Quinn stands before me, unmoving. “It’s burial night. You have other duties to attend to.” I pretend to ignore his reminder as he watches me for several silent moments, his eye contact not once breaking. When he doesn’t let up, I sigh. “Ladies, would you excuse us for a moment?”
They pout in protest at my words, but they know better than to truly challenge me. They slink off the couch, their forms bouncing out of the corner and lingering near enough to be called back, if I so choose.
“We need to talk.” Quinn wastes no time cutting to the chase as he sits in the lounge chair directly across from me.
“I couldn’t imagine whatever about,” I mock.
“Sterling has requested I try to reason with you,” Quinn continues, ignoring my jest. “He wants you to lift the order.”
“I’m well aware what Sterling wants,” I sneer. “And it’s too fucking bad.”
Quinn sighs, leaning forward so that his elbows are on his knees. “Why is this such an issue? He likes the girl, let him have her.”
“Quentin,” I breathe out through clenched teeth. “As you already know, this is a delicate situationand I’m not going to let you or Sterling fuck it up because you have some ridiculous crush on a girl you barely know.”
Quinn’s eyes narrow on me. “You know it’s more than that. You want to sit here and deny yourself what you so clearly want to claim, I’m not going to fight you on it. Hells, I’ll even abide by your fuckass rules if you don’t want me having her either. But Sterling—”
“Sterling is testing my last nerve,” I bark out, raising my voice. “He doesn’t have the rank to fight me like this. He’s one wrong decision away from serious consequences.”
“You’re right,” Quinn pacifies me. “He’s been out of line. But you know as well as I do that something is different about her. Her presence here is making all of us a little batty. Sterling is challenging you, Zeke has retreated even more into himself than normal. Fuck, even you're acting insane.”
“And you are being a pain in my ass.” I level a finger at him before throwing back the last of my whiskey and slamming the glass down on the low table between us. “There are more important things at stake here than some girl. And I’m not going to get on Andras’ bad side because you and Sterling won’t leave this alone.”
Quinn goes quiet for a moment, his chin resting in his hand poised on his knee, his fingers stroking idly over the scruff on his jaw. “I don’t know how to get through to you,” he offers at last.
“You don’t,” I sneer.
He shakes his head, and for a moment I think this is the end of our conversation. But he lifts his head to meet my eyes once more. “I know you, Aamon. Better than anyone. And yes, I’m including Andras on that list. I know you want her.”
I scoff, but he doesn’t let me retort before he continues: “And not in some silly crush, one-night stand kind of way. You’ve caught her scent. Just as I have. Just as Sterling has. I don’t know what this means for our crew, but I know it could end bloody real quick if we don’t figure out how to make it work. We may share occasionally, but we’ve never been here before. This is uncharted territory, Aamon.”
I shake my head. “Fucking hells, Quinn. It’s not that dire.”
“Sterling isn’t going to let this go.” There’s no humor in Quinn’s tone, no give in his deep blue eyes. “And I care about both of you enough to tell youbothto get your heads out of your asses and figure out how to make it work. Because this isn’t going away. And I’ll be damned if this is the thing that tears our family apart. No matter how fucked up a family we may be, we are all each other’s got.”
Quinn gets up to walk out, not waiting to see if I react.
“You’re wrong,” I call out, unsure what else to say.
He pauses by Julian, the females waiting just to the side. They're bouncing on the balls of their feet, anxious to come back and continue serving me however I see fit.Quinn looks to them, offering his notoriously flirtatious smile, before turning back to face me.
“Like I said, Aamon. I know you. You can’t fool me.”
And with that, he’s slipping past Julian and back towards the crowded bar. “Night, ladies.” He winks at them as he goes, making them break out in a fit of giggles. The sound grates me, all interest in entertaining them draining from my body. Perhaps I never had any interest at all. Julian looks at me questioningly, but I just shake my head and look away. I hear their disappointed groans as Julian ushers them towards the dance floor, but I know their moods will recover soon, with or without me. They are a dime a dozen in the Market Ebon. As are the vampires that could satiate them for the night.
I pick the tumbler up off the table, spinning the glass slowly in my hand as I watch the light catch in the last remaining drop of whiskey left clinging to the bottom. Quinn is wrong. I don’t want her. Not like he does. And sure as shit not like Sterling does. She intrigues me, that’s all. And once I figure out what about her has caught my attention, I’ll be fine.
But I know something must be done. Whichever way the truth reveals itself, I want her shaking out on our side when the time comes. Whatever I sense in her, I know it’s worth keeping her on good terms.
Which means playing my part.
And unfortunately for me, burial night might actually be the perfect opportunity to do so.
My fist tightens around the tumbler. I turn and hurl it at the brick wall in the corner, the glass shattering into a million pieces.
“I’ll be back,” I murmur to Julian as I push past him. “Have someone clean that up in the meantime.” The noise of the bar covers the commotion, for the most part. Only a handful of patrons turn to see what’s happened as I move to leave. I meet their curious gazes with a ferociousness that tells them to mind their own fucking business.
I don’t have the patience to do anything else as I push out into the night. I suck down the fresh air through my nostrils and prepare myself for what I’m about to do. Because, gods save me, I have about five minutes to figure out how to calm my rage enough to appear unthreatening to the girl I nearly killed seven days ago.
