Free Warrior Betrayed: The Sons of the Zodiac 3 by Addison Fox Page A

knew his criminals, from the lowest pushers to the heads of every crime family in New York. If something was rotten in Denmark—or anywhere else for that matter—the ram knew about it.
    “Thanks, Jackson.”
    The guy tossed one more glare for good measure, then left the office as silently as he came in.
    “I’d like some answers, Quinn.” Montana stared briefly into her coffee cup, before adding, “No matter how dumb the question may seem.”
    “Answer my question first. Do you think this reference to Themis has anything to do with your Greek operation? She’s the goddess of justice. Anyone have a vendetta against the company? Operation Themis could be a code word for ‘justice.’”
    He watched her mull over the question—saw it spark briefly as something she should consider—before that crystal-blue gaze swung right back to him.
    “It seems too odd. Besides, my mother hasn’t been a part of Grant Shipping. She may have been hiding in the shadows, but there’s no way my father would have ever let her get close to the business. Hell, get close to us, period.”
    “Things were bad after she left?”
    Instantly intrigued by her no-nonsense professional tone as she laid it out for him, Quinn watched her face for any hint the story she told was a front. “It’s hard for me to say what before was like, since she left when I was three months old. But from the snatches I’ve heard here and there, he loved her. When she left, something in him died.”
    And then he saw it. The tiniest crumble in her armor. The spark of blue fire that had flared in her eyes when she’d questioned him earlier dulled. The harsh reality of her parents’ marriage dragging the very life out of her expression. “That must have been hard for you.”
    As if catching herself, she glanced up from her coffee, any hint of sadness evaporating from her face. “There are worse fates in life.”
    Quinn leaned forward, his gaze riveted on hers. “You don’t believe that. I know you don’t. So why don’t you give me the real version of the story instead of that little sanitized story you gave me last night?”
    Those delicately arched eyebrows shot up even as the corners of her mouth turned down, and when she spoke her voice was particularly frosty. “Excuse me?”
    “You heard me. Enough bullshit. I want the truth.”
    “Thanks for the Jack Nicholson impression, Mr. Tanner, but I really don’t have anything to tell you.”
    “I maintain my first answer.” Quinn crossed his arms. “Bullshit. And the name’s Quinn.”
    “What the hell do you want from me? Quinn .”
    “I want your take on what’s going on. Whether it’s related to what’s happening to you or not, the breakup of your parents’ marriage has done a number on you. What do you know that you’re not saying?”
    On a harsh breath, Montana’s face lost all color, the normal, healthy pink of her cheeks fading away. Whatever anger she’d mustered against him faded as well in the face of her words.
    “It’s me. She left because of me.”
    Montana thought her mother abandoned them because of her? An innocent infant, based on the time line of the story. Whatever Quinn expected her to say, that wasn’t it.
    “But you were a baby. A welcomed one, at that, if the headlines at the time of your birth are any indication.”
    “She didn’t want me and she left rather than stay and raise me. I’d hardly call that an overwhelming motherly instinct.”
    Quinn shook his head, searching for the words that might help her understand. “The logic just doesn’t work for me.”
    He saw the questions that filled her gaze, layered over the pain of abandonment that clearly lived under her skin. “What?”
    “Your father was one of the wealthiest men in the world. And was at the time of your birth as well.”
    “Yes?”
    “So what would have kept your mother from simply allowing you to be raised by the help?”
    The grief that had settled around her like a shawl receded slightly.