QUINN
"He's in a meeting at the moment but he should be done soon," Priyanka informed me while we both shot Gunnar's secretary a glare that could kill.
She was getting on my last nerve. I had been trying to get into Gunnar's office for the past half an hour and she refused to let me in. Since she wasn't part of the meeting, I figured that it had little to do with Astor Architecture and a lot to do with another arms deal. Gunnar had told her not to let anyone in while he was busy but I was almost certain that didn't apply to me.
"He won't mind if I go in but I'll wait since I'm apparently not permitted entrance," I sarcastically muttered, propping my hands on the curve of my hips.
"Forget it. Talking to her is like telling a brick wall to move," Priyanka snarled but that quickly turned into a grin when she turned to me, "you've got to tell me everything. Did you finally get that Vitamin D t
QUINN"Quinn, Quinn, have you listened to a single word I've said?" My father's booming voice pulled me out of my thoughts.I looked at him dumbfounded. Theo Harper — short for Theophilus— was a man everyone knew. He made his money through architecture for the most part. My father had opened his architectural firm when he was no less than thirty years of age. It was a massive achievement on his part — coming from a family with no wealth and rising to someone who had money spewing out of his ears. He had completely forgotten his roots though, letting money go to his head.I blinked once, then twice before nodding my head, "I heard you but why do I have to do this, can you not get someone else?""There is no one I trust more than you," my father said pointedly, his gruff voice could send shivers of fear through anyone, it didn't matter who you were, "if he wants to play dirty then I can too. He'
QUINNEntering my apartment, I made sure that my double locks were on. When my father told me he would be getting me an apartment I had not expected said apartment to be in the Bronx. However, I had to play the part of a struggling teenager trying to get a job. Unlike other teens, I wasn't working in a coffee shop as a barista or a book store — a place I'd much rather be. No, I was the overachieving eighteen-year-old trying to pull off being the personal assistant to one of the biggest dickheads in the history of dickheads.My dad truly did have everything planned out for the day of my interview. He paid every person attending to leave, which left me as the only option to be chosen. Gunnar wasn't all too happy with that. My interview went to shit as well. It was one thing practicing in front of my father and a completely different thing when in front of Gunnar Astor. He wasn't only a brooding, arrogant, billionaire CEO but
QUINN"Miss Quinzel!" Came the booming voice of my wonderful boss, Gunnar Astor. He had just gotten off the phone with Asher which put him in a foul mood.I flinched, nearly spilling the hot coffee I was about to sip on. Everyone on the floor looked at me with sympathy glazing over their eyes. They all knew not to come within a mile radius of Gunnar when he was in this state. Unfortunately, I couldn't duck for cover like the rest. I had to face the raging storm head-on and hope it didn't eat me up and spit me out before I had the chance to say one word.With a sigh, I placed my coffee onto the table and covered it with a coaster. I wasn't paranoid but growing up with a brother like mine taught me not to leave things unattended, or at least not to leave them open. Rising to my feet, I ran a hand over the soft material of the blue dress I wore to smooth out the creases. One of Gunnar's many issues was people no
QUINNQ. That was what I requested everyone to call me. They attempted to call me Daniella but I was never responsive when they did. I still wasn't used to the name. They even tried calling me Danny which made me cringe. It reminded me too much of my brother. So, I told them to call me Q - since my last name was meant to be Quinzel. Father did one thing right. Q was something I actually responded to since my brother had called me that since birth."Q, you can't let him use you as his verbal punching bag or as a literal one. I swear, if he touches a single hair on your body he's a dead man," my brother made a sound at the back of his throat that sounded awfully similar to a growl. His protective instincts always controlled him, "what if that mug had hit you? What would you have done?"I looked at my twenty-eight-year-old brother on the screen of my laptop, thinking over his question. He looked a lot like our f
QUINN "Shit, shit, shit, SHIT!" I exasperated, hopping on one foot while I tried to fit my other foot into my black heeled pumps, "He's going to kill me dead!" Venus gave me that look, the one that looked as if she were raising a condescending eyebrow at me and then barked, sitting down on her hind legs and watching me intently. "Don't look at me like that," I chastised, finally getting the shoe on. Squaring my shoulders, I ran a hand down the maroon dress I wore and sighed, "I'm not being dramatic. This asswipe could kill me and bring me back to life if he wished. I have a feeling he and the devil are tight as—" I paused, looking at my corgi's perked ears, "well, they're tight, let's leave it at that." She barked again, padding her way out of the room so she could get to her food bowl in the kitchen. I was exhausted. When I didn't want to sleep, it came easily but when I was in
GUNNARA woman who hadn't raised her voice or spoken out of line to me during her two months of working here somehow managed to tell me off and storm out of my office, leaving me flabbergasted. The day she came for her interview was the day I knew I would hate the stupid girl. Because she was exactly that, a girl. An eighteen-year-old girl, fresh out of high school who wanted to be my PA. And as luck would have it, no one else wanted the position so I had no choice but to hire her.Two months down the line and she was still here. Besides Katie, she was the only girl that lasted this long. Everyone else quit in a matter of days, maybe two weeks at most. I had a temper, that wasn't unknown to anyone. Taking out my anger on the first person I saw was generally the way I dealt with that temper. And the first person I usually saw was always my assistant who all happened to be girls that could not handle me.I thou
QUINN"No way!" I gagged to emphasize how disgusted I was by my mother's selection of dress and mask for the ball. The world would have to be ending for me to wear the nasty pink, girly frock she picked out and my brother was right, the mask was way too revealing, "Mom, how about I pick something to wear."She narrowed her blue eyes in on me. My mother's blue eyes were much different from mine. Her's held a green hue around the pupil before subtly fading into a murky blue, "You better not use this as an excuse to back out of the ball." She warned in her pixie voice which I couldn't take seriously.My mom was short and adorable in all sense of the words. Her strawberry blonde hair was cropped short and left in natural waves, and her button nose and pouty lips made her look like she belonged on a cast of Tinkerbell. She had laugh lines etched along with the corners of her lips which was expected since she was a
QUINNI wiggled my way into the skirt of the white two-piece I chose to wear. The top was a sleeveless turtle neck, embellished with silver lace appliqués. Only a sliver of my tummy showed before the skirt started with its flowy chiffon material that was set in layers. A short skirt lay under so no one could see the world down there. This was the perfect dress for me and I was glad that Delphine had already kept it aside for me, predicting that I would hate the dress my mom chose.Delphine had even chosen the perfect mask. It was pearl white with silver and gold designs and covered most of the top half of my face, only leaving my stunning blue eyes and pouty pink lips on display. That worked in my favor since word of me being at the ball got around very quickly. Everyone wanted to see the face of Theo Harper's daughter. They wanted to see how I looked to criticize me in the next freaking issue of PEOPLE magazine. I so desper
QUINN"He's in a meeting at the moment but he should be done soon," Priyanka informed me while we both shot Gunnar's secretary a glare that could kill.She was getting on my last nerve. I had been trying to get into Gunnar's office for the past half an hour and she refused to let me in. Since she wasn't part of the meeting, I figured that it had little to do with Astor Architecture and a lot to do with another arms deal. Gunnar had told her not to let anyone in while he was busy but I was almost certain that didn't apply to me."He won't mind if I go in but I'll wait since I'm apparently not permitted entrance," I sarcastically muttered, propping my hands on the curve of my hips."Forget it. Talking to her is like telling a brick wall to move," Priyanka snarled but that quickly turned into a grin when she turned to me, "you've got to tell me everything. Did you finally get that Vitamin D t
GUNNARThis was the last place I wanted to be, the last place I expected to be. I had to exercise every bit of my restraint. Last night I had let Quinn down. I wasn't about to do it again. She would completely hate me if I decided to make my way down the hall to do to her father what he had done to mine. But I couldn't take it. Knowing that he was only meters away from me had my palms itching with vengeance. He deserved everything he had coming to him and more. So much fucking more, and I wanted to be the one who delivered his punishment. I wanted to deliver him to his maker so he could suffer for the sins he committed.Quinn shuffled beside me. She had been tossing and turning for the entire night. I had returned to find her asleep and decided not to disturb her by waking her up. She may have been asleep but she was restless, mumbling incoherent words in her sleep while tears slipped out of the corner of her eyes. I manag
QUINN I looked into Mickey's dimming eyes and then dropped my gaze down to the blood coating my hands once more. My entire body felt cold, every hair standing on end. I watched Mickey open and close his mouth but I couldn't hear anything. Matter of fact, I couldn't hear anything past the ringing in my ears. The ringing began to dull down and someone's deep, frantic voice cut through. They were clearly shouting my name but it sounded muffled — so far away. Someone's rough hands tugged my body away from Mickey's. Another gunshot sounded, causing the ringing to pick up yet again. The bullet entered Mickey's skull, blood splattering everywhere. A scream filled with utter terror ripped from my lungs and — because of my reflexes — my hands flew to my mouth, smearing blood all over my face. "Shhh..." The person behind me cooed in an attempt to calm me but he was failing. Hot
QUINN I had watched many movies where the protagonist found themselves in life-threatening situations. Usually, they would watch their life flash right before their eyes. But of course, it was different for me. I just blankly stared down the barrel of the gun Mickey had pointed at my chest. My warning bells weren't ringing anymore. I simply took in a deep breath, feeling as calm as the ocean before a storm. Honestly, if I knew this was how things were going to play out, I would have probably not gone along with Eddie's plan. All I was meant to do was seduce him, the way I was meant to do with Gunnar. I figured I could play the part. Once he made his move, I was fully ready to off the son of a bitch. It would have been self-defense. According to Eddie, Mickey had cameras all over his home. If that was where we ended up, then this night would have played out differently. Mickey would have been dead and I would have had foo
GUNNAR I glared at the man sprawled on the floor with my brother's foot lodged against his throat. Crouching down beside him, I gave him more incentive to follow my instructions by pressing the cool metal of my gun into his temple, "Call your men off on my brother." "Vaffanculo figlio di puttana," he sputtered, trying to push my brother's boot off his throat. The bastard's face began to turn bright red, beads of cold sweat tricking down his hairline. I shook my head. Pathetic. This was a waste of my time but I had to make sure Jericho was safe first before I could take another step. He was my priority at the moment because I knew Quinn was safe — for now, at least, "Kill him." I rose to my feet dismissively, engaging the safety on my gun and tucking it into my waistband. My psychotic middle brother grinned, excitement lighting up his hazel eyes when he pulled the trigger. A loud bang r
QUINNReflecting on the past, actually thinking about the majority of my childhood, I was slowly beginning to realize that my brother had prepared me for this life as best as he could without actually giving anything away. When I was young he used to play-fight with me and while doing so he taught me how to throw a perfect punch and a few kicks.When in doubt, always aim for the crotch.That was the advice he had given me on multiple occasions. I never thought that any of that information would come in handy but things always worked out in the most unexpected ways. In all fairness, I really wished I had more training to deal with what lied ahead. Maybe some knife-throwing classes. I had good aim so I could see that working out.It was dark and there was a distinct chill in the air that had goosebumps littering the exposed flesh of my arms. I wore a spaghetti strap body con dress that ended
QUINNI watched Venus run around in the garden. It was early. The morning sun kissed my face as it rose into the sky, offering it an orange-red blend. I inhaled the crisp air, the breeze carrying sweet notes from the flowers surrounding me."You're out here by yourself?" Ace sat down beside me, draping an arm behind me on the wooden bench. He sounded a little surprised by me being alone."Your brother is asleep," the corner of my lips twitched upward at the thought, "I didn't want to wake him." I turned to Ace, looking him up and down for a quick beat before saying, "you just came home?"He hummed in response, mouth opening into a massive yawn. Ace blinked his eyes, trying to hide his fatigue but he was failing, "I've been busy," he brought two fingers up to his lips, tracing the seam in deep thought, "I'm doing a job for Gunnar, and let's just say, I need to be thorough with my recon beca
GUNNARI couldn't concentrate. Not on one fucking thing. The entire day was a waste. Every meeting I had was a blur, my thoughts constantly going back to this morning. I wouldn't have minded the thought of fucking Little one senseless replaying itself in my mind on a constant loop. But it wasn't. It was our conversation afterward. She wanted to see her father. Deep down, I knew I couldn't stop her. She had a right to see her family. I just wished I knew what bullshit he was feeding her.Ace was with her so I knew she would be safe. I trusted my brother not to let me down. He knew how much this meant to me, how much she meant to me. I was done trying to understand it — done trying to convince myself that I felt nothing for her. All I knew was that I slept better at night with her in my arms. I could breathe easier knowing that I would be going home to her. My heartbeat thrummed a little harder knowing that she was saf
QUINNI had never felt so intimidated before, that too, at the sight of my own home coming into view. Part of me wanted to turn back, run for the freaking hills, and then some. Another part knew I deserved the answers I was searching for. If there was a chance for my life to return to anything close to normal, I needed this."Remind me again why I'm here?" Miranda scowled in the back seat of the SUV. Ace had the driver's seat and I took the passenger seat, "I'd prefer to be miles away from this guy," she pointed her finger at Ace's head."Don't look at me," I shrugged a shoulder but offered her a sympathetic smile. Miranda honestly shouldn't have been here, "I'm not the one who brought you along.""No you weren't," she huffed in agreement, "it was this tyrant of a man that dragged me out of bed and brought me here," Miranda shoved Ace's head but he barely even flinched."I