Sworn to Protect (5 page)

With his shades it was impossible to read his expression so when he nodded once and said, “Okay,” she was a little taken off guard.

Maybe she’d expected more of an argument. She should be happy he was agreeing with her, not second guessing herself. But she wasn’t going to sit here dwelling on it. Instead she asked him about his current job and how it was that he had a free lunch today. She knew most of the security people weren’t in the office with much frequency, not with their erratic schedules.

As they fell into an easy rhythm of conversation she found herself oddly disappointed when their lunch break was over and they headed back to the office. If only she wasn’t so attracted to him, maintaining a friends-only relationship would be a breeze.

* * *

Athena shivered as she reached for another eggplant to put in her basket. The local grocery store was colder than outside. After today she was exhausted and ready to kick her feet up at home with a glass of wine. She might not cook well but there were a few staple meals her mom had taught her how to make—that Athena had actually bothered to learn—and eggplant parmesan was one of them. It was so stinking easy to make, too, and she really didn’t feel like takeout. After years of living on the road, there was something to be said about cooking at home.

Tingles danced across the back of her neck, making her straighten. She glanced over her shoulder to see a blond-haired man staring hard at a bag of apples. As if he couldn’t decide whether to buy them or not. She’d noticed him earlier when she’d been in the aisle with all the pasta and sauce options. And before that when she’d been looking at various cheeses.

The store was big enough that it wasn’t odd they were in the same sections, but she could almost swear he’d been staring at her a couple times. As if he knew her or something.

It was unsettling.

That was when she realized he didn’t have a cart or handbasket. Turning halfway to the side, she ignored him as she looked at cauliflower heads, but now she knew what had been bugging her all along. He’d just been going up and down the aisles without picking up anything.

Out of the corner of her eye she watched him put the apples back and look at her again. She wasn’t imagining it this time either; he was tracking her. Maybe that was too strong of a description but she didn’t care. She’d traveled enough to know when to pay attention to people.

Taking a steadying breath, she decided to go straight to the manager. The owner was friends with her parents so she’d just ask someone to walk her to her car after purchasing her items. Even if she hadn’t known the owner she’d ask for help anyway. She’d read enough horrible stories to know what could happen to women alone in a parking lot—before or after dark. There was no way she was ignoring her instinct with this.

Ordering herself to remain calm, she moved to another section of fruit and picked up a small mesh bag of mandarins, her favorite snack food. When she glanced back over, the man was gone. Feeling a little silly, but not enough to disregard her feelings, she put the bag in her basket and headed for the front of the store. She’d seen a few employees idly talking by a cash register earlier because there didn’t seem to be too many people here right now.

As she rounded the corner of the produce section she almost ran right into the tall, blond man. Her heart jumped in her throat but she reminded herself she was in a public place. All she had to do was scream if he did something.

Using her basket as a shield in front of her, she kept her gaze on his and took a step to the side. He moved with her, his look menacing.

“Move out of my way,” she demanded. Loudly. Her mother had taught her and her three younger sisters that with people who could be potential threats, the only way to respond to them was with force—because it was usually the last thing they expected.

He blinked, as if she’d truly surprised him.

Well, good.

Then he regained his composure and a smile lit up his face. “Sorry, honey, didn’t mean to get in your way.”

“Yes you did.” She took a small step back, needing to put some distance between them. She might be able to scream but that didn’t mean she wanted this guy to hurt her before she drew attention. And something in his dark eyes said he’d take great joy in doing just that.

There was something wrong with him, a wild gleam in his eyes that made all the hair on her arms stand at attention. Physically, he was a really good looking man. Kind of like a Ken doll but with scary eyes. And a tattoo peeking out from beneath his sweater. Not that tattoos were bad—Quinn had a few himself—but she saw a snake head with red eyes that looked well, creepy. Just like the man in front of her.

She’d taken him off guard again, she saw, when he blinked in that same surprised manner. Then his jaw tightened a fraction, his gaze narrowing before he glanced around. Athena saw exactly what he did.

An elderly couple standing by the end of an aisle discussing whether to buy a higher priced box of organic pasta or their normal choice, and two teenage clerks flirting with each other instead of working. Not much of a protection, but it seemed to be enough of a barrier to make him take a step away from her.

But not completely and he didn’t move enough out of her way so she could bypass him. He was definitely trying to use his size to intimidate her, she had no doubt. Asshat.

He leaned down, but didn’t actually step closer, his dark eyes seeming to glitter ominously. She knew that was her own imagination because for a long moment, she was rooted to the spot. Her throat tightened and in that moment she hated herself. Hated that she was pretty much frozen.

“Tell that fucker Quinn that his time is coming. No one close to him is safe,” he growled out before snapping his jaws at her like a wild animal.

She jerked back, both from the action and the stench of beer coming off him in waves. Before she could think about responding, he turned and strode away from her. By the time he was walking out the sliding glass doors, she could finally move again, her breath rushing out of her in a huge whoosh of air.

The man’s words were terrifying enough, but his eyes would give her nightmares. She knew it without a doubt. And how the hell did he know Quinn?

She also knew there was no way she was walking to her car alone or even with a manager. Setting her basket right at her feet, she pulled her cell phone from her purse with a trembling hand and called Quinn.

No matter what was going on between them—or rather wasn’t going on—she knew he would be here as soon as he could. That was just the type of man he was. She had no doubt the owner would let Quinn see the video footage too. Let him see exactly who that man was.

Chapter 4

Quinn’s heart was beating overtime as he pulled into the parking lot of the grocery store where Athena had told him she was. At this point all he knew was that a man had approached her, said something about Quinn’s ‘time coming’ and basically terrified Athena.

He’d heard it in her trembling voice.

He was glad she’d called him though. That said a lot. More than he wanted to analyze right now. What she’d said at today’s lunch had been a setback to his plans but none of that mattered.

The only thing that mattered was making sure she was okay and that she stayed that way. He did a scan of the parking lot, looking for any threats before pulling out his cell phone and doing an actual scan with his video capabilities. Just because he didn’t see something didn’t mean there wasn’t a threat lurking nearby. Later he’d review the video and blow up images of license plates if necessary. But he figured this was probably useless.

As he got out of his truck, he automatically reached back to make sure his weapon was holstered securely at his back. He preferred a shoulder holster for work but this was better for now. He immediately spotted Athena’s cobalt blue Volkswagen beetle and a small thread of relief spiraled through him at the sight. She’d assured him she wouldn’t go outside and would stay in sight of people at all times. Then she’d texted him to tell him she was sitting in the deli.

Once inside the grocery store he immediately located the deli, which was clearly closed given that all the display cases had been wiped down and there was no food in any of the trays. But as he approached the entrance to the seating area, he saw her sitting at a small black table with two men on either side of her. Both looked concerned, the older man with dark hair and a thick mustache, patting her hand in a paternal gesture. The other had on a white button-down shirt and black pants. Over the shirt was a red vest with a nametag that read Steven. His expression was pinched, his stress lines around his mouth were deep. The two men were clearly related, probably father and son.

Athena saw Quinn before the men did and the second their eyes met he felt it like a gut punch. Her expression lit up with pure relief. She and the men stood at once.

The older man moved in front of the table in a surprisingly fast move, his body language clear.

“Stephanos, this is Quinn, my friend.”

The older man just made a ‘hmm’ sound and stepped back, but his wary expression didn’t change.

For just a moment, Quinn tuned the two men out since it was clear they weren’t threats. “You’re not hurt?” he asked, sidestepping the younger man and moving around the table. Not caring what the strangers thought, Quinn rubbed his hands down her upper arms. She was wearing what she’d had on at work and her face was pale, but she looked otherwise okay.

“No, I’m fine. I keep thinking maybe I overreacted but my gut tells me I didn’t.” She shot a quick glance at the man named Stephanos, and whatever her look conveyed, the man just nodded once, then motioned to the manager.

“We’ll be nearby if you need us.” The man shot Quinn what could only be described as a don’t-mess-with-her look before he and the manager strode away and out of earshot.

They only moved to the entrance of the deli where an unhooked chain ‘separated’ the small eating area and the rest of the grocery store. Looking back at Athena, Quinn took her hands and motioned for her to sit. He would have preferred to stand but she looked like she needed a break.

“Tell me what happened. From the beginning.” He didn’t drop her hands as they sat across from each other. He wished they were dating or in an actual relationship so he could comfort her more. Because right now he wanted to pull her into his arms.

She gave him a shaky nod. “Okay, and thank you for coming.” He just grunted, not wanting her thanks, not for something like this, and she continued. “I just stopped in here to grab a few things. I didn’t want takeout tonight and wanted to make something for myself that would last for a couple days of leftovers… And I’m rambling.”

He just squeezed her hands. “It’s okay. Take all the time you need.”

Taking another breath that seemed to steady her, she started again. “I felt like this guy, this man, was following me or at least watching me. And not in the kind of way where he was working up the courage to talk to me, you know?”

He nodded, understanding perfectly.

“He was just sort of watching and following me around. I didn’t realize that at first but when I was in the produce section it hit home that he didn’t have a buggy or a handbasket. He wasn’t shopping at all and he was doing a poor job of pretending. So I made the decision to go find Steven… Ah, Stephanos is the owner and Steven—whose name is actually Stephanos, too—is his son and the manager. It was just luck Stephanos senior was here. Anyway, I was going to go find Steven but the man, the stranger, sort of came out of nowhere.” She shook her head, as if clearing her mind and when she shivered, Quinn wanted to punch the unknown fucker in his face.

He hated that anyone had scared Athena.

“I told him to move out of my way and I was intentionally, well, bitchy about it. I wanted to stun him a little.”

That was damn smart. Quinn didn’t respond though, not wanting her to lose her steam.

“He didn’t move and for about a second he tried to make it seem like he hadn’t intentionally tried to block my way, but his charm—and I use that word lightly—faded pretty fast. He told me, and this is a direct quote, ‘Tell that fucker Quinn that his time is coming. No one close to him is safe’. Then…he sort of chomped at me, like a shark or wild animal. It was seriously creepy. And the guy had like, a violent energy. I know that sounds weird, but I was scared of him. And I’m pretty sure hurting people makes him happy.”

Iciness chilled Quinn down to his core. He didn’t have enemies, not truly. There was only one potential man who Quinn could imagine doing this. And the guy had gotten out of jail less than two months ago so it was a definite possibility. Stupid of the man, but a possibility. “What did he look like?” Quinn asked, all his focus on Athena, who was breathing steadier now and had more color in her cheeks.

She brushed at stray strands of hair that had escaped the low twisty thing she’d done with her hair. “Tall, like you, uh, white guy, blond hair and dark eyes. This might sound weird but he was good looking in that classic American way I guess some people might describe, but his eyes…” She shuddered and glanced down, swallowing hard before meeting Quinn’s gaze again. “He looked wild-eyed, it’s the only way to describe him. His eyes were dark and hollow. And I know he’d been drinking. Or at least I smelled it on him. Oh, and he had a tattoo peeking out from his sweater sleeve. It was the head of a snake with red eyes.”