“Yeah, right.” Quinn snorts, looking shocked at the sound. She blinks, then shakes her head like she’s clearing it. “Sorry. I shouldn’t complain. What about you? What have you been up to? Aside from getting cool tattoos and building muscle?”
“Like your sister. Yeah, right,” Colt mutters under his breath.
I let out a soft huff of a laugh. “Floated for a while, like I said, trying to figure shit out. Then my step-dad got sick. Long story short, there are only so many times you can hear that there’s a lesson to be learned or a meaning behind everything before you get real fucking tired of it. Started working at a body shop and got a bit of a reputation for being good at custom paint jobs. I did some work for a couple of the guys in the Sons and?—”
Sinner throws his arm over my shoulder and grins. “And now he’s stuck with us.”
Quinn has her chin in her hands. “Aw, that’s nice. Friends I mean. Even if they’re friends with guns. I don’t have friends. Or guns.”
“You feeling okay, Q?”
She looks up at me, eyes a little unfocused. “Yeah? I don’t—” A flash of panic crosses her face and she tries to stand too quickly.
What the fuck? I grab her just in time to keep her from falling.
“Quinn!” A woman with warm chestnut skin and gold in her hair comes rushing over. “What’s going on? What are you doing with her?”
“It’s okay, Erika. He’s an old friend,” Quinn says, but she looks ready to drop.
“You’re with the show, right?” At Erika’s nod, I gesture at the still half-full margarita. “Her drink. I think someone slipped something into it.”
“What? Are you joking?” She puts a hand on Quinn’s arm. “Do you know these guys?”
Quinn looks up at me, head a little heavy on her neck. “He’s Priest. Don’t call ‘im Heath anymore.” She takes a deep breath. “It’s probably just the heat. I need to get out of here.”
“No way. You’re not getting into a car with a stranger like this,” Sinner says when Quinn pulls out her phone and starts up an app to call for a ride.
Erika nods. “He’s right. You shouldn’t be alone right now. I’ll go with you.”
“No! I don’t want to make a scene. If we both leave, people will notice.”
“We’ll get her home safe. Erika? Can you handle reporting this to whoever’s in charge? Nobody at the bar. We’ve been here since they came with the drinks but who knows what the fuck happened before that.”
“Of course.” Erika puts her hands on either side of Quinn’s face and looks her in the eyes. I can see her judging if she trusts Quinn’s judgement and I don’t fucking blame her. “Call me when you get home, and first thing in the morning. You got that?”
“Yes, Mom.” Quinn looks tired and a little wobbly.
“If anything happens to Quinn, I’m going to personally track all of you down,” Erika promises. She looks about as dangerous as a kitten, but I appreciate that she’s willing to use her claws.
“She’s safe with us,” Colt assures her in a tone that doesn’t leave much room for argument.
When we get her outside through a side door, Quinn sees the motorcycles. “I’ve never ridden on… ridden on…”
“It’s gonna be fine. I’ll hold onto you. Come on.” Her phone’s sticking out of her pocket, so I grab it and slip it into the inside pocket of my cut, then settle her in front of me, wrapping one arm tightly around her waist and pulling her close. She leans into my chest, soft and trusting. “Alright, we’re going. I got you.”
I don’t think I’ve ridden quite so carefully since my first time on a bike. Her place is an apartment in a fancy part of town. Nice to be a TV star, I guess.
“Hey, Quinn, we’re here. Are you with me, baby?” I hand her off to Colt, who lifts her gently.
“The air helped, but everything feels fuzzy,” she complains, but she’s up and walking on her own two feet, at least with the help of Sinner’s arm around her waist.
A guy in a uniform that looks like it belongs in an old movie comes out when we approach. He takes the four of us in and clearly isn’t convinced that we’re the right sort of people to be coming home with one of his residents. “Ms. Callahan! Are you okay?”
She lifts her head and smiles at the guy. “I’m fine, Clarke. Just had a long day. These are some friends from the show.”
His suspicion melts away. “Oh, right! The werewolves! My daughter thinks you guys are so cool.”
“Yeah, uh, thanks,” Colt says awkwardly.
