Page 48 of Intersect

I seriously doubt Quinn’s aunt, who grew up on a Pennsylvania farm, speaks with the flawless accent of a native. But God knows this woman would be sure to comment on it if she did not.

“Maybe there’s another woman who looks like her?” I insist. “This woman is American.”

She looks vaguely insulted. “She’s as French as I am. I’ve met her many times, the woman who does not age.”

I inhale. I guess that means we’re talking about the same person after all. “Do you know when she’s coming in? Or where she’s staying?”

She tilts her head, regarding me. For a moment I wonder if she’s even planning to answer. “Sometime over the next few days, I believe. She is quite secretive, you know. This is why she comes to me when things could so easily be delivered.”

“What could be easily delivered?” I ask, thinking of the solution in the IV bag Sarah tried to switch out. Toxicology is still wholly unable to identify it. They said it appeared to be herbal, but that doesn’t mean it was harmless. I don’t trust that Sarah does anything without intending harm, at least where Quinn is concerned.

She looks even more insulted than she did when I implied Sarah wasn’t French. “I can’t tell you that.”

I press my fingers to my temples. “Look, the tumor you saw when you read my palm…it’s my girlfriend. My supposedly pregnant girlfriend. And I think this woman could help. I just need to talk to her.”

She rises, gathering items from the shelf behind her. “I do not know where she is staying. I will text you when she arrives, but if you plan to kill her, please do so outside of my shop.”

My head jerks backward. “Kill her?” I ask. “I’m not planning to kill anyone.”

She turns to me again and raises a brow. “Aren’t you? If she has what you need to save your girlfriend, would you not do anything necessary to gain it?”

I stiffen. Would I? I’ve never pictured killing someone in cold blood, but if Sarah had what I needed, if killing her would accomplish it, would I? Yes, for Quinn I would. “If I need something from her, killing her wouldn’t do me any good, would it?”

She smiles. “Au contraire. I think killing her would solve everything.”

24

QUINN

I promised Nick that while he was gone I’d stay with my mother or Caroline. I also promised if I went to my mother’s I would not drive myself, but I feel so healthy it’s hard to take the whole thing seriously right now.

When I arrive the morning after Nick leaves town, my mother’s eyes sweep me over, head-to-toe. “You’re glowing,” she says.

I’m guessing it’s related to the sheer number of earth-shattering orgasms I’ve had over the past day, but my mother and I don’t have the kind of relationship where I’d share that with her. “Yes, I…feel good.”

I sit at the kitchen table while she moves around the room. “You want to explain why you’re glowing?” she asks, her mouth pinched.

I heave a sigh. “It would seem Jeff’s already told you.”

She glances at me from the counter, where she’s pouring me sweet tea, though I didn’t ask for it. “You’re dating your doctor, apparently.” She returns her gaze to the glass. I get the feeling she’s struggling to control her words. “I’m surprised at you, Quinn,” she finally says. Her surprised at sounds an awful lot like disappointed in, but instead of feeling guilty, I’m irritated. Nick and I did nothing wrong, but we are getting endless shit for the decision to be together, a decision that truly has only hurt two people and will ultimately be in their best interest.

“I didn’t cheat on Jeff.”

She sets the tea down in front of me, so heavily it sloshes over the sides. “Even if you didn’t, you need to realize that love means staying focused on the commitment you’ve made, not grasping like a child at the first shiny thing you see.”

A thin seam of rage spikes in my chest. “That is not what happened, and you need to start remembering that I’m the one you’re related to.”

“Of course I remember,” she says. “But you can’t expect me not to say anything when I hear you were cheating on your fiancé.”

“I wasn’t cheating. And he’s my ex-fiancé now. Who’s been stalking me since we broke up, waiting in the lobby of Caroline’s building, following me when I won’t talk to him, forcing his way into my hospital room when I’m unconscious.”

“Hospital room?” she repeats. “You were in the hospital? Why? Why didn’t you tell me?”

I flush. I didn’t tell her because I was a little occupied once Nick and I left. “I had another blackout. Anyway, a woman came in, wearing a nurse’s uniform, and replaced my saline with something. Nick stopped the IV in time.”

Her hand flutters to her chest. “My God. That’s… insane. Why?”

My shoulders sag. “That’s part of the reason I’m here. They didn’t catch her but they did find a receipt she left behind and they were able to trace it.” I look up. “Her name is Sarah Stewart.”