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“He’d moved on to Arizona. He had a record there. But he died two years ago.”
“Oh. But you think he could have had something to do with my dad?”
“It’s possible. I don’t know.”
Lori slumped back into the seat. “Ben, I honestly don’t think my dad’s attack had anything to do with the land. I think it was random.”
Did Quinn have the right to kneel down next to her and take her hand? She clearly didn’t want him involved in her life in any meaningful way, but he couldn’t just let her sit there alone, talking about her dad’s skull being bashed in. He pulled the second chair close to her and took her hand in his as he sat. She didn’t pull away. In fact, her fingers curled into his as she closed her eyes.
“I don’t know,” Ben muttered. “It just doesn’t feel random to me. Something’s off.”
Lori shrugged, the gesture weary. “It was the middle of the night at a biker bar. What better place to find trouble?”
Ben said, “Yeah,” but the frustration in that word came through loud and clear. He wasn’t buying it and there was nothing he could do. Quinn understood, because he felt the exact same way. He’d do anything to help her, but what the hell could he offer? Aside from beating some business associates to a pulp.
“I could wear a wire,” he blurted. “I could wear a wire and ask Peter Anton what he knows.” His offer raised Ben’s eyebrows, but more importantly, it drew another smile from Lori.
“That’s sweet,” she said, as if he’d offered her a bouquet of flowers.
“Well,” Ben murmured dryly, “if it comes to that, I’ll keep your offer in mind.”
There wasn’t much left to discuss. Five minutes later, Lori and Quinn were walking out of the station, awkwardness like another person wedged between them. He got in her truck without asking permission, and they drove the short distance to Lori’s house in silence. His shoulders were burning with tension by the time he stepped through her front door, but he bit his tongue and let her go about her business.
Lori checked her messages and went to the bathroom. Then she got a glass of water and took a pain pill before pulling a paper-wrapped package from the freezer and putting it in the fridge to thaw. Quinn just watched, leaning against the back of the couch.
Finally, she rolled her shoulders and turned to face him. “Okay,” she said and took a deep breath.
“You thought I might be involved in all this?”
Lori shook her head. A curl fell over her forehead, resting there for only a moment before she pushed it back. “No. I didn’t think so, not really. It seemed like a possibility, once I realized you worked with Anton/Bliss, but I know you’re not that kind of person.”
“And you?”
“Me?” she finally breathed. “Am I that kind of person?”
His throat tightened as he waited for her answer. Had his body just been a perk? An added little bonus in her quest to solve a mystery? If so, he’d been even more meaningless to her than he’d thought.
“It occurred to me that maybe you’d know something,” she said, “but…after we were already dating. Not before. If that…if that makes a difference.”
It did. God, it did, but he was too relieved to make his mouth work.
“I’m sorry, Quinn.” Lori blinked rapidly. “I felt like I couldn’t tell you. But I knew what I was doing was wrong. When I used you to get close to Peter Anton and when I stole that file. I was just desperate…”
“If you’d trusted me and told me about it, I could have found out about the pass long ago.”
“Yeah,” she murmured. “But those people are part of your work, Quinn. And your work means everything to you. What we had was just…it was just sex.”
What we had,she’d said. Hell, he’d gotten used to the “just sex” part of it, but now it was past tense? Boy, he was inching down the ladder of pride, wasn’t he? At first he’d cringed at being dismissed as a sexual machine, and now he was praying she’d use him for a few more days.
“Ben agrees that you shouldn’t be alone at least until he’s interviewed each of the developers. I’d like to stay. Here. Or you can come to my place.”
It wasn’t a good sign when Lori looked at the floor. It was an even worse sign when she shook her head. “I think I’ll stay with Molly. Everything’s too confusing right now.”
She was right, of course. It was confusing. He was still pissed at her, and hurt, and now was not the time to talk about the future. And neither of them were in the mood for sexual fantasy. His work here was done, and Lori didn’t need him anymore. So why did he feel desperate to stay?
But he hadn’t sunk to begging yet. That was something. “All right. I’ll help you get your stuff together.”
It didn’t take long. The garage was already closed up. Lori only packed one bag. It seemed that mere seconds had passed and suddenly Quinn was standing next to the open window of her truck, saying farewell.
