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Shewouldmake it count.
Coming to a stop, she stared up at the narrow two-story brick building in front of her. Bronze lettering declared it the Hudson Island Sheriff’s Department.
She’d tossed and turned all night, knowing she needed to come clean with Quinn today. She owed him the truth. If she worked for Roxie, her past could put the woman in danger. That wasn’t an option.
Anxiety constricted her throat as she crossed the street. She knew Quinn would help her. But what if he thought less of her after she told him about her past? What if he thought she was weak? Or worse, that she’d deserved it?
Logically, she knew none of it had been her fault, that she hadn’t deserved any of Preston’s abuse. After a year of intense counseling, sheknewthat. Still... those tiny little doubts kept creeping back, kept getting louder. For the sake of her sanity, she needed to ignore them. But “easier said than done” was a cliché for a reason.
She took a deep, cleansing breath and let it out slowly. Shoulders back, chin up, and one freaking step at a time, she climbed the stairs. In her mind, she ran through the list of bullet points she’d created the sleepless night before. Details Quinn needed to know.
I can do this.
With each step, her confidence grew.
This was it. She was taking back control of her life, dammit.
Striding through the front door and toward the reception desk, she paused when she heard Quinn’s deep voice. She turned to search for him and froze.
Holy. Crap.What was he doing here?
A large, blond-haired, blue-eyed Adonis stood next to Quinn. When she met the man’s gaze, the blood drained from her face, and the carefully crafted bullet point list in her head evaporated.
CHAPTERTEN
“Joe?” Alex croaked. “What are you doing here?”
“Long time no see, doll.” Joe smiled and ran the back of his hand along the side of her face. “You’re looking better.”
Quinn frowned, and his stomach clenched like he’d been sucker punched in the gut. He might as well have been because Alex hadn’t flinched away from Joe’s touch. At all.
Fuck, he was an idiot. An idiot who’d read it all—every damn thing—wrong.
When Joe enveloped Alex in a protective hug, whispering something into her ear, it took everything he had to not howl. To not shove his friend away, toss her over his shoulder caveman style, and scream,Mine!
Yeah. He was a fucking idiot. And a completely irrational fucking idiot at that.
“Let’s take this cozy reunion somewhere private,” he growled, turning away from the reunited couple.
Stalking into his office, he focused on keeping his anger in check. But he was pissed. At Joe. At the entire situation. But mostly, at himself. He fell—no,almostfell—for the damsel in distress. Again.
Fucking. Idiot.
He settled behind his desk. Joe and Alex occupied the chairs opposite him. An uncomfortable silence hung in the air. He glared at Joe, and his friend glared right back.
His irritation grew. So did his disappointment, but that was something he didn’t want to acknowledge. Nope. He would not go there. Not right now, at least. He had a job to do. But dammit, this whole situation sucked. “So, which one of you two lovebirds is going to sing first?”
Alex’s brow furrowed, and her head tilted to the side. “What?”
“You’re about to cross that proverbial line, old friend,” Joe said, his tone lethal. “You know nothing. And you’ll remain in the dark if you don’t keep your petty, jealous comments to yourself. So, unless you want to get Alex and her unborn child killed, I suggest you shut the fuck up.”
Holy. Shit.
His eyes narrowed to slits as he glared at Joe. His friend had gotten Alex pregnant?
“I could kill you for thinking what you’re thinking.” Joe shook his head, and the laugh that escaped his lips held no trace of humor. “Really, Connie? She’s married, for fuck’s sake. Granted, her husband’s an asshole, but do you really think that little of me? That little of Alex?”
Married.
