Colt

 

After finishing my shift at the prison, I head to the house and go straight to the basement where my room is located. I set my duffle bag on the bed and pull out the uniform I’d worn today. As a correctional officer, my job demands that I wear a uniform. I hate feeling constricted in the necessary attire and equipment I carry with me daily, but it’s part of the job. This career is exactly what I need, and I like that no two days are ever the same. Inmates are unpredictable fuckers, and as much as us officers are there to supervise and maintain order, it’s never that simple.

I toss the uniform on the bed. That was my last clean one, so it looks like today is laundry day. It’s my least favorite thing to do, but it has to be done.

When I hear a quiet knock on the open door, I look up, already knowing it’s Gabe. His car had been the only vehicle in the driveway. His expression is oddly serious, and the dreaded laundry now seems to be the least of my concerns. “Something going on?” I ask.

Gabe hesitates before stepping further into the room. “I wanted to warn you before you see Quinn.”

I should have known Quinn’s the reason for that expression on his face. She’s a magnet for trouble, and I’ve always worried that one day she’s going to get in over her head. I know it’s inevitable, and when it happens, I’ll be there to make certain she doesn’t get hurt.

Gabe shifts his weight where he stands, and I patiently watch as he releases a heavy, resigned sigh. “Last night, things got out of hand with that guy she’s been seeing.”

I inhale deeply, and then gradually exhale as I force myself to remain calm. I need details before I begin imagining the worst. “What do you mean?” I hear myself ask with forced calmness.

Gabe looks like he’s currently wishing he’d never stepped foot inside my room. He rubs the back of his neck before answering my question. “He busted her lip, and she has bruises around her neck.”

Everything within me goes cold, and my eyes burn into Gabe’s. “Come again?” I ask softly.

“She called it ‘foreplay gone wrong.’”

I force myself to remain still even as everything within me demands that I track down the bastard and rip his head off. Abuse of any kind is never okay, but for it to happen to Quinn of all people? It’s hard as shit to accept that. How the fuck did this happen? I’ve been painstakingly aware of her every move since the day I’d accepted her as family. She’s always been naturally independent and a complete smartass. But there’s one thing that makes her vulnerable—her height and build. She’s small and petite.

Gabe’s watching me, bracing for me to go nuclear. My temper has never been well-contained, and I work harder than most to not allow my natural inclinations to take over. He should be worried. The bastard that hurt Quinn, he’s going to pay. I’ll make damned sure of it.

“Explain,” I clip out as I move around the bed to stand in front of him, arms folding over my chest.

“She said things got out of hand. Afterwards, she hit him, and he hit her back,” he says grimly.

“He choked her during sex?” I ask, my voice nothing more than a low growl.

“Yes.”

“Had she agreed to the act?”

Gabe hesitates, looking uncomfortable. “No.”

My lungs feel like they’re shrinking, and I’m finding it increasingly difficult to breathe. “Was she raped?” I ask thickly. If the fucker raped her, I’ll kill him. I don’t care if I spend the rest of my life in prison for protecting her. I’ll do it in a heartbeat to ensure that she never has to worry about him coming after her again.

“But the asphyxiation wasn’t.”

“No,” he agrees.

“And you believe her? That it was consensual?” I snarl, my arms dropping to my sides. This is Quinn we’re talking about here. We need to make certain that she’s giving us the entire truth.

Gabe holds up his hands in warning. “Calm down,” he says as his gray eyes hold mine. “I know you’re pissed, but you need to listen to the facts. She looked me dead in the eye and swore she was a willing participant except for the asphyxiation. That’s not rape, Colt. We both know Quinn. She can’t lie worth shit,” he reminds.

“You said he left bruises?” I ask in a much calmer tone.

“Yes.”

“Leaving bruises means that it was for himself, and the act had nothing to do with her pleasure.” I’ve never explored the act and don’t care to. I’ve been asked only once by a woman to choke her, and I’d refused. That shit is tricky, especially depending on how far you want to go with it. I’ve never wanted to hurt a woman or do something so damned dangerous—not even for her pleasure.

“I know, and so does Quinn,” Gabe says, replying to my comment. “She punched him afterwards, and that’s when he hit her.”

I’m silent, my gut tightening. It was her birthday last night. While I’d been screwing some random woman, Quinn had been used for some asshole’s twisted fantasy.

“Look, I know you’re angry, but you need to keep in mind that it happened to Quinn, and it was during an intimate act. She didn’t have to share that with me, Colt. She’s a woman, and her emotions are far different than ours. She’s not going to want to rehash it with you, and she’s certainly not going to want you to involve yourself.”

I give him a look that says he might as well be talking to himself, because I’m sure as hell not backing off. “I’ll keep that in mind. Do you have this guy’s name?”

He looks me in the eye. “No.”

“Where did she meet him?” I don’t care what anyone says, I need to have a ‘talk’ with this guy, and when I’m done talking, I’m going to feed him his balls.

“I don’t know, Colt. She’s been tightlipped about him from the very beginning.”

“Would Ash or Harper know?”

He looks at me with resignation. “What are you going to do?”

“What do you think I’m going to do?” I don’t give a shit what Gabe advises, I’m going to handle this my own way.

“Careful, Colt. She’s done with him, and if you become involved, he may take it out on her instead of letting things end. The most important thing is getting him out of her life, not making him pay,” he says pointedly. With that said, he turns and leaves my room—knowing that I’m not going to listen to anything more that he has to say.

There’s no way I’m allowing this to drop. That bastard could have killed Quinn last night.

She’s my kryptonite.

She’s the only woman I’ve ever allowed into my heart, and she’ll likely be the last. I refuse to follow in my father’s footsteps, and I know abuse can follow generations and go down the line. I’d been abused as a child, I’d witnessed abuse, and I’d unfortunately hurt someone because of my fucked-up genes. She was fifteen, and I’ll never forget the surprised and betrayed look in her wide eyes when I’d aggressively shoved her away from me in a fit of anger, causing her to fall to the ground. She hadn’t had time to brace for the fall, and she’d landed badly, breaking her arm in the process.

That darkness that caused my father to kill my mother—it’s inside me. And the only way to make certain that I don’t become my father is to keep that darkness under tight control. I’ve learned that the only way to do that is to never settle down with a woman. Love, it fucking screws with the mind, and if anything’s going to make me go off the rails, it’d be that.

It’s best to remain single.

Besides, I have enough to deal with thanks to Quinn.

Quinn.

Shit.

I know my feelings for her go much deeper than Channing’s and Gabe’s. I consider them both my brothers, but Quinn… There’s always going to be an attraction there, and I’ve never thought of her as just a sister. I think of her as a good friend, someone that has become as important as family—someone that needs protecting.

I need to find out what the hell happened last night.