Page 4 of Whatever It Takes

“For Christ’s sake, Charlotte. Can you be serious here for a second?”Quinn’s voice boomed across the table. It was the first time he had addressed me, and his tone set me off. I spent years trying to forget his voice. His smile. His scent. How he made me feel. I was pissed that he thought he could show back up in my life when I was most vulnerable and think that I would be okay with that.

“All right. Let’s all take a minute to calm down,” Detective Rubin cut in, sliding his chair across the floor. “I know you two have history together. Let’s try to keep this conversation professional, okay?”

I glared at Quinn and asked him the question that had been burning a hole in my head since his feet hit my doorstep. “Why are you here?”

He plowed a hand through his hair in frustration. His eyes darted around the kitchen before landing on mine. “Have you ever heard of a woman named Pamela O’Brien?”

His answer confused me because we were clearly talking about something different. I wanted to know how long he’s been back for, and why the hell was I just finding out that he was a cop?

Still, his stern expression gave me a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. “No.”

“She’s an assistant district attorney from the Philadelphia office.”

“Okay,” I said, slumping down into an empty chair at the table.

“She admitted to tampering with evidence regarding your husband’s case.” He blanched. “As well as aiding and abetting.”

My eyebrows rose along with the hair along the back of my neck. “Why would she do that? Did she owe Grant a favor?”

Quinn and Detective Rubin exchanged a tenuous look.

“She was with him that night,” Quinn replied, looking uneasy.

“I’m confused. There wasn’t anyone with him during the crash. The footage from the cameras at the intersection didn’t show anyone else in the car with him.”

Detective Rubin leaned forward, his gray sports coat strained against his broad chest. “He had just left her at the hotel.”

My back straightened. “You mean the hotel bar?”

Quinn ran his thumb along his bottom lip, a telltale sign that he was nervous. I guess some things never change. “Yes, Grant and Pamela were at the bar that night, but they also rented a room together. She admitted to having an intimate relationship with your husband.”

I shot up from my seat and stumbled across the kitchen. How the hell was this my life? I should have been furious, angry, and broken, but I was so past it all. There was nothing left to do but laugh at how pathetic my life had become. So, I did. I laughed until tears flowed from my eyes. I hunched over and grabbed my stomach and peeked over at Quinn and Detective Rubin. They looked confused. Join the club.

“Are you okay?” Quinn asked, his brows crinkled with worry. He started to step toward me, but I held up my hand. I couldn’t have him touch me. It wouldn’t take much for me to fall into his arms. I was always weak when it came to him.

“I’m fine,” I reassured him, wiping a tear from my eye. “I just want this over with.”

I didn’t know how a man like Grant Anderson could go from being the respected prosecutor who handled all the DWI cases here in Montgomery County to the most wanted fugitive in the state of Pennsylvania.

He was no longer the well-liked son of a local politician. He was now a murderer, wanted for vehicular manslaughter. His reckless actions took the lives of five people when he crashed his BMW into the Dodge Caravan containing a young family who had been coming home from a week-long vacation from the Jersey Shore. He ran from the scene while their minivan went up in flames.

“I’m sorry, Charlotte.” Quinn’s voice was gruff, almost pained. “My office is now involved in the investigation because the woman in question is from our district. I can’t personally handle the case, because it’s a conflict of interest.”

“So, I’ll ask again, why are you here?”

After all these years, I couldn’t believe this was actually happening. This shitshow called my life just kept getting better and better.

“Detective Rubin is a good friend of mine. We are both concerned about that package that was left on your front porch. Forensics was unable to retrieve a set of prints which is very alarming. Marco also knows about our history, and we both wanted to check-in and make sure you were okay.”

I waved my hands around emphatically. “I’m fine.” I didn’t want him to think I was weak, because I wasn’t. But I also wasn’t as strong as I thought I was either. There was only so much I could handle in one day. And right then, protecting my already battered heart was at the top of my list.

My mind couldn’t even begin to comprehend the potential danger Grant left behind. I’ve watched enough episodes ofMind Hunteron Netflix to know that whoever left that box on my porch meant it as a warning.

Quinn’s face got serious. “I may not be able to formally investigate this case, but I will do whatever I can to make him pay and keep you and your daughter safe.”

This was such a mess. What the hell was I supposed to do? Thank him for being the one to tell me that my husband was having an affair? Thank him for reminding me that there was an unknown threat out there, that my life as well as Emery’s, could be in danger?

Just the thought had me petrified. “No, you won’t, Quinn. This isn’t your business, not official and certainly not personal.”

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