Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 78024 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78024 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
“Desdemona, at your service.” She gives a little curtsy.
Maybe this isn’t gonna go to hell after all.
Sheila rattles the gate. “Quinn, we’re leaving. You have no idea how terrified I was when I got the call that you were missing. And then when I heard that violent criminals were involved—” She shudders, and as much as I hate the bitch, I can’t blame her for being scared. “I’m not leaving you here. I just can’t, baby.”
“Ma’am,” the officer starts, but she holds up a hand, and he actually shuts up.
“Sir, I’m speaking to my daughter. Please give me a moment.” Sheila stretches her hand through the gate and Quinn leaves me to comfort her mother. “Come on, let’s go. We’ll get takeout on the way. Humor your mother if nothing else, so I can see that you’re safe, and then you can tell me what you mean about that man doing his job.”
A female officer gets out of the second car and walks forward to whisper something to the lead cop. He nods, then turns to us. “Erika Adams has given her statement. Her story lines up with what you’ve told us. I’d appreciate a moment with both Ms. Callahan and Mr… Sinner, but then you’ll be free to go.
“Open the gate,” Hellfire orders. “The mother can come in, the invitation doesn’t extend to the rest of you, but we’ll be happy to cooperate so long as you don’t start waving your dicks around.” He nods his head at the woman. “Metaphorically of course.”
She looks like she wants to laugh, but schools her expression quickly.
Sheila rushes in, throwing her arms around Quinn, who melts into the hug.
“Mom, I’m fine. It was scary, but I hired them to keep me safe until we figure out what’s going on.”
“Baby, why would you do that without talking to me first, and why on Earth did you choose them?”
I clear my throat. “Don’t recognize me, Sheila? It’s been a while, I’ll give you that.”
She stares, eyebrows furrowed.
“It’s Heath, Mom. Axel’s friend?” Quinn explains. Her jade flecked eyes catch mine, crinkling at the corners. “We reconnected.”
For a second, Sheila looks like she just swallowed a bug. “So I see. Why am I not surprised you ended up in a place like this?”
Quinn gasps. “Mom! Don’t be rude.”
Colt, Sinner, Hellfire and a dozen other men are all at my side, standing proud.
I look her dead in the eyes and let her see exactly how little I care about her opinion. “Was that supposed to hurt? I’ve got no regrets or apologies about where I am.”
I wonder, can she say the same?
The cops look over our paperwork and take Quinn’s statement first, leading her back to one of their cruisers so they can talk to her without pressure from us. Pisses me off, but so long as we have her in sight, I’ll deal with it. I’d do the same fucking thing if our roles were reversed. She comes back, slipping quickly to our side of the gate to stand between me and Colt while they take Sinner off for his own round of questioning.
Sheila looks like she’s about to burst into tears. She grabs Quinn’s hands. “Honey, can we leave? They said they can drive us home and I’d really just love to get back to your place and stay there tonight. I… Maybe it’s silly but I just want to be able to see you and know you’re okay. Please? For me.”
Quinn’s going to agree. I can see it in her body language even before a word comes out of her mouth.
I put a hand on her shoulder. “That’s fine, Q. I’ll follow you on my bike.”
“What? No!” Sheila snaps.
“It’s in the contract, ma’am. As your daughter mentioned, one of us will be with her at all times until this situation is resolved to Ms. Callahan’s satisfaction.”
“Can they do this?” Sheila asks the cop.
He shrugs. “I understand your concern, ma’am. Trust me, I do, but I’ve seen the contract, and believe it or not, they are a legally registered business. It’s your daughter’s right to hire them if she chooses.”
“I–” Sheila starts.
Quinn cuts in. “I tried it your way, Mom, and things just got worse. Let’s give them a chance, okay? Stay over tonight. I was scared, too, but having him there will make me feel better.” For all of Sheila’s manipulation, Quinn’s not letting this one pass.
Good girl.
Sheila glares my way so intensely that for a minute I think she might continue to object, but then she just shakes her head. “Fine. He can sit out on the balcony.”
13
Chapter 13 - Quinn
Having Mom around wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be. She ignored Priest, who stayed out of her way as much as possible. We ordered sushi and watched TV. I told her everything—almost. I admitted that it was Priest, not cast members who brought me home after the Inferno incident, but left out everything else biker related. When we finally got ready to sleep, she didn’t even comment on the bed, acting like it’d always been there.