“Hold on.”
Ree stopped, but she didn’t turn around as Quint’s masculine voice traveled over her and through her. They had barely closed the books on their last case, where they’d brought down a money laundering scheme being run out of a combination restaurant and bar. They’d learned the person Quint was truly after, a guy by the name Dumitru, was farther up the chain and much harder to reach. Going undercover with Quint while he was on a witch hunt wasn’t her idea of smart.
Then again, she worried about him bringing in a brand-new partner after the two of them had developed good working chemistry. Their recent undercover sting had been akin to baptism by fire, but she’d learned a great deal from the ATF’s most seasoned agent. They had chemistry to burn, but that definitely fell into the “cons” column.
At six feet three inches of stacked muscle, stormy sapphire-blue eyes and strong chin with just the right amount of stubble, Quint Casey would be considered sexy by most standards. His muscled torso formed an improbable vee at the waist, and he had the kind of body most athletic recruiters would have killed for. He had the whole “chiseled jawline, strong, hawklike nose and piercing eyes” bit down pat.
“I can admit that I’m not the easiest person to get along with at times. Is there any way you would consider taking on another undercover case with me?” he asked with eyes that locked onto hers, causing more heat and electricity to fire through her. “We have to move fast on the information we have, and I can’t think of a better partner.”
“Are you sure about that?” She was starting to waver despite the warning bells sounding off in her head. Their chemistry had felt special and not easy to duplicate. “Because there are other agents who would give their right arm to work with you.”
“I’m one hundred percent,” he said with full conviction as he studied her. “Can I ask a question?”
“Go for it,” she said, figuring she might as well hear what he had to say. The least she could do was listen after he’d made the long trip to her mother’s ranch. Plus, she could admit part of her would rather be out here talking shop with Quint than doing the family supper bit. It was getting harder to feel like she fit in anymore, especially since her grandfather seemed to be a no-show.
“What’s really holding you back?” he asked.
“Are you sure you want to know?” She didn’t bother to hide her shock at his question.
“I can handle whatever it is,” he said. “Trust me.”
Famous last words, she thought. But if he really wanted to know...
“The personal stakes are high for you, and I’m concerned mistakes could end up being made because of it.” There. She’d said it. Tessa had been killed by accident while Quint was trying to bust a weapons ring that went by the name A12. Dumitru was the leader and he’d been present at the bust. He was also the only one who got away that night. The others who’d been busted ended up dead in their jail cells.
“That’s understandable,” he said after a thoughtful pause. A look passed behind his eyes, nothing more than a flash, really, that said she’d struck a nerve.
“There’s a reason lawyers aren’t allowed to try cases for family members,” she continued.
“Conflict of interest,” he stated.
“As much as I hate to say it, because I do realize you’re the best person we have at the agency,” she continued, doing what she could to soften the blow. “But even you can’t deny how tempting it would be to follow a lead when we should stay back and analyze if you feel like you’re close to the person responsible for Tessa’s death.”
Quint nodded, his expression unreadable.
After a few uncomfortable beats of silence, he turned around and walked toward the driver’s side of his truck.
“Quint,” she said, but he kept walking. She ran over to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. “Talk to me.”
“What’s the point?” He opened the door and claimed the driver’s seat.
“I don’t know. This is how people work things out.” She wedged her body so he couldn’t close the door without hurting her. The irony that she hadn’t discussed her feelings with her mother, yet she was forcing him to talk, sat heavy on her chest. Why was it so easy to dish out advice and so difficult to take it?
“Your mind is made up,” he said, reaching for the handle. “There’s basically no point in continuing this conversation. Don’t worry, I won’t request you for this assignment.”
“Wait. Wait. Wait,” she said. “What do you mean you won’t request me? I thought it was already a done deal.”
“No. That’s why I came here to talk to you in person,” he stated. “And the fact that you think I would go behind your back only proves I didn’t know you as well as I believed.”
“I just thought—”
“What? That I’d make arrangements without consulting you first?” His look of frustration was a nail in her gut. “If you’ll move out of the way, I’ll get going. I’ve taken up enough of your time.” He nodded toward the backyard. “Your family is waiting. You should get back to them.”
Ree stood there, dumbfounded. Words tried to form, but her mouth wouldn’t move. Since she couldn’t speak, she decided to act. She stepped up and slipped into the back seat.
“What are you doing?” he asked, craning his neck around.
She shrugged and put her hands up, palms out, in the surrender position.
“I’m trying to leave,” he said.
“Then you’ll have to take me with you.” She finally found her voice. The thought of Quint tackling this assignment with a new partner, one he barely knew, wasn’t something Ree was willing to allow. Granted, he was a professional and at the top of his game. Did he make mistakes? Yes. Everyone did. She’d made several that he hadn’t held against her.
“Does this mean you’re trying to weasel your way back into my good graces?” Quint quipped.
“We’ll see about that when you hear what I have to say next,” she said.
“Sounds like I should be very afraid,” he stated, his tone a little lighter now. The stress wrinkle on his forehead was near-permanent.
“I need a minute to think about what you’re asking before I make a decision,” she started. “So that means you get to spend the day with my family if you want me to consider taking the assignment.”
“It would be easier for me to call upstairs and make the request,” he said as his gaze found hers via the rearview mirror.
“Yeah. That’s true.” She nodded. “But you won’t do that.”
“And why is that?” he asked, arching a dark brow.
“Easy,” she said. “You want me to show up willingly and in a good mood. Force me and we both know I’ll have an attitude.”
“I have seen your temper,” he agreed with a smirk. One that caused her stomach to free-fall. Her attraction to him definitely fell into the con column. One very solid pro was his experience. The idea of working with him again was growing on her. A small part of her wished he’d called for that beer instead. But dating a coworker was probably a bad idea. “Fortunately for you, I don’t scare easily.”
“Sounds like I’m one lucky lady.” She twisted up her face as she rolled her eyes.
“That’s a fair statement,” he quipped.
Ree sighed. They’d used their simmering attraction to sell the newlywed routine on their previous assignment. She’d been tempted to cross a line with him more than once in the cabin they’d shared on the last bust. At least she’d be going into this case with eyes wide open.
Hold on a sec. Was she seriously considering taking the assignment?
“What do you say?” she asked. “My family is probably holding out on serving food. We’ll have a small but angry mob soon if I don’t get over there.”
Quint stared at her for a long moment.
“I don’t normally do family get-togethers, but I’ll make an exception this time,” he said. “Just don’t think this is going to become a habit.”
“As long as you remember that I haven’t agreed to anything yet,” she said.
Quint stepped out of the truck and then held his hand out. “You will.”
“What makes you so certain?” She took the offering, ignoring the now-familiar jolt of electricity that came with contact. Her heart hoped she could take being in close quarters again with Quint.
“I’m going to charm the hell out of your family,” he said. “I’ll have them eating out of my hand by the time I’m through. You’ll take the case just to get them off your back.”
Ree laughed out loud as she dropped his hand.
“Yeah?” she asked with a raised eyebrow. “Good luck with that one.”
The man had no idea what he was getting into.
QUINT HAD THIS. No problem. He could handle families despite the fact that he’d grown up the child of a single mother. How hard could it be? It wasn’t like he was socially inept. He’d been to quite a few parties over the years. He’d done his fair share of socializing at department functions despite preferring a quiet night at home on his days off over spending time with a dozen people he barely knew. So why was a thin sheen of sweat forming above his eyebrows?
He’d spent the better part of the past ten years pretending to be someone else for a living. Surely he could put on the same mask and get through a couple of hours with these good people.
“Ready for this?” Ree asked before pinching the bridge of her nose and exhaling a long, slow sigh.
That was probably not a good sign.
“I’ve dealt with worse things than a family barbecue,” he snapped. The words came out a little more heated than he’d intended. Why were his nerves getting to him?
Ree was important. He respected her work. It was natural for him to want her family to like him. Or so he tried to convince himself.
“Let the fireworks begin,” she said so low he almost didn’t hear her.
Ree led the way around the side of the house. A couple of kids were running around, blowing bubbles and hopping in and out of a small plastic pool filled with water from a garden hose that snaked over the edge.
The sun glared and for a half second, Quint almost doubled back to get his sunglasses. He decided against it at the last minute, figuring her family would want to look him in the eye.
There were a couple of wooden picnic tables underneath a towering oak tree. A miniature plastic table sat in between. Laughter filled the air as a slightly older woman with the same fiery red hair as Ree carried a basket to one of the tables. This whole scene was something out of a Norman Rockwell painting, and definitely out of his comfort zone. This seemed like a good time to remind himself he was doing this for Ree.
Instinct or habit had him reaching for her hand. He stopped himself midreach. They weren’t playing the married couple right now, and based on the stare-down he was receiving, Preston fit into this family far better than Quint ever would.
“Hey, everyone, I’d like you to meet one of my coworkers.” Ree clapped her hands together just in case no one got the message based on her booming voice—a voice that echoed across the several-acre lawn. Ree held her hand up like she was presenting an auction item. “Everyone, this is Agent Quinton Casey. Quint, this is everyone.”
He suddenly felt like a bug underneath a magnifying glass on a hot summer sidewalk.
“Hey,” he said, then gave an awkward wave that he was pretty sure made him look more like Howdy Doody than a top ATF agent.
Ree’s mother gave a curt nod before turning to the other table with her basket. Preston’s stare-down continued. Little did the guy know that with Quint’s martial arts training he wasn’t the guy Preston wanted to pick a fight with. Then again, Quint wasn’t here to stir up trouble.
One guy stood up and walked over to the perimeter of the manicured lawn where Quint stood.
“I’m Shane, Ree’s brother.” He stuck a hand out in between them. “We’ve talked over the phone a couple of times.”
“Nice to meet you in person.” Quint took the offering and received a vigorous handshake.
“I’ll just leave you two to get to know each other,” Ree said with a half smirk before taking off toward a cooler. She grabbed two cold ones, popped open the tops and brought one back to Quint before making a beeline for the kids’ table.
Ree with kids? He didn’t think she was the type to hang around with the little rug rats on purpose.
“Do you want to come over and have a seat?” Shane asked. “I’d like to introduce you to my best friend, Preston.”
“We’ve met,” Quint said quickly. A little too quickly?
“Oh,” Shane said, looking at a loss for words.
“But, hey, it can’t hurt to get to know each other better.” Quint figured his attraction to Ree would cool down quite a few notches if he got to know the guy who had to be an ex-boyfriend.
“Great.” Shane led the way over to the picnic table where Preston sat. He pointed to one of the men sitting beside Preston. “That’s my brother Finn.”
Finn glanced up and smiled. “Nice to meet you.” He almost immediately went back to his conversation or hostile negotiation with a little tyke with the same shock of red hair.
“That would be my son Liam who is doing all the talking.” Shane practically beamed with pride.
“Cute kid,” Quint said. As far as kids went, this one would pass muster. He had a round, angelic face that was dotted with freckles.
“Thanks,” Shane said. “Over at the other table are Patrick and Connor.”
The two perked up when they heard their names. Both glanced over and waved before returning to animated conversation. The family resemblance among the Sheppards was unmistakable.
Shane took a seat beside Preston, so Quint took a spot opposite them both.
“How long have you known Ree?” Preston asked, gripping his plastic fork so hard it might crack.
“Not long,” Quint admitted. “But I do feel like we got to know each other fast.”
“Really?” Preston’s eyebrow went up. “That’s odd.”
Shane made a face at his friend before saying, “Ree can be a closed book to most people.”
“Nature of the job,” Quint defended. “When your life depends on selling the fact that you are newlyweds, barriers break down real fast.”
Mrs. Sheppard gasped at hearing the last part. She clutched her chest with her free hand and took a step back.
“It’s no big deal, Mom.” Ree shot a look of apology at Quint.
He’d clearly overstepped his bounds. Duly noted.
“If you really knew Ree, you wouldn’t talk about the dangers of work around her family,” Preston said, low and under his breath.
Quint took in a slow, deep breath. Turned out he wasn’t as good at this family thing as he’d expected.
Ree walked over to him, giving her brothers a death stare. She plopped down beside him, turning her back to the table.
“Do you want to get out of here?” she asked, and he could see her clench her back teeth.
“Is that a good idea?” He didn’t want to make matters worse.
“It is as far as I’m concerned,” she countered.
“You asked me to stay. It’s up to you when I leave,” he stated, and meant every word. Based on the chilly reception from her mother, a picture was emerging. Ree had touched on her family dynamic a little bit while they were on their last assignment, but seeing it firsthand put the reality of the situation smack in his face. He would unpack it all later. For now, he just wanted to do whatever it took to make Ree happy so she’d agree to the assignment.
“Let’s get out of here,” she said, pushing up to standing.
“Hey, Ree. Where are you going?” Shane asked.
“Somewhere people know how to treat a guest,” she said.
With that, she marched around the side of the house. Quint followed, figuring his popularity with her family took another hit.
“I’ll follow you in my car,” she said.
“Where to?” he asked.
“Anywhere but here.” Her voice shook with anger.
Footsteps sounded behind them. Quint turned to see Preston jogging up.
“Ree, don’t leave like this,” Preston said, stopping at the corner of the house.
“I have to prep for a case,” she said by way of defense. She stopped next to her convertible with her hand on the door handle but didn’t turn around.
Quint headed to his truck, figuring it wasn’t his place to listen.
“Really? Are you choosing work again? Because you’re going to turn around in a few years and realize you’re all alone.” Preston’s voice held far too much disdain for his own good. The man seemed to have no idea the land mine he’d just stepped on. A person like Ree needed support, not more criticism. She was clearly taking enough from her mother. The last thing she needed was to hear it from someone she was in a relationship with. But Ree didn’t need Quint to step up and defend her. She’d do a fine job on her own.
In fact, as he hopped into the driver’s seat, he could practically hear all of Ree’s muscles tensing at once. He had no idea what her response ended up being. All he could hear was her tires searching for purchase on the dirt road before her vehicle whipped right past his.