Meghan trailed downstairs, disappearing and reappearing on the lower steps in some sort of nightmarish lurch. The dark figure of Curtis came up not too long after, his steps pausing outside of the door. Whatever he heard, it made him shake his head, back unbent as he stalked off down the hall.
“He never liked me.”
“It wasn’t his duty to like you, little bird.”
“Meghan is my friend. She’s the only one here that’s ever treated me like a person.” Though she continued to stare at the laptop as Meghan drifted across the screen once again, Quinn wasn’t looking. Didn’t want to see that terrifying grin on her friend’s face.
The woman she trusted with her children.
Thought galvanizing, the anxious energy zapped through her spine and sent her into motion. Scrambling from Tobias’ lap, she bolted towards the door. Found herself crushed in Tobias’ embrace, arms immovable bands around her middle though she kicked and shrieked.
“Quiet, Quinn,” he ground out, huffing a grunt against her shoulder when her heel connected with his knee. “If she’s responsible for this, you can’t let her know what’s going on yet. She could hurt them if she thinks she’s in danger. Calm down.”
“Our babies are up there with her,” Quinn cried. Tearing at her clothes, straining to be free of the shirt that seemed to tangle her up further in his grasp.
“Calm. Down.” The rush of a command followed his quiet words.
Icy, metallic as it burned through her lungs, it brought her to a crumbling heap. Shivering with the overwhelming influx, synapses fried under the assault as he hauled her up to cradle Quinn’s weight against his chest.
Tobias moved to the door, tucking her head under his chin as he ordered some man inside. Swift, violent instruction to call Annan right the fuck now, to get the men ready but to remain out of sight. Tell the nanny he needed to see her and be calm about it.
As the man hurried away, only Quinn heard Tobias’ mutter.
“I could fucking use you right about now, Curtis.”
Strangled under Tobias’ will and his crushing arms, he manhandled her to the couch. Cradled her against a chest that vibrated with the rumbling rockslide of his growling purr. Equal parts anger and comfort, he tried to quiet Quinn. Promised a great many things as the bond screamed the tormented wails he wouldn’t allow her to voice.
By the time Meghan knocked on the study door, Quinn had calmed somewhat. Not enough by half to keep her from running upstairs if Tobias freed her for even a second. He kept her pinned against his side, a feint of their usual struggles. Crushing Quinn under the forced calm, drowning her in the honeyed sunshine he didn’t feel. Something she never discerned before, the nuances of his moods as they filtered through the bond. The turmoil and angst roiling through him, infecting it all, weighing heavier on her with every strained breath.
“You wanted to see me, sir?” Meghan hovered at the door, the limpid brown of her eyes cast down in submission.
Somehow Quinn noticed only now how she tipped her chin aside even with this regular encounter. Baring her throat to the Alpha to prove she was no threat. Demure hands clasped in gentle repose at her waist. Nothing of the crazed smile or wild eyes shown in the videos. Everything about her remained small and timid, a veritable mouse to match the diffident, nervous shades.
“Yes. Come in, sit.”
Though his voice left no room for Meghan to argue, her weight shifted back. Head turning, she peered over her shoulder as if she could see whatever lay beyond the door someone closed behind her. Worried the whole thing was up, that she knew and had hurt the kids before even coming down sent a rush of panic through Quinn. Molten and flaring in wild bursts, Tobias strangled the racing emotions to a crawl. Smothered Quinn under the weight of his command without more than a tensing of his jaw showing.
“The children, sir, they’re up there with the Alpha woman. I’m afraid she’s not the best with them. Perhaps I could bring them down if this will take long?”
“It won’t take long. Rebecca can handle their little fits of temper for a moment.”
“As you say, Mr. Kahler,” Meghan murmured, though she looked anything but convinced. Steps slow and careful, she still managed an air of scurrying. Prim as you please, her smooth skirts spread around her legs as she sat in the stiff-backed chair opposite the couch. She followed it with hunched shoulders and lowered chin, the epitome of servitude.
Quinn wanted to scream.
Why wasn’t he throwing Meghan out of the house? Beating her senseless, yelling, something. He remained quiet and collected, no matter the rage banging around Quinn’s skull. The haze of red descending over her gaze, Quinn’s lip began to lift. A subtle shift of her limbs brought Tobias’ attention. Hands clamping over her arms, he held her back physically all while inundating her with the sunlit warmth of the forced calm. Dissonant and full of warning, the bond became painful. A roar of silence, a plea for caution.
His detached smile didn’t falter once. Stance casual as he clutched Quinn to him, he regarded Meghan as if nothing could ever be wrong in the world.
“I realized no one has sat you down and discussed what’s been going on.”
“No, sir. Curtis normally…” Meghan added a tempered sniffle as she trailed off, dabbing at the corner of her eye with a kerchief she produced from a pocket.
“Yes, his loss is felt all through this house.” Arm tightening around Quinn, he pushed her head against his chest. “His sacrifice was honorable, and one I will forever be grateful for.”
“Oh, yes, of course! He saved Miss Quinn. We mustn’t forget that,” Meghan said, with overbearing enthusiasm, turning a bright smile upon Quinn where she sat crumpled against Tobias. “He died for you, to keep you safe. A most noble act for a great man, truly.”
Spine lengthening as he sat taller, Tobias’ hand crushed Quinn’s shoulder. A thread of impatient rage twined through the bond, humming its dissatisfaction at such inaction. The words burbling over Meghan’s lips were fair and sweet, but the intensity of her eagerness, the glassy quality of her limpid brown eyes as she spoke of Quinn’s near death, were far too brazen after they’d seen the video footage.
