“Great,” she muttered seeing her father’s name flash on the screen. She ignored it, not really wanting to talk to him right now. She knew what he wanted. A few seconds later a message popped up.
Have you made your decision? Call me.
Shit. Selena didn’t want to have that discussion now. She rubbed her arms, feeling the cold chill seep into her skin. Dammit, she left her jacket upstairs. She pulled up the app for Uber and started typing in her address. She only hoped the driver would arrive before she froze to death.
***
Quinn watched Selena march out of the doorway in a huff. He hit the back of his head on the headboard. What the hell were they doing? No matter how hard he tried, he just kept coming back. And she didn’t seem to mind either. Yet each time they finished the deed, she seemed even more distant. In those hours he lost himself in her, he thought he felt something, but then she’d pull back and leave him cold. This wasn’t fair. This wasn’t him. He was usually the one doing the leaving or the kicking out. Well, screw her (or not), he was not some sadist, and he wasn’t going to keep going back for more. She was right. This would be the last time.
Wolf whined and growled.
“What now?” he asked in an irritated voice.
More whining and growling. God, it was like Wolf was obsessed with Selena. And the damned thing wouldn’t leave him alone until he got up and started putting his clothes on.
“All right, you fucker,” he said aloud. “I’m going, I’m going!” With a frustrated growl, he pulled his discarded shirt on, the fabric still smelling like Selena as she had, just an hour before, rubbed her naked tits all over his chest while they were making out on the couch. Ignoring the blood rushing to his cock, he jogged down the stairs as he slipped his shoes on. What the fuck was he doing, anyway? Selena would be long gone by now. She couldn’t get out of his bed fast enough, after all, he thought bitterly. But this was the only way to show Wolf that Selena had no interest in them. Maybe then Quinn could get on with his life.
As he opened the door to his building, the cold spring air, as well as the subtle smell of butterscotch, hit his face. Standing with her back to him was Selena, her arms around herself, waiting by the sidewalk.
He seemed irresistibly drawn to her. “Selena,” he called, placing his hands on her bare arms. The gooseflesh there indicated she was cold, and it took all his strength not to wrap his arms around her to keep the chill away.
She didn’t move or struggle, but her body tensed. “What are you doing here?”
“Why don’t you have your jacket on?” he countered.
“I … couldn’t find it,” she said with a shrug.
“And you didn’t go back up? Or call me?”
“I didn’t think … I mean, I …” She turned around and looked up at him with those expressive blue-gray eyes. Right now, they seemed almost … sorry? “I’m not handling this right. There’s something I have to tell you—”
The lights of the car coming from his right were moving fast. Way too fast. He turned his head and realized that the headlights in the darkness were heading straight for them.
His instincts kicked in, and Quinn pushed Selena away. She let out an ear-piercing scream, and the force of the car made his body bounce against the hood and onto the sidewalk. Pain shot through his body. His vision was blurry, and he looked back at the car. There was a figure slumped over in the driver’s seat, but he couldn’t make out who it was. But that wasn’t his priority right now. The smell of gasoline was overwhelming his heightened senses.
He let out a loud grunt and pushed himself up, managing to get away a few feet by the time he heard the explosion. Quinn’s ears were ringing, and the heat from the fire was almost unbearable. But where was Selena? “Selena!” he screamed. At least he thought he was screaming. He was still deaf from the explosion. “Selena, where are you?” His heart tightened in his chest as the air grew hotter. Where was she? Did he push her away in time?
He felt the vibrations of stiletto heels on the pavement, and he turned to the source. Selena was there, and she was safe. He let out a sigh of relief.
“Quinn!” she cried as she knelt down next to him. “No, no, no, please!”
“Selena, are … you … okay?”
“Me?” she exclaimed as tears streaked down her face. “You just got hit by a car!”
“Don’t cry,” he said, reaching up to brush away the wetness from her cheeks. “It’ll be fine.” A sharp pain shot through him and he clutched at his side.
“Quinn!”
“I’m … okay,” he managed to get out. “Call … Killian …”
She nodded and then took her phone out. Quinn closed his eyes, trying to relax as he felt his body begin to knit itself back together. Accelerated healing was great to have, but it hurt like a bitch.
The minutes ticked by, but it seemed like hours to Quinn. Selena never left his side and continued to hold his hand the entire time. Finally, he felt the presence of other people around him, and he opened his eyes.
“Quinn?” Killian’s face, full of worry, stared down at him. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I’ve been hit by a car,” he said wryly. Killian let out a chuckle and helped him up. “Are we in trouble?”
“Hopefully not,” Killian said. “This was an accident, right?”
Quinn looked at the remains of the wrecked car. The front was smashed against the wall, and the hood was charred. Inside, the figure was still slumped over the wheel. Shit. It was so close. Too close. Quinn was fine; he had Lycan healing, after all, but Selena …
“Is she okay?” he asked in a panicked voice. “Where’s Selena?”
Killian nodded behind him, and Quinn turned around. He blinked several times. “Shit, that explosion must have knocked my brain out. I’m seeing double.” There were two redheads in the corner, talking softly.
“You are seeing double.” Killian chuckled. “That’s the Beta’s wife, Cady Vrost. She’s here to smooth things over with the authorities.”
“Oh crap.” He looked around. Nick Vrost, Beta to the New York Clan, was talking to a couple of police officers. “Fuck.”
“Well, what do you think?”
It was an accident, wasn’t it? Because who would want to run over some random person, kamikaze style? Whoever had driven that car was dead. But, still, there was a small part of him screaming that something was wrong. “I don’t know, Killian.”
Chapter Fourteen
Selena was almost nervous when Cady Vrost approached her. For one thing, she must have looked terrible. Her hair was tangled, her top was torn, and she was pretty sure she had a nasty scrape on her thighs from when she hit the pavement. Cady, on the other hand, looked perfect with her coppery red hair up in a French twist and her expensive-looking skirt suit. Still, she couldn’t very well ignore New York clan’s Human Liaison and her distant cousin.
“Hi, Selena Merlin, right?” Cady asked as she held out her hand. “I’m—”
“Cady Gray. I mean, Vrost,” Selena corrected herself. “I know you. I mean, I know of you.”
Cady raised a graceful brow. “Really?”
“Yeah, we’re related. I mean, sort of. Distantly. My great-great-great-great er … I’m not sure if that’s enough ‘greats,’ but anyway … I’m also related to Charlotte Fontaine on my mother’s side.”
“Oh!” Cady exclaimed and, instead of shaking her hand, drew Selena in for a hug. “Nice to meet you then, Selena. And you’re a witch,” she said, releasing her from the hug. “This makes my job much easier.”
“Er, technically, I’m not a witch, but yes,” Selena nodded, “I know about Lycans, and you don’t have to send me off with a dose of confusion potion.”
She chuckled. “Right. Well, can you tell me what you’re doing here and what happened?”
“Er …”
“Selena! Are you all right?” Meredith exclaimed as she approached the pair.
Great timing. Selena turned to the Lycan. “I’m fi
ne, just shaken, and I kind of kissed the pavement trying to get out of the way.” She raised her hands to show the scratches on them.
Meredith took her hands excitedly and scrutinized them. Her brows knitted together then she looked at Selena’s face. “Your forehead.”
“Oh, crap.” Selena touched her left temple gingerly and winced when she felt the lump and scratches on the skin. It wasn’t bleeding, thank God, but she was going to feel it for a while. “Maybe I should go to the emergency room.”
“You shouldn’t have to …” Meredith muttered. She glanced over to where Quinn was talking to Killian and Nick, and then back to Selena. “Are you sure you’re … okay?”
Selena shrugged. “I mean, I can walk and stuff. It was the fall that hurt me more. Quinn managed to push me out of the way before the car hit us. But I’ll live.”
“So, what were you doing here?” Meredith asked, her eyes narrowing at Selena. “Outside Quinn’s apartment?”
“I … we were coming back from dinner,” Selena lied. “I walked him back, and my Uber was going to pick me up here.”
“Is that so?” Meredith sniffed at her. “Hmmm, you smell like gasoline and concrete.”
“Well duh, a car exploded six feet away from her.”
“Wait, are you still a virgin?”
“Meredith!” Selena cried. She could feel the heat in her cheeks, clearly showing how embarrassed she was by the question. “What does that have to do with this?”
Cady cleared her throat politely. “Um, Selena, are you sure you’re okay? I can have our doctor check you over if you’d rather not have anyone asking questions.”
Selena looked around them. A crowd was already starting to gather outside the barriers the NYPD had erected. “I think I’m fine. I’ll just head home. My roommate is probably worried.”
“We can have our car take you home,” Cady said, taking her phone out of her purse.
“That would be great,” Selena said with a sigh, not having the strength to protest. “Can I go and say goodbye to Quinn first?”
Cady nodded. Selena left her and Meredith, then turned toward where Quinn was still talking to Killian. Her heart pounded in her chest, but the ache in her stomach was gone now, especially when she saw Quinn up and about. Seeing him hit by the car and lying on the pavement had torn her apart, and she still felt the tears welling up in her eyes when imagining Quinn’s body. She had to see that he was all right and then … then maybe she really needed to be firmer in her resolve to not sleep with him again. And next time she was tempted? Well, she’d have to continue with what she was trying to do just before the runaway car interrupted them. Tell him the truth. She figured he would hate her, but at least he would stay away if he knew she was considering getting engaged.
“Quinn,” she called softly.
Quinn went very still and then slowly pivoted. His blue eyes seemed to glow in the darkness, scanning every inch of her.
“I’m all right,” she said when he moved a step toward her. He raised a hand to touch her face. “Please,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “Everyone’s here. Watching.”
He gritted his teeth and then dropped his hand. “Are you really okay?”
“I’m fine. A little bruised.” She paused. “Thank you for saving my life.”
He nodded, his jaw tense. “Of course. Are you headed home?”
“Yes, Cady Vrost is having a car take me to my apartment.”
“I have to stay and sort this out.” He sighed. “Just message me when you’re in bed, okay?”
“I will.” With one last glance at him, she turned away and began to walk back to Cady and Meredith.
She stayed a few more minutes to answer some questions from the police officers on the scene. When they told her she could go, Cady helped her get into the car. The drive back to her apartment was mercifully quick. Evie had been waiting up for her. Selena didn’t know Killian’s number, so she had called Evie who then called Killian. She was too tired to tell her what happened, but accepted her comforting hugs and help getting out of her dirty and ripped clothes. Selena texted an “I’m home” message to Quinn before collapsing in bed.
***
Quinn stared at the report on the screen, reading it over and over again. The Beta was able to get a copy of the detective’s initial findings on the incident and sent it over to Lone Wolves.
The authorities were ruling it an accident. Apparently, the man who had run them over, Jon Dover, was seen leaving a bar a few blocks away from the scene drunk as a skunk. Witnesses said Dover had been drinking all night before he stumbled out the door. The Medical Examiner’s report wasn’t in yet, but he would get it as soon as it was ready.
Still, no one had seen Dover get into his car. There were no cameras on the street that caught him entering his vehicle (or none that were functioning). Quinn had hacked into a couple of cameras around the area, including one that monitored the outside of his building, but they only showed the vehicle speeding down the street and then heading straight for them.
He should just call it a day. It was a freak accident. But there was something not right about the whole thing. So, he reached out to a couple of contacts on a private network—people who could help him do things that were not quite on the right side of the law. It might take a while, but he would get the information he needed eventually. Until he was one hundred percent sure it wasn’t an accident, he wouldn’t be able to breathe easy.
Quinn leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. He’d been working on this for two days now. The day after the accident, he went to work, barely eating or sleeping, to find out what happened. Wolf was not happy, but he told the animal he needed to know if anyone was trying to hurt Selena, and that seemed to quiet down the beast. He thought of looking into Selena’s background to see if someone was after her, but that would be an invasion of her privacy. If it turned out it wasn’t an accident, then he’d go ahead and ask her. But for now …
“Jesus,” he muttered softly, looking at the clock. It was dark outside, and he didn’t even notice. His stomach grumbled, and he realized he hadn’t eaten in a couple of hours. His thoughts went to Selena, wondering where she was. If she were hurt, she’d tell him, right? Or Evie would. Quinn tended to be consumed by his work, especially when he was racing to find out what happened before a trail went cold. Plus, if he was in danger, it was better to stay away from Selena, no matter how much he wanted to hold her and make sure she was okay. Wolf growled when his thoughts strayed to Selena, the animal obviously unhappy about being away from its favorite person.
“All right!” He shot up from his chair impatiently. He thought of calling or texting her to see what was up, but she might turn him away. All those times he did show up at her place with food and beer, well, they ended up in bed. If Selena invited him to have sex, he wasn’t exactly going to say no. Maybe it could be his lucky night again.
Chapter Fifteen
Selena plopped down on the couch, getting ready to watch a sad, sappy romance. Normally, this wasn’t her style, but her damn hormones demanded a good cry. She woke up this morning, feeling achy in her lower back (and not just from the accident) and lo and behold, Aunt Flo had arrived. Yup, it was that time of the month. Shark Week. She hated getting her period, but it was something she had to suffer through. Thank goodness she wasn’t one of those girls with debilitating periods, but it certainly put her system out of whack.
Being on the rag was also a good reason why she had been irritable all day. It couldn’t be because Quinn hadn’t contacted her in two days. Two whole days. Maybe he was done with her. Shaking her head, she turned back to the movie.
A few scenes (and a whole bunch of tissues) into the movie, the doorbell rang. Who could that be? Evie was gone for a couple of days, having gone back to Kansas City for her father’s birthday. She paused the movie and walked to the front door.
“Quinn?” she squeaked when she saw who it was through the peephole. She quickly opened the door. “What
are you doing here?”
“I came to—Jesus, what’s the matter?”
“Huh?” Selena frowned.
“Have you been crying?” he asked, his voice edgy. “Who made you cry? Are you hurt? Have you been to the doctor?”
“Oh, crap.” She realized that she must have looked horrendous. Her nose was probably red, her eyes swollen, and her skin blotchy. “No, I’m fine … I was just watching a sad movie.”
“A sad movie made you cry?” he asked in a skeptical voice.
“I’m on my period, okay?” she blurted out.
“Oh.”
Selena bit her lip. “Yeah, so sorry, I’m not, uh, up to entertaining. Down there, I mean.” She gave herself a mental slap on the forehead. “I mean, it’s probably like a murder scene in my vagina.” Holy shit, did she just say vagina? In front of Quinn? Shit. Quit while you’re ahead, girl. “So, yeah, maybe I’ll talk to you soon, yeah?” And with that, she closed the door on Quinn’s surprised face.
She stood there for a couple minutes, listening to Quinn’s retreating footsteps. When she was sure he was gone, she breathed a sigh of relief and walked back to the couch. If she had kept babbling on about her bloody (pun intended) vagina, she’d probably die of embarrassment. Now Quinn would never want to touch her again. Not that she wanted him to. Reflecting on the whole situation gave her some much needed clarity. She would end things with Quinn now, while it didn’t hurt yet. While she still had the strength to walk away.
The ring of the buzzer jolted Selena out of her thoughts. “What?” she said aloud. What was it this time? She got up and walked back to the foyer. Not bothering to check the peephole, she opened the door a crack. “Quinn?”
“Hey, Selena,” he said, placing his hand on the door and giving it a gentle push. The door gave way, and he strode into the foyer.
“Quinn, what are you doing? I thought I told you … I’m indisposed.”
Loving Quinn: The Lone Wolf Defenders Book 2 Page 10
