Quinn's Undying Rose

Keegan too stumbled, but seemed less affected. His eyes instantly roamed the room. Realizing that only one of his associates was still alive and would soon be dead, he jumped to the bed where one of the human women had taken refuge.

He grabbed her amidst her high-pitched shrieks, dragged her against his body like a shield and made for the secondary door that led out of the room.

“One move, and she dies!” Keegan warned.

Thomas, lying on the floor, unable to lift himself, issued his own warning. “Next time you die, Kasper.”

“There will be no next time,” Keegan predicted instead, shaking his head.

“You’ve got that right,” Quinn murmured under his breath and pulled a knife from Eddie’s belt, having lost his own earlier in the fight.

He flicked his wrist. The weapon lodged in Keegan’s throat a split-second later. A surprised gurgle was Keegan’s response before he lost his hold on the panicked human. As the woman scrambled from him, stumbling to the floor in the process, Quinn pulled his stake from his pocket and lunged for him.

A gunshot stopped him. For a split-second he was in shock, but then he saw Keegan as he combusted, then disintegrated into dust. Quinn whirled his head around, trying to locate the shooter, when he found Rose standing in the door, still holding the handgun that had fired the deadly shot.

She smiled. “You were right. Small caliber works best.” She shrugged. “I borrowed it from Cain.”

Quinn returned her smile then let his eyes sweep over the room, confirming that all enemies were dead. Eddie was kneeling next to Thomas on the floor, helping him to a sitting position. Quinn rushed to him, crouching down.

“Thank God you’re all right.”

Thomas gave a tired nod. “I almost had him. Just a little longer, and I would have had him.” He dropped his head.

Quinn exchanged a silent look with Eddie, who shook his head, confirming that he too doubted Thomas’s statement.

“I’ve never seen anything like it . . .” He knew what he wanted to ask, but the condition Thomas was in, Quinn wasn’t sure he had the right to question him. It appeared he didn’t have to.

“His real name was Kasper. He was my sire.”

Shock spread on the faces of his colleagues as Thomas confirmed what Quinn had suspected from the heated exchange between the two, and the fact that Keegan had called him son.

“I’m sorry,” Quinn murmured.

Thomas lifted his head, an effort which seemed to cost him all his strength. Quinn watched how Eddie supported the weight of his torso to keep him sitting upright, allowing him to lean against him.

“I left him decades ago. I wanted nothing to do with him. He was evil to the core. And his mind control abilities were unparalleled . . . I carry his blood.”

Quinn guessed what Thomas was insinuating: he had inherited the same skill. And Quinn had seen it in action.

“He was your sire, yet you were prepared to kill him,” Quinn said, then his gaze involuntarily drifted to Rose who stood watching them just as his friends and colleagues did.

“Because he threatened my family. You all, you’re my family. He meant nothing to me.” Pure hatred colored Thomas’s voice. “And if I hadn’t been stopped, I would have killed him myself. It was my duty, not yours.”

As Thomas’s gaze fell on Wesley, Quinn put a calming hand on Thomas’s arm. “I’ll have a serious word with Wes about that.”

Thomas nodded.

Quinn rose. “We need to do damage control.” He looked at his colleagues. “Guests and employees will have heard the fighting. Let’s get to work.”

Then he turned to Eddie. “I trust you’ll get Thomas home?”

“Leave it to me.”

“I’ll take care of Vera,” Rose interjected, looking at him.

Quinn walked to where Rose was helping Vera, assisting her to sit on the sofa. Her arm hung limply from her shoulder.

“I’m Quinn. Thank you for helping Rose,” he offered.

She gave a quick smile then winced when she tried to lean back in the cushions. “We all owe her. When I got her message, I knew what I had to do.”

Quinn felt a stab in his chest. She had trusted her friend, but she hadn’t trusted him. Could he even blame her for it?

“You showed up just in time,” Vera added. “Lucky coincidence?”

“Not exactly.” He cast a glance at Rose. This wasn’t the time to talk to her about Keegan’s text message. He would have to wait for a private moment. “I’m assuming Keegan got mad when you didn’t give him the flash drive.”