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My Border Collie pup, Lucky, likes the sound of that, as he sits up, wagging his tail excitedly.Patting between his ears, I’m so happy he’s in better condition than when I first found him. “Okay, buddy, you’re coming too.”
Quinn exits the cab, and I take a minute to admire him.
He stretches his long arms above his head, which results in a sliver of his hardened stomach becoming exposed. My eyes drop to his ink, which I only know is there because I’ve been lucky enough to see him topless.
I know what lies underneath that plain, simple T-shirt, and nothing is plain or simple about it. I berate myself to stop checking him out because one, he’s cocky enough, and two, I need to ween myself off him because three hours is a long time to plot and plan.
I’m certain of a few things. It goes without saying my need for revenge animates me to survive.But I’m not selfish enough to drag Quinn down with me.
I’ve done enough of that.
No, what I have planned willsaveQuinn. It will clear his name, and in time, this will all be a distant memory for him.
But to do that, I have tosacrificemyself tosavehim.
I have no doubt that at the end of all of this, Quinn will hate me with every fiber of his being. And you know what? I can live with that.
I can live with that fact because I can live with anything as long as he’s happy and free.
“Did you want me to drive for a bit?” I ask, looking down at Quinn, who nurses his third cup of black coffee.
We’re sitting in a roadside diner called Yo-Yo’s, and it’s nothing like Bobby Joe’s, the diner I worked at back home.
Home.
It’s funny how I don’t consider LA my home anymore even though I grew up there. But when was it really my home? It stopped being my home the day my mother up and left, moving to Canada. I was three when it happened, and I haven’t heard from her since.
It was my mission before all this shit happened to find her and ask her to fill in the blanks because my father sure as hell didn’t. I was prepared to beg for an explanation as to why she left because, how could a mother abandon her three-year-old child? Was I a disappointment in her eyes? Is that why she left?
But now, my priorities have changed.
I’ve found my mother. I know where she lives. But nowadays, that doesn’t seem as important as it once was to me.
Granted, things have turned to shit, but deep down, it was never really a priority. If it were, I would have left the moment I found out where she was. But I didn’t. I stayed in South Boston because I had found the place I wanted to call home.
It’s too bad because if I had left, Hank would still be alive, and Tristan wouldn’t have gotten hurt.
“Nope, it’s fine. But I think we should crash. We’ve got to figure out what the hell to do next,” Quinn says, interrupting my what-ifs.
Rubbing my temples, hoping to soothe my pounding headache, proves futile. “Okay, good idea,” I reply, looking down at my untouched burger.
The thought of eating turns my stomach, so I slide it over to Quinn.“Here. I don’t want it to go to waste.”
As Quinn accepts, his long fingers brush over mine accidentally, and I pull away like I’ve been burned. He eyes me strangely but doesn’t question it, as we both know where that conversation will lead. For now, it seems we both want to live in denial.
I peer around the quiet diner and take in my surroundings because, this time, I really am just passing through a quiet, sleepy town.
“Can I get you another cup of coffee?” the server asks, clearly eyeing Quinn as she wiggles the glass coffeepot, blatantly flirting with him.
I’ve tried to ignore her because this has been going on since we first sat down. She looks like the girl-next-door type, and I already know she’s a better match for Quinn than I am.
And that’s because she doesn’t have a fuckload of baggage coming out of her ass, which won’t remain dead and buried.
“I’m good, thanks. Red?” He looks at me, and I shake my head in response because the next word to come out of my mouth will be a curse word.
“What brings you to North Carolina?” she purrs, leaning in unnecessarily close to collect Quinn’s dirty plate.
I don’t blame her for flirting because Quinn is hot and never short of female attention. But I need to get out of here, as the images of throttling this girl are becoming way too vivid.
