"No. Fuck, no." A growl in his throat. "Didn't mean that. Just . . ."

He started forward again and stopped again, and I realized he was holding himself there, in the doorway, as if he didn't dare come past, as if I'd retreated to my own space and he'd lost the right to enter it.

"Meant the rest," he said. "Making you keep it a secret. Lying to him. You're pissed. Got a right to be."

"I'm not pissed, Jack." I walked over. "If I'm upset, it's not with anything you did. I'm upset because Quinn had to find out that way, and I wish I'd handled it better, so you didn't have to."

"You shouldn't have had to handle it. He was so far out of line--" Jack bit off the sentence with an angry shake of his head. "I shouldn't have hit him."

"Mmm, not going to blame you for that. If I'd been less shocked, I think I'd have done it myself. He deserved hitting, and not just for what he called me."

Jack shrugged. "Under the circumstances? Don't expect him to call me anything nice."

"I guess not." I stopped in front of him. "Are you okay?"

"Hell, yeah. Just a fight." He glanced down. "Might need a new shirt."

"I think so. But otherwise you're okay?"

"I am."

I moved until we were almost touching. "That lip looks sore."

"It's not."

"Are you sure? Because it seems to be split and if it is, this is going to hurt."

He leaned forward, closing the gap between us. "Don't care."

"And the door . . . ?"

"Locked and bolted."

I put my arms around his neck and kissed him.

CHAPTER 45

Yesterday afternoon I'd been lying on the sofa, staring blissfully out the window, waiting for Jack to run an errand. Now, just a day later, I was back there again. Under the circumstances, it wasn't quite the same level of blissful oblivion. But it was still sweet enough.

I was feeling reflective, thinking of what had happened, wishing Quinn hadn't found out that way, but the guilt and recriminations had passed. For now. I enjoyed the mental peace and quiet. Then my cell phone rang.

For a second, I froze, thinking it was Quinn calling to tell me what he thought of me in greater detail. Then I recognized the number.

"Jack stepped out," I said in greeting.

"Yes, I know," Evelyn said. "He just called me. So we've lost Quinn."

I exhaled. "Yes."

"Well, I suppose that's to be expected," she said. "Eventually he was going to find out about you two, and when he did, he wasn't sticking around. It's just inconvenient timing."

I hesitated.

"Did I say I just spoke to Jack, Dee? He told me everything."

"Right. Sorry. Yes, we should have seen it coming, but we were careful."

&n

Tags: Kelley Armstrong Nadia Stafford Mystery
Source: readsnovelonline.net