Chapter Eighteen
Lucas
My eyes burn as I lean back in my chair and lift my coffee mug to my lips. I’m on my fourth damn cup of this stuff but it’s still not helping. Of course, it would be best if I had gotten any sleep last night but between trying to check on Quinn and looking for my brother, that didn’t happen. I glance down at my phone on the table, irritated that she still hasn’t answered my last text. When I wasn’t driving around this whole damn city looking for Clay, who’s honestly probably so high he can’t see straight, I was texting her and her answers were always vague one or two word responses that tell me something is seriously wrong.
“You okay, bud?” Chance asks, sitting down across from me and I shake my head.
“Nope. Been a pretty shit night, actually.”
He nods. “Your brother?”
“And my woman.”
“What the hell is going on with Quinn?” he asks as he leans back in his chair and crosses his arms over his chest. I sigh.
“No fucking clue. She disappeared from the baby shower and now she’s saying that she’s sick and doesn’t want me to come around.”
“Maybe she’s just sick…”
I shake my head. “No. She’s not acting anything like herself, barely talking to me and when she does, it’s all vague and noncommittal.”
“Ah,” he whispers with a nod. “You remember when I first met Carly?”
“Barely.”
“Well, she was… difficult to say the least - constantly pushing me away and running from what she was feeling.”
I shake my head as I glance down at my phone again. “I don’t think that’s what Quinn is doing.”
“Maybe not but the point is, if you want a long term with her, you may have to chase her a little.”
I scoff. “I already have chased her. We were together and then this happens.”
“So, what? You’re going to give up? The good ones are never easy, dude. Trust me.”
He stands as I sigh as he walks away, my gaze falling to my phone again before I scoop it up and dial her number. Irritation eats away at me as it rings and when her voice mail picks up, I let out a growl.
Time to make a move.
If she’s truly sick, I should be there with her despite all her objections and if she’s not, I’m going to get some fucking answers as to why she’s avoiding me. It just doesn’t make any sense. We were having such a good time at the baby shower and then, just like that, she’s gone and I can’t get her to pick up the damn phone.
“Hey, you headed somewhere?” Blaze asks as I stand up and set my coffee cup on the bar. I nod and slip my phone into my pocket.
“Yeah, I was just leaving. Why?”
He looks down at the folder in his hand. “Just need someone to run down this lead on Laney.”
“Chance is upstairs, not doing anything,” I tell him, nodding to the stairs and he nods.
“I’ll put him on it. How’s your brother?”
I sigh. “Missing again. I brought up rehab and he flipped out.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah.” I nod. “I got other things to worry about right now, though.”
His eyebrows shoot up. “When has anything ever been more important than your brother?”
“Since someone made me realize there has to be more to my life than being his keeper.”
“Sounds like a smart woman,” he says with a smile and I nod.
“Yes, she is.”
He nods and turns toward the hallway to go find Chance. “Good luck.”
“Who says I need luck?”
“That determined look on your face says it all,” he answers with a laugh. “Stubborn ass women will do that to you every time.”
I shake my head as he disappears into the hallway and I turn toward the door, ready to bulldoze my way into her house if I have to. On my way out to the truck, I dial her number again one last time and her voice mail picks up almost immediately. I pull the phone away from my ear and hang up.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I whisper, staring down at the screen. “You’re screening my calls now, gorgeous?”
I climb in the truck and as she fires to life, Die a Happy Man by Thomas Rhett starts playing over the radio.
Shit.
She’s taken over my life in every single way and I have no clue what I’ll do if I lose her, which is the thought that’s been plaguing me since the baby shower. Maybe she got a taste of my world and decided that it wasn’t for her. I shake my head before backing out of the spot and driving out of the parking lot.
I know the club isn’t a traditional version of family but they’ll be there through thick and thin, they’ll always have my back, and they’ll welcome Quinn and Brooklyn in without hesitation. If that’s what is going on, if she’s having doubts about the club, I just have to make her see how great it could be to have people to call on for anything.
As I pull up in front of her house, I let out a breath and put the truck in park before climbing out. I don’t even make it to the first step before Alice steps out of the house and crosses her arms over her chest.
“What are you doing here, Lucas?”
“I’m here to see Quinn.”
She shakes her head. “She’s still sick.”
“Okay, well, let me in to see her. I’ve been worried.”
“She doesn’t want you to come in,” she answers. A look of sympathy flashes across her face before she steps forward, further blocking my way.
“Alice, what the fuck is going on? I don’t believe that she’s sick.”
Alice shrugs. “Well, she is and she wants to be left alone.”
“Quinn!” I yell, stepping back to look up at the windows on the top floor. I swear the curtains move just a fraction of an inch in her bedroom. “Quinn!”
“Stop, Lucas,” Alice hisses. “I’m sorry but you need to leave.”
I shake my head as I meet her gaze. “I just want to talk to her.”
“She’ll talk to you when she’s ready.”
Fuck.
I knew there was more going on here.
“Will you please tell me what the fuck is going on?”
She shakes her head. “I can’t. She’ll contact you when she’s ready to talk.”
“What the hell do you mean…”
Alice marches down the step and gives me a little shove, pushing me away from the house. “You need to go, Lucas. Before I call the cops.”
“Call the cops. I don’t give a shit. Let me talk to her.”
“Fine.” She pulls her phone out of her pocket and begins dialing. I whisper a curse and back away from her, my gaze flicking to Quinn’s empty bedroom window again.
“Fuck! Hang up the phone. I’m leaving,” I snap, rounding the hood of the truck. She flashes me a sympathetic look as she shoves the phone back in her pocket.
“I’m sorry, Lucas. She just needs time.”
“Time for what?” I ask, my voice desperate as panic rips through me. My heart belongs to that woman upstairs and if she’s done with me, I’ll be fucking ruined.