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

Chapter 25

Chapter

Twenty-Five

Quinn

I feel like I just played ten back-to-back game sevens and still didn’t win the fucking Cup.

I hear Emery yell something, but I close the door behind me quickly, hoping to contain her and the rest of my family. While my family stepped aside to let Ava and me through, I didn’t miss the looks of disappointment in me or of disgust for her. I’m surprised she made it out of there without someone other than Emery trying to take her out. My money would have been on Posey, but I think she feels too bad for me.

Which is a fantastic feeling. Not.

I rub my hand over my face as I follow Ava down the driveway. I don’t want to be anywhere near her. I want to be completely done with her, but she holds my balls in a vise grip. I hate that she caught me with Emery like that. I wasn’t trying to embarrass Ava; I was only trying to resist Emery. Which is getting harder by the day, but I can’t forget my agreement with someone else. No matter how much I want Emery, I can’t keep on like this. I need her to move out.

I just don’t know if I can ask her to.

I don’t want to.

My heart sinks in my chest, but then I look up to find Yvette in her car, parked behind mine. I pull in my brows as I take in her slim figure, her wide shoulders, and her long blond hair. She has stunning blue eyes, more icy than my dark blue. Her face is all hard angles. She wears a baggy tee with what I assume are baggy jeans, but I can’t see her bottoms from where I’m standing.

Is Ava serious right now? I’m seething as I bark out, “You brought Yvette here?”

Ava turns, her hands striking her hips. “Yes. I assumed you’d wanted to stay with your family for a bit, and since I got done so quickly, I had her come get me. I was bringing you your keys when I saw you fucking her against the door.”

I scoff. “Oh Jesus Christ, you’d know if I was fucking her—hell, the whole neighborhood would have known.”

“Cute,” she spits out.

“Fuck you,” I snap, glaring at her as I hear a car door opening. “You have crossed the line, Ava.”

“I crossed the line?” she yells, her hands shaking. “You embarrassed me throughout dinner, stuck up for your ex, and then had her against the wall? How do you think that makes me feel?”

“You embarrassed your fucking self!” I yell back, taking a step toward her. “How dare you think you can speak on matters that have nothing to do with you? My sister’s business is hers, not yours.”

“She’s being s?—”

“Don’t finish that sentence,” I warn in a low, dark voice that I don’t even recognize. Hell, if I’m honest, I don’t know who I am anymore. At least, the person I am with her. This isn’t me. I hate feeling like this, like my life has no damn purpose. My heart slams into my ribs as I come to that realization. Fucking pissed she’s speaking ill of my sister, I bite out, “It’s her choice. No one else’s. And you don’t get to give any opinion on the matter. Nor can you tell my mother how to decorate her own house. Do you know how insane that is?”

She gawks at me. “You guys act like you and she are still together, when you’re with me.”

“It’s a fucking picture!”

“They are all over the place here and at your apartment. Don’t you see how disgusting and pathetic you are for her? She doesn’t love you. Why can’t you get that through your head?”

“You don’t know shit.”

“I know you’re an engaged man.”

I lean in close, my eyes never leaving hers. “To a lesbian who brought her lover to my parents’ house yet wants to throw me over the racks for needing to be close to the one person I want.” Her eyes widen, her lips parting as she glares. I hold her glare, my whole body shaking. All I want is to be done with this. “Yet I’m the one embarrassing you.”

“I think we should take this back to our place. His family is watching,” Yvette calls to us, and I don’t need to turn to know her words are true.

Neither of us moves.

Instead, Ava bites out, “She threw you away like trash, Quinn. I picked you up, I was there for you, and now you will be there for me.” I press my lips together as she steps closer. “If I didn’t think she’d run her mouth, I’d be fine with you fucking her. But that girl is hell-bent on ruining this. You have to get rid of her or swear her to silence—I don’t fucking care.”

Emotion burns in my chest because I know she’s right. If I want this to succeed, I have to get Emery out of my space, out of my head. I survived these last three years, but that changed the moment she barreled into my apartment and made it hers. “I won’t do that to her. Hide her. I love her more than that.”

She shrugs, shaking her head. “You know she will never love you, right? This is a game for her. She wants you because I have you.”

I close my eyes, my jaw tightening. “Shut up.”

“She is a loose cannon, Quinn. She’ll never be who you need.”

But I know that’s not true. Well, she is a loose cannon. But she’s my loose cannon, the one I try my damnedest to keep from firing off. Some might not believe it, but her chaos brings balance to my life. And ever since she’s been back, I feel alive again.

Which only confuses me more.

“I don’t know if I can do this,” I admit, and Ava’s eyes turn wicked.

“Don’t be stupid, Quinn.”

Our gazes collide, and I can’t help myself. “I am starting to hate you.”

“I don’t care. This isn’t a marriage for love,” she reminds me, and my skin crawls.

That’s when I hear the front door open. She looks over and sends a quick smile. “Sorry, we’re about to leave.”

My mom ignores her and calls out, “Are you okay, Quinn?”

Before I can answer her, though, I hear heavy footfalls, and then my dad grips my shoulder. I look over at him, and he searches my gaze with eyes the same as mine. He tilts his head to the side. “Why don’t you two take some time to cool off? Come inside and call Ava later.”

I feel Ava watching me as she says, “I’d rather you come over, Quinn. Please. We’re not done talking.”

I hear it in her voice, the apprehension that she is losing her cash cow. “You can be done, though,” Dad suggests, his eyes still searching mine. “Just say the word.”

I sigh heavily, but I know Ava and I aren’t done with this conversation. “It’s okay, Dad,” I say, and I hate how his shoulders fall. I give him a small smile. “Everything is fine.”

“Doesn’t seem that way,” he replies, and my stomach clenches.

“It is,” Ava tries. “It was just a misunderstanding. High emotions with the wedding coming up.”

She tries to laugh it off until my dad sets her with a look. She presses her lips together, and in a growling voice, my dad warns, “Put your hands on my son again, and I’ll pay Emery’s bail.”

He squeezes my shoulder again and sets his gaze on me. “Call me if you need me.”

His words have a torrent of emotion swirling through me. “I will.”

He leans in, kissing the side of my head. Against it, he whispers, “I love you, Quinn.”

Tears burn my eyes, and I feel a lump form in my throat. Around it, I mutter, “Love you too, Dad.” I watch as he walks away, shrugging. When he reaches my mom, I swear I hear him say he tried. I sigh heavily and then hold my arm out toward the cars. “Let’s go.”

Ava doesn’t move. “You need to fix all that with your family. I can’t have them making me the villain and then acting that way around my family.”

I scoff as I walk around her. “If the title fits, own it, Ava.”

I leave her gawking behind me as I head toward my car, passing Emery’s Bugatti. I wish I were getting into it, with Emery by my side.

We could drive off and leave everything behind us.