The Harder He Falls: 2 (So Inked) (33 page)

It took her a moment to register the face of her stepfather. “I didn’t realize you were here. Hello.” And for the first time it dawned on her that she hadn’t even thought to call her mother since Grandma’s stroke.

“Is that Cho Hee?” Her mother’s shrill voice was one she couldn’t forget no matter how much she tried.

Kellie edged around her stepfather so she could see into the kitchen. Her mother stood at the stove, Grandma’s apron tied around her neck. A pang stabbed Kellie’s heart even as anxiety squeezed it in a vise. This couldn’t be good. “Hello, Mother.”

“Don’t you ‘Hello, Mother’ me. I’m so ashamed of you I could wish you were dead.” Her mother slammed the wooden spoon down, splattering grease on the counter.

She felt surprisingly little sting at the words. “I don’t think I know what you’re talking about, so if we could rewind, what are you doing here?”

“We’re visiting my brother.” Her stepfather retreated to the middle of the kitchen, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at her.

“Okay, well, Mom, I have some bad news.” Maybe she’d lie and tell her she tried to call her, but they hadn’t spoken in over a year anyway. They only really emailed, and that was typically to keep her apprised of Grandma’s condition.

“I know all about Mom being in the hospital. Some social worker called me as soon as we get off the plane. What am I to think of my own daughter dating some white trash? I heard he’s the one who reported you for abusing Mom.”

“What? Who told you this?” Her mother often made crazy accusations, but how did she know about Quin?

“We just got back from the hospital. Where have you been?”

“Working.”

“And not with your grandmother.” She muttered something and turned back to the stove to stir the food.

“You’re right, I’m not allowed to see Grandma until they can prove that I didn’t do anything wrong, which I didn’t, so I wasn’t at the hospital.” It had been so long since Kellie had had any kind of discussion with her mother that she couldn’t walk away from. She didn’t know where to start. She didn’t want to touch the topic of Quin with a ten-foot pole. He wasn’t Korean so he would never be good enough in her family’s eyes.

“Are you still working at that nasty shop?” her stepfather asked.

“I co-own it with my friend Mary,” she replied. Though he’d married her mother, Kellie had only met the man once for a few hours. She should respect her stepfather, but it was hard to feel anything but resentment to the man who had taken her mother away from her.

“Bah.” He shook his head.

Her mother faced her, spoon in hand. “You should stop that tattoo nonsense. What would Mother say? You need to get married. Have some babies with a good Korean boy. What about Shin? Hm? We can arrange something nice for you before we leave.”

Kellie shook her head. “What? No, I’m not getting married. Can we talk about Grandma, please?”

“What is there to talk about? She had a stroke, she doesn’t remember anything.”

“Is she awake?”

“Yes.”

Relief flooded her. At least something good was coming out of her mother’s impromptu visit.

“Why didn’t you tell me someone bought the gym?”

Kellie glanced at her stepfather. “I didn’t think it mattered to you.”

“Of course it matters to me. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me. I had to hear from Grandma Gang.”

“I’m sorry, a lot’s happened in the last few months.”

“You know what your problem is? You don’t care about family anymore, Cho Hee.”

Kellie’s mouth gaped. She didn’t care about family? All of the reminders that her mother was the one who left, that it was her mother who made her responsible for their family, that it was her mother who never called, were on the tip of her tongue. But she didn’t fight like that. She was made of better stuff than that.

Instead she took a deep breath. “I do care, Mom, we just show it in different ways.”

“We’re out of coconuts. Go get some.”

As if coconut were the magic word, her stepfather headed toward the living room and her mother turned her attention to the food that was already grossly overcooked. Going to get a coconut would be a blessing instead of having to stay put.

“Yes ma’am, I’ll be back in a little bit.”

Kellie left her duffle in the foyer and headed back to her Cube, purse in hand. Coconuts were the last thing on her mind. Her mother had known about Quin, but from whom? And why would anyone assume he’d thrown her under the bus? Having her mother around was stressful enough under normal circumstances, and if she was staying for more than a layover Kellie needed Quin. Needed his strength and support. Hell, just a place to crash would be appreciated. The less she saw her mother, the better.

The drive to the gym was a blur. Before she knew it, she was parking next to Quin’s truck and heading inside. Yet another bland face was at the reception desk.

“I need to talk to Quin,” she said without bothering to stop.

It wasn’t hard to pick him out. He was at the far end of the gym next to the octagon. Two sets of fighters were going through drills inside the cage while the rest worked at different stations. But she only had eyes for Quin.

He must have either felt her gaze or someone warned him of her approach. She was ten feet away when he turned to face her, his mouth set in a grim line. He jerked his head to the side.

“My office.”

Did he know something she didn’t?

She nodded and followed him, keeping her mouth shut until he’d closed the door. He didn’t ask her why she was there or what was wrong. It was as if he’d expected her to come at him pissed off and angry.

She whirled to face him. He’d leaned a shoulder against the door and crossed his arms over his chest.

“My mom showed up at my house today.”

His brows lifted. “Did you tell her?”

Why was he acting weird? Where was the hug, the hungry kiss? Her nerves ramped up another notch. Had her mother known something she hadn’t? Suspicion curdled her stomach. The uncertainty blossomed into a nasty cocktail of bad vibes and rage. He was supposed to be there for her.

“No, it hadn’t even occurred to me. But Mom had some interesting things to say about you.”

She’d always been able to read Quin, but not anymore. It was as though they’d never connected, bickered or laughed together. His expression was flat, with no emotion reaching his eyes and his mouth pressed into a tight line.

“Do you want to know what she had to say about you?” Inwardly she begged him to prove her mother wrong.
Don’t let her be right.

“I think that’s why you’re here.” He tipped his head forward and his lips thinned as if he were readying for a blow.

She crossed her arms to mirror his pose. “You act like you already know what I’m going to say.”

“I have a pretty good idea, yeah.” He sounded so careless. It hurt. He wasn’t supposed to be so close to her he could hurt her, but here he was and it was happening.

Her jaw dropped. She hadn’t really thought her mother had been correct. Kellie was angry and lashing out. That’s why she went to Quin, they battled it out and put shit behind them. Was everything her mother had said true? She held herself very still. Her body flashed cold. The ambient noise and the office faded away until all she could see was the dismissive expression on Quin’s face.

“Do you mean to tell me you’re the one who told the ER doctor I was abusing my grandmother?”

His gaze was steel. Not an emotion in sight. “Not in so many words, but yes.”

“Why?” She recoiled, confused, hurt and rage close to choking her.

He shrugged and said nothing. He always had something to say, some nonsense or story about his time in Iraq or at this fight or when he was in the gym.

It didn’t make sense. Why would Quin say something like that? What had he said?

They stared at each other for several moments. He didn’t look like anyone she knew and most certainly not the man she’d slept beside.

“I want an answer, Quin. I think I deserve one.” She crossed her arms to mirror his pose.

He shrugged and his brows rose. “Why did I say what I said?”

“Yes.”

“Because it was the truth.”

Pain stabbed her chest and her lungs constricted. She couldn’t speak, couldn’t think. All she could do was stare at this person.

Who was he? He wasn’t the man who’d made love to her, who’d cared and laughed with her. Had she ever known him? She’d fallen in love with who she wanted him to be, not who he was. It couldn’t be.

“Was this your plan then? Screw me in as many ways as you could?” She couldn’t believe that, but she was grasping at straws.

“I don’t really plan things out. It just happened this way.” He rubbed his face and broke eye contact, glancing over her shoulder. The muscles in his jaw jumped and he sucked in a breath. “Just do me a favor and don’t cry, okay?”

“Why should I? You’re clearly not worth it. Excuse me.” There was something else going on with Quin. She didn’t know what it was, but if he wasn’t going to fight to be with her, she wasn’t going to either. She had a family to keep together.

“Sure thing.” He stepped aside and opened the door. As she walked past, he imparted one last shot. “I put you in for a complimentary membership to the gym.”

She didn’t make eye contact with anyone as she exited and climbed into her car. In fact, she was perfectly calm as she drove a block away, pulled into a parking lot and burst into tears.

* * * * *

“
Aye
, you look like hell,
chica
.”

“I feel like shit.” Kellie sank onto the couch in the office, grateful for the utter stillness of the shop. All night her mother and stepfather had complained about one aspect of the house or her or Grandma. She couldn’t take it much longer.

She needed time she didn’t have to grieve a relationship that had ended before it began and figure out what to do about Grandma. But she was so tired. The desire to fight had fled.

Mary swiveled to face her, her dark gaze seeing more than just Kellie’s exterior.

“How’s Sam?”

Mary smoothed her garishly colored
Dia de los Muertos
print over her thighs and folded her hands. “He wants to quit working here.”

“Seriously?” That she had not expected.

“I don’t know what’s going on with him anymore. He’s always had good grades and the only reason he flunked economics is because the teacher is a
punta
and failed him for cheating. He doesn’t talk to me anymore.” Mary seemed to deflate, the always secure façade of strength and serenity crumbling to reveal the young woman struggling to hold it together.

“What are you going to do?”

She shrugged.

“Okay, what should we do for the shop?”

“Pandora’s already asked if Carly can work in the shop during the day.”

Kellie rolled the idea around. It wasn’t bad, but the logistics were tough. “Can she do everything in a wheelchair?”

“Now? No. In a few months? Maybe. It’s not the best business decision to hire her, but I want to.”

Kellie nodded. So Inked had become the catalyst for change in Carly’s life, first as the place where she got her tattoo, then from being paralyzed. She’d come to the shop the day she was in the clear for the party, and as soon as she’d been released she came back to them. They’d pretty much be paying Carly to hang around while they did her job, but none of them would complain. At least not when Carly was there.

“You’re going to have to handle it. I can’t do anything else right now. I’m sorry.”

“I’m shocked you’re even here,” Mary said.

“Yeah.” Kellie sighed and looked at the desk, even though she shouldn’t. The memory of Quin was everywhere.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Which part?”

“Any of it. We don’t talk anymore. I miss it.”

Pangs of sadness speared her chest. “I know. Shit has been crazy since that damn convention. I knew it was a bad idea to go, but Pandora really wanted to.”

Mary shook her head. “She’s not the same person she used to be.”

“No, and it’s fucking fantastic. If she didn’t get out and live a little I was going to torch her place. I mean, I don’t like all their mushy shit, but Brian’s a good guy.” Brian thought the world revolved around Pandora, and it was about time someone else realized she was a classy lady and not a punching bag. Kellie couldn’t be happier for them.

“Would you care to explain the midnight texting?”

Kellie rolled her eyes. “There was beer in my mini-fridge and it was either text you or drunk-call Quin. As my best friend, you have to put up with my shit.”

Mary released her lip from between her teeth. “What exactly did he do?”

“I don’t know.” She shrugged and shifted.

“You texted me that you guys broke up.”

“I guess.”

“You guess you broke up? You don’t know?”

Kellie took a deep breath. Even that hurt. “Yesterday when I got home and Mom was there, she told me someone at the hospital had told her the guy with me was the one who reported me for elder abuse. The problem is, I don’t understand why he would. It doesn’t make sense and when I asked him for an answer he just stared at me.”