New York, tattoos..and spirits, what could go wrong?

Jess looks at her disgusted, “this is who you have around our daughter?” Nick is still trying to stop laughing and looks at Jess, “the old you would have laughed at that, Ryland loves Quinn and yeah she’s a great woman for our daughter to be around. She cares more about important things unlike what celebrity is married to who…”

Jess looks at him, “Well, doubt it will last that long…I won’t put much effort into fighting he.” She walks off.

Nick looks at Quinn, “I am pretty big fan…especially with that joke, you are far from a Christian girl, don’t tell your dad.”

Quinn grinned and took hold of his hand. “Bathroom” was all she said, and then he led her to the nearest one and locked the door once they were inside.

The drink was surging through her, warming her insides, and making her swell with lust. She wasn’t drunk, just buzzed, and god, she wanted him. The nerve to disrespect a man at his own birthday party. She thought of Jess and liked to imagine that she knew what they were doing now. She hoped the jealous, lonely bitch was seething with rage.

Nick knew how she liked it — rough and deep. She was a woman who took charge as a detective every day. She had command over suspects and rookies and interrogated people for a living, but in the bedroom, nothing turned her on more than giving him the control. She wanted to be bossed around a bit, tossed to the bed, bent over and spanked. To turn her mind off and enjoy the moment. And so she did. When he bent her over the sink and lifted up her dress, he was surprised to see that she’d arrived without panties on. She looked back at him and bit her lip. “Fuck me.”

The hunger in his eyes was enough to flood her pussy with arousal. He lined himself up at her entrance, pushed forward, and filled her. She moaned and held on to the sink while he pounded into her, and she did her part by pushing her hips backward and meeting each thrust with vigor. Fuck, the sweet feeling of being stretched and filled to the max by a man who knew what he was doing — there was nothing better. She wanted to cry out but needed to stay quiet, so a soft whimper escaped her instead. She bit her lip again. “Harder, baby. I’m so close.”

He didn’t disappoint. He pushed her forward, his hand on her lower back, and lifted her leg until her knee was resting against the rim of the sink. The position opened her up perfectly and allowed him to really hammer home. She worked on her clit while he filled her with deep, punishing strokes, and when she came she couldn’t keep quiet. She yelled her release, her body trembling, her insides convulsing around his cock.

Before he could finish, she was on her knees, her lips wrapped around him. She licked him clean of her own juices, moving her head forward and backward, her tongue massaging his cock as she sucked him off. He brushed her hair back from her face while she took him deep inside her throat again and again, sucking vigorously until he came. She swallowed, wiped at her mouth, and stood to wash her hands. Nick, ever the gentleman, adjusted her dress from behind and buttoned his pants back up.

Their gazes met in the mirror above the sink. His grin was wicked. “Your pussy is pretty bomb.”

She laughed and turned around to kiss him before they exited the bathroom. When they left, Jess stood across the room and rolled her eyes. Quinn winked and gave her a wave before turning back to Nick. “So, who else is there to meet?”

Later that evening, Nick falls on to his bed. He is very drunk and as is Quinn, she starts to kiss him but he breaks off. She looks at him confused, "Ease up...lay down, talk, tell me why you became a bad ass detective?" He moves a hair out of her face, she lays on her side facing him.

She simply blinked at him for a moment as she processed such a gentle gesture. Why did the smallest things cause her heart to flutter? Boyfriends brushed the hair out of their girlfriends’ faces. She’d never really had a boyfriend; just hookups. Was this something else?

Could they be something else?

She didn’t know how any of this worked. She was so out her element, being open and tender with a man. It was weird but nice.

She shrugged as if none of this was a big deal to her. “I told you. I speak to the dead. It makes me a hell of a homicide detective, whether you believe me or not.”

She reached between them and traced her thumb along his jawline, enjoying the intensity of his cerulean blue gaze. “Or maybe I’m just crazy.”

He looks at her, "I try to think I am an open minded guy but tell me more...it is a hard thing to believe. Of course, I have done my fair share of shit that is hard to believe as well." He turns to his back, she looks at him like hello tell me. He smiles, "Okay, well, I lived in mexico for awhile and worked for a drug cartel there. My friend, who I consider to be more of a brother, he convinced me to go with him. It was easy at first, a lot of money and fun. I came back to the states to visit my brother and I met Jess, long story short Ryland came to be. I had to quit it, Joe helped me. Had to make a whole new identity pretty much to escape it."

Quinn can tell more is bothering him, the drunk Nick is a lot more honest.

“A whole new identity, huh?” That was a lot to process. She wondered if he’d kept his name. Was it not Nick? Was it something else?

She could tell something was bothering him. Truthfully, she had noticed he was unsettled during the party. His eyes had darkened upon the mention of his friend. Was he still in Mexico? Still involved with the cartel?

“What’s going on?” She asked.

He can tell what she is thinking, "Yes, my name is Nick. My last name is not what I told you. I also got all these tattoos with my new identity. Tried to look like a different guy...I think it works though."

"My friend, I ran into his very pregnant girlfriend. He's been missing, we all know what missing means..." he looks at her, being a detective. "I tried to have John locate him but nothing."

He starts to laugh, being drunk "I remember one time, Alex and I snuck out. We shared a room together in foster care, we snuck out of the house. Idiot gets the idea to steal our foster mothers car, yeah he wasn't a smart guy..." he continues with the story. "I tried to get him to leave, to stop this life but...he was too far gone."

Quinn nodded and then stood, suddenly on a mission. She was still a little drunk though, so she faltered, then corrected herself with a hand on his dresser. Wallet, house keys, nope. She moved on and pulled out the top drawer - a bunch of briefs and socks. She closed it and bent down to open the second. Shirts. She probably should’ve asked him first.

She could hear him asking what she was doing, so she turned and saw him sitting up in bed. “I need a personal object. Is there anything in here that’s connected to Alex?”

He looks at her, "This is is a bit much, just...lay back in bed, I'll fuck you now." She keeps looking, he looks at this and gets up. He goes over to a box he has, bunch of pictures in it. "Yes, this is where I keep my pictures. A birthday gift for me next time, a photo album." He hears her laugh, he looks through the box while she puts her hand over his crotch. He smirks again, "Hard to search when you're doing that." She stops and he puts her hand back, she smiles and continues while he looks.

He takes out one of Alex and him, he shows Quinn. She kind of laughs, Nick looks nothing like the guy in front of her. He was 14 years old, even a little chubby standing next to a guy with long hair and piercing brown eyes. They were outside at a basketball court, doing a peace sign.

Nick had certainly grown up since then. She smiled and looked back at him. “You were so cute.”

She didn’t take the photo yet. God, she hoped his suspicions were false. She hoped he was alive and she wouldn’t see his ghost when she touched the picture. She didn’t want to tell him he’d lost his best friend.

Quinn bit her lip, took a deep breath, and reached out. She suddenly felt a lot more sober when he placed the photo in her hand and Alex’s ghost materialized by the bedroom door. She jerked back, bumping Nick’s shoulder, and landed on the bed. Nick spun around and regarded her with confusion.

Alex waved. “Sorry to say it’s me. What a sight for sore eyes, though. My bro did good.”

He grinned at her, his eyes warm and his teeth white, his face even more handsome than it had been in the photo. Quinn’s heart sank.

Alex sighed. “He’s not gonna believe you can see me. Hold on, let me think.” His full lips stretched into a devilish smirk a second later. “Tell him he’s a much better dad than Old Man Malcolm. He’s dead, by the way. Maybe that’ll soften the blow.”

Quinn looked up at Nick again and simply shook her head. “Nick, I’m sorry. Alex is dead.”

Nick looked at her, his eyes filling slightly but not appreciating it if it's a joke. Quinn sees that he looks to be getting angry, she stops him and hand on his chest, "Old man Malcom, you are a better dad than him.Is the message Alex wants me to tell you."

Nick looks at her more intently now, he has never mentioned that man's name again. Ever. Not too anyone. Quinn just nos, hoping for him to believe her. "Okay, why did I really leave Mexico? He knows the answer."

Quinn looks to Alex, Alex smirks "You slept with the big bosses wife, she is smokin hot though, couldn't blame you. I told you it was a bad idea."

Quinn repeats all of that, he wides his eyes, "Okay, I believe you...so, he's dead?"


Quinn nods, Nick sits on the bed for a minute. Alex sits next to him. "Thank you for taking care of my girl..." Quinn repeats what Alex is saying, Nick looks at her, "This is kind of amazing..first of all."

Quinn smiled sadly and ignored his amazement. She was used to the skepticism. “I’m sorry you have to talk to him like this.”

She turned back to Alex. “You’ve got to tell me what happened. You guys can play catch-up later.”

Alex looked everywhere but at her, shame filling his eyes. “Tell him the boss killed me. Manuel.”

Quinn’s eyes widened in recognition. “Juarez? The cartel drug lord, big boss Juarez?”

“Yeah. I got picked up on a possession charge. Decided to negotiate with the cops because I wanted out. They put me in witness protection until I could testify but the guys got to me first. Juarez can buy anybody’s loyalty.”

Quinn squinted and studied his expression. The slope of his shoulders and the nervous glances were giving him away. He wasn’t only feeling guilty for being a snitch. There was something else.

“Alex, I know when someone’s holding back. I can’t help you if I only have half the details.”

He looked down at the floor, then forced himself to look at Nick. “They beat me half to death, man. They drove me to my girl’s house and had a guy standing by the door waiting to fucking shoot her. She was pregnant, man. I could see her through the window and she had no idea how close she was to dying.”

Quinn’s heart felt heavy as she watched the grief on his face. “I sold Nick out. It was either him or my girls, man, and I couldn’t let them do it.”

Nick watches Quinn talking to mid air basically, she looks to hm "What is he saying?" she tells him, he looks to where he assumes Alex is, he is not even close, but looks anyways "You're saying he knows where I am? I have a kid too, did you think about her safety?" He is now yelling, he stops and tries to calm down. "Shit...this is not good, fuck. We need to leave, Ryland too. She's coming with us."

Ghosts couldn’t exactly cry, per se, but Alex’s eyes shone with emotion when he looked at Nick. He winced and backed away like each word he spoke was a knife to the heart. He looked at Quinn in desperation. “Please, you gotta tell him I’m sorry. I didn’t get a chance to warn him; they drove off right after and killed me.”

“I’ll tell him, Alex, but I’m a cop. I have to report this. We can make sure everyone stays protected-“

“No you can’t!” Alex’s eyes were wide with fear. “You don’t fucking understand. He buys cops, he buys chiefs, he buys judges, and he bought the marshals that were supposed to be protecting me.”

“So what, we just go rogue?” Quinn could hardly comprehend what this all meant, let alone what to do with the information. It would go against her every instinct as an officer of the law. “I’m a cop! I took an oath. I trust my team.”

Alex shook his head vehemently. “Don’t fuckin’ trust nobody. That’s how you get killed.” He looked at Nick, then back at her again. “Do you care about my friend?”

She sighed. “Of course I do.”

“Then you’ll do whatever you can to protect him and his family. You gotta fucking go, and I mean immediately. Get as far away as you can. I’ll keep watch on my end.”

Quinn hated this. She questioned what the right move would be, then admitted to herself that Alex was likely right. Even if they were wrong, she wouldn’t take that chance. “Okay. We’ll go.”

She exchanged a glance with Nick and stepped back into her shoes. “I’ll fill you in on the ride.”

Nick paces the room, "What about Jess? What about my brother..." Quinn goes up to him, Ryland is number 1 in this situation. He nods and goes downstairs, grabs Jess by the hand and takes her outside first. He talks to her and she listens, she covers her mouth. Ryland sees this, she stands next to Quinn asking what is up with that? Finally, he comes back in with her and Jessica hugs her daughter really tight. Ryland stands there unsure what is happening, her mom breaks off.

"Your father will fill you in, you are leaving with him right now." She says, and just like that Nick grabs Rylands hand and off the go in Quinn's car. As they drive, Nick is silent. He is mad, hurt. Not seeing anything but betrayal right now. He offered Alex a job, a place to live with him and Lara till he got on his feet. Everything he could think of but never enough. He left all of this for Ryland to be safe and now they are going to be running, for who knows how long. Quinn places her hand on his and he takes it off, they were pulling up to the apartment.

Ryland keeps asking what is happening but Nick is just quiet, they walk up the stairs and they see Quinn's father outside the apartment door. He is brought a cup of tea from Lara, "Thank you my dear, very kind of you." he says in the thickest southern accent you could hear, Lara says it's not a problem at all. She looks to see Nick and everyone, "Can't say I am surprised..."looking to Quinn and then him. He says nothing, she has never seen him that silent. She bids farewell and goes off on her evening plans.

He looks to Quinn seeing her father, the man walks up and Nick goes to stand in front of her but Quinn pulls him back. "I am going to start packing, if you need me I am inside. I would say hello sir but I hate you." He looks at the father and walks in, telling Ryland to come along and she does so.

Jerry looks at his daughter, "Quite the man you have found yourself there..., especially the many, many tattoos."

Quinn glared at her father, wishing she didn’t still feel the trepidation she felt every time he was near. One look in his eyes and she was that scared little girl again, tiptoeing around him and trying not to set him off. She wanted to curse, to scream, to punch him in the face.

Instead, she froze. Her heart pounded inside her chest and a cold sweat broke out on the back of her neck. He took a step closer and she instinctively backed away.

She wanted to speak with conviction but her voice quivered when she answered him. “You shouldn’t be here.”

Her father closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh. “If you’d let me speak, I’d tell you that I completed the program. I want to make amends.” His gaze traveled from her face down to her tight black dress, the one she’d chosen to wear at Nick’s party because they made her tits look fantastic. The kind he never would’ve allowed. Anger flashed in his eyes for a split second before he corrected his expression into that of stony indifference.

“I don’t care,” she said, her backward steps leading her closer to her apartment and away from her father. “We’re leaving.”

He allowed her the space between them. “I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness, sweet pea. But I ain’t seen the bottom of a bottle in two years and I want to do what I can to make it up to you.” He looked past her toward the door. “That young lady, was that his daughter?”

Quinn’s fury burned hot within her. “You won’t say a fucking word to her. You won’t even look at her. And you sure as hell aren’t getting into my apartment.”

Her father sensed her protectiveness. Thought for a moment. “You and him been together long?”

Before she could answer, the door swung open behind her. She could hear Nick shouting at Ryland to get back inside but his daughter appeared anyway and pointed her finger at Jeremiah. Quinn moved to stand in front of her. “Ryland-“

“You heard her. She told you to leave. If my dad doesn’t like you and she doesn’t like you, then I sure as hell don’t like you either. So eat shit.” She grabbed Quinn by the arm and dragged her back into her apartment, then slammed the door before Jeremiah could protest.

Quinn couldn’t help but smile at the kid. “Thanks. Help me find Lurch and get him into his carrier.”

Nick was upstairs in Quinn’s office area, he is just kind of standing up there. “You okay?” He asks her but she can tell he’s got something on his mind. “Quinn…I can’t ask you to come, you’re giving up your career. We just started fucking “ you can hear Ryland say ew, “their was no other way to say that” he yells down, he looks to Quinn, “This is my life I screwed up, Rylands….it won’t be yours too.”

He was right. She had nothing to do with this. She could walk away, go to work as if nothing happened, and spend the rest of her days wondering where they were. If they were okay. But she wouldn’t consider it for a moment. “If they have found you, then they know about me. And you might want me on your side.” She brushed past him and lifted the top off of the chest in the corner of her office. Inside was a sizable arsenal of guns and ammo. “If we’re up against the cartel and we can’t involve the police, then it’s us alone out there. We need to throw out our phones, get some burners, and go cash only from here on out.”

Ryland’s arms shot out by her sides in teenaged frustration. “What?”

Nick looks at her, “Alex was more of the weapons guy, I was just good at selling.”

Quinn can’t help but say, “and selling yourself too.” He looks at her, “You’re not wrong but it wasn’t like that. Isabella, she was in a horrible marriage, she was beaten and ignored. We met and well…, you can put the pieces together and Ryland, you will do whatever Quinn tells you to do. This is very important, life or death important, do you understand?” He looks at his daughter, she looks at his serious face and nods, she hands over her phone and he does the same.

Quinn finished packing as quickly as she could with the help of Ryland and Nick by her side. Last came Lurch in his carrier and a bag of cat food. She hoped like hell that Miller didn’t mind taking in one extra feline.

“We gotta make a stop first and then we’ll be on our way.” She looked back at Nick and saw the conflict behind his eyes. He felt bad for her involvement. She stepped up to him, forced him to meet her gaze, and shook her head. “We’re gonna be fine. It’s not like I loved being a cop anyway.”

She forced a smile and nodded at Ryland. “Let’s go.”

They all piled into her car, suitcases and all, and Lurch rode quietly in the back on Ryland’s lap. Quinn drove for about ten minutes, eyeing the rear view mirror the entire time in case they were being followed, and pulled up to Miller’s place.

Tobias rushed out, concern on his face. “I got your text. What’s so urgent?”

Quinn opened the back door, grabbed Lurch’s carrier and food, then turned back to Tobias with an awkward smile. “Take him for a little while? Your wife already has cats; what’s one more?”

Tobias accepted Lurch in one arm and the bag in the other, then shook his head in confusion. “What’s going on, Gallagher? You’re rushing out of here like you’re being chased. Can I even expect you at the station on Monday?”

Quinn shook her head. “Afraid not. I’m sorry, Miller. Wish I could explain but just trust me on this one. Tell the guys I had a family emergency.”

She tried getting back into the car but he jumped in front of her. “Now hold on a second, kid. You gotta give me more than that. You in danger?”

Lurch meowed. Quinn bit her lip. “I’ll call you when I can. I owe you. Like a lot.”

Tobias looked past her and into the car, his accusatory gaze resting on Nick. He just knew her new squeeze was the particular reason behind this departure. He frowned, shook his head, and stepped away.

“You can trust me, Gallagher,” he called out. “We’re partners. Call me if you need me and I’m there.”

Quinn smiled. “Thanks. Gotta jet.” She drove off before he could speak again and then they were on the road headed toward nowhere.

Quinn started driving and the car was silent, Ryland fell asleep and Nick was looking out his window. Quinn looks at him knowing he has stuff on his mind, he looks at her “forget me, what about you? Your dad showed up? Sounds like my mom, she’s been in rehab more times than I can count. One time she apparently found Jesus. It never lasted, I wouldn’t trust him if I was you.”

Quinn knew he needed to talk about more than this, but she let it slide for now. She was already exhausted and the day had only just begun. “I don’t,” she said, looking through her window as cars whizzed by. “He’s been in the program before. Each time he’s tracked me down. This time he’s followed me all the way from North Carolina.”

She shrugged. “Mom took him out of her will when we left him. I still have my inheritance. It’s so obvious he needs money again. And control.” She had to take a deep breath and stop thinking about it so much. She couldn’t keep her head straight and focus on keeping safe if she was busy stewing in resentment. She looked in the backseat and smiled at Rowan as she dozed before turning back to face the front. Couldn’t help but dissolve into a fit of giggles when she remembered what Rowan had done for her. “I love that kid, Nick. She told him to eat shit.”

Nick just smirks, looking away “Yeah, she’s okay.” He says in a joking tone. He keeps silent, “I know he didn’t want to sell me out, I just wish I never got involved with any of this shit. It’s not who I am and I hate my past, if I could erase it, I would.”

Quinn reached between them and grabbed hold of his hand. They were on the highway now, headed north. “We all have our shit. You got out. It’s a good thing.”

He was still tense, likely beating himself up for putting her and Rowan in the position they were in. There was no going back and changing the past — there was only what lay ahead.

She looked at him, his jaw clenched as he drove, and smiled sadly. “Alex wanted you to know how sorry he was. He meant every word, too. He loved you like a brother.”

Nick just nods, he continues driving and finally comes to a motel in Vermont with an attached diner. Nick wakes up Ryland, they all head into the diner first, everyone’s starving. They take a seat and Nick grabs his menu, while the girls look at their own. Ryland looks at her dad, glances to Quinn some times.

“They have red velvet cake, Ry” he looks at her.