Quinn (The Beck Brothers #3) (11 page)

 
He stared at
Quinn as if trying to weigh the pros and cons of telling him. Christian
swallowed hard before speaking. “It’s nothing really, don’t worry about it.”

Quinn narrowed his eyes at his brother. “I know that’s
bullshit, but I won’t bug you about it.”

He had secrets, too, so he understood if Christian didn’t
want to talk about it.

Christian nodded. “Thanks.”

Quinn was about to reply but his cell phone started ringing.
Quinn lifted his hip and pulled it out of his back pocket. He looked at the
screen and saw it was Margot calling. He was instantly concerned. Did she fall
and hurt herself further? Quinn hit the answer button and put the phone to his
ear.

“Margot? Are you alright?” he asked.

“Non,” she sniffed into the phone.

Quinn stomach dropped. “What is it? Did you hurt yourself?”

“Non...my...my papa. He is dead,” Margot choked out and
started sobbing.

Quinn cursed under his breath, not what he expected her to
say. His heart broke for her. He couldn’t imagine the pain she was feeling at
the moment, and it had to be ten times worse since she was so far away from her
family.

“I’ll be right there, Margot,” Quinn said as he stood. He
wasn’t sure if she heard him over her crying. “Sweetheart, did you hear me?” he
asked to make sure.

“Oui,” Margot managed to get out.

“Okay, see you soon,” Quinn said and hung up.

Christian raised an eyebrow in question.

“Her father, who lives in France, just died,” Quinn said and
started for the door.

“She has no family here?” Christian frowned, following him
to the door.

“No, no family or friends. I can’t let her be alone through
this,” Quinn rasped, his chest aching at the mere thought of her being so upset
all by herself.

Christian nodded. “I understand. Go, be with your woman.”

Quinn snorted. “She’s not my woman.”

Christian laughed. “Yeah, keep telling yourself that.”

“Fuck you, dude,” he muttered and walked out the door.

“Love you too, brother!” Christian called after him.

Quinn flipped him the bird over his shoulder as he walked
down the sidewalk to his car. He heard Christian chuckle some more then shut
the front door. Quinn got into his car and headed back to Margot’s. It only
took him about twenty minutes since there was no traffic. He parked in the same
visitor parking spot and headed up to her condo, which was on the eighteenth
floor. He had to knock on her door when he got there since he didn’t have a
key.

It took Margot a good three to four minutes to get to the
door because of her foot. When she opened it, his heart broke for her all over
again. Her eyes were red and swollen, her nose was running, her hair was a
mess, and she could barely work the crutches because she was crying so hard.

“Shit, Margot. I’m so sorry,” Quinn murmured as he stepped
into her condo, shutting the door behind him.

Margot sagged against the wall next to her and squeezed her
eyes shut. Quinn went over and scooped her up. When the crutches clattered to
the floor, he just stepped over them and headed for the couch. He sat down with
her sideways on his lap. Margot clutched his shirt and tucked her face against
his chest as she continued to cry. Quinn wrapped his arms around her and
dropped his chin to the top of her head. He felt so bad for her; he just
couldn’t imagine what she was going through because he’s never lost anyone
close to him.

Quinn stroked her tangled hair back from her face. “Shh,
I’ve got you,” he soothed, hoping to calm her down some. Her whole body was
shaking from the force of her sobs.

Quinn slowly rocked her back and forth. He was surprised
that he was doing okay holding her. She was even clutching fistfuls of his
shirt. Quinn guessed her sorrow far outweighed his dislike of being touched. He
couldn’t imagine her being anywhere but in his arms at this moment, even after
the way he left earlier. He wanted to put some space between them, but now he
wanted to be there for her when she had no one else. Margot touched something
in his heart when they were in London, because ever since then, he found
himself caring for her more and more every day. Quinn promised himself that he
would get a hold of Jared as soon as he could. He was going to better himself,
and try to mend everything that that fucker broke twenty years ago, when he
dared to place his hands on Quinn - done letting that asshole win. For the past
twenty years, Quinn has been letting that motherfucker win! How the hell has he
not realized that until now? Didn’t matter, he was done with it. He was taking
his life back.

Margot finally quieted down. It didn’t take Quinn long to
realize that she fell asleep on him.
Poor thing
. He slowly got up from the couch, trying
not to jostle her too much, and headed for her bedroom. He placed her on her
bed and covered her up, staying an extra minute to watch her. She was so
beautiful. Quinn moved back out into the living room, shutting her door
slightly behind him.

He walked down the hall where Margot’s office was. He found
it earlier when he was over and went looking around her condo. He sat down in
front of her computer and pulled up the internet. He checked a couple of
websites for plane tickets, trying to find the cheapest one. Once he found a
good deal, he used his credit card to buy two round trip tickets to Paris,
France. Next on the list of things to do was to call Peter.

“Hello?” Peter answered his cell phone.

“Peter, it’s Quinn.”

“Quinn, hey...what’s up?” Peter asked.

“Listen, Margot’s father just died. She is an absolute mess
right now. I just booked us tickets to fly to France in the morning. We’ll be
gone for a week.” Quinn informed him. He wasn’t asking because he was doing
this no matter what.

“Wait, you’re going, too? Why?” Peter asked, confused with a
trace of suspicion.

“She needs someone to go with her. First, she’s on crutches
and I can help with her bags, and second, she’s distraught and needs a friend
right now.”

“A friend? But I thought you didn’t like her?” Peter said
slowly.

“We’re friends,” Quinn replied simply.

Peter hesitated, but said, “Alright, then. Will you still be
able to do some work while you’re away?”

“I will bring my laptop, yes.”

“Okay, I guess keep me updated and give Margot my
condolences,” Peter said, a hint of something in his voice. Quinn couldn’t tell
if he was pissed off or jealous or both.

“I will. Talk to you later,” he muttered, hanging up before
Peter could reply.

His friendship with Peter was slowly deteriorating. They
were just not getting along anymore. Additionally, Peter threatened to fire him
for the way Quinn spoke to him on the phone while he was in London. Quinn made
a decision after their little discussion that he was going to find another job
anyway. He would finish this Trump contract, then quit. He could either work as
a free agent, or find another corporation for work. He wasn’t sure what he
wanted to do yet; maybe he could even start his own business.

After printing out their tickets, Quinn wrote Margot a quick
note. He quietly placed it on the pillow next to her then left. He needed to go
pack for their trip, and then he could come back and spend the night with her.
He would comfort her as much and as best as he could.

~~~~~

Margot woke up not realizing that she even fell asleep. Her
room was dark.
Her room?
How
did she get in here? Then she remembered that Quinn came over, and she cried in
his arms until she fell asleep. She was so glad that he was there. She was
shattered, with no one to hold her together. Margot stretched, and her hand hit
a piece of paper on the pillow next to her. She sat up and turned on the lamp
next to her bed. She picked up the paper and read the note scrawled out in
Quinn’s elegant handwriting:

Margot,

I bought us plane tickets to Paris. We
leave in the morning. I just ran home to pack a bag. I will be back shortly.

Quinn

Margot’s bottom lip quivered as she tried to fight off the
tears that threatened to fall. Quinn was taking her home to her family. He
bought plane tickets for both of them. She didn’t want to go to Paris alone,
there was no way she could carry bags while on crutches. She was sure she could
get someone at the airport to help her, but it would just be easier with Quinn
there. She could also use the support he would offer.

Her sister called shortly after Quinn had left earlier.
Their father had a massive heart attack at the dinner table. He slumped
forward, and as soon as his face hit the table, he was dead. Her father has
always had heart problems, he even had a few minor heart attacks in the past,
but she never expected him to pass away when she was not there. Her sister,
Colette, said that their mother was a mess, and has not stopped crying since it
happened. Margot was just devastated. Her father was a great man. She was going
to miss him terribly.

“Margot,” Quinn’s deep voice said from the doorway.

Margot’s head shot up and she let out a startled gasp. She
was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t even hear him come in. Margot
pressed a hand to her racing heart and used the other to wipe away the couple
of tears that slipped from her eyes.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” he murmured as he
moved toward the bed. He sat down next to her hip. “Did you just wake up?”

Margot nodded and held up his note. “Oui, I just read your
note.”

Quinn’s gaze was soft and sympathetic. He reached out and
tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Is that alright? If I go to Paris with
you?”

“Of course it is! I did not want to go alone and I could use
the help.” Margot sniffed, trying to hold back the new flow of tears that
wanted out. “I do not know how I will thank you for this.”

Quinn shook his head. “Don’t worry about that. You would do
this for me if it was the other way around.”

She smiled slightly. “Oui, I would.”

The corner of Quinn’s mouth lifted. “Let’s just hope I don’t
get strip searched this time.”

Margot snickered causing Quinn to narrow his eyes at her
teasingly. She reached up to cup his jaw as she leaned forward to kiss him
softly on the lips. His eyes slid closed as his arm slipped around her waist to
tug her closer. She nipped at his bottom lip, making him groan. Quinn then
pulled back, his dark brown eyes searching hers.

“You sure?”

“Oui, I need you,” she breathed, leaning forward to kiss his
neck lightly.

Quinn sucked in a sharp breath but didn’t pull away. She
slipped her hand behind his head and cupped the back of it as she licked a line
up over his Adam’s apple to the base of his chin. Quinn’s breathing quickened
and a low growl rumbled against her lips. He pulled out of her grasp and
shifted to kneel on the bed next to her. He yanked his shirt over his head and
tossed it to the floor. Margot’s hands itched to touch his hard chest with its
dusting of dark hair. He crawled over her, forcing her to lie back, kissing her
as he wrapped an arm around her waist to pull her down the bed a bit, letting
his weight settle against her.
Merde!
He felt so good. His body seemed to fit perfectly against
hers, as if they were made for each other.

Quinn rolled them over so that Margot was on top. She gasped
and planted her hands on the bed just above his shoulders so she would not
touch him.