Fireworks: A Holiday Bad Boy Romance (51 page)

"Doesn't
matter about your training," the EMT said. "You've got good instincts
and that's what matters out here. I've seen the best surgeons in the world
choke when it comes to accidents. It takes a certain kind of person to be able
to jump in, assess, and then help people."

"It didn't
feel like a choice," I admitted. "I just did it."

"Like I said,
instincts." The EMT smiled at me. "Maybe you should consider a change
of career."

I heard his words
over and over again as I waited at the scene. The police arrived seconds later
and asked me to explain the accident. I described the car with the Iowa plates.
It had driven off as soon as the black sedan crashed. The pedestrians all
agreed with me that the driver of the black sedan was only trying to prevent a
worse accident by swerving off the road.

After I was done,
an older couple were waiting to talk to me. The officers introduced them as the
driver's parents.

"He was
coming to pick us up so we did not have to walk in the heat," his mother
said. There was a heavy catch in her voice. "He could have been
killed."

"Your son is
a smart man, he was wearing his seatbelt," I said.

"Even so, he
got hurt," she said. "Thank God you kept such a clear head. Everyone
said you jumped in right away. We wanted to say thank you."

They insisted that
I come with them to the ambulance where their son was waiting to go to the
hospital and have his broken arm set. He smiled when he saw me.

"You were
right, my mother did not care that you used her scarf," he said.

"Oh, Evan,
don't be silly," the older woman said. She swatted his foot as he sat on
the gurney in the ambulance.

"Thank
you," Evan said. "You saved me."

"That's a bit
dramatic," I told him.

He laughed,
"Well, you at least stopped me from wandering off and hurting my arm more.
You should hear the horror stories the EMTs are telling about what people
accidentally do when they are in shock."

Evan's father
cleared his throat. "Before you go, isn't there something else you wanted
to say?"

Evan rolled his
eyes. "I'm thirty, but they still treat me like I'm a kid. I wanted to
thank you properly and invite you to have dinner with us tomorrow night."

I shook my head.
"That is not necessary. Thank you, but no."

"Please, we
insist," Evan's mother said. "We have reservations at the new
Bellagio restaurant. Five stars, or so we heard. You have to join us."

I blinked. It was
too much like a fairytale. It only took a second glance to realize the wealth
of the couple and their adult son. She wore diamond stud earrings that flashed
brighter than supernovas, her husband had the most expensive watch I had ever
seen, and the totaled car was a brand new top-of-the-line Mercedes. And people
paid thousands of dollars just for a reservation at the restaurant she had
casually mentioned.

"No,
really," I said, "I'm just glad I could help."

"At least
tell me your name," Evan said. The EMTs helped his parents into the
ambulance and then climbed into the rig and got ready to shut the doors.

"Quinn
Thomas," I said. "I live nearby."

Evan waved through
the doors of the ambulance as they pulled away. I wondered why I had included
the information about where I was from, but then again it was not every day
that I saved a handsome rich man.

"Quinn? Are
you alright? What the hell happened out here?" Owen grabbed my arm from
out of nowhere.

"Oh, I was
just walking along when Evan swerved to avoid hitting another car. He totaled
his Mercedes and broke his arm. I put it in a sling and helped stopped the
bleeding on his head before the EMTs got here." I stopped, realizing that
I was rambling.

"Who the hell
is Evan?" Owen asked.

His jealousy hit
me off guard and I did not know whether to laugh or scream.

CHAPTER
SIXTEEN

Owen

My
heart was hammering. I
had watched Quinn leave the Luxor ballroom. She had marched out without looking
at anything. That was when I had realized her father had not talked to her. She
had no idea why I suddenly was giving her space. In her mind, I had slept with
her, then publicly turned away from her again and again.

I had pushed my
way through group after group of
Dark
Flag
fans. By the time I had reached the front doors of the Luxor, I could
hear the ambulance sirens. My heart had dropped onto the pavement as I ran down
the sidewalk to find Quinn.
 

Half a block away,
I had overheard two women talking about a heroic bystander. She had jumped
forward to help when everyone else was still standing back in shock and fear. I
had prayed it was Quinn; it had sounded exactly what she would have done. Then,
when I saw it really was her, the relief left me unfiltered.

She glowed, and it
never even occurred to me it was the adrenaline. The way she smiled at the
handsome injured man in the ambulance pushed my blood pressure to the clouds.
His name on her lips was too much.

"Who the hell
is Evan?" I asked.

Quinn's eyebrows
crashed together in a frown. "The driver. The man that just went off to
the hospital with a broken arm."

"And let me
guess, he was just dying to find a way to thank you," I said.

She pushed past me
and stormed down the sidewalk. I caught up to her in two steps and grabbed her
elbow. I wanted to tell her how afraid I was when I heard the sirens, but the
words would not form.

"His parents
wanted to take me to dinner as a thank you. What is wrong with that? It’s not
like I have plans with anyone," Quinn said.

"Then let's
make plans," I said. I wrapped her arm in mine and pulled her back towards
the Luxor. "I don't care if it’s pizza in your parents' basement, but
whatever you are doing tomorrow night it’s with me."

I did not have
time to decipher the narrow flash of her eyes. As soon as we walked into the
Luxor lobby, I caught sight of Anya. Despite the small knot of fawning young
men, she pursed her lips and gave Quinn a hard stare. She then stepped over to
the judge that happened to be standing nearby and whispered something in his
ear.

"What is up
with her?" Quinn asked. She had noticed Anya's barbed looks.

"Whatever it
is, it looks like we have to address it right now," I said.

Anya marched the
judge over to meet us. "I've heard from quite a few other players that
Quinn's performance was remarkable. Too remarkable. I'm sorry, Owen, but it
seems like maybe you coached her."

"And what's
wrong with giving pointers to newbies?" I asked.

"It’s against
the rules for sponsored players," the judge said.

Quinn yanked her
arm out of mine. She grabbed the judge's phone from his hands and gave him her
login and password. "There. Now you can check my play from last night.
Owen's alibi happens to be standing right here." Quinn gave Anya a sharp
look.

The judge scrolled
through the play log and found the moment she detected the Shattering Mirror
Charm. "Yes, it’s right here. And I'm to understand that you were with Mr.
Redd last night at 11 p.m.?"

Anya crossed her
hands over her chest. "Yes, that's right."

"Then, it is
clear that Ms. Thomas discovered the move on her own and there was no direct
coaching involved. Now, if you'll excuse me." The judge disappeared back
into the ballroom with Anya on his heels.

"That was
awful," I said. I reached for Quinn, but she stepped back.

"Kind of like
this whole morning. I can't even enjoy my one success."

"You're
right. It was a huge success. You should be proud."

"Really?
Where was all of that an hour ago? You know, when you ignored me in the
ballroom. I know I'm just a newbie, but I thought maybe we were closer than
that," Quinn said.

"I know, I
acted stupidly. I thought you wanted your space. I mean, with your father
watching and everything that happened yesterday."

"Yesterday is
exactly why I thought I could expect a little more from you," she said.

Her eyes flashed
over me and I remembered them turning to dark brown chocolate as she had melted
underneath me. The memory was enough to make me feel hot again.

I cleared my
throat. "Was that before or after you quit your nursing program and then
agreed to go back and live with your parents? I'm sorry if I had some trouble
keeping up."

"If it’s so
much trouble, then why do you keep butting into my life?" Quinn asked.
"It’s either you or my father telling me which way to go and I'm getting
sick of it. I came here and did a great job on my own, and not only does that
go unacknowledged, but I'm accused of getting my skills directly from you. No
one believes I can do anything on my own." She looked towards the doors
and bit her lip.

"That Evan
seems to believe you did just fine on your own," I said.

"And what's
with the jealousy?" Quinn asked. "Coming from a man that spent the
night with a friend who clearly has the hots for you, it seems
ridiculous."

"You know
it’s not like that between Anya and me," I protested.

"No. I don't
know that. You just expect me to believe it. Just like my father expects me to
believe that what he decides is best for me. I'm sick of it! Life should not be
this complicated."

She dodged around
me and headed for the doors.

"Where are
you going?" I asked.

"To get a
cab."

"Come on, let
me drive you home," I said. "It’s the least I can do to make it up to
you."

"Don't you
have work to do?"

I shook my head.
"It’s optional. I'd get paid, but I don't have to do it. And right now,
the most important thing to me is driving you home safely."

She did not talk
as we found the car and started towards Summerlin. I racked my brain to find a
safe subject to talk about.

"So, what
would you like your non-complicated life to look like?" I asked.

Quinn frowned out
the window. "That's easy. All I want is a job that I like that supports me
and lets me be independent."

"Sounds
practical." I wondered how much her parents had lectured her the night
before. "What happened to using your talents? The game today showed you
are really good."

"Turns out
I'm really good administering emergency first aid too," Quinn said.
"So I don't see anything wrong with finding both a job and a hobby that I
love."

"The hard
part is figuring out which is which," I said. "It took me years to
realize gaming was more than just a hobby for me."

"Well, not
that many people can make a lifestyle out of it. You either have to be
well-connected, experienced, and sponsored like you or filthy rich like Anya. I
didn't see many other people like that today. Everyone else had day jobs, but
they were not enjoying themselves any less," Quinn said.

"True. But
you stood out," I said.

"So does
Anya. Are you going to tell me what's going on with her or not?"

I scowled and
wished we were not so close to Quinn’s parents' house. "I already told you
there is nothing going on between us. She would like there to be and we've
flirted in the past, but I have never been interested in her that way. Don't
let her get in your head."

"It’s kind of
hard not to when I walk in and find you two together this morning. You admit
she has the hots for you and you two spent the entire night alone
together," Quinn said.

"No. We were
not alone. In fact, she spent most of the night hanging out with Jasper. He'll
tell you all about it," I said.

Quinn opened her
door just as I stopped the car at the end of the driveway. "Fine. I
believe you. It’s just one more reason this is all too complicated for me right
now."

Before I could say
anything else, she shut the door and walked away. I drove home and ran up the
steps to my apartment two at a time. Jasper was spinning on one of the kitchen
stools and chatting with a few of his odd friends.

"Hey, there
he is," Jasper said.

I jerked a thumb
towards the hall. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

He looked at his
phone and jumped up. "Yeah, sure, buddy, but make it quick. We've got to
get out of here."

His friends
cleared up their stuff and headed towards the back stairwell. I watched them
go.

"They parked
out back. Checking out the best way to help me move," Jasper said.
"So, what's up?"

"Did anything
happen with you and Anya last night?"

"Oh, whoa.
She's hot, but no. We just flirted. I thought when you disappeared that
something might happen, but she crashed solo on the couch."

"Would you be
willing to tell Quinn that?"

"Kill a
little jealousy? Sure, man, whatever you need. I'll check in and call her
later," he slapped my shoulder and disappeared down the back stairwell
after his friends.

I walked back into
my apartment and felt the hair on the back of my neck go up. Something was off.
Jasper was going to be helpful with Quinn, but why was he in such a hurry to
leave?

I shook off the
feeling. I had been off all day. Ever since Mr. Thomas confronted me about
breaking up with Sienna, I had felt jumpy. He had said what I had always felt
sick about. I had broken up with Sienna and then she committed suicide. Was I
to blame?

I replayed the
rest of the day in my head. At the tournament, I had thought it best to stay
away from Quinn. Not only was Mr. Thomas watching my every move, but he had to
have told her about it on the car ride. Only later did I realize he had said
nothing to Quinn. She was the only person that did not blame me for Sienna's
suicide. And I had treated her badly.

I paced around the
kitchen island. I had to tell her about what her father had said. It wasn't so
much that he blamed me, but that he was right in thinking the timing of our
break-up affected Sienna's decision. There was no good way to broach the idea
that Quinn’s sister had died because I broke her heart.

Even as I thought
about it, I knew it did not feel true. Sienna had not been broken-hearted over
the break-up. Things had not been right with us for a while. But if Mr. Thomas
was going to try to keep Quinn away from me, it was exactly the kind of
accusation he would level against me.

I picked up the
phone and dialed Quinn's number. It rang and rang before her voicemail picked
up. I hung up and tried again. The third time it had not yet reached her
voicemail when a heavy knock shook my door. I hung up the phone.

The police were
back and they pushed their way into my apartment without a word. One of the
uniformed men tossed me another search warrant and they started to take the
place apart.

Like
my life
, I thought.
Everything
getting knocked out of place.