Locked & Loaded (Ricochet 1)

Quinn stuffed some money in her pocket and headed outside. She could walk to the mall in the same amount of time she would wait for the next bus. At least it was payday and Mack was still paying her in cash. With almost no expenses, she figured she could splurge on a new dress.

Quinn was only a few yards down the sidewalk when someone called out her name. Well, not her name, but close enough.

“Doll! What in the hell are you doing?”

Oh no.

She knew that voice. It took all of her concentration to keep her eyes forward, even when the car pulled up to the curb next to her.

“Hey! Quinn, stop!”

Cursing under her breath, Quinn stopped. In her peripheral vision, she saw Rick leap out of his car and head directly for her.

“Why are you walking, doll?”

Quinn pinched the bridge of her nose, struggling to hold in her rapidly deteriorating self-control. He’d been an ass since he got back and now he thought he had the right to question her?

“Because Rick, some of us don’t own cars.” She continued walking down the sidewalk, more determined than ever to buy that damn dress for the damn date she didn’t even want to go on anymore.

“Wait!” Rick put his hand on Quinn’s arm, pulling her to a stop.

She whirled around faster than Rick expected, yanking her arm out of his grasp, her entire body tensing up.

“Don’t ever fucking grab me again!”

She watched as Rick flinched back in shock. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I just…” He hung his head dejectedly, scratching the back of his neck. “I was going to offer you a ride. This isn’t the best neighborhood, that’s all. I didn’t mean to —”

“I know.” Quinn tried to calm down, but panic streaked down her spine, sending adrenaline racing through her veins. She stuffed her hands in her pockets to hide the fact that they were shaking from her instinctual reaction to Rick grabbing her. Quinn stared at the ground before returning her gaze to his flushed face. Clearly, she hadn’t made much progress since leaving Travis. She was still a nervous wreck around men.

Rick broke the silence first. “I’m really sorry. I know you’ve been mad at me or something, so whatever I did to make you angry, I apologize.”

Quinn gaped at Rick. “You didn’t make me mad.”

He shrugged. “I did something. You won’t look at me or talk to me since I got back.”

She glanced down the street, desperate to continue on her way, to forget about “Ricochet” and his harem of skanks. Quinn couldn’t bring herself to move, to distance herself from this man. A man who was no good for her fragile mental state. A man who had endless strings of one-night stands and never had a lasting relationship. A man who went out of his way to make her feel comfortable, to make sure she had food and a safe way to get it. A man who pushed every single one of her hot buttons, making her a hormonal mess whenever he was near.

“Alright.”

Rick’s eyes widened. “Alright what?”

“Alright you can give me a ride to the mall.”

Quinn didn’t miss the slight quirk in the corner of Rick’s lips or the wince he made. “The mall?”

She huffed, her hands on her hips. “Yes, the mall. I can walk if it’s too emasculating for you to set foot in the mall, Rick.”

He laughed at her petulance and opened the passenger side door. “Get in, doll. I guess we’re going to the mall.”

Quinn dropped into the seat, clicking her seat belt in place. She stifled a chuckle when Rick rolled his eyes at the word mall, acting like he was so put out to have to go there. “You can just drop me off out front,” Quinn said as they pulled into the massive parking lot at Lenox Square less than five minutes later.

Rick dismissed her idea immediately. “No. This mall isn’t known for being real safe, Quinn. And it’ll be dark in less than an hour so you’re not walking home. I’ll come in with you.” Rick brought the car to a stop in front of the valet parking sign.

Quinn shook her head, but didn’t bother arguing with Rick. He would do what he wanted no matter what she said. Before the young valet could open her door, she hopped out

of the car and hurried inside, leaving Rick scrambling to trade his keys for a ticket in order to catch up.

If Quinn were being honest with herself, this whole situation was beyond strange. Rick “Ricochet” Brennan, man-whore and Muay Thai expert, was taking her to the mall to buy a dress for a date with another man. Okay, so Rick didn’t exactly know that’s what he was doing. Would he have volunteered to drive her if he did? What would he say if he knew she would rather be going out with him tonight?