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

Chapter 32

Chapter

Thirty-Two

Emery

I’ve chewed off all my nails.

And the nail polish.

But it was inevitable, given how deep I dug.

I’m surprised I didn’t make it to China.

I know Quinn told me to leave it alone. I know he said to let him take care of it.

But when the hell do I ever listen?

I spent all morning digging until I had all the answers I needed.

I matched the picture from Yvette’s Instagram to one of Ava’s posts with the same nail polish. And I hadn’t noticed before, but I also found a matching thumb of gold stacked rings in the photo. I’d thought it was Yvette’s thumb, but I quickly found out it wasn’t. When I got into the Mettisons’ lawyer’s database, I unearthed Ava’s inheritance and the stipulations. I know what Quinn is doing. I don’t know what he has planned, but I have a plan of my own.

I’m not upset with Quinn; I’m not even surprised. As I said, I knew he wanted to help someone, and this was his opportunity to do so. I don’t know what he was gaining from this since he could have gotten a job anywhere with his grades. I know that Dr. Abrams is a highly sought-after sports ortho surgeon. But we’re in Nashville, Tennessee; Quinn could have gone anywhere and been better than Abrams in ten years. There has to be more. I’m going to find out what it is, and then I’m going to fix it.

It will be my ultimate Hail Mary to prove to Quinn I’m sorry and I love him.

I swallow as my heart beats so hard, I can feel it in my ears. My leg is crossed, but it bounces wildly as my coffee sits untouched before me. While I wait, I scroll through my phone, but then I get a notification that Quinn Adler has posted a new video. My heart flips since it’s been over a week since he posted. I click on the notification, and it takes me to his TikTok. I scrunch up my face when I realize he’s not in his studio, nor does he even have his equipment like he usually does. It’s just him, in his burgundy scrubs, with a guitar that’s not even his.

It looks as if he’s in a bathroom, bright-green tile around him. His hair is brushed to the side, looking every bit like a doctor and not my messy Quinn. He doesn’t look at the camera as he strums the guitar. I don’t recognize the song until he starts singing. “Birds of a Feather” by Billie Eilish. His voice is velvet smooth overall, but rough on certain words. His eyes drift shut, and my heart swells in my chest as I listen to the words. The timbre of his voice. To him.

He’s stunning.

I can’t move, and I don’t know if I’m even breathing as he sings. When it ends, he lays down the guitar before looking at the camera. Then he smiles. A real one. Just for me. I don’t even realize I’m crying until I feel my tears drip off my chin.

I hit the caption, and it reads: When she’s heavy on my mind.

My lip trembles as I go to the comments, and already, there are thousands, but I don’t stop myself.

EQEnterprise: I love you.

I press my lips together as my heart soars, and I press my phone to my chest. I almost call him or text, but I can’t right now. When I set my phone down and clean my face free of tears, I can’t help but think, while this may be crazy of me, I know I’m doing the right thing.

I’m fighting for the man I love.

“Emery?”

I look up into sky-blue eyes that belong to a very closed-off face. My heart kicks up in speed as I slowly stand to hold out my hand. “Hey, Yvette. Thanks for meeting with me.”

Yvette looks at my hand and then takes it, shaking it lightly before she sits down. I can tell she’s uncomfortable, and I don’t blame her. I did send her a text that said it would be in her best interest to meet me here. Yes, I channeled my inner mafia princess. I really need to lay off these dark mafia romances, especially with what I do for a living. Lines are blurring over here, and she better be glad I can’t shoot a gun. Not that I would shoot her, but it would be cool to have it strapped to my chest and look all badass. Maybe I should pick up shooting?

Jesus. Focus, Emery!

I look across the table as she leans her elbows on it. I don’t know if it’s because I have Quinn’s video in my head, but her style reminds me of Billie Eilish’s, all baggy clothes and a pretty face. Big blue eyes, thick brown lashes, and puffy pink lips. She’s a gorgeous girl. Too bad she’s involved with a cunt bag. I clear my throat and ask, “Do you know who I am?”

Yvette nods. “Quinn has spoken of you.”

I nod slowly in response. “Do you know what I do for a living?” She shakes her head. “I can find out anything I need to know, and what I know is that you are involved with Ava.”

She presses her lips together as she shrugs. “I mean, she’s my best friend.”

“And your lover.”

I have to give it to her, she doesn’t react to me at all. With who I am and the equipment I’ve designed, I notice details. I think I’m the only person who would notice that her eyes only slightly narrow as she holds my gaze. “What makes you believe that?”

I lean back in my seat and say smugly, “You grew up together, but the only photos at dances were of you two. You went to Boston when she did for school and lived with her there before moving here. I know all that is just best-friend kind of stuff, but you made a post on Instagram, holding Ava’s hand, with a status that implied you two were more than friends.”

“That wasn’t her,” she tries, but I shake my head.

“It was. I matched the photo to one of her. Same nail polish, same gold stacked rings on her thumb. I even matched the way her hand bent to be one hundred percent sure.”

Her eyes narrow even farther now. “You’re a freak.”

“A smart freak, yes,” I say, waving her off. I keep it to myself that I got into their iCloud and found numerous photos of them kissing and looking lovingly at each other. I also found videos that I did not watch. I was mainly looking for images of Quinn, but I found none on either of their phones.

“After reading the terms of Ava’s inheritance, I noted that it clearly states she has to marry a male of good standing, who comes from a well-off family, before she can inherit her trust.” Shock fills Yvette’s features as I continue, “Since you’re missing an appendage between your legs and you grew up middle class with two parents who divorced when you were eight, I don’t think that puts you in the running to be her groom.”

Yvette’s jaw twitches, but she doesn’t break eye contact. Man, if she weren’t involved with Ava, I’d like her a lot. Ready to put the final nail in her coffin, I add, “I know she paid off your school loans and got into huge shit for it. According to what I read, her parents changed the terms when that happened. I also know she has been moving money into an offshore account to pay for your studio.” I pause to lean in. “And, off the record, you are so talented. I love your work, and I want to buy one of your goose vases for my mom. She’d love it. Maybe you can give me one as my wedding present to Quinn.”

“Wow, you’re a lot.”

“I am aware,” I say simply, nodding. “Now, as to why we’re meeting. It’s in both our best interests for this marriage to never happen.”

She snorts at that. “Ava won’t let him go,” she seethes, and I see such hurt in her baby blues. She doesn’t want them together. “She has him by the balls.”

“Maybe so. But I think if you help me, we can end this and both get the people we want.”

Yvette shakes her head, and it surprises me when her eyes turn glassy. “You don’t know Ava like I do. She won’t back down. She wants her money. She needs it for us to be free of all the demands her parents put on her. She wants to love me freely.”

“And I can help you.” Her eyes become so hopeful, my stomach clenches. “Money isn’t an issue. I can take care of that.”

Her eyes widen. “What?”

“I will pay her the amount of her inheritance if she leaves him be.”

She scoffs. “You’ve got twenty million lying around.”

“I mean, it’s in a bank, but yes,” I say matter-of-factly. Then I point to myself. “Genius hacker.” Her eyes widen when she realizes I’m serious. “We can both have the people we love.”

A tear slips out, running down her cheek. “She won’t go for it.”

“Why?”

“Because she loves her parents and wants their approval. Quinn gives her that, and she can keep me on the side.” My brows knit, but before I can counter that, she asks, “Can you just be on the side for him?”

“Fuck no,” I spit, my eyes narrowing. “I’m not meant to be in the shadows. I belong next to him, and I know my worth. You should too if you truly love her and she truly loves you.”

Yvette looks away, pressing her lips together before she brushes her fingers along her cheeks to catch her tears. Her voice is small as she whispers, “You don’t understand.”

“I do,” I stress, watching her as her body shakes with a sob she’s trying so hard to keep in. “Talk to her.”

“I’ve tried,” she snapped. “She won’t listen to me.”

“Then she doesn’t love you.”

She blanches at that, a glare overtaking her face. “She loves me with her whole heart.”

“If she did, she wouldn’t be marrying Quinn.” Her eyes flash with anger at his name, and I love that she doesn’t like this situation either. I can use it to my advantage. “What I can’t find is why he’s doing this.”

She chuckles at that. “He didn’t tell you?”

I try not to, but I glare at her, my brows furrowing deeply. “I know that he got the job with Dr. Abrams because of Ava.”

She nods slowly. “Yeah.”

I wait for more, but she doesn’t give it to me. Asshole.

“Will he lose it if he doesn’t go through with it?”

She laughs, the sound so much softer than her features. “He’ll lose more than that.”

“How so?”

Yvette stares at me, looking like she holds the power when she holds not a damn thing.

I do.

“He’ll lose his right to practice,” she answers, and I scrunch up my face.

“What? Why?”

She almost looks evil as she grins at me. I thought I liked her. That’s changing very quickly. “Quinn had a hard time the year you left, and since Ava had already taken all the classes he was taking, she gave him all her work. All he had to do was copy and paste. She also took all his tests for him since everything was online when the world shut down.”

Fucking Quinn. I bite the inside of my cheek. “How can she prove that?”

“We have videos, and we have him on tape thanking her and agreeing to the marriage for that reason. He said she didn’t need to split the inheritance with him because she was there for him when he was broken.”

And stab, stab, stab—right in my heart. I try to school my features, but it doesn’t work. I grimace. I could kill him. He has a hacker as the love of his life, and he couldn’t call me? I would have changed all his grades, but instead, he got involved with these two cunt bags!

I swallow thickly as I nod. If the videos are on their phones, I can find them. But when I went through their clouds, I only found photos of them, none of Quinn. I have a feeling it’s on a hard drive or a USB. I could break in to their apartment and find it. It shouldn’t be that hard. Or I can do this the legal way since I’ve been dancing across legal lines all morning. “Work with me, Yvette. Convince her to let him go.”

“I don’t know?—”

“If she wants you, she can have you with the money. Her parents will come around. Tell her that,” I stress, holding her gaze. “We’ve both been beyond miserable with this charade. It’s time we get who we want.”

She swallows hard. But by the glint in her eyes, I know I’ve got her.

I just need her to be enough for Ava to let Quinn off the hook.

Before I have to add breaking and entering to the list of things I’d do to get Quinn back.

Now, that may go against my moral code.