Rendezvous with Danger (Reunited Series) (21 page)

“Well, I don’t know, but once I came clean with her about you being alive, it was her choice not to seek you out.”

****

Alandra walked down the stairs of the split level, four bedroom, three and a half bath townhouse owned by Wiz’s ex-wife, Olivia. She slowed several times, stopping on the steps to look at the numerous black and white photos gracing the walls of the staircase. When Quinn arranged their trip to D.C., Wiz suggested they stay at Olivia’s place since she spent a lot of time out of the country and rarely used the space. She happened to be in town and Alandra liked her immediately, enjoying her and Wiz’s interaction. They acted more like husband and wife than exes.

Alandra continued down the stairs and thought about the P.I. who had visited the hospital. Harry was the only other person who knew her as both Alandra and Velvet. What she didn’t understand was why he would send a private investigator after her. She was a grown woman, not some child who needed looking after.

Alandra stepped into the kitchen hoping to find Quinn, but instead Cameron sat at the table with his laptop.

“Hi.”

He looked up. “Hey. You’re awake. Did you sleep okay?”

“Like a rock.” She grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator and sat across from him, surprised to see him wear his shoulder holster in the house.

“Glad to hear it,” he said and took a sip of his coffee. “I’m also glad you’re up because I have a couple of questions for you.”

“Shoot.” She glanced at his gun. “I mean, go ahead.”

He smiled that handsome smile and Alandra couldn’t help but smile back. She was thankful for all he and Malik were doing to help them.

“What do you know about
Los Hermanos
drug cartel?” Cameron asked. “I know your last assignment was in Guerrero and you were there to collect Intel. Did you learn anything about the organization that you didn’t know before going?”

“Whew. That seems like a lifetime ago.” She sat her water bottle down and dragged her hand through her hair. “Let me see. One thing we suspected, but didn’t know for sure was that
Los Hermanos
had connections in the U.S. I recently heard that some of the Intel gathered during that op was helpful in shutting down a major drug trafficking organization here in the U.S that was believed to have been a branch of
Los Hermanos
.”

“Yeah, we talked about that the other night, trying to rule out the idea that
Los Hermanos
was behind the ambush in Tzbekystan.”

“Oh, Quinn didn’t mention it.” She wondered what else they talked about that night that he hadn’t told her.

“Quinn said before Orlando Medina was killed, he mentioned Quinn had killed his father. Did you know this information prior to your assignment?”

She shook her head. “I didn’t find out until Quinn rescued me. He and I rarely talked about our ops. My assignment in Guerrero was covert, but I let it slip to Quinn where I’d be, which now I’m glad I did.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“Why all the questions about
Los Hermanos
? Do you think they had something to do with Tzbekystan?”

“I’m not sure yet. I’ve run into a few brick walls, but one name that keeps popping up is Congressman Ramos.”

Alandra tilted her head. “Really? His name never came up during that mission and nothing I collected attached him to the drug cartel, but we did think that
Los Hermanos
had a major connection in the States. ”

“What about Sarah? Did she allude to a connection between the two?”

She thought back on the night Sarah died. “Before she died, she said to trust no one, not the government or the CIA.” Alandra shrugged and picked up her water. “Maybe this Ramos guy is connected somehow.”

“We’ll be able to get into her storage unit tomorrow and hopefully whatever she has in there will fill in the gaps.”

“I hope so. I’m ready for this to be over.”

 Cameron gave her a sympathetic look. “I know all of this has to be rough on you, but we’re going to find whoever was behind that night in Tzbekystan. Quinn’s not going to stop until somebody pays.”

Alandra drank from her bottle, and then sat it down. “Where is he anyway?”

“He went to see Harry.”

“What?” Anger boiled inside her. “How could he?” She bolted out of her seat and hurried to the hall closet for her coat. Quinn was going to catch hell for lying to her.

“Don’t worry about Harry. Malik drove and I’m sure he’ll make sure Quinn doesn’t kill the guy. They should be back soon,” Cameron said from the kitchen.

Alandra slipped an arm through the sleeve of her jacket. “That’s not it. We were supposed to go together. He told me he wasn’t going until sometime in the morning.”

“Oh. Uh, well forget I said anything.” Cameron walked into the front hall. “Going somewhere?”

“Yeah, I’m going to Harry’s.”

“Whoa. Hold up.” He slammed the front door closed when she pulled it opened. “Wherever you go, I go. I promised Quinn I wouldn’t let you out of my sight.”

“That’s not necessary.”

“I think it is.” He grabbed his jacket. “If anything happens to you on my watch, then I have to deal with Quinn. Let me get my keys.”

Alandra cursed under her breath when it dawned on her that she didn’t have the keys to Quinn’s rental truck. She wouldn’t have been able to go anywhere without Wiz anyway. Both Quinn and Malik had rented a vehicle when they arrived in D.C., and Wiz had access to his ex-wife’s car.

Alandra thought about what she would say when she saw Quinn. He knew she wanted to go with him when he talked to Harry, but he intentionally left her behind.

She zipped her coat just as the front door flew open and Quinn stormed in. He stopped when he saw her, his face a kaleidoscope of emotions, and tension radiated from every pore of his body. A sinking feeling settled into the pit of her stomach. What had Harry told him?

He moved past her and practically ran into Cameron when he walked in.

Glancing from Alandra to Malik, who had just walked into the house, Cameron asked, “What did I miss?”

Alandra looked at Malik. “Is he okay?”

Malik shook his head. “You need to talk to him, and you might want to do it sooner than later.” He hung his coat in the hall closet.

“Why? What happened?” Alandra already knew, but she wanted to be wrong.
God please let me wrong
. If Harry told Quinn what she should have told him from day one, Quinn would never forgive her.   

Malik leaned against the closet door, his hands stuffed in his front pockets. “I think you know.”

She looked from him to Cameron who stood a few feet away, a questioning expression on his face. She sighed and removed her coat, setting it on the hall bench.

“Thanks, Malik.” With a heavy heart, she went in search of Quinn. If only she’d told him everything that first night she’d showed up at his house. Now it might be too late.

Hearing the television blasting from the den she followed the sound and stopped in the doorway. After several deep breaths, she walked in. The only light in the room came from the television screen. Quinn sat in one of the recliners a beer in his hand.

“Can we talk?” She stood next to his chair.

“Not now Alandra, just give me a minute.”

“Quinn?” He didn’t look at her. “Don’t you think you’re acting a little childish? We need to talk about whatever is bothering you. I’m not sure what Harry told you, but I think you owe it to me to at least tell me what he said.”

He turned to her, and stood slowly. His jaw jumped and anger filled his eyes. 

“I owe you?” The force of his seething tone caught her off guard. “I don’t owe you a damn thing. Besides, how do I know you’re not going to spew more lies?”

Pain slashed through her at his words. She hadn’t lied. Well, at least not about everything. She bit her bottom lip feeling intense heat from his gaze.

“Okay, owe was the wrong word, but are you going to accept whatever Harry said to you without talking to me? Without hearing my side before jumping to conclusions?”

“Oh, so now you want me to hear your side?” His voice rose with every word as he moved closer. “Okay, Alandra, here’s a question for you, one that I asked when you first showed up at my house. Since you were alive, why did you stay away? Why didn’t you let me know you were alive?”

Alandra hesitated. “What I told you was the truth.”

“Quit lying, Alandra! Is it true that you stayed away from me because you thought I had something to do with that crap in Tzbekystan? Is it true you stayed away from me
by choice
, not because Harry fed you lies? Did you really have memory loss, or was that a lie too?”

“Yes …but…” she stammered, trying to pick her words carefully.

“Enough! I don’t want to hear—”

“Quinn, please let me explain. Honey, you have to listen to me.”

“I don’t have to do shit!” He threw his beer bottle across the room. “You had plenty of time to tell me the truth and you didn’t. So get the fu—”

“Hey!” Cameron stormed into the room with Malik right behind him. “Man, what the heck is wrong with you? You need to calm the hell down.”

“You okay?” Malik asked Alandra, standing in front of her, blocking her view of Quinn.

She nodded, her pulse beating erratically. A wave of panic engulfed her when she looked around Malik and saw the hurt in Quinn’s eyes. How could she claim to love him when she kept hurting him?

She choked back the tears that were threatening to fall, trying to come up with a way to make this right. She couldn’t lose him.

“We both can’t stay here,” Quinn said and grabbed his jacket.

“Hold up, dude.” Malik blocked his path. “Don’t go and do something stupid, something you’re going to regret.”

Quinn pushed past Malik and glanced at Alandra. “I already did.”

Chapter Fifteen

Alandra marched back and forth in the front hallway, from the entry door to the half-bath and back again. She was a nervous wreck and had to keep reminding herself to breathe. As stubborn as they both were, she and Quinn were no strangers to disagreements, but this time the conflict was different. This time she had betrayed him. She had more than enough opportunities to come clean about why she let him believe she was dead for three years. He had every right to be disappointed and angry.

Alandra glanced at the hall clock. A bartender from Hero’s bar, a few miles away, called Malik a few minutes ago, requesting that he pick Quinn up. Thankfully, Quinn had the wherewithal to give the bartender Malik’s business card before he started drinking. Wiz had tagged along to drive Quinn’s rental back to the townhouse. Alandra wished she had friends as dependable as Malik and Wiz.

Finally, she heard keys rattling seconds before Malik stumbled into the house with Quinn slumped against him.

“We’ll take him upstairs,” he said to Alandra.

She scanned Quinn’s appearance while Malik held him up, looking for any sign of injury. His eyes were closed, his skin was ashen and he looked worse than she’d ever seen him. “Is he okay?”

“Physically, yes.”

“I’m fine,” Quinn slurred, the stench of liquor filling the tight space. He pushed away from Malik and faltered, bumping into the wall and knocking a picture to the floor. Alandra couldn’t believe how drunk he was. She didn’t remember a time when he wasn’t in control. Malik grabbed him by the back of his collar before he did any more damage to the house or to himself.

Wiz hurried inside and closed the door behind him. Together they dragged Quinn upstairs to the bedroom, Alandra following close behind.

“Please be careful with him,” she instructed and they both stopped and glared at her. “Oh, sorry.” Of course they would be careful. They weren’t the ones causing him pain, she was.

They sat Quinn on the bed before they left, and Alandra assured them she could take it from there. She took a good look at Quinn and shame weighed heavy on her mind at the way she had handled everything since returning into his life. Why couldn’t she have been honest from the beginning? He would have understood and would’ve probably forgiven her, but now she wasn’t so sure.

“Get yo…your hands off of me,” Quinn slurred and swatted at her hands when she tried to help take his jacket off. “I can…can do it my…myself.” He stood but stumbled, reaching out for the nightstand to steady himself.

Working in the hospital, Alandra saw all types and often had to deal with people who were intoxicated. Quinn eventually took off his jacket and shirt, but struggled with his belt buckle.

“You’re never going to unbuckle that yourself.” She moved his hand and ignored his grumbling. She wrestled the rest of his clothes off, feeling as if she’d just gone a couple of rounds with Hulk Hogan. Quinn was twice her size and she wished she had taken Malik and Wiz up on their offer to help.

Once Quinn was undressed and passed out on the bed, Alandra changed into one of his T-shirts and climbed into bed, cuddling up next to him. He would probably pitch a fit that she was sharing his bed, but right now she didn’t care. She just needed to be near him. Come morning she‘d make things right. If she wanted to save her marriage, which she did, she was going to have to make him listen and pray that he’d forgive her.

The next morning Alandra jerked awake when she heard Quinn groaning, and clutching his stomach. “Are you okay, baby?” His eyes were closed and he didn’t respond, just kept groaning.

Okay, so maybe that was a stupid question
. She rubbed his arm and kissed his forehead, whispering in his ear that he would be fine, but then he gagged and lurched forward.

“Oh crap.” She leaned over him, making sure the bucket she’d put near the bed was close enough. Wiz brought it to the room shortly after they left Quinn, telling her that he’d probably need it. He was right, she thought, as Quinn emptied the contents of his stomach.

“God, what did you drink last night?” She covered her nose and mouth, her eyes watering from the stench. She hurried to the en suite bathroom, wet a towel, and walked back into the bedroom, hoping he was done.

Despite the contents in the bucket, he still looked a little green around the gills, as her father used to say. Quinn fell back against the pillows and grabbed his head, his eyes still closed. Alandra wasn’t sure if he knew she was there, but took advantage of his weakened state and climbed back onto the bed. She wiped his mouth with the towel and glanced on the side of him, glad to see he hadn’t missed the bucket.