Under the Gun (CEP Book 3) Read online

  You are not wrong on that, my friend, Gunner thought.

  Chapter 13

  “I got a text message from Rod,” Quinn informed Gunner after Quaid left.

  “What?” His anger came back in spades. “Oz and I just talked to him. Gimme your phone.”

  She got up from the chair and went to him, handing over her cell.

  --Call off your fucking dogs.

  “That son of a bitch,” Gunner bit out before clicking on the message and calling the asshole.

  “What’re you doing?” Quinn asked, mouth hanging open.

  “Taking care of this shit now.” She watched his jaw muscles jump and knew he was angry. “It’s not Quinn. And you fucking talk to her like that again, you’ll regret it.” He let out a humorless laugh before saying, “Strike that shit. You even just talk to her again, you’ll regret it. We clear?” Quinn watched as he listened to what Rod had to say then Gunner spit out, “I’m dead fuckin’ serious, asshole. Your name shows up on her phone again, you’ll wish you’d never met her. Oh, yeah? Good to know I got my fuckin’ point across.” He hung up and handed back her phone. “He tries contacting you again, you let me know.”

  She hated it, but it was kind of hot that he was being such a Neanderthal about her. Oh, who was she kidding? She didn’t hate it at all.

  When she saw that he’d calmed down a little, she asked, “Are you hungry?”

  “I am,” Gunner answered. But she saw he wasn’t hungry for what she was thinking.

  As she started toward the kitchen, he reached his hand around her waist and pulling her to him, encased her in his arms and kissed the fool out of her.

  Holy damn.

  When he pulled away, she looked up at him, dizzy from his kiss. “Well, hi, there.”

  “Hey, baby,” he answered then bent, scooping her up in his arms bridal style making her yelp his name before carrying her to her bedroom.

  He threw her on the bed making her yelp again then crawled on himself, covering her lips with his, her body with his. Then they made out like a couple of teenagers, both breathing hard, hands everywhere, and she loved it.

  He eventually pulled away and gazed down at her for so long she finally asked, “What?

  “I think Vance may be the one behind all this,” Gunner informed her.

  What? What!

  “No. He’d never do something like that.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Did you know he’s married?”

  Oh, now he was just messing with her.

  “He is not!” She pushed Gunner off and scooted off the bed to stand looking back down at him, hands on her hips.

  He sat up putting his feet to the floor facing her and was almost her same height. Jeez.

  “He is. Oz and I met his wife Elaine tonight. His sister-in-law Sara.”

  All she could do was stare at him. Rod was married? Holy fuck. And ew!

  “Sara told Oz and me we could find him at the local strip club. We did. Took him outside and asked some questions. He appeared innocent but I don’t trust the fucker. Sara hates him. Says he’s a manipulator.”

  She hated how he was watching her for a reaction, as if he was trying to catch her in a lie.

  “I—I didn’t know. He told me he was divorced. And it wasn’t serious between us. I haven’t even been with him for over two months.” She looked to see if he believed her but couldn’t tell. “I’d never sleep with a married man! Ever!”

  Gunner tilted his head to the side, a smirk on his face. “Well, sweetheart, it looks like you did.”

  “Get out!” She stepped back and pointed toward the bedroom door.

  He stood and said, “Quinn, I—”

  “You think I knew he was married! You think I’d destroy a family! Get out! Go!” She followed him into the living room then the kitchen where he pulled the pizza out of the fridge. “I mean, go! Leave! Take your pizza and go to your place or wherever. I don’t want you here!”

  He pulled a plate out of the cabinet putting three pieces of pizza on it then placed it in the microwave, starting it up.

  And now she was really pissed. “Do you not understand English?”

  He chuckled as he watched the microwave.

  “What’s so fucking funny? Huh?”

  Not looking at her, he declared, “You’re cute when you’re mad.”

  “Oh, my God! Are you serious right now? Gunner Murphy! Get the fuck out of my apartment! Now!” she screamed.

  she guessed he’d had enough because he turned and grabbed her, pulling her close into him and smashing his lips to hers as she struggled to get away. But, damn, the man had magic lips and she was soon caught up in the kiss as much as he was.

  Shit!

  Before she knew it, he had her jeans undone and off along with her panties, then pulled her sweatshirt over her head leaving her naked. Then picking her up, he sat her ass on the counter and kneeling in front of her threw her legs over his shoulders and pulling her to the edge of the counter, began to eat her, making her gasp.

  Jesus Christ.

  He buried his face between her legs, relentlessly sucking, licking, tasting until she was a trembling mess, her legs shaking like crazy on his shoulders. When he looked up at her and sucked her clit into his mouth, she was done and came harder than she’d ever come before.

  “Oh, God! Gunner! Oh, fuck!” she cried, her head going back to bang against the cabinet.

  Next thing she knew, she was in his arms and being carried once again to her bedroom. He threw her on the bed where she had no energy to go anywhere else and watched as he stripped naked. This time she paid attention to the tattoo that looked like a grim reaper on a Pegasus but she had no chance to comment because he’d put a knee to the bed and moved over her.

  “I’m clean. Do I need a condom?” he asked, looking down at her. At her head shake, he put a hand behind her knee drawing her leg up and drove his cock inside her so deeply and, God, so smoothly.

  Damn.

  As he began moving his hips, she pushed off her foot on the bed, meeting him thrust for thrust, moaning at how good he felt, how good he made her feel.

  “Grab your tits, baby,” he ordered. When her hands went to her breasts to fondle them, a spark flashed in his blue eyes and he let out a low, “Fuck.”

  Several thrusts later, he suddenly withdrew from her and flipped her onto her belly, then hands on her hips, pulled her up and slammed back inside making her breath catch as her hands clenched the sheets.

  “God, you’re so deep! I’m…I’m…”

  “You gonna come, baby?” he coaxed.

  And she did. Burying her face in the bed, she screamed as her climax blasted through her entire being, her core pulsing on his cock as waves of pleasure left her limp.

  “Fuck,” she heard him murmur and felt his thrusts become deeper, more erratic, then planting himself deep inside her, he came with a groan.

  His body came down on top of hers, his breath was in her ear and she closed her eyes and was fast asleep.

  Quinn was having the best dream ever.

  In her dream, Gunner was behind her in bed, one hand on her breast where he rolled her nipple between his thumb and finger, the other between her legs, his fingers sliding forward and back through her folds on either side of her clit and she was moaning for all she was worth.

  God, he was good.

  She was just at the brink of climaxing when she heard him whisper in her ear, “Good girl.”

  Her eyes shot open as her body warmed with her release, muscles tensing as she cried out and it was then she realized this wasn’t a dream. Gunner really was there and he’d made her come. In her sleep.

  Holy shit!

  “Gunner?” she called.

  “Right here, baby,” he answered as he pulled her leg over his thigh and slid his cock inside her filling her so fully.

  “Oh, my God,” she whispered as he pumped inside, his hands on her continuing to keep her highly aroused.

  “Love how wet you get, baby
,” he whispered back sending another orgasmic tremor throughout her body.

  Good God. The man was going to ruin her for any other.

  When he reached his peak, she was right there with him, calling his name as the waves of bliss permeated every nerve ending, every cell, until she was spent. Completely and utterly drained of all energy.

  And, once again, she was out.

  The next morning, she awoke to Gunner watching her.

  “Hey,” he said, moving a hand up and pushing a curly lock of hair from her forehead.

  “Hey.” She stretched her shoulders feeling warmly sated as she looked back at him with a shy smile.

  “You ready for today? The funeral?”

  Her brow wrinkled as she thought about it. “I think so.”

  “Good. I’ll be right by your side, baby,” he said, his eyes soft on hers.

  And that’s when she became fully awake and knew she was falling for him. Her body suddenly tensed and she knew she had to get the hell out of bed. Hell, she had to get the hell away from him before it was too late and he broke her heart. She moved to get up.

  “Stop,” he ordered.

  She looked back at him. “Stop what?”

  “Just stop acting like you have to be on the go all the time. Relax.”

  That’s when she turned and looked at the clock on her nightstand to see that it was after seven. “Shit! I do have to go!” Jumping out of bed she grabbed a few things from her dresser and just before she closed the bathroom door she heard him mutter, “Fuck. She missed it again.”

  As she showered, she wondered what he was talking about. Missed what? What did that mean? All she knew was she had to protect her heart and the sooner this was all over and he was gone, the better.

  Gunner manned the desk as he’d done the day before while she counseled clients and at noon she was finished so they could make the funeral at one.

  “Ready?” he asked from her door as she entered notes into her computer, not looking at him.

  “As I’ll ever be,” she said finishing up and shutting things down. Then and only then did she look at him and her teeth just about fell out.

  Fucking hell.

  Somewhere along the line, he’d changed into a dark blue suit, white shirt and blue striped tie, and lord have mercy, did he look good. Damn!

  He knew she thought so too if the smug smile he wore was any indication.

  Well, whatever.

  “You look nice,” she offered as she grabbed her purse and coat from her closet.

  “You look beautiful as ever,” he stated which made her draw in a breath as she pulled on her coat.

  Don’t let yourself fall. Stay cool. Detached. You can do this.

  “Thank you,” she replied walking toward him. He moved so she could turn off her light and lock her door then she did the same in the main office.

  They didn’t talk in the elevator ride down nor in the cab on the way to the church. She was nervous and she supposed he’d picked up on it but she was glad to have him with her, giving her his silent strength if anything.

  After the funeral, Quinn went through the receiving line to offer her condolences, choosing to bypass Tommy who stood next to his dad at the end. Gunner was waiting on her and just as she stepped away, Tommy muttered, “Stupid cunt,” under his breath making her turn back wanting to light him up. But remembering where she was, she only smiled sadly at him as she shook her head.

  “What was that all about?” Gunner asked as they left the church.

  “He called me a stupid cunt,” she told him.

  “You’re fucking kidding me.” She could tell Gunner wanted to go back in the church because he hesitated, but she pulled on his bicep, tugging him toward the street so they could get a cab.

  “Nope. But it’s okay. I’m over it. Little jerk will soon get his,” she said.

  “He so fucking will,” Gunner promised holding the door of the taxi that had stopped open for her.

  Chapter 14

  “Dude, where you been? A funeral?” Boone teased when Gunner walked into CEP.

  “Uh, yeah, that’s exactly where I’ve been.”

  Boone’s face dropped. “Sorry, man. Bad joke.”

  “No, it’s okay,” Gunner answered. “My dad here?”

  “In his office.”

  “Thanks.”

  As he walked toward Hank’s office, he noticed it was unusually quiet. And that’s when he realized Abby wasn’t there.

  “Where’s Abby?” he asked his dad.

  “Family emergency. Dad had a heart attack so she flew back to Wisconsin to be with him.”

  “That’s not good.”

  “Yeah. Told her to call when she heard something. What’s going on with Quinn?” Hank asked.

  Gunner looked at his dad for a second wondering if he was asking if they were sleeping together then his senses came the fuck back. Jesus. “Dropped her off at her place after the funeral and she was taking a nap but wanted to get your thoughts on things.”

  “Okay.”

  Gunner told him about he and Oz confronting Rod then about Tommy Edwards’s remark this morning.

  “Punk needs to be put in his place.”

  “Yeah, he does,” Gunner agreed.

  “So you thinking it’s this Vance guy or the kid?”

  “Not sure. And nothing the cops would call illegal has really been done yet, so not a lot I can do but threaten right back which sucks ass.”

  Hank nodded. “Catch-22. On the one hand, it’s good that nothing’s gone on. On the other, bring that shit so we can take action, huh, kid?”

  Gunner nodded right back. “Gave the security at her office and apartment building my card telling them to call if anything happened, so I’ve got that covered.”

  And lo and behold, his phone rang right at that moment.

  “Yeah?”

  He listened for a moment then turned and headed out of the office.

  “Son?” Hank called after him.

  “Someone tried breaking into her apartment. I’ve gotta go.”

  In the cab, Gunner called Quinn but didn’t get an answer. “Goddamn it!” he yelled making the cabbie jump. He next called Oz telling him what’d happened and asking him to meet him so they could view the video and see if it was the same person. He tried calling Quinn again and thought about throwing his phone when she still didn’t pick up.

  Dialing again, he waited for an answer.

  “Security. This is Brandon,” a man answered, the same one who’d called Gunner.

  “Is she there with you?” Gunner asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Give her the phone.” When Quinn came on her voice sounded so tiny he wanted to punch someone. “Baby. You okay?”

  “I don’t know. I was asleep and kept hearing something. I thought it was you getting back but then I heard a loud bang on the door and got up to see what was going on. Whoever was out there was rattling the doorknob like crazy and it sounded like they were picking the lock. I was so scared.”

  She sounded like she was in shock, no emotion in her telling him this.

  “Stay put. I’ll be right there.”

  He jumped out of the cab and ran into the building heading right to security.

  “Where is she?” he asked one of the guards.

  “In here,” he said, leading him into a lounge-type room.

  She sat on a couch in the clothes she’d changed into after the funeral, a royal blue turtleneck and another pair of tattered jeans, but she looked so lost there by herself and he was angry that he’d left her alone.

  When she saw him, her eyes didn’t light up as they normally did. No, they were blank as if she’d just checked out.

  “Hey, baby,” he said, sitting next to her and pulling her into his lap. “You okay?”

  She looked at him and he finally saw a flash of emotion as her eyes watered. “I just…I just want it to stop,” she whispered.

  “I know, sweetheart. I’m gonna find out who did this.”
God, he was pissed. Whoever the fuck was doing this to her was going to die by his own goddamned hands.

  They sat there for a long time before Oz and Tilly came in, which brought Quinn back to life and she crawled off his lap going to her best friend who hugged her tightly as Quinn cried.

  Gunner stood and met Oz halfway. “They got the video ready?” Oz asked.

  “Haven’t asked. I just got here a few minutes ago.” Seeing that Quinn was with Tilly, he looked back at Oz. “Come on,” he said, walking out to the main security office. “You Brandon?”

  “I am,” the guy said, standing and shaking Gunner’s hand.

  “You have video yet?” Gunner asked.

  “Yeah. Have a seat.” He motioned to two chairs. “This shit’s weird.”

  Brandon ran the film back showing them where a guy dressed exactly as he’d been before, hoodie, head covered, nondescript clothing and the watch. Gunner hated this shit because on the video he could tell the guy was smaller. Rod was probably five-nine but so was Tommy which didn’t narrow anything down for them. They watched as the bastard came into the lobby through the front doors and went right for the stairwell. The video then flashed over to Quinn’s floor showing the guy exiting the stairway and going right to her door.

  “This is where it gets weird,” Brandon said.

  Gunner and Oz watched as the guy passed her door and headed right to the camera, then pulling out a huge knife, waved it around so it caught the lights.

  “Look the fuck up, asshole,” Gunner mumbled, wanting to see who it was, but the hoodie’s shadow hid everything. “Fuck!”

  The guy walked back to Quinn’s door and putting the knife on the floor, knelt and started working at the lock with what looked like an actual lock pick. He got the lock on the knob picked, it appeared, because he moved to the first deadbolt next. But this one was giving him a hard time it appeared because he got frustrated and pounded a fist against the door. He tried the lock for another moment then gave up. But before leaving, he wedged the knife between the door and the jam, then turning once again to face the camera, he held his arms out as if taunting them. Then he left by the stairwell again.