Quinn's Woman by Susan Mallery Read Free Book Online Page A

have things to see to this morning.”

    Kevin, his twin, hooted. “Things? Don’t you mean Stephanie?”

    Nash smiled. “That’s exactly what I mean.” He looked over at Quinn. “You probably haven’t heard. I recently got engaged. Of course, I’m not the only one. Kevin’s planning a wedding for early October, and you already know about Gage.”

    D.J. noticed that Quinn’s gaze settled on his brother. Gage shrugged.

    “We haven’t had time to go into that. I’m getting married, too.”

    “Congratulations,” Quinn said.

    “All three of you just recently got engaged?” she asked before she could stop herself. “Is it something in the water?”

    Travis rose. “Could be. That’ll make you switch to bottled, huh?”

    “In a heartbeat.” D.J. shook her head. “Married.”

    She held back saying “yuck” even though it was what she was thinking. In her experience, marriage was all bad for the woman and all good for the man. Okay, the Haynes brothers seemed to have decent relationships. And her friend Rebecca had married a pretty okay guy, but they were exceptions.

    It seemed that everyone had a place to be. In a matter of a couple of minutes, the table had cleared, except for D.J. and Quinn. She expected him to stand up, as well, but he didn’t. Instead he sipped his coffee and looked at her.

    She told herself this was great. Now she could get her questions answered. The only problem was his steady gaze made her want to shift in her seat. She wouldn’t, of course. She would never let him know he could make her feel uncomfortable. Nor would she admit to wanting to know what he was thinking as he watched her.

    She resisted the incredibly stupid impulse to touch her hair to make sure it was in place, as if that mattered, then turned toward him and decided to just go for it.

    “How did you get away?” she asked. “The ropes were cut, but I’d checked you for knives. I’d put yours in the pack, which was out of reach. I checked it this morning and you hadn’t opened it. So you had a knife on you somewhere. One that I missed.”

    She had the sudden thought that someone could have crept into camp and released him, but she dismissed the idea. She knew in her gut Quinn had gotten away all by himself. He’d managed to outsmart her and to do it all while she was sleeping.

    Even more annoying, he’d left his jacket draped over her, as if she needed protection from the elements.

    “How could you have missed a knife?” he asked, his eyes bright with humor. “You gave me a very thorough and very enjoyable search. If you’d like to check me again...” His voice trailed off.

    She ignored the suggestion and the teasing tone of his voice. “Where’s the knife?”

    She half expected him to insist she come find it. Instead he flipped up the collar of his heavy military-issue shirt, and pulled out a short blade. Not a knife...just the blade.

    Of course, she thought, impressed by the ingenuity. No one paid attention to stiff collars. The points were supposed to be that way. All Quinn would need to do was a little shift and shimmy to get his hands in front of his body, then the blade would be within easy reach.

    The possibilities intrigued the hell out of her. “What else do you know that I don’t?”

    Instead of making a smart-ass response, Quinn stood. “This has been great,” he said.

    She rose and walked toward him. “Wait. I really want to know.”

    His gaze never left her face, yet everything changed. The teasing was gone, as was the humor. Instead, bone-deep weariness invaded his expression. He knew things, she thought as she involuntarily took a step back. He’d seen and done things no man should experience. His life was
    about a whole lot more than simply getting people out of places they shouldn’t be.

    “I’m not playing,” she said. “I want to learn what you know. I’m a quick study.”

    “Why does it matter?”

    “Your skills would help me with my work. I want to