A Right to Remain Read online

  “What were you trying to cook?” I asked, choking on the smoke as I cautiously entered the kitchen.

  “Chicken.”

  I nodded as I looked down at the scorched frying pan in the sink before turning around and laughing uncontrollably. “Quinn, no offense, but I think you should stick with take-out.”

  He shook his head and flashed me a reluctant smile while I stuck out my bottom lip, pretending to pout for him. “I tried.”

  “I know you did, and it smells delicious,” I teased, trying my best not to laugh, but it didn’t take long before each of us was howling with laughter.

  “You want to come downstairs? I can make you something to eat.”

  He stared at the frying pan in the sink. “Yeah…I guess.”

  I grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the kitchen.

  “Oh, but wait, I need a kiss if you want your dog back.”

  “Oh yeah, that’s right.”

  He grabbed my hand and pulled close until our lips were latched onto each other’s. It had only been hours since I last tasted his lips on mine, but it seemed like it had been days as I devoured every last bit of him.

  “Come on. Let’s go downstairs and I’ll give you a cooking lesson,” I whispered in his ear.

  “Or we could skip dinner and move right to dessert,” he joked as I grabbed his hand and led him out the door, liking his idea much better.

  ***

  Quinn spent the night once again. I loved waking up in his arms and found it hard to drag myself away from my warm bed and him. I had passed my limit with the snooze button and reluctantly swung my legs over the bed, chasing away the chill when my bare feet hit the hardwood floor. I looked over at Quinn still sound asleep and couldn’t resist placing a kiss on his cheek. I jumped into the shower, spending a little extra time, relishing the warm water streaming down my body. Another amazing night with Quinn. I closed my eyes and smiled, thinking about it. I was on a cloud, and I hoped I wouldn’t be crashing down from that anytime soon. I gave my body one last rinse and reluctantly stepped out of the tub, opening up the bathroom door to allow some of the steam to escape. Quinn was just getting out of bed and pulling up his jeans as I peeked through the crack of the bathroom door. He stretched his body and walked over to the bedroom window, staring outside while I enjoyed the shirtless view of him. I finished drying off and wrapped the towel around my body. Sneaking up behind him, I threw my arms around his waist and buried my face into his warm back.

  “Good morning,” I whispered, pressing my lips on his shoulder blade.

  “Morning.” He turned around and swiped the top of my head with a kiss, grabbing his shirt off the floor and pulling it over his head.

  “Do you want some coffee?” I asked.

  “Oh, no. I need to head upstairs and shower. I have to be at work in a few.” He seemed like he was a million miles away. “Want me to warm up your car for you?” I looked over at the clock and panicked. I had ten minutes to get dressed and get myself together before I needed to be out the door. I definitely overdid it with the snooze button this morning.

  “That would be great!” I dug in my purse and handed him the keys.

  “No problem.” He put on his shoes and coat and walked out the door with Gus following behind him. I dressed in record time, threw on a light coat of blush and lip gloss, then pulled my hair up in a messy bun. I hated rushing around like this. I was just throwing a scoop of food into Gus’ bowl when he and Quinn came back inside.

  “Your Jeep is warming up, and you left these in the car all night.”

  I lifted my head from Gus’ food to find Quinn with a bouquet of peach-colored roses in his hand. My heart raced. Peach roses were my favorites. I carried them in my wedding bouquet. Aaron would make a point of getting me a bouquet every month to put in the vase on the kitchen table. It was a sweet little gesture just between him and me.

  “Where...where did you find those?”

  “They were on your front seat.”

  I frantically shook my head and backed away from them as if they were a bomb. He creased his eyebrows in confusion and looked them over before placing them on the counter. “Lacey, what’s wrong?”

  “I-I didn’t buy those, Quinn, so how the hell did they get in my Jeep?” I could feel myself breaking out in a cold sweat.

  “I don’t know.” He moved closer and grabbed my arm in support.

  “Aaron would buy them for me every month. They’re my favorites. I carried them as my wedding bouquet.” My body began to tremble and tears pricked the back of my eyes. “Why would someone do this to me?”

  “Lacey, who else knows you like these?” He tilted my head up, forcing me to look at him.

  “My grandmother…and she’s dead too.” I gasped and closed my eyes. I had totally blacked out most of that horrible night, but every now and then certain things would trigger the memory. “Oh my God.” I was struggling to breathe.

  Quinn braced my shoulder and stared down at me. “Lacey, what’s wrong?”

  I shook my head, fighting to get the suppressed memory of that night out into words. “I just remembered something…that night.” I paused and swallowed the giant lump burning in my throat.

  “What about it, Lacey?” Quinn coaxed.

  A chill shot through my body as I closed my eyes and was brought back to that horrible night. “I was lying on the kitchen floor staring up at him, praying it was over and he would now take the gun and put a bullet in my head. He zipped up his pants and pointed the gun at me. I didn’t flinch. I didn’t try and run. Instead, I sat there, waiting. Waiting to feel the cold steel of that bullet piercing through my skin and take away my pain so I could be with Aaron forever.”

  Quinn’s warm, soft thumb caught the tears rolling down my face, helping to bring me somewhat back to reality.

  “I told him to do it… to just shoot me.” My voice cracked. “He shook his head, and even under the mask he was wearing, I could still see he was smiling.” I looked up at Quinn, trying to work up the strength as I gathered the rest of my thoughts. “He turned around to leave and stopped when he got to the kitchen table. There was a vase full of peach roses on the table.” I took a deep breath and pulled my bottom lip in, squeezing my eyes tightly. “He took one of the roses out and tried handing it to me. I refused to take it, so he placed it down beside me. That’s when he told me…I was too pretty to kill.”

  “Lacey, did you ever tell the police this?” Quinn asked. His tone was calm and gentle.

  “No, I-I guess…I had forgotten. I don’t know, Quinn. There’s so much about that night I—” I shook my head in confusion.

  “It’s okay, Lacey.” He pulled me close and rested his lips on the top of my head.

  “I have to go. I’m gonna be so late for work.” I grabbed a paper towel and dabbed at my eyes.

  “I’ll take you to work.”

  “No, it’s okay.”

  “Lacey, I’m taking you.” He was adamant.

  “Okay.” I nodded. “Can you please get rid of those?” I requested, unable to even look at the roses.

  “Yeah, I’ll take care of it. Let’s get you to work.” He took my hand and led me out the door. I was on edge once again, but unlike last time, I felt more in control, and having Quinn by my side helping me through it was an added bonus.

  Chapter 25

  Quinn

  “Detective Frankild,” the gruff voice answered on the other end of the phone.

  “Detective, this is Quinn Lavery. I’m a detective with the Hope Spring, New York PD.”

  “Ah, Detective, what can I do for you?”

  “You’re the lead on the Aaron Sullivan case? Am I correct?”

  “Sure am. Why? Do you have something for me?”

  “Not exactly. I’m actually a friend of Lacey Sullivan.”

  “Oh…how’s she doing?” I could hear his tough demeanor cracking ever so slightly.

  “Pretty good.”

  “Poor girl. She’s gone through a lot. S
he was understandably quite a wreck. I’m glad to hear she’s finally getting her life back together. I just wish we could have gotten the scum who did this to her and her husband.”

  “Yeah, well, that’s why I wanted to touch base with you.” I went on to tell him about what had happened this morning with the roses as well as the incident from the other night.

  “So, you’re thinking maybe this guy followed her down there?”

  “I don’t know. It just seems all too coincidental. After this morning with the roses who else could it be? Lacey repressed all of that until this morning. She didn’t even tell you guys anything about that.”

  “I’ve lost sleep over this case, chasing all possible leads…and nothing. You have no idea how bad I want to put away the fucker who did this. They had their whole lives ahead of them, and as if killing her husband right in front of her wasn’t bad enough, he had to make sure he ruined that poor girl’s life forever by raping her. This is the case.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I’m planning on retiring next year, and this will be the case I’ll always beat myself up over for not solving. My daughter is a couple years younger than that Sullivan girl. I can’t imagine if someone had done that to her.”

  “I can help you on the down-low if you want. Lacey doesn’t even know I’m asking around about this, and I don’t want her to find out if I can help it. Believe me, it would give me great pleasure to make sure the animal who did this gets what’s coming to him.”

  “I like your way of thinking, Detective.”

  “It’s Quinn,” I replied.

  “Well, Quinn, I’m Jim, and hopefully together, I’ll be able to retire a very happy man.”

  “Here’s to hoping.” I let out a deep breath. I knew Lacey wouldn’t be happy knowing I was doing this behind her back, but I didn’t care. As long as I knew she would be safe, that’s all that mattered.

  ***

  After picking Lacey up from work, I went inside to make sure everything was okay. I had to get back to work to finish up some things, but I was a little leery about leaving her alone. I tried my best to scope out each room while trying not to alarm her, but when she stood in the kitchen, shaking her head at me when I entered, I knew she was on to me.

  “Quinn, you can’t be my babysitter for the rest of my life,” she scolded as she filled up the tea kettle with water.

  “I know.”

  “Look, I appreciate everything you’re doing for me, but I need to learn how to handle this. I can’t be the scared helpless victim he wants me to be.”

  “Lacey, I understand you want to be strong and no one wants to see that happen more than me, but you have to be safe too.”

  She finally took off her coat and threw it over the chair. “I know, and I’ve been thinking a lot today. I want you to take me back to the firing range. I want to buy a gun. I want to be able to protect myself. I can’t depend on everyone else all the time.”

  “You can depend on me, Lacey.” I moved closer to her and tilted her chin as she stared up at me with her eyes so full of emotion.

  “I know, but what if—”

  “What if what, Lacey?”

  “There’s no guarantee on anything, so I have to depend on me.”

  I stared at her blankly, waiting for her to elaborate, but instead she turned around and took a teabag from the cabinet. I grabbed her arm and turned her around to face me. “Hey, what’s that supposed to mean, Lacey?”

  “Quinn…just forget it.”

  “No! What was that supposed to mean?” I demanded.

  “You don’t belong to me.”

  I shook my head in confusion. “Lacey, what the hell are you talking about?”

  “These past few months have been wonderful, but every day when I wake up, I know it can all end in a heartbeat.”

  “Why would you think that?”

  She closed her eyes and shook her head.

  “Answer me, Lacey!”

  “Because you’re still married, Quinn! You have a wife! And for every moment of happiness I’m having, I’m also angry at myself for allowing this to happen.”

  “What the fuck, Lacey? What’s it gonna take for you to get it…I’m not going back to her. If I could have this divorce happen tomorrow, I would, but unfortunately these things take time, and I need you to have enough faith in me to know in that time I’m not going back to her.”

  “I don’t want to be that girl.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  She was driving me insane.

  “The one who comes between a husband and a wife.”

  I let out a deep breath. Why couldn’t she see she was so much more to me? “You’re not, Lacey. You will never be that girl.” I looked down at the floor and gathered my thoughts before looking straight into her eyes. “I love you, Lacey. I know it hasn’t been long…but I do.”

  She swallowed hard and her eyes began to swell with tears.

  “I’m sorry for blurting that out like that, but I need you to know. I’m not going anywhere unless you want me to.”

  She was speechless, and I was wishing I could take my words back. It was too soon for her to be hearing that. She pulled her bottom lip in, and I could tell it was taking everything she had not to cry. “Quinn…that—”

  I placed my finger over her lips to stop her from talking. “Don’t. Pretend you never heard those three words. I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable because of it. Just please know you’re more than a passing thing to me.”

  She threw her arms around me and hugged me tightly. Her soft hands moved under my shirt, gliding her fingertips across my back. My insides began to awaken like they always did whenever she was near. “I know you want me to ignore what you just said, so this is all I’m gonna say about that. You mean a lot to me. I’ve never felt this way about anyone since…Aaron. And, I’m not gonna lie, I’m a little mixed up over it all. Part of me feels like I should never be feeling this way about another man, while the other part of me wants to shout it from rooftops. But, regardless of how I’m feeling about it, there’s no doubt in my mind that I love you too, Quinn.”

  I cupped her face in my hands and kissed her hard. She responded back just as eagerly, moving her hands about my body before reaching for the hemline of my shirt, lifting it over my head. Her lips crashed into my chest as she stepped out of her boots and removed her tights. I needed to be inside of her, and I had the feeling she wanted me there just as badly. I reached under her skirt and pulled off her panties, inching her closer and closer to the kitchen counter. “God, I want you so bad,” I whispered as I gently nipped her earlobe.

  “I want you too.” She unbuttoned my jeans and gave them a tug along with my boxers. My hand moved under her skirt and my finger found its way inside of her. She let out a gasp and her eyelids fell shut. I knew she was more than ready and so was I. I lifted her on the counter and moved in closer, letting out a loud groan when I entered her. She felt so good. Her legs were wrapped around me as I continued to move in and out of her with each thrust becoming more intense than the last.

  “Ah fuck, Lacey,” I shouted, not knowing how much longer I’d be able to hold on.

  She gazed up at me, letting out a gentle cry of pleasure, and I knew that was my sign. I drove myself into her a few more times before completely losing it inside of her. My body was shaking from the intensity of it all. Each time with Lacey was better than the last because with each time I knew she was coming out of her shell a little more. I remained standing in front of her with my arms wrapped tightly around her while she remained sitting on the counter. I couldn’t believe just a little while ago she was actually thinking she might lose me. Little did she know with each passing day my biggest fear was losing her. I didn’t mean for this to happen, but it did. I was totally in love with the girl in my arms, and I didn’t belong to anyone else but her.

  ***

  Every free moment I had at work and home was spent combing the files Detective Frankil
d had sent me. I was driving myself crazy, trying to find something that may have been overlooked, but was coming up blank. Lacey’s husband was a stand-up guy with not so much as a speeding ticket. I couldn’t think of any other motive other than the one they had come up with. Whoever did it was stalking Lacey and killed her husband to get to her, or the other theory that it was a random break-in. I was on my fourth cup of coffee, trying to wake up after pulling an all-nighter doing exactly what I was doing now. I jumped at the ringing of my phone, deciding to answer it when I saw it was my father.

  “Hey, Dad. What’s up?”

  “Actually, it’s Mom. Sorry, but I had to resort to calling from your father’s phone since you probably wouldn’t answer if you knew it was me.”

  She was right. I was still so pissed at her, but at the moment, I didn’t have the energy to argue. “You got me. What’s up?”

  “Well, I was wondering if you were working on Christmas?”

  I decided to be honest with her. I was done playing games and making up lies to avoid spending holidays with them. “No, I’m not. I’m spending it with someone very special.”

  There was a brief moment of silence, and I could only imagine the look on her face. “Oh…who is that?”

  “No one you know.”

  “Well, did you just meet her?”

  “No. I didn’t.”

  “Quinn, I would really like to know about her. If she’s special to you then—”

  “Then what, Mom? You’ll run back and tell Sara everything?”

  “No. Look, Quinn, I’m sorry about what happened that night. I know it was wrong what I did to you, and I’m happy to hear you’re moving on with your life. I get it now…some marriages aren’t meant to be fixed.”

  Was I becoming delirious or did she actually seem genuine? “Well, I hope you mean that, because I’m happy. Happier than I’ve been in a very long time.”

  “And I’m happy for you. Why...why don’t you bring her over for Christmas? I would love to meet her.”

  “I don’t know about that, Mom.”

  “Quinn, I promise, I’m totally accepting of this.”