Fireworks: A Holiday Bad Boy Romance (50 page)

CHAPTER
FIFTEEN

Quinn

I
thought about canceling
my participation in the tournament a hundred times on the short drive to Vegas.
The Luxor Casino was an easy drive from Summerlin, but my father's ominous mood
filled the car. I did not dare ask him what was wrong because I could not stand
to hear another lecture about my life choices.

Was
this all worth it?
I asked myself again and again.

Owen seemed to
think I should break all ties with my parents. The thought was appealing, but
after Sienna's death, there was no way I could leave them. It would be too
heartless. All I could do was endure my father's seething disapproval and try
to make the best of it.

He said nothing as
we walked across the white shining floor of the Luxor's lobby. The tall pyramid
walls reached up above us, but he saw nothing. He waited while I registered and
paced back and forth while I looked for Owen and Anya.

My portion of the
tournament was taking place in one of the smaller ballrooms and it was there I
found Owen.

He kissed the top
of my head. "Good luck."

The tension
between him and my father was palpable, and I was glad to find my computer
console and take my place. Somehow, I had missed what could have only been an
awful exchange between Owen and my father. I wanted to figure out what it could
have been, but the
Dark Flag
challenge was already being announced.

"And thanks
to one of our top players, the Green Witch Ayaan, this promises to be the
hardest challenge posed to newbies yet. So, good luck to you all," the
announcer said.

Within minutes of
starting the game, Anya had enthralled three players, stunned two others, and
sent five searching in the opposite direction of their goal. When I decrypted
her first two riddles, she tried to cast a Memory Spell on me that would have
sent me back to the beginning of the game. I managed to deflect it with a
Shattered Mirror Charm I had discovered only the night before.

Anya countered
with a high level Easter Egg that had the crowd booing. She had stepped far
outside the agreed-upon realm of play in order to stop me. My only consolation
was that the crowd of players and on-lookers had all noticed.

Even the announcer
and judge of the tournament bracket took my side, because when it came time to
call the rankings, I was placed among the top three players, instead of listed
with the defeated.

"It seems
your friend made a fool out of herself," my father said.

"Is that your
way of congratulating me?" I asked.

He gave a gruff
smile that seemed to cost him. "Impressive. I can see why this hobby has
an appeal for you."

Hobby
.
Of course my father would never see it as more. His dismissal only made me more
determined to use the rest of the tournament activities to make contacts. I
would show my father there was a whole world there and uncover exactly what my
career choices could be.

I left my father
to thank the judge for his decision. As I wove through a crowd of players that
wanted to congratulate me, I ran into Owen.

"Did you talk
to your father?" he asked.

"Yeah,"
I said. "He actually choked out the word 'impressive.' Not really a
wholesale endorsement, but at least I didn't make a fool of myself."

Owen shot my
father a look across the ballroom. "Right, yeah. The Shattering Mirror
Charm was an amazing move. Just shows that players don't need the high-level
weapons if they have creativity. Nice job."

He was speaking to
me like I was a stranger and I half expected him to pat me on the arm like a
child. Owen was taller than me and scanning the crowd as I waited for him to
celebrate with me.

"Nice job? I
thought it'd at least be worth a drink. Maybe lunch? I'm sure my father wants
to get back to work and I thought we could hang out for a while."

"Maybe after
my events. I've got to find Anya and give her my car keys before I head to a
panel discussion."

"Is
everything alright?" I asked. He had yet to make eye contact with me.
"Did my father say something to you at your place?"

"Quinn, look,
I'm sorry. I know your rank is a big deal, but I've got work to do here.
Alright?" Owen said. He kissed the top of my head. "Keep your phone
on and I'll send you a message when I can meet up."

He moved off
through the crowd and left me standing alone. I watched him go off without me
as I had all throughout high school. The arrival of my father at my side made
me feel even more foolish.

"Come on,
sweetheart. I'll drive you home," my father said.

"No, thanks.
I've got some contacts to meet. There are always people here looking to hire
Beta Testers or sponsor players," I said.

My father frowned.
He did not believe me. "I have to get back to work. You'll take a cab
directly home?"

"Don't worry.
I'll be fine," I said.

It was hard to
believe my own words as I wandered through the ballroom. People shook my hand
and chatted about the game, but it was all just casual interest. I recognized
some of the people that represented Owen's sponsorships, but when I approached
them, they only gave me cheap swag. I walked away with lanyards, pens, a free
t-shirt, and bumper stickers.

The only thing my
ranking had done was qualify me for another tournament. If I was going to
leverage my playing into any sort of job, it was going to be a very steep
uphill battle.

Is
it worth it?
I wondered again.

I loved it, that
much I knew. The thrill of the game, the way it felt so natural and right. But
maybe my father was right and it was only an interesting hobby. Everyone I met
had a day job outside of the gaming world except Owen. And Anya.

"You look
like you were hoping for laurels and medals. Not quite the big win you thought
you were getting, huh?" Anya appeared behind me.

"At least I
played honorably," I said.

"Please. You
sound like such a newbie. The whole point of
Dark Flag
is that it mirrors the free will of real life. You don't
lose points for doing something dishonorable. If it hadn't been a judged
tournament challenge, you would have been dead," Anya said.

"So what did
your play get you?" I asked. "It’s not like sponsors are lining up to
endorse your style of playing."

"You forget,
newbie, that I don't need sponsors to play. I've already made enough money to
support myself for the rest of three life spans. I'm not some little girl
getting taken care of by daddy."

"You don't
know anything about me," I countered. My chest burned and I pressed hard
against it, worried she might be right.

"Face
it," Anya said, "you're not even in his league."

There, at least,
she was wrong. I looked where she nodded across the ballroom and caught sight
of Owen. My heart jumped, remembering the intimate tangle of our bodies. He
might be a celebrity in the gaming world, a towering hero in
Dark Flag
, but wrapped in the blankets
of my bed, he and I were on a level playing field. My mind flashed over the
feel of his strong shoulders under my kneading fingers, the ragged catch of his
breath as we came together. I had seen the ecstasy and relief on his face when
we were together.

I left Anya
standing with her smug smile and wove through the crowd to Owen. It did not
matter that everything else felt like a mess, I knew the touch of our hands
would feel right. I slipped next to him and reached for his fingers.

"Oh, Quinn.
There you are," Owen said. He pulled back his hand. "The panel
discussion has been pushed back an hour. I can't do lunch, but you can have
this buffet voucher they gave me. Maybe we can meet up afterwards."

His eyes skimmed
past me and found someone else he wanted to talk to more than me. I could not
find a single word to say, so I turned around and left. I fought my way out of
the crowded ballroom and through the Luxor's towering lobby. It felt like I
could not breathe until I pushed through the front doors and walked out onto
The Strip.

The day was
heating up and most visitors jumped directly in cabs. I took off down the
sidewalk, glad for the space and the movement. I needed to walk off the acidic
feelings Anya's nasty comments and Owen's cold responses had stirred up inside
me.

I told myself I
was glad to be all on my own. I needed time to think. Though when my phone
rang, I picked up immediately.

"Quinn? How
are you, honey? Your lab partner just stopped by and told me you quit the
nursing program. Where are you?" Darla asked.

"I'm in
Vegas," I said. "I just ranked third in another
Dark Flag
tournament."

"That's
awesome, but are you okay? You sound funny."

"I don't
know. I just feel lost. I'm supposed to know exactly what I want to do with my
life, but I can't even figure out what to do with the rest of this
afternoon," I said.

Darla laughed.
"You overthink everything. Don't worry, something will come up."

I did not have
time to respond. There was a horrible screech and the smell of burnt rubber.
Directly in front of me a car with Iowa license plates, full of tourists,
slammed on its brakes before missing a right hand turn off The Strip. It barely
missed hitting two people in the crosswalk. The car behind them swerved to
avoid a collision and bumped up onto the sidewalk. The few pedestrians
scattered and more than one person screamed as the car slammed into a light
post.

"Oh my God.
What was that?" Darla screamed into the phone.

"I'm fine,
but there was an accident right in front of me. I have to go help." I hung
up the phone and ran up the sidewalk.

I scanned the
people on the sidewalk. Most had leapt out of the way. A few had fallen but had
only bumps and bruises. One woman was crying and holding her ankle.

"I know first
aid," I said, "Don't move. I'll be right back to help."

Steam pumped up
from the black sedan's hood where it wrapped around the lamp post. Inside, the
air bags were just deflating. I could see there was only one person in the car.
The young man driving was thrown back in his seat, his eyes closed. I yanked on
the driver's side door and pounded on the glass when I saw it was locked.

"Sir? Sir?
Can you unlock your door? You need help and I know first aid," I called
through the glass.

His eyes fluttered
and finally opened. With a bleary look, he fumbled for the lock switch and then
closed his eyes again. As I pulled open the door, I heard his groan of pain.

"Don't move.
It looks like you may have broken your right arm, but I'm going to take care of
that cut on your forehead first, if that’s okay with you." I pulled a pack
of tissues from my purse and blotted the blood from his face.

He waved my hands
away. "I'm fine. I'm fine. I didn't hit anyone, did I?" He struggled
to get out of the car.

"You are not
fine and if you feel fine, then it’s only the shock talking. I hear sirens,
help is on the way. Until they get here, you are going to stay still and let me
help you," I said.

He refused and got
out of the car. I spied a long scarf on the passenger seat and grabbed it before
I caught him and forced him to stop wandering down the hot sidewalk.

"If you
insist on moving around, I'm going to have to put your arm in a sling," I
said.

"That's my
mother's scarf," he said.

"Then she
won't mind." I threw it over his shoulder and tucked his injured arm
inside. Immobilizing his arm was the only way to keep the break from getting
worse. Then, I pressed a wad of clean tissues against the cut on his forehead.
I brought his uninjured hand up to hold it in place. "A woman over there hurt
her ankle. Everyone else is fine. You're going to stay still while I go help
her."

He winced but
nodded. I ran over to a free newspaper machine and grabbed a few copies.
Rolling them up created a splint that would keep her ankle stable until she
could be transported to an emergency room. I used three hairbands the woman
handed me to secure the splint in place.

"Nice
work," a voice said behind me.

I looked up to see
an EMT in a dark blue uniform. "Sorry. I know the traffic on The Strip can
delay you guys, so I thought I would try to help."

"And you did.
That splint will hold, so it’s better if we don't touch it. You'll be fine,
ma'am, your hero did a great job. How's the driver?" the EMT asked.

"His arm is
broken, so I secured it in a sling. He's in shock and keeps trying to walk
away. There's also a cut on his forehead, but it seems superficial. The
bleeding is already slowing," I said. "I am, I mean, I was a nursing
student."