Cold Shadow (Cold Country #2)(83)

        

"Honey, how about you introduce me, or are have you forgotten you have a wife?"

"Wife?" Quinn asked, confused. He felt Drew slip out of his grasp. Or maybe he was simply moving his weight off his injured leg, Quinn couldn't tell. Drew's arm sliding slowly down Quinn's back startled him, but only for a second. Quinn felt Drew's knuckles graze his spine as his hand closed over the gun Quinn had forgotten he'd tucked into his waistband. What did it matter to him what this bitch and her husband were up to? He had nothing to do with this. He'd keep her talking while Drew got the gun and shot her crazy ass. That's all he had to do.

But it wasn't some crazed husband who stepped out of the dark recesses of the butcher shop into the small circle of emergency lighting that showered down upon them like a spotlight. It was Nathan … holding his weapon in front of him, barrel pointed down toward the floor, trigger finger extended to show he wasn't about to shoot.

He walked slowly, making no sound as he advanced. He crouched slightly, walking on the balls of his feet. His gray eyes nearly black. He didn't spare a glance for Quinn or Drew, his focus trained on the woman. Not the gun in her hands. He looked her directly in the eyes, forcing her to meet his gaze.

Quinn had never seen him move like that. He'd seen him in situations that brought out the cop in him. But never this. This version of the man transcended cop and Marine, this man was a fucking predator. Soulless. Calculating. Dangerous.

Sexy as fuck.

"Aw, look, your boyfriend is getting a stiffy," she purred, her voice losing the hint of sweetness and the fake fucking accent. "Hi, honey, I'm home."

"Tori." Nathan nodded, greeting her succinctly by name. Just her name. Nothing more. Quinn couldn't tell what was true … but Nathan knew her. Obviously. Jesus.

"She was your wife?" Quinn said, realizing he sounded exactly like the betrayed lover the woman had been angling for. He frowned, more at himself for reacting. "I'd forgotten there was a first one." He let his tone drip with derision.

"First?" That pissed her off. Her voice lost the high-pitched perkiness that grated on his nerves.

"Did you think you were the only woman in his life? Honey, spare me." Quinn assumed the same inflections she'd used. The middle-class southern polite voice one used when one would rather eat minced glass straight from the sugar bowl.

Nathan stood perfectly still, gun relaxed, eyes trained on her. No hint of emotion crossed his face. Quinn couldn't read him. Was he surprised, angry, hurt … what?

She glared at Quinn, her mouth pulled down at the corners as her true face emerged from behind the social mask. "Did he tell you we never divorced? That's right, sugar, we're still married." The mask returned, her smile so bright and fake Quinn thought he'd imagined the bitter anger seeping from her just a second before. "Of course now that I know he's a fucking fairy, I'll have to finally end it. What would people think? All that money you thought you'd get from him … I mean, dear, I hate to call a spade a spade … but gold dig much?" 

Nathan laughed. Quinn looked from the crazy lady to find Nathan grinning. Really grinning. Seriously … like that shit was funny as fuck.

The chick didn't like being laughed at. Her mask slipped again. "Did you know he couldn't even fuck without his buddy watching us? I mean I should have figured it out when we first met. He asked me to marry him after our second time. His friend was asleep in the next bed. He never got a turn. Now that I think about it, I'm sure he was waiting for me to leave. I said yes, of course. I mean, look at him. He was the prettiest Marine on base, if not exactly the best in the sack. But look at him."

"She'd know. She did all of us." Drew finally found his voice.

She tried to keep the fake smile plastered on her face as she turned her ire on the man leaning helplessly on Quinn. She glanced at him for a long moment. Surprise crossed her face before she pulled herself together. "Have we met, sweetie?"

Drew leaned closer to Quinn like he was whispering secrets in Quinn's ear, his voice carrying in the echo chamber they were trapped in. "Rumor had it she used some green kid while he was deployed. She got him to marry her and put her up in a nice apartment with all the perks that came with being a military wife. When he came back from Bosnia he walked in on her … shall we say, entertaining … in his bed. Rumor was, he had the marriage annulled and transferred to a different unit across the country. I didn't know who the kid was. He was gone before I was transferred in. But I do remember that she liked 'em young. I don't remember much about it …  I'm pretty sure I've had better sex with my own hand."