his neck, making his skin burn.

His gaze dropped at the same time hers lifted. Her hands stilled.

Quickly, Avery dropped her gaze and finished the knot. Quinn stepped away. “Let’s go.”

They drove to town in silence. Cars filled the parking lot of the funeral home. Quinn guided Avery up the steps and to the door. She hesitated when he opened the door and the nauseating scent of vanilla drifted out.

“How about I just wait in the truck?” She backed up a step. Her face had gone deathly white, her hands fisted at her sides.

“Avery, you have to go in.”

“I can’t.”

He put a hand on her arm. “Come on.”

She looked at him. “You don’t understand. I can’t go in there.”

“Why not?”

Her eyes became haunted. “My parents…your family. I can’t be here.”

“None of us want to be here, but the only place I can protect you is at my side.”

Her gaze dropped to the open door where the murmur of voices drifted out. “The last funeral I went to was my parents’,” she whispered.

Now he understood her reluctance to go inside. Hell, he didn’t blame her. If he never did this again it would be too soon.

“I’m sorry, Avery.”

She nodded, visibly pulled herself together as an elderly couple approached behind them. “I’ll be fine,” she said and allowed him to guide her inside.

The proceedings went by in a blur. Like a dream they were suddenly standing at the gravesite, watching the casket being lowered into the ground. Quinn had gone through the motions by rote, vaguely remembering driving to the cemetery. He watched the coffin disappear into the ground, the ache in his chest so great he thought he would explode. It got harder and harder to remain upright beneath the weight on his shoulders.

His mother, Bailey, and Dani sobbed quietly, his brothers stood tall next to his father. He’d done this to them. They suffered from his mistake. His broken promise.

Pain knifed through his chest and his knees threatened to buckle.

A hand slipped inside his. Quinn looked down to see Avery’s hand in his, small and soft, offering strength and comfort from a woman battling her own demons. She didn’t look at him, simply stared straight ahead.

He laced his fingers through hers, grounded once again. One by one, friends and family stepped up to drop a handful of dirt on the casket. Automatically, Quinn fell into step behind Avery, saw her hand shake as she released the dirt. She quickly moved away. He stared at the grave for a moment, a band squeezing his chest. Somehow he managed to let go of the soil in his hand.

The line moved on, nudging him along with it. He shook himself out of his daze and walked away. His parents stood a few feet away talking to the Bertrams. Evan had his arm around Dani’s shoulders, speaking quietly to her. His brothers were dispersed through the crowd, going through the motions as he was.

Quinn raked a hand through his hair, looking for Avery. A quick look around the cemetery came up empty.

Then he saw her walking toward his truck. He took a step in her direction, wanting to be with her instead of here, but Chris’s voice stopped him.

“Let her go, bro. She doesn’t belong here.”

He faced his brother, saw the same stress lines around Chris’s mouth and eyes as the rest of them. “Not now,” he warned.

Chris fisted his hands at his sides. “You shouldn’t have brought her.”

Quinn stared him down. “Don’t be an idiot. Avery didn’t do this. If you want to blame someone, blame me. I put our brother in the ground.”

“Fuck you, Quinn. We wouldn’t even have been on that mission if it wasn’t for her. Ryan would still be alive.”

He knew what his brother wanted. Needed. Fighting and women had always been Chris’s way of dealing. Physical pain to take away the emotional. Quinn wasn’t going to oblige him. At least not here. But goddamn if his brother didn’t know what buttons to push.

“Not here,” he warned, low and soft.

Chris’s eyes flashed with anger and pain. “I mean what I said, Quinn. Get her the hell out of here.”

“She’s my charge. Where I go, she goes. No matter what, we’re bound to protect her.”

Chris shoved him. “You’re bound, bro. Wolff Securities isn’t protecting the woman who got Ryan shot.”

Quinn got in his face. “Stand down, Chris. Mom is watching and you’re adding to her stress. Now is not the time for this.”

Kell approached, his gaze bouncing between them. “Everything good here?”

“Yeah, great.” Chris spun around and stalked away.

“I don’t have to ask what that was about, do I?”

Quinn glanced at Kell and shook his head. “We need a football game.”

Kell nodded. “It’s been awhile.”

Regret filled him. Too many missions kept them too busy to take time and enjoy a Sunday dinner and football game in the backyard like they used to. It had been tradition growing up. A chance for six testosterone crazed boys to let off a little steam. And one sister to prove she was tougher than she looked.

“Maybe in a couple weeks after things settle down.”

If they ever did. The family wasn’t going to bounce back from this easily. “Yeah, maybe.”

“Go take care of Avery. I’ll make sure Chris behaves.” Kell strode after their brother.

Quinn headed toward the parking lot, relieved to be away from the gravesite. Avery sat in the passenger seat watching him. He climbed in the driver’s side and quietly closed the door. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine. What was that about?”

“A football game.”

She frowned.

“Never mind. Next time, don’t walk away like that. I need to know where you are at all times.”

Her lips thinned. “I was giving you time with your family.”

“Burial is over. There’s a gathering at my parents’ house.”

Her chest rose and fell on a deep breath. “I suppose you won’t let me stay at your house while you attend?”

“No.”

“Didn’t think so.”

Hating this as much as she did, Quinn brought the engine to life and headed for his parents’ house, falling into place among the line of cars going in the same direction. Bailey had left right after the ceremony to prepare the food and take the burden off their mom’s shoulders. The driveway was full of cars by time they arrived, forcing him to park on the road. A few more hours and it would be over. Then they could all get on with some semblance of life. If that were possible.

He wasn’t so sure.

They walked to the front door in silence, the sun high in the sky.

“Maybe I could hang out here,” Avery said when he opened the door. He knew she wasn’t afraid of facing his family, not much scared this woman, but of causing them more grief.

He gave her a gentle nudge through the door. “Relax. It’ll be fine.”

****

Avery stepped through the door of Quinn’s parents’ house, unable to go anywhere else with his hand on the small of her back guiding her forward. His touch made her belly flutter with more than nerves.

She recognized Quinn’s brothers immediately, since they were the tallest bunch in the crowded room. All eyes turned to them as they walked in and if it weren’t for Quinn’s chest at her back she would have turned and left. She didn’t know how much everyone knew, or if they knew anything at all, but no judgment shone in their eyes.

Quinn’s mother approached, her eyes red-rimmed. “Maybe you should take Avery out back where it’s less crowded.”

The suggestion was given politely, but firmly. Avery didn’t have to be told twice that she wasn’t wanted. “I’ll just wait in the truck.” She turned to go but Quinn’s hand on her arm stopped her retreat.

Quietly, he said, “I’m responsible for Avery right now, Mom.”

His mother’s lips thinned before she gave a small nod. “I understand. Why don’t you show her to the kitchen and pour her a drink. She looks like she could use one.”

A nice, stiff one, Avery thought, as Quinn guided her through the crowd and into the kitchen where the blonde that looked like Quinn’s mother stood behind a marble-topped island pouring wine into glasses. She looked up from her task when they walked in and her smoky gray-green eyes studied Avery with a directness that could only come from a member of the Wolff family. There was no condemnation in her eyes, but something warned Avery not to cross this woman.

Never one to back down, Avery returned her stare and waited.

After a moment the woman held out a hand. “We haven’t been introduced. I’m Bailey Wolff.”

She shook Bailey’s hand. “Avery Marks.”

Bailey nodded and returned to her task of pouring drinks. “Right. Quinn’s charge.”

“Yes.”

“Would you like a drink?”

Avery cast a glance at Quinn and he nodded. She didn’t blame him for not getting involved. Not that she needed him to. She’d always been able to handle herself. But, in this situation, she walked a tightrope.

“Please.” She accepted the wine glass Bailey passed her.

“How about you, big brother?”

“No.”

The rich red wine slid down Avery’s throat and settled her nerves a little. Over the rim she studied Quinn’s sister. She was a stunningly beautiful woman with honey blond hair and striking eyes. Avery admired her silky smooth skin and sculpted lips. Not a freckle to be had, unlike her own skin, which was dotted with them.
Elegant
came to mind.

“On the clock, I see,” Bailey commented, sipping a glass herself.

The loaded question hung in the air between them. Avery sipped her wine, her eyes bouncing from Quinn to his sister.

“Later,” Quinn said.

Bailey’s gaze shifted from Quinn to Avery then back again. “Definitely.”

There it was. Quinn would be explaining the situation to his sister later. Bailey’s expression was one of determination.

“There’s more room on the back deck,” Bailey suggested, her meaning clear.

Quinn sent her a warning glance and guided Avery toward the back door. Warm afternoon sun hit them as soon as they stepped onto the deck. Thankfully, there weren’t as many people out here.

Like Quinn’s house, this sat on the lake. More than anything she wanted to go stand by the railing and feel the warm breeze on her face, but her feet ached. Someone caught Quinn’s attention and she pointed to the chair sitting in the far corner of the deck. He nodded and turned to speak to the man.

She sat down in the lounger and stretched her legs out with a sigh of relief. The bandages helped, but being on her feet for so long pushed her limits.