Bitter tears of heartbreak slid down Quinn’s cheeks. She’d begun to suspect that Jo wasn’t what she’d originally shown herself to be, but this…this was the cruelest, most heartless thing she could have done. To go after Gabe, to try to destroy Quinn’s marriage and family was vicious.
Taking a steadying breath, Quinn forced herself to stand up and left the room, pounding down the stairs in her haste. She needed a breath of air, a whole gale of it. She felt like she couldn’t breathe. As the full implications of what she’d seen hit her, her heart hammered against her ribs and she was panting. She thought she might faint. She stumbled toward the door and yanked it open, nearly falling into Brett’s arms.
“Quinn, are you all right? What’s wrong?” Brett exclaimed as Quinn leaned against the wall for support. Brett took her by the shoulders and forced her to look at him. “Are you going to pass out? Should I call an ambulance? What’s the number?” He looked panicked and Quinn nearly laughed at the helpless look on his face. Of course, he wouldn’t know the number for the emergency services in the U.K.
“I’ll be fine,” she said, and sat down on the step, her head in her hands. “You know, I thought my brother leaving me for dead was the worst thing a sibling could do, but once again, life has proven that I know nothing of human nature. I’m not fit to be a mother, naïve as I am.”
“What are you talking about? Who did what?” Brett asked, sitting down next to her.
“You’d like to know, wouldn’t you?” Quinn asked, pinning him with her gaze. “Here. Have a gander.”
She clicked on the video file and shoved the phone in Brett’s hand. She had no idea why she’d done that, or why she wanted to subject herself to hearing Jo’s filthy words again, but at the moment, she felt completely unhinged. Maybe she wanted to humiliate Jo, or maybe she wanted Brett to tell Seth, because she certainly wouldn’t confide in him herself.
“Jesus fucking Christ!” Brett exclaimed as Jo’s seduction took a more physical turn. “Oh my God, Quinn. Now I can never unsee this,” he cried, shutting off the phone and setting it between them on the step.
“Neither can I,” Quinn replied with a maniacal giggle. “Are we irreparably damaged?” she demanded. “All three of us?”
“No,” Brett said, shaking his head vehemently. “You’re the best of us, Quinn, and I will do everything I can to make this okay for you. I will spend the rest of my life making up for what I did. I swear. I will never let you down again.”
“Nothing can make this okay, Brett. Jo has willfully tried to destroy my marriage, my family, my trust in Gabe. And do you know what the funniest part is? She probably doesn’t think she did anything wrong. She simply went after something she wanted; the feelings of others be damned. She must have figured that if Gabe went for it, then it wasn’t her fault if it was the end of us. It was on him.”
“Quinn, she will regret what she’s done. I know she will.”
“And how do you know?” Quinn exclaimed. Her pain had turned to white-hot fury. Had Jo walked in right now, Quinn would probably have caused her grievous bodily harm.
“I just know.”
“Please, go now. I can’t do this with you. Look, if my forgiveness is so important to you, consider yourself forgiven, but please, don’t come here again. Go home, Brett. Your parents love you, and you have your whole life ahead of you. Don’t ruin it.”
“Thank you, Quinn. That means everything to me, even if you probably have no idea what you’re saying right now.”
Brett leaned forward and kissed Quinn on the cheek, then he was gone. Quinn barely registered his absence. Her heart rate had slowed, and she was breathing more evenly now, but there was a hollow in her heart where her sister used to be. She would never see Jo again. She would never speak to her, or even follow her online. Jo was dead to her.
Quinn looked up blearily when Gabe walked up the path. He crouched next to her and cupped her face in his hands. “Quinn,” he whispered. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t think of any other way.”
Quinn leaned a little closer, not to kiss him, but to reassure herself he didn’t smell of another woman. She needed proof, for her own sanity. Jo was too clever for her, too ruthless, and too willing to cross boundaries, and steadfast as Gabe was, he was a man with a healthy sexual appetite. Few men would be able to resist what Jo had offered so graphically, especially if they thought they could get away with it. Quinn refused to fall into Jo’s trap and start doubting Gabe, but for just a moment, when she’d heard her say his name and invite him to fuck her as if it were a regular occurrence, she’d doubted, and that made her even angrier because that was exactly what Jo wanted. She wanted to drive a wedge between them, to sow seeds of mistrust.
Quinn couldn’t even begin to imagine what Jo had stooped to over the past few weeks to drive Gabe to such a place of desperation. He’d been willing to compromise himself to show Quinn what Jo was up to and shown no small amount of self-restraint. Any hotblooded male would have tossed aside the phone and fucked her into oblivion, and Quinn would have been none the wiser, unless Jo had sent her the video herself, using indisputable evidence of infidelity to torpedo her marriage.
Now she understood why Phoebe had told her to be careful. Gabe must have confided in her and asked for advice. He must have felt cornered, possibly even tormented with guilt at having to come between the sisters. Never in all her days had Quinn hated anyone the way she hated Jo at that moment. She wished she could turn back the clock to the day before she’d learned she had a twin sister. She would have been better off, safer. Her family would have been secure. They were still secure, but somehow less so today than yesterday.
Gabe reached for her and held her close, and Quinn’s eyes filled with tears of relief as she inhaled his familiar scent. He didn’t reek of Jo, nor did he smell as if he’d just showered. He hadn’t touched Jo. He hadn’t betrayed Quinn. He’d proved to her yet again that he was hers alone. Gabe had never needed armor and a sword to be her knight. He was Gabriel de Rosel, and he had those all-important traits modern men no longer thought necessary. He had honor, and loyalty, and faith. He wasn’t a man who was easily broken.
“Quinn, I love you,” Gabe said, lifting her head so she had no choice but to face him. “I have always loved you, and I always will. I wouldn’t betray you with Jo, or any other woman. Ever. Our family is the heart of me, and if I were to lose you and the children, I’d have no reason for being. I know you’re hurting right now, but this was the only way I could put an end to it, to show you what she was up to and to humiliate her brutally enough to make sure she got the point.”
“Has she?”
“Oh, I think so. She won’t be bothering me again.”
Quinn nodded as tears slid down her cheeks. She wasn’t upset or angry anymore. What she felt was blessed. “I love you, Gabe,” she whispered. “Now and forever. And I will never let you go. I would have fought for you, and I would have won, because what I feel for you is so much more than lust.”
“You’ll never have to fight for me,” Gabe said as he pulled her to her feet and led her into the house. He kicked the door shut and captured her mouth with his, his fingers unzipping her jeans and pushing them down over her hips.
Quinn yanked at his belt. Her hands were shaking, and it took several attempts to unbuckle it, but she finally got it open and slid her hand into Gabe’s trousers. He was rock-solid, his skin hot beneath her fingers. Gabe pulled off her jeans and knickers and lifted her up, his hands cupping her bare buttocks. Quinn wrapped her legs around his waist and grabbed a fistful of hair as Gabe rammed his way inside, sending a bolt of desire shooting through her. Their joining was hot and fast, their bodies colliding like two celestial objects and erupting in a ball of fire that was raging desire. It was all the validation Quinn needed that Gabe was hers and hers alone, and their commitment was mutual.
They were still trying to catch their breath when they heard Nicola’s voice just outside the door, talking to Alex. Quinn quickly pulled on he
r jeans while Gabe disappeared into the bathroom to tidy himself up.
“How was your walk?” Quinn asked, reaching for Alex, who wrapped his arms around her neck as if he hadn’t seen her in days.
“Lovely. Sorry it took longer than an hour, but I couldn’t get him off the swings. He cried every time I tried. He’s ready for his lunch now.”
“Thank you, Nicola,” Quinn said. “I’ll see you on Saturday?”
“Absolutely.”
After Nicola left, Quinn took Alex into the kitchen, washed his hands, and settled him in his highchair. She was already feeding him by the time Gabe joined them in the kitchen. He took a bottle of water out of the fridge and drank it in one go before taking a seat next to Quinn.
“Promise me you won’t confront Jo,” Gabe said, giving her an anxious look. Now that the anger and passion had been spent, he was obviously afraid Quinn’s thoughts would turn toward finding a resolution.
“I have no intention of confronting her. I don’t need to.”
“No, you don’t.”
“You win some, you lose some,” Quinn said under her breath.
“Is that another one of Seth’s wisdoms?” Gabe asked as reached out to take Alex’s hand.
“It’s another one of life’s wisdoms. Are you hungry?”
“Starving,” Gabe replied with a smile. She wasn’t sure if he meant for food, but she took it that way.
“I’ll make lunch. Can you finish feeding Alex?”
Gabe took over and Quinn walked over to the drawer where she kept the menus. “I thought you were making lunch,” Gabe remarked.
“I changed my mind. I want pizza, and by the time it gets here, Emma will be home. I can collect her from Jenny’s.”
“I’ll do it. You look like you need a few moments to yourself,” Gabe said, smiling at Quinn’s disheveled appearance.
Quinn nodded her thanks. She did need a few minutes.
After Gabe left, she deposited Alex in his playpen, turned on the baby monitor, and made for the bathroom. She needed a quick shower, and a change of clothes wouldn’t hurt. As the hot spray hit her, it occurred to her that she felt free and light. Life was about expectations, and she no longer expected anything from Jo. Come to think of it, she no longer expected anything at all from her birth family. She’d take what they were willing to give her and give what she felt was appropriate in return. It would be a win/win for everyone. Quinn stood under the water for a few minutes, allowing it to wash away her fears, doubts, and unrealized dreams. It was liberating as hell.
Chapter 54
Shards of broken glass littered the hardwood floor, the mirrored pieces a mosaic of color. The gilded frame still held on to several jagged pieces, like broken teeth that reflected the sobbing woman on the bed. Jo was still naked, but the siren of an hour ago was now the slave: exposed, vulnerable, and humiliated. Her skin was cold, the tang of her unsatisfied desire nauseating and shameful. The crystal heart from the nightstand, where she kept certain pieces of jewelry and occasional stashes of cocaine, lay unbroken amid the wreckage of the mirror. She’d thrown it at Gabe’s head, but missed, striking the mirror that mercilessly exhibited her bitter humiliation.
She’d really thought she had him, but she’d underestimated his love for her sister, and for his children, who would be collateral damage if Jo got her way and bound him to her in the only way she knew how. Oh, he’d wanted her, she’d seen it in his eyes, and in the massive erection that had strained against the fabric of his trousers, threatening to break free. He’d used every ounce of self-restraint he could muster, taking his time, giving her enough rope to hang herself with. He’d been vicious and cruel, and so much more desirable for it. He wasn’t a weak, gullible man, his will undone by the sight of her slick, throbbing desire. He was strong and determined, and vengeful. He’d sent that video file to Quinn in front of Jo, his gaze spearing her with its intensity as he told her exactly what he was doing and why.
“Is she really that great of a lay?” Jo had hissed, angry beyond words.
Gabe had shaken his head, looking at her with something akin to pity. “You really don’t get it, do you? I don’t suppose you ever will. You have a chip missing, Jo, the one that’s programmed with real human emotion. My love for Quinn is not just about sex. I love her kindness, compassion, intelligence, sense of humor, and even her empathy, something you clearly know nothing about. You’re a selfish, bitchy, bitter woman who’s so self-absorbed, she doesn’t realize life is passing her by. Enjoy your conquests, Jo, and your awards. I hope the memory of your past glories will keep you company when you’re old and alone, spurned by anyone who ever cared for you. You’ve lost a true friend in Quinn, someone who’d have had your back no matter what. She’ll never forgive you for this, and neither will I. Don’t ever contact us again.”
Gabe had walked out without a backward glance, leaving her shaking with helpless fury and frustrated desire, but her rage had quickly turned to despair, and her burning passion for him into a pile of cold, acrid ashes. Never had a man rejected her so completely, and never had she loved the man in question the way she loved Gabe. She didn’t think she would ever recover from the blow he’d dealt her, but life went on; it always did. She’d learned that early on.
At long last, Jo got off the bed, walked into the bathroom and turned on the taps. She was already thinking how to spin this, should Seth, Sylvia, or Logan ask what had happened to cause a rift between her and Quinn. She certainly wouldn’t tell them the truth, and she doubted Quinn would either. St. Quinn would be discreet, choosing icy self-righteousness over a volcanic eruption of anger. She wouldn’t confront Jo, probably would never even acknowledge what had taken place. Quinn would simply erase her from her life, as if she’d never existed, choosing to believe her husband over anything Jo said.
Jo leaned against the slick tiles as hot water cascaded over her shoulders. She could still come back from this, she mused, turning her face up to the spray. She could tell Quinn that Gabe had preempted her finding out about their affair by sending the video and carrying on as if nothing had ever happened between him and Jo. The file didn’t conclusively prove that he hadn’t slept with her before the footage was filmed. He’d simply been covering his tracks, going on the offensive to disguise his guilt.
Yes, that just might work, Jo thought as she allowed herself a small smile. Gabe would never give her what she wanted, but she could still take him down, destroy his credibility with Quinn, retain a tentative link with her sister, and make him squirm. Quinn might not believe her, but anyone with even an ounce of common sense would question Gabe’s story and his motives for sending that file. Jo wouldn’t take his rejection lying down. She would humiliate him at every turn, undermine his precious marriage, and wipe that smug smile off her sister’s face. What happened this afternoon was merely Act II. Act III is yet to come, and it will be explosive, Jo thought, her eyes narrowing with malice. No man made a fool of her and lived to tell the tale.
She turned off the water, dried herself off, and walked into the kitchen, where she reached for the broom. The first thing she would do was put her bedroom back to rights, and the second, plan how to approach Quinn. She wouldn’t seek her out today or tomorrow, or even next week. She’d let her stew for a few weeks. By the time she returned from Marbella, she’d be ripe for the picking, the pain of Jo’s betrayal dulled by several weeks of sand and sun. And then, when Gabe thought he’d got away with it and exiled her from their lives, she’d reappear, tearful and remorseful, ready to beg Quinn’s forgiveness and confess all.
The shards of glass made a clinking noise as Jo swept them up and tossed them in the bin. She picked up the crystal heart and opened the lid, taking out a small bag of cocaine. She’d been keeping it for a special occasion. She’d thought she might even offer to share it with Gabe, but she had need of it now, and she’d do anything it took to restore her equilibrium. She weighed the pouch in her hand, then reached for her mobile. It was no fun getting wasted alone. She�
��d call Tim, and if he wasn’t available, she’d ring Callum. He was due back in London. Maybe he’d already arrived. It really didn’t matter who came round, as long as he had a big cock and a small brain. She was done with cerebral men; they were too dangerous.
Chapter 55
July 2015
Surrey, England
Quinn held open the door as Gabe carried Emma into the guest house. Her head was against his chest, and her mouth stretched into a beatific smile. She’d danced for hours and had finally fallen asleep in the car on the way back, unable to keep her eyes open any longer.
Quinn got the key from the sleepy clerk at the desk and followed Gabe upstairs. She knocked on the door and Nicola let them in. She was wearing a silky dressing gown and her hair was held back with a headband. Alex was asleep in his portable cot, and Emma’s pajamas were all ready for her on her bed. Gabe laid her down and removed her shoes.
“Should we just let her sleep?” he asked.
“Not in that dress,” Quinn replied. “The lace might chafe her skin.” She carefully unzipped Emma’s frock and pulled it off, leaving her in her undergarments. “There, she’ll be much more comfortable now.” Quinn covered Emma with a blanket and planted a kiss on her forehead. “Goodnight, sleepyhead.”
“We’re just next door if you need anything,” Quinn told Nicola.
“We’ll be just fine. If the children wake early, I’ll take them downstairs for breakfast. You deserve a night off,” Nicola said with a smile. “How was the wedding?”
“Beautiful,” Quinn replied, smiling at the memory. “I can’t remember the last time we danced so much. And Jill and Brian made a lovely couple. They are so happy.”
“Where are they off to on their wedding trip?” Nicola asked.
“The Maldives. Jill’s always wanted to go. She is calling it their babymoon,” Quinn said dreamily. “I like that idea, taking a holiday before a baby.”
The Broken (Echoes from the Past Book 8) Page 27
