“What,” he snarled, no question to be found in the furious sound or in the reverberation that followed.
“I was independent once, you know.” Scoffing at his fury, she trilled her fingers through the air as if it never meant anything at all.
Whatever he might have said, Tobias cut himself off as a quiet knock sounded on the closed door. Jerking Quinn upright, vibrating with the tension riddling his body, he shouted for them to enter.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, sir, but, um…” The lanky Beta male spared a quick glance at Quinn, gaze darting away to stare hard at the floor. A slow shift of his weight and a quick inhale, he got on with it when Tobias’ hand clenched. “Ms. De Vries sent the files and we’ve transferred them to your laptop. She’s said she’ll need an answer by six if you want them ready to go in the morning. Ross also sent the files he was able to recover, but they’re still fragmented. He’s still working on the rest.”
“Yes, all right.” Dismissing the nameless man with a curt wave, Tobias jerked a second laptop around to face him. With a deft skill Quinn envied, he opened programs and entered passcodes one handed. “We’ll finish this later. You need to go now, little bird.”
“Why? Who the hell isMs. De Vries?”
“No one you need to worry about, and security footage.”
“Oh, Gods, you didn’t do that to someone—”
“It’s from the house.” Patience at an end, he set Quinn on her feet and gave her a hard nudge towards the door. “Now go.”
“What? You have… Cameras have been watching all this time?”
“I had security cameras installed when I rebuilt the house, and for good reason.”
“All this time, someone—No! Multiple people have been watching what you do to me. All over this damned house!” Arms swinging wild, she accused and judged with every swift movement. When he didn’t even have the decency to look chagrined, her anger became incandescent. “Youfuckingbastard. How dare you—”
“Stop this,” he said and there was no need for him to shout over her hysterical yelling.
The dangerous edge of his tone sucked all the air from the room. Ominous and edged in shards of ice, it cut through her rage and shredded it before her very eyes. Reduced her to a trembling mess that sniffled against a wave of distress that had little to do with whom might have seen what.
“Come.” Arm out, he invited her in to retake her perch on his lap. When she shuffled forward a mere inch, he let out a growling sigh and hauled her into place. Nuzzled her temple as he smoothed rough hands over her shoulder and thigh.
Wordless and lacking in all the ways she could want, it was as good of an apology as she would ever get. Fingertips pressing hard to her chest, she touched the bond in every way she could. Tried to find some calm in the chaos when he rumbled a purr and tangled his fingers in her hair.
“Why are you looking at this,” she asked into the quiet when she’d managed to strangle the hurt and betrayal down to tolerable levels. For all his raging at the mere thought of another touching her, she never expected him to allow everything to be recorded and seen by someone else. No matter the reasons.
“To see who poisoned you.”
“You think someone here did it?”
“You do not—” Choking off the harsh words before he could finish, Tobias clenched his jaw. Inhaling hard through his nose, head tilting back and eyes closing, he sought calm the same as she did. “Everything else checks out. Since someone tampered with the recordings, I’m left no other choice but to look at everyone close to you.”
“Well, start it.”
“Quinn, you don’t need to see—”
“I want to see it, now play it before I break something trying to do it myself.” Scrubbing at her eyes with the back of one hand, she shoved upright. Put an endless gulf of space between them with an inch when she leaned towards the laptop.
Hard as granite and twice as unmovable, Tobias slung his arm around her waist and pulled her back. Crushed her against him with an implacable grip while his free hand whisked over the laptop and brought it to life again. Rapid fire taps of his fingers over the track pad brought a program up, the still image of the foyer coming into blurred reality in shades of gray.
“Didn’t spring for the color stuff, huh?”
“If you’re going to insist on remaining here, you’re going to be quiet.”
“Fine.”
Chapter Thirteen
Tobias’ hand moved, the image shuddering then blinking to a wide shot of the dining room. It rolled once, twice, the lines of the furniture becoming stylistic blobs before returning to their natural shapes. Another tap of his finger sent the recording into faster motion, bodies of guards and others on their tasks tripping across the program’s window.
“What’s going on with it?” Quinn shivered the same as the footage, lip curling in distaste as vague nightmares of late night horror movies plagued her subconscious.
