Quinn (The Beck Brothers #3) (19 page)

“It’s time to get the police involved,” Henry Sr. said from
where he sat at the head of the table.
 

“I agree,” Raelynn chimed in. “Since he took his car,
wallet, and phone, and there was no sign of a struggle, we can assume that he
left on his own accord. The police can at least try to track him down by seeing
if he used any of his credit or debit cards.”

“I just can’t believe he would do this to us!” Anne cried.

Henry Sr. placed his hand over Anne’s to try to comfort her.

“Mom, he’s messed up right now. He’s not thinking clearly,”
Henry murmured from where he sat at the other end of the table, his head in his
hands. Margot noticed that Henry was taking this whole situation very hard, and
she wondered if it had anything to do with what was said between them when
Henry drove Quinn back to their parents’ house the other day.
 

“Should we postpone the wedding?” Raelynn asked quietly and
wrapped her arms around Sebastian’s waist.

“No, we’re not postponing anything. He’ll show, he knows how
important this is to me,” Sebastian said firmly.

“Where could he have gone?” Christian asked, shaking his
head.

“Maybe he’s just driving around aimlessly,” Sebastian
suggested.

“Then why wouldn’t he call us?” Anne snapped.

Margot jumped along with everyone else when Henry slammed
his hands on the table, as he shoved up out of his chair. “BECAUSE HE WAS
RAPED!”
 
Henry bellowed.

“Henry,” Claire said a bit startled, her eyes wide from her
husband’s outburst.
  

“The one thing he said to me in the car after I picked him
up was that he was lost and he didn’t know what to do with himself. He just
needs time to pull himself back together, dammit,” Henry said more calmly
before stalking out of the room. Claire went after him.

“I agree with Henry, but I still think we should see call
the police, and at least try to track him,” Sebastian said.

Everyone agreed. Raelynn was the one who called since a
friend of hers worked in the missing persons department. They said to give them
a few hours to come up with something. Everyone decided it was best to go home
and wait, and Raelynn promised to call when she found something out.

Margot went back to her condo and crawled into bed. She was
so exhausted since she has not slept well since realizing that Quinn was
missing. She could not stop the tears that streamed down her face. What if
something has happened to him? What if he got drunk like he did when they were
in France and got alcohol poisoning? He could be dead in a ditch somewhere for
all they knew! Eventually the crying and exhaustion pulled Margot into a fitful
sleep.

~~~~~

Quinn sat in the main living area of the bed and breakfast
that he checked into three nights ago. He sat in an extremely comfy leather
armchair by the bay window that looked out toward the lake that was behind the
large Victorian house. He sipped his black coffee and just stared, his mind
racing with over a million different things.

He left a few nights ago shortly after Margot left his
apartment. He didn’t plan on it; it was just a split second decision. He didn’t
leave a note or call anyone because he knew what they would do if he did, they
would try to talk him out of going, or someone would want to come with him.
After what just happened, he couldn’t blame them, they probably thought he
would try to kill himself or something. Quinn just needed to get away for a
while so he could get his head back on straight. He wanted to move on with his
life, he just couldn’t figure out how. He has been living with this burden,
this torment, for so long that he wasn’t sure how to live without it.

Helen, the wife of the owner - who had to be in her late seventies
or early eighties - sat down in the matching leather chair next to him. She
sighed heavily as she sunk down into the chair.

“Oof!
 
You are
probably going to have to help me, Quinn, when I decide to get back up. I
forgot how soft these chairs were.” She chuckled.

Quinn smiled softly and nodded. “Of course.”

Quinn could tell that Helen had been a beautiful woman at
one time, not that she wasn’t beautiful now, because she was, but she was
probably a knockout when she was younger. Her hair was pure white and just a
wild mass of short curls on her head, she wore tortoise shell glasses that were
too big for her slightly rounded and wrinkled face, and every day she was
wearing a different sweatshirt, all with pictures of kittens on them. She was
the cutest damn old lady he’s ever seen.

“You know, I am still trying to figure out what a handsome
man such as yourself is doing in my bed and breakfast all by himself,” Helen
asked, peeking at him over the top of her glasses.

Quinn sighed and scrubbed his beard, which was in much need
of a trim. For whatever reason, he felt compelled to talk to Helen. “It’s
complicated. I just needed to get away by myself, without anyone I know
bothering me.”

“Why did you need to run from your family and friends? Would
they not have helped you?”

“They wouldn’t know how to help me. Like I said, it’s
complicated.” Quinn sighed.

“Define complicated,” Helen said.

Quinn glanced over to find her watching him shrewdly. He
opened his mouth to tell her but snapped it shut and shook his head. He didn’t
want to taint her lightness with his darkness.

“Honey, nothing you say is going to shock me. I’ve seen and
heard everything in my old age, believe me.”

Quinn took a deep breath, about to tell a complete stranger
his secret that wasn’t so secret anymore. “I…uh…I was raped by my cousin when I
was ten.
 
I just saw him for the
first time in twenty years a few days ago; I almost strangled him to death. My
family had no idea it happened so they were finding out for the first time what
screwed me up for life…I just couldn’t stay there and listen to them talk about
it or ask me questions.”

“Screwed you up how? You seem like a very sweet man.”

“I don’t like anyone touching me,” Quinn admitted quietly.

“Ah, I see.” Helen nodded in understanding. “Do you have a
girlfriend, Quinn?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Did she know about your secret?”

“Yeah, I told her one night when I was drunk.”
 
He snorted.

Helen smiled. “How is she about your situation?”

“She’s extremely understanding and patient. We have been
trying to work on it, but it hasn’t been easy.”

“Nothing ever worth it is. Let me give you some advice,
Quinn.
 
If you want to have a
future, then you must let go of your past. Make peace with it.
 
Yes, it happened, and I’m sure it was
horrible because it shaped how you are as a person, but you cannot let it rule
you. You are an adult now; no one will ever hurt you like that again because
you are strong enough to defend yourself.
 
You understand? You saw the man that abused you, proved that you were
stronger than he is, so now it’s time to put it to rest. Let it go, Quinn. Let
it go so you can be happy,” Helen said, reaching over to pat his forearm. “You
deserve to be happy.”

Quinn swallowed hard and nodded. “Thank you, Helen.”

“You’re welcome, sweetie.
 
Now, help an old lady up,” Helen murmured.

Quinn chuckled and stood. He put his coffee on the side
table, took both of Helen’s hands, and helped pull her out of the chair. She
grunted as she stood. “Whoa, you are a strong one.
 
That girlfriend of yours is one lucky girl, mmm hmm, so
handsome…” she murmured as she shuffled away.

 
Quinn smiled and
shook his head. He sat back down to finish his coffee. Helen was right. He
needed to put his past to rest and move on. No one was going to hurt him ever again.
A weight that Quinn didn’t even know that he has been carrying lifted, leaving
him feeling lighter. No one was going to hurt him ever again, he repeated to
himself.
 
Damn, that felt good to
say even if it was only in his head. Quinn wasn’t a little ten-year-old boy
anymore, he was a thirty-year-old man, and no one was going to hurt him ever
again. Those were the words that he needed to hear, and they came from a least
likely source – a complete stranger.
 
He knew he came here for a reason. Her name was Helen.
  

~~~~~

Christian groaned as he flushed the toilet and dropped his
ass to the floor. He has been throwing up for the past hour, with his anxiety
through the roof from this whole Quinn being missing thing. The police found
nothing, other than a three thousand dollars withdrawal from the bank around
the corner from his apartment.
 
It
was from the night that Margot took him home. He had left only half an hour
after she did.

They were going on four days now with no word from Quinn.
Tonight was the rehearsal dinner and tomorrow was Sebastian and Raelynn’s
wedding. Quinn’s disappearance was ruining what was supposed to be a joyous
occasion. Instead, everyone was upset and angry and getting a bit testy with
each other. There have been so many arguments between everyone in the past few
days that Christian couldn’t stand it anymore.

“Hey, man,” came Shea’s voice from the bathroom doorway.

Christian glanced up at his best friend’s concerned face.
“Hey,” he rasped, his throat raw from throwing his guts up.

“Not doing too good, huh?” Shea sighed and leaned his
shoulder against the doorframe.

“No.”

“Has there been any news?” Shea asked.

“Nope, Quinn is still missing.” Christian sighed.

Shea hung his head. “Shit.”

“I’m just...I don’t know what to feel. I’m worried, of
course, but I’m also pissed off. Why did he have to do this right before
Sebastian’s wedding?” Christian muttered, shaking his head.

Shea hummed in understanding. He pushed away from the
doorframe and took a seat on the floor next to Christian. He draped his arm
around Christian’s shoulders and gave him a squeeze.

“Everything will be okay,” Shea said, trying to be
reassuring.

“I hope so,” Christian replied, dropping his head to Shea’s
shoulder.

After a few minutes of sitting on the bathroom floor, Shea
helped Christian up so he could take a shower and get ready to go to the
rehearsal and dinner. Shea was also going, which Christian was glad for, definitely
needing Shea’s support right now. Shea waited downstairs while Christian got
ready. They drove together to the hall where the wedding and reception were
being held. Everyone was already there and waiting. Christian knew he was
running late, but he couldn’t help it, he couldn’t stop throwing up.

Everyone was standing in the lobby looking somber. Sebastian
and Raelynn invited Margot, wanting her to be with the family so she didn’t
have to worry and suffer all alone, which Christian thought was really nice of
them. Margot looked horrible - not horrible as in ugly - horrible as in upset,
tired, worried, and devastated. She was wearing a lovely hunter green dress and
pretty little gold flats. Her hair was down and straight with a matching green
flowered headband holding it back from her face. She only looked like she put
on a small amount of makeup, but she didn’t need it anyway; she was a beautiful
woman.

Christian and Shea said hello to everyone and they got
started with the rehearsal. Shea stood in Quinn’s place, and would tomorrow if
he didn’t show up. The rehearsal was over quickly since no one was really
fooling around, or actually paying attention. After the rehearsal, they all
headed over to the restaurant where they had reservations. They had a really
large group since it was both Sebastian’s side and Raelynn’s side. When they
got to the restaurant, they sat, and Christian ended up with Shea on one side
and Margot on the other. Christian looked her over; she has barely said a word
the whole night.