Page 10

Ten

Roman

“A re you sure you don’t want anything else?

” I asked Rosie as we stood in line with a handful of random snacks.

I had no idea what to feed her and didn’t want her to go hungry until I dropped her off when Quinn got home from work, so we made a quick stop for reinforcements.

Some for her, some for me. I didn’t have siblings, so it wasn’t like I was used to having kids around me, and to be honest, I was a little nervous being responsible for Rosie for a few hours.

The school didn’t give me any problems picking her up, and while I wanted to think that it was because Quinn had already called and informed them, I had a sneaking suspicion that it was because the women in the front office couldn’t figure out how to put their tongues back in their mouth long enough to give me any trouble over it.

While that was reassuring on some level, it was more irritating given that we were worried someone was watching her, and I hated to think that it would be equally as easy for them to walk in and take her without any questions asked.

“No, thank you.” She set her stuff on the counter and smiled at the older woman who started ringing us up.

“Well, aren’t you just the prettiest little thing I’ve seen all day,” she cooed, lighting up as she looked from Rosie to me. “You look just like your daddy.” She smiled up at me, and I felt my stomach tighten.

“He’s not my dad,” Rosie replied matter of factly. “My dad died.”

“Oh honey, I’m so sorry.”

“Can we go now?” Rosie asked, looking up at me with tears in the corner of her eyes.

I nodded and handed the woman my card, not bothering to listen when she gave me the total. I grabbed the bag and led Rosie out, my hand protectively splayed across her back as we headed to the gym.

Trevor had been at lunch when I left to go pick her up but was back in the office when we got back.

“Hello!” she said excitedly as she bounced into the room, shuffling around the back of my desk to climb up into the chair.

“Hi,” Trevor replied with a smile that nearly split his cheeks. “How are you, Rosie?”

“You know my name?” She stopped what she was doing as her face dropped in surprise.

“I do,” he confirmed. “I also know your uncle Mike, and my buddy Roman was just telling me all kinds of fun stuff about you before he went to pick you up from school.”

“Like what?” Her elbows rested on the desk as her head lay in her hands while she waited.

“Hmm, let's see.” He tapped his fingers together before widening his eyes and looking from me to her. “He told me that you love superheroes and that Hulk is your favorite.”

She gasped before a smile spread tightly across her face. I opened the bag of snacks and spread them out across my desk before grabbing the two protein bars and tossed one to Trevor. He caught it and gave me a nod.

“Hulk is my favorite, but I also love Captain America. He’s sooo dreamy,” she sighed.

Trevor and I looked at each other and then turned back to her.

She tilted her head back and laughed.

“That’s what Grandma Sandra says when we watch the movies. I think boys are gross, but she says that someday when I’m older, I’ll change my mind.” She opened the small bag of Doritos and fished one out before popping it into her mouth.

I felt a rush of relief wash over me.

“Boys are gross,” a voice said from the hallway.

I looked up to find Mike walking into the room, a look of confusion on his face as he looked between the three of us.

“Why is Rosie here with you? Where’s Quinn?” he asked, looking around as if I had her hidden under my desk or something.

“She had a last-minute meeting and needed someone to pick up Rosie, so I volunteered.”

I kept my answer simple, but I knew he would see right through it.

“Why didn’t she ask my mom? Or me?” He furrowed his brow, then narrowed his eyes. “Since when do you and Quinn talk anyway?”

“I.... Ummm....” I looked nervously at Rosie, not wanting to say anything that would frighten her or upset Quinn, given I didn’t know how much she wanted Rosie to know right now.

“Hey, Rosie, I need to go check on the guys in the back. Do you want to come with me?” Trevor asked, pushing away from his desk and waiting for her to join him.

I raised a brow at him, silently telling him to keep an eye on her.

“I’ve got her, don’t worry.”

Once they left the room, I let out the breath I was holding.

“What the fuck is going on, Roman?”

I could either lie and hope that it didn’t ruin our friendship, or I could tell the truth and pray that it didn’t ruin the new one I felt was forming between Quinn and me.

“Just spit it out,” he said, noticing that I was struggling.

I tilted my head back and looked at the ceiling.

“Fine. Quinn came to stay with me Monday night, and we’ve been talking since.”

There, that wasn’t a lie, and it wasn’t overindulging in the little details that I wasn’t sure if I should be sharing.

“Are you two—” he pinned me with a look that felt a little too murdery for my liking.

“Really? That’s what you think she came over for? Rosie was there, for fucks sake, Mike.” I shook my head but didn’t know if I was more frustrated that he had asked or if I was still feeling overly guilty because I had entertained the thought of doing exactly that several times while she was there.

“So if my niece weren’t there, you would have been banging my sister?”

“Is that something you really want to know?”

“Don’t fuck with me, Roman,” he warned.

“Or what?”

“She’s my baby sister, and she’s been through enough already.”

“And I’m not looking for a random hook-up. You should know me better than that, Mike. Besides—that’s not even what it was about. Believe it or not—there are other things to worry about other than whether or not your best friend is doing your sister.”

I knew the moment the words left my mouth that I had said too much. His face softened some, but his shoulders seemed to tense beneath the blue dress shirt he was wearing.

“Tell me what’s going on.”

“You already heard about the incident at school with the van. On Monday, Quinn had another meeting that came up at the same time that she needed to pick Rosie up. Your mom went to get her instead, and she sent Quinn a picture of them sitting together on the couch at her house. Quinn knew that it was your mom’s way of putting her at ease to know that Rosie was safe, but when she zoomed in on the picture, the same van was parked outside with someone inside it. ”

Mike clenched and unclenched his fists a few times while working his jaw. I could tell he was pissed, and I didn’t blame him.

“Why didn’t she come to me?”

“I asked her the same thing.” I sat on the edge of my desk and crossed my ankles.

“And?”

“She was scared, Mike. Really scared. She hadn’t slept in a few nights and thought that she would sleep better if they stayed with me because she knew that no one would get into my apartment without me hearing them first.”

“I can protect her too,” he countered but lacked the conviction in his tone that said he believed it.

“I know. She knows that too. But we all know that my training was different from you guys.”

He sighed and plopped down into an empty chair by the window.

“So what’s happening now? Why is Rosie really here?”

“It’s true that Quinn had a meeting today. She offered to have your mom pick Rosie up, but I volunteered instead. I felt better knowing that I could keep an eye on her if she were here with me.”

“Have you seen the van since Monday? Should we be filing reports or something?”

I stood up and walked around my desk to my computer.

“We haven’t seen the van since your mom’s house.

I went with Quinn to take Rosie to school yesterday morning, and everything looked normal.

She hadn’t noticed anything unusual, and Rosie’s teachers are on high alert.

They actually had a talk with the kids today about safety and what to do if someone tries to take them.

But no, we can’t file any reports because it’s not illegal to have a van parked outside of a school.

We don’t have any proof that someone is watching Rosie and nothing to go on.

You know better than anyone that all we can do is watch and be alert right now. ”

“Were you able to identify the driver?” Mike asked, tapping his foot anxiously.

“No, but I was able to zoom in enough to get a logo off of the baseball cap they were wearing. Come check it out.” I stepped back and let him stand in front of me to see the computer. Pulled up was an image of the little league logo.

I handed him my phone, and he played the video a few times, zooming in to see it.

“Unbelievable,” he muttered. “That’s the logo from Rosie’s little league team.”

“I know,” I sighed. “Quinn told me. We’re not sure if it’s a parent, a coach, a fan—it could be anyone who happened to find the hat and wear it. Hell—for all we know, it could have been donated, and someone picked it up at a thrift shop. We have no way of knowing where it came from.”

Mike handed the phone back to me and shook his head.

“I know exactly where it came from. It’s mine.”