The door to Mission Control closed with a soft click. Quinn sighed, letting her head rest on the back of her chair. She closed her eyes, her thoughts wandering, as they always tended to do, to Rick.
Her Rick. Ricochet was gone, replaced by a caring man who loved Quinn and showed it to her each and every day. At Rick’s insistence, she had moved out of the tiny apartment above the gym into his condo. They spent every night together anyway, so he didn’t have to push his argument very hard to convince her.
Yes, she worried when he was away on missions, but that was his job. When he got wind of her computer skills, Mack promoted her to work in Mission Control. Being a part of the operations helped to ease some of her anxiety, even though Tucker still ran the ground ops while she was relegated to intel. Quinn had no clue how Mara could stand it, watching her husband leave with no idea where he went or if he was coming back.
Unfortunately, part of her job still included doing invoicing and mindless computer work, and she was way behind. Tapping, she pulled up the spreadsheets and started entering figures. Half an hour later, Quinn froze, her fingers hovering over the keyboard. All of the blood left her face, rushing to her toes, sending a body-wracking shiver through her. Her heart stuttered, struggling to keep her mind functioning after such a shock to the system.
No. It can’t be. It can’t. No way.
Quickly, she pulled up another file, scanning it quickly. Then another. She finally had the proof she had insisted she didn’t need.
I don’t believe it.
Quinn couldn’t help but whisper to herself. “Holy shit.”
Intending to get some answers, Quinn left the room, walking down the hall in a haze of disbelief. She stopped at Mack’s office, knocking quietly before entering.
“Hey Quinn. Tucker said the mission was a success and that the guys should be home by twenty-three hundred hours.”
Nodding, she took a good look at Mack, the man her father knew for over twenty years. He was gazing at Quinn fondly, his dark eyes alight with something akin to love.
Suddenly, the confrontation she had planned out in her head didn’t seem right. “You— you and my dad were really close, weren’t you.” It was a statement, not a question. There was no question of Mack’s loyalty to her father.
Mack looked a little surprised at her question, but he smiled kindly. “He was like a brother to me. Being in the marines wasn’t much different than it is here at Sanctum, Quinn. Everyone takes care of everyone else… like family.”
She swallowed loudly, her gaze dropping to the floor.
“Quinn—”
Reluctantly, she raised her eyes to meet Mack’s. This man who took her in when she had no one, who cared when no one else did… he loved her like his own.
“I would do anything for family, Quinn. Anything.”
Staring at each other, they exchanged a sort of silent agreement. Each one of them understanding what the other wasn’t saying.
“I’m almost done with invoicing. It’s taking a while since I’m a few months behind. When I’m finished, I think I’m going to head home.”
Mack leaned back in his chair, his lips curved up in the corners. “No problem. Go home with your soldier.” He winked at her before turning back to his paperwork.
“Thanks Mack. For— for everything.”
Quinn left Mack’s office, returning to her seat in front of the bank of powerful computers. Slowly, methodically, Quinn brought up each invoice from six months ago.
She clicked on the receipt for a round trip plane ticket from Atlanta to Oklahoma City in Mack’s name and moved it to the trash bin.
Next, a document detailing the special luggage Mack checked on the flight, and the legal paperwork to own the specialized weapon followed.
Then she did the same for a receipt for a rental car in his name from a Hertz near the Oklahoma City airport.
Click. Click. Click.
Quinn continued until all of the evidence was gone. Had he meant for her to find it? She didn’t know. Mack knew she did the receipts, so she could only assume he either did it on purpose or he didn’t think about it. Mack was not a stupid man.
Done clearing out the files, she left the room, heading out into the gym to locate Rick. She found him showing a young fighter how to protect his head from different punches, helping him arrange his fists the proper way. Grinning, she watched as he worked, how his strong muscles flexed and contracted. When the men stopped for a quick drink, Rick spotted Quinn watching him and smiled, his entire face lighting up. He said something to the young man and trotted over to see her.
“Hey, doll.”
“Hey. I’m done. What are your plans?”