Her parents had fostered kids...at least, until the car accident that had killed them both. She’d grown up dealing with these kinds of horror stories. It was natural that she’d want to continue their work. And she was good at it.
Tomorrow he was going to pay Daniel a little visit, find out what he was doing to protect her.
Although, he was smart enough to keep that plan to himself. Quinn would just try to talk him out of it and there was no reason to fight her on it...yet.
* * *
“THIS IS ABSURD.” Quinn blew a frustrated breath out of her mouth.
“You’re the only one who thinks so,” Daniel said.
Behind him, Jace had his arms crossed over that damn ripped chest. He tried to hide the smug smile teasing the corners of his mouth, but he couldn’t quite pull it off.
She wanted to be angry with him for interfering, and she was pretty irked, but she knew he was only doing this because he was worried about her.
What pissed her off more was that he’d done an end run around her, going to Daniel behind her back. She could fight Jace, but not him and her boss.
Frustration and irritation buzzed through her brain. She felt the familiar rise of emotions, like a relentless high tide trying to erode her better intentions. Sure, she could let loose and spew anger all over Daniel and Jace, but that would just make her feel like a jerk.
“I don’t have time to deal with this, Daniel, and you know it. My caseload is towering over me as it is.”
“No one is asking you to ignore your work, Quinn. There are enough people in the office that you should be fine. We’re more concerned with you being home alone at night.”
She could see their point. The problem was that their solution was more likely to cause problems than the man they were afraid of.
“I will not be chased out of my own home. Especially not without a creditable threat.”
Jace grunted, calling into question her statement with very little effort. She glared at him. He simply stared back, his clear blue eyes unwavering, until she couldn’t take the direct connection and had to look away.
At least she managed not to blush. Her pale, freckle-ridden skin was a curse.
This was stupid and pointless. But she’d already said that once, and they’d responded with the verbal equivalent of a pat on the head. Frustrating.
“I’ll be staying with Quinn.”
“You’ll be what?” Quinn squeaked. “Don’t you have, I don’t know, a job?” she asked, her voice full of sarcasm.
Jace’s mouth, already austere on a good day, pulled down into a frown. The dark line of his brows slammed together over a glare. No doubt the intimidating look was exactly what he used to keep the soldiers he trained in line.
Quinn had a feeling those men, given that expression, would jump to do whatever Jace Hyland wanted...right after wetting themselves. And it wasn’t like Jace trained wussies. He had the best of the best, the strongest of the strong and the most masculine of the masculine under his command.
“I’ve taken some leave.”
Okay, before she’d been miffed. Now she was royally pissed. “Because of this? Because of me?” God, she was going to hurt Warren—and then possibly Jace. This was getting blown out of proportion. Big time.
“No. I had this time off scheduled already for another reason.”
Well, wasn’t that just great. Why didn’t that make her feel any better?
The man was on vacation—probably the first one he’d taken in two years—and he was sitting here preparing to babysit her as if she was a shaky-legged toddler.
“Why the hell aren’t you on a sandy beach somewhere, then?”
He sucked in a breath. Quinn watched his chest expand and hold. She counted in her head, up to almost ninety before he let the breath go with a quiet rush that she felt deep inside.
“Not much on sand these days,” he said quietly.
And Quinn immediately regretted her outburst. Who was she to tell the man how to relax? Her problem was, she wasn’t sure Jace understood the definition of the word.
And if anyone deserved a chance to unwind and shed responsibilities, it was Jace. But that was a discussion for another time.
What she had to deal with right now was the threat of him moving into her home. It was hard enough to keep her mind where it belonged when he was in the middle of her office. Running into him in the hallway late at night? Quinn wasn’t sure she’d survive the experience.
Not without embarrassing them both.
“There’s nothing more important than this. I made a promise, one I intend to keep. Michael would never forgive me if something happened to you.”
How was she supposed to counter that? Especially when his personal crusade was championed by a ghost. If she refused and, God forbid, something did happen to her, Jace would carry that guilt around with him for the rest of his life. He was weighed down with too much of that as it was.
This situation was spiraling out of control so quickly Quinn couldn’t find a single slippery thread to grab so she could try to hold it all together.
Jace pinned her with his gaze. Her heart fluttered and a pressure settled right in the middle of her chest. He held her eyes for several seconds before saying in a low, fluid voice, “Humor me.”
It wasn’t a request, but he waited for her response anyway. And for some reason, her ability to argue simply fled. She couldn’t deny him. Not now. Maybe not ever.
Realizing her mouth had gone dry, Quinn simply nodded.
Aw, hell, what had she just gotten herself into?
3
“I COULD JUST stay here,” Quinn suggested, despite knowing it wasn’t going to happen.
Jace didn’t even bother answering. He flashed her a cutting look and crossed his arms over his chest, waiting. Not very patiently.
A black bag sat on the floor beside him. His foot tapped, a staccato against the cool tile.
She’d discovered the reason he’d had leave scheduled. And she didn’t like it. And really didn’t want to go. Attending an MMA fight was more her idea of torture than entertainment. She’d never understood the draw, for men or women.
Brutality was something she fought against. And these men—Jace included—were embracing it. Training for it. Seeking it out.
She didn’t understand and really didn’t want to.
They’d been arguing for the past twenty minutes, though. It had taken her under five to realize Jace wasn’t budging. She’d continued in the hope that eventually she’d make him late enough that he’d either leave her behind or, preferably, skip the thing entirely.
“In about thirty seconds I’m going to put you in the car myself. Stop stalling.”
Or not.
With a resigned sigh, Quinn grabbed her purse and slung it diagonally across her chest.
The drive out was silent. A part of her was grateful for the residual irritation oozing between them and the distraction it provided. Inside her own head, she continued the argument, knowing it was about as productive as actually speaking the words out loud. But maybe her mental rant would drain the emotion away.
They pulled into a dark parking lot filled with cars and trucks of every make, model and price point. Jace’s fingers brushed against her hip as he reached down