Lost the Handle (Nashville Assassins: Next Generation #8)

Chapter 5

Chapter

Five

Quinn

Owen: Mom just told me something very interesting.

Owen: LOL. #QuinnIsScrewed

Shelli: Do tell.

Posey: Please do. I’m having a shit day.

Evan: Sorry your day sucks, P.

Evan: Please tell me he left Ava.

Owen: Nope. And there is only one way to say this.

Owen: Emery is back.

Fuck my life.

I rub my temples as I close the locker in the break room of the Tennessee Athlete Surgery Center, where I am currently doing my residency. I was lucky to be chosen by Dr. Abrams to work under him. It may have helped that I’m from hockey royalty and he’s worked on a lot of my family, but the main reason is probably because he is also my fiancée’s uncle. While, yes, I was top of my class, I know the only reason I got the residency is because of Ava. Which she so sweetly reminds me of whenever I chide her for how she acts. One would think since I’m a walking genius, I wouldn’t be in this position.

But it’s obvious I’m an idiot when it comes to my love life.

And boy, does my family love to rib me for it.

As I look down at my sibling group chat, I groan loudly.

Posey: No way!

Shelli: What! Aiden didn’t tell me!

Evan: Oh, this is going to be awesome. Ava is done for.

Shelli: Dingdong the witch is dead. The Wicked Witch!

Posey: Did Emery kidnap Quinn? What’s the ransom?

Owen: His heart and soul! Mwahahahaha.

Evan: Are we taking bets on how long he’ll stay engaged? I got a thousand on a week.

Posey: Please. Our baby brother has way more restraint and willpower. He’ll last a solid nine days.

Shelli: I think he’ll wait till the wedding and then have them switch out. Emery is crazy enough to do it.

Owen: Nah, she’ll kill her before that happens.

Shelli: True.

Posey: Oh yeah. Or, like I said, kidnap our baby brother for herself.

Evan: Either way, I hope she succeeds. Quinn, she’s your person.

Leave it to Evan to be all sentimental and shit. I roll my eyes, clicking out of the group chat to just Posey.

Me: Hey, I saw you’re having a shit day. You good? Need me to stop by?

Her text comes through immediately.

Posey: Shouldn’t I be asking you that?

Me: I’m fine. Are you?

Posey: Not really. And of course you can come by. Zac misses you as always.

Me: What happened?

Posey: The doctors don’t think I can have a viable pregnancy. I know we can adopt or even do a surrogate, but IDK. I’m just a bit sad about it.

Me: Understandable. I’m finishing up at the clinic, and I’ll grab us some dinner on the way over.

Posey: Don’t you have better things to do?

I scoff. If only she knew that I needed the distraction from who is at my house. I’m sure by now my whole apartment smells of Emery. Cherries and bergamot. Her shit will be everywhere, and I just can’t face her right now. Because if I do, I’ll enjoy the sight of all her shit mixed in with mine. Of her draped along my couch or sitting at her desk on her computer. It’ll bring me back to our old times. Fuck, she makes me crazy. Emery knew exactly what she was doing. Coming into my space, intoxicating me with… All of her.

She knew I couldn’t resist.

No. I gotta go anywhere but home right now.

Especially after my rough day.

I’ve been working in the clinic for the last year. And don’t get me wrong, I love working under Dr. Abrams. But fuck, if this job isn’t stressful as shit. Since I wasn’t good at hockey, I wanted to make sure that no one had to leave the sport after an injury. I feel I let my dad down by not following in his footsteps. While he’s been nothing but supportive of Evan and his mental health journey, I don’t suffer from that. Evan was a carbon copy of my dad. He kicked ass on the ice; I just sucked. The hockey genes were evenly distributed between Evan and Owen, leaving me with only learning how to skate. Sometimes I feel like my dad thinks less of me because of that.

Which is why I want to help players get back on the ice.

What I didn’t expect was how much pressure there would be when you have someone’s body open and it’s your job to make sure to put them back together successfully. It’s terrifying. And I don’t know if it’s the upcoming wedding to Ava or if I’m just not made for this, but fuck, it’s hard to breathe once I step inside this clinic.

My apartment was my safe haven. And now, I have Emery there.

So yeah, I’m all for going to my sister’s house.

I may move in.

Shit. Emery would follow.

When I feel a hand cup my shoulder, I look up to see Dr. Abrams, a generic smile on his face. “Good work today.”

Yeah, I don’t believe a word he says. I was shaking so bad, I lost my grip on the Endoscopic Drill, but I guess I hid it well. He wanted me to take the lead, but I made an excuse of wanting to watch him more. It’s been almost a year. I’m gonna have to take the reins soon.

“Thanks, Doc,” I say, since calling him Jeremy is off the table. He isn’t soon-to-be family here, as he tells me daily. He is my boss, and I have to keep that boundary up. I can’t cross that line.

“See you at dinner, right?” His dark, bushy brows move with his smile, and my stomach drops. I forgot I had dinner with Ava and her family tonight. Fucking Emery, fucking with my head, and she hasn’t even been here twenty-four hours.

I press my lips together, letting out a long breath. “I was just about to call Ava. I have to cancel. My sister is going through some stuff, and she asked for me to come over.”

He doesn’t seem to care, and I’m sure he was only asking because I would give him someone to talk to. As much as I want to believe my charming personality appeals to him, I’m just the dude his niece is marrying. To give me a chance is to give her a good life.

Little does he know, I’m only around for a year.

His face shows nothing as he says, “I’m sorry to hear that. I hope it all works out.”

He pats my back and then turns as I say, “Thanks, Doc. See you tomorrow.”

He doesn’t acknowledge me while heading out the door as I exhale. Fuck me. Now I gotta call Ava. I hit her contact without reassuring Posey. She already knows I’m coming, even if I did have other things to do. My family is everything to me, and the pain Posey is feeling isn’t something I want her going through alone. I’m not saying that Boon, her husband, can’t handle it, but he’s hurting too. I think sometimes it’s nice to have support from outside your circle.

“Quinn,” Ava answers in a clipped tone, like I’m more a burden than her fiancé. “Are you on your way?”

“I’m not,” I say with more irritation than I intend. “I apologize, but something has come up. Posey got some bad news today, so I’m gonna go and have dinner with her.”

I’m met with silence. “My parents are expecting us. We canceled twice this month.”

I canceled. Because being around her family is like being in a funeral home. Everyone is drunk and miserable. I don’t get it. They’re songwriters, for God’s sake. They write love songs and happy little tunes. How can they be so depressing?

“Plus, Uncle Jeremy will be there,” she adds, and I run my free hand through my hair. “Can’t you visit with her tomorrow?”

I drag my hand to the back of my neck, squeezing it tightly. “Sorry, she needs me.”

She lets out a huff. “I really don’t get you. We are attempting to make this upcoming marriage seem real, but you keep canceling on my family. How are they supposed to believe us?”

“Ava, I don’t think they care one way or another,” I admit. “They hardly acknowledge me—or you, for that matter.”

“Still, they need to see us together.”

“They do, they have. Sorry.” I pause for a moment, then say, “You could come with me. Dr. Abrams knows I’m going to my sister’s, so it would be like you’re supporting my family.”

“No way. I don’t want to go over there. Your family hates me,” she snaps, and I roll my eyes. “But I will use that excuse, for sure.”

“My family hates no one. They just don’t understand why you aren’t very friendly with them.”

“Because I don’t care one way or another about them. This arrangement isn’t between me and your family. It’s with you.”

“I understand?—”

“I don’t think you do, but whatever.” Her voice turns dark. “It’s your career if this doesn’t work.”

She hangs up then, and I know she expects me to call back. To say I’m coming. But I have no intention of doing that. I bent to her will a lot when I first agreed to this, but now, I’m getting annoyed. She wants me to be weak, and I’ll admit I have been. I’m not proud of that, but I stopped caring. After a full year without Emery, I was more broken than I like admitting. To my family… Hell, to myself.

I hadn’t felt anything in years, and when Ava buttered me up and then asked for my help, I couldn’t say no. I liked how it made me feel. I don’t know what has happened since I agreed to this. Ava has always been snotty, but she was kind to me. We hit it off from the top, and we enjoyed studying together. We challenged each other. And when we found out we were both Nashvillians in Boston, we clicked. I thought she was cool people, but now, I’m not so sure.

I feel used.

Which, I guess, in a way, I am.

We pushed back the wedding because Benson and Cameron are getting married at the end of the month. Ava and I are to wed the first week of June, and it can’t come quick enough. I want this to be over. I want to be done with her, and once we’re married, things will even out.

Well. That is, if I can control Emery.

Which is like trying to wrangle a tornado.

That’s a later problem , I tell myself.

My sister needs me, and that’s all that matters.