Page 24

Twenty-Four

Quinn

I missed the days of getting up and starting my day in peace and quiet while Rosie slept and no one was out trying to kidnap her.

Instead, I was at Roman’s apartment, waiting for my turn to take a shower while Mike finished his and Roman worked on making breakfast with the few groceries he had left.

It had only been a few days since he had gone grocery shopping, but I don’t think he was prepared for how much three people would eat compared to how much food he usually went through.

I felt bad that he was spending so much money on things for Rosie and me, but I hated even more that I didn’t have any other options right now.

My apartment had already been cleared to go back to, and a new door was installed to replace the one that had been kicked down, but it wasn’t safe to take Rosie back, so we were staying with Roman for the unforeseeable future.

Once Mike was done in the shower, I jumped in and didn’t bother to wash my hair since the water was already cold, and we were running out of time.

Luckily I had taken the time at my mom’s house yesterday to wash my hair and give Rosie a bath, which saved us a lot of time today.

I pulled my hair up into a sleek ponytail and skipped any makeup.

One quick check in the mirror confirmed that I had matching shoes, and that was the most I could ask for today.

“But I really want one,” Rosie whined from the living room as I came down the hall.

“I don’t think your mom does,” Mike replied, sitting across from her as they ate their bowls of cereal. Roman was leaning against the counter, holding a cup of coffee with his ankles crossed and a smirk on his face.

“I could keep it at your place,” Rosie offered, wiggling her eyebrows excitedly, earning a frown from Mike as he took another bite.

“What are they talking about?” I asked Roman quietly, reaching for a cup and filling it with what was left in the pot.

“She’s trying to convince him to get a dog.”

I smiled and took a sip, holding the cup with both hands to keep from dropping it.

“Tired?” he questioned, tilting his head, and studying me.

“A little,” I lied. The truth was that I was exhausted and couldn’t remember the last time I had even an ounce of energy. The days felt like they were starting to blend together, and I was quickly losing track of how much time had passed by.

“Was I snoring?” he asked, wincing as he tucked his head down and took another sip.

“Not as bad as that one,” I joked, lifting my mug at Mike, who had stood up and was heading our way.

“You weren’t even in the same room,” he said, nudging me with his elbow.

“I still heard you,” I objected.

“Me too,” Roman added.

Mike opened his mouth to speak but snapped it shut when Rosie got up and carried her empty cereal bowl into the kitchen and set it on the counter.

“You were so loud, I thought there was a bear in here,” she said dramatically, widening her eyes.

“Just when I thought you were my favorite niece,” he teased.

“I’m your only niece,” she giggled as he picked her up and tickled her sides.

I took a long drink of coffee then looked up at the clock on the wall.

“Go get your backpack and put your shoes on,” I called to Rosie. “We’re going to be late again.”

My boss had been on my ass last week about my recent tardiness, and I swore that this week would be better. It was barely Monday morning, and I was already failing on my word.

I tilted my head back and tossed the rest of my coffee back before realizing that I had underestimated how much was left. The warm liquid dripped down my chin and onto my white silk shirt.

“Son of a bitch,” I cursed, setting my cup down and pulling the fabric away from my body. “I don’t have time for this.”

“Go get changed. I can take Rosie to school,” Roman offered.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to do that.”

I continued to blot at my shirt with a napkin, only making it worse.

Roman reached out and grabbed my hand to stop me.

“Quinn—go get changed. We’ll make sure she gets to school.”

I hung my head in defeat and waited for a few seconds to regain my composure.

“Thank you. I appreciate it.”

I headed to the bedroom to change while Mike helped Rosie get her shoes on in the living room. A few minutes later, she hugged me and told me she loved me before heading to school with two of the best bodyguards any little girl could ever ask for.

By six, I had worked through lunch and sat through hours of needless meetings that put me even further behind on my work.

My mom had picked Rosie up from school an hour after the guys had dropped her off when she spiked a fever and started throwing up.

The nurse made sure to call me before my mom got there to update me on how she was feeling.

After my mom got her home and comfortable, she sent me hourly updates with pictures of Rosie sleeping on the couch.

The curtains were closed, which helped keep the room dark for her but increased my anxiety about not knowing whether the van was back again.

Thankfully, my sister Sonia had the day off and was hanging out there to help keep an eye on everything.

On top of that, Max had gone by to check on things as well.

It was nice to feel the level of support we had right now, but it was still unsettling that the threat wasn’t over.

I checked in with Roman to see if he was already home or if he wanted to go to my mom’s to pick up Rosie with me. He was stuck at work for a little while longer, so I packed up and headed over there to wait for him so we could go home together and grab Rosie on the way.

It was relatively empty when I got to his work. I nodded to the guy at the front desk before making my way back to his office. He was on the phone when I walked in, so I set my stuff down and headed to the workout area to give him some privacy.

There were a handful of guys lifting weights in one room, but no one in the room with the punching bag. I looked around until I found a set of gloves and put them on. It had been a long time since I had hit anything and I felt the sting in my muscles with the first few punches I threw.

The moment my fists made contact with the bag, I felt this immediate sense of satisfaction that increased with each punch.

I tucked my head and squared my shoulders, twisting my torso as I rotated hitting with each hand.

I pictured Elias Salvador and his disgusting father, Juan, and kept punching.

Then I imagined Julia’s face and her smug smile when she brought my daughter back and punched even harder.

The more I thought about everything that was happening, the faster I hit until I was struggling to catch my breath and felt a set of muscular arms wrap around me from behind and cover my gloved hands so I couldn’t hit anymore.

He didn’t say anything, just kept his arms wrapped around me in a layer of comfort.

My heart was racing, and my body was on fire as I came down from the adrenaline rush I had given myself.

I knew that it hadn’t solved anything, but for a few minutes, I felt better letting some of my built-up aggression out.

My body trembled as a range of emotions coursed through me.

I tried to keep my composure but couldn’t stop the tears before they rushed down my face.

I didn’t want Roman to see me like this and pushed against his arms to get away, but he only held on tighter.

The tears burned my cheeks as they stained my face and ran down onto my shirt.

I leaned my head back against his chest and cried until there was nothing left inside. With a shaky breath, I tried to speak, but the words wouldn’t come out. I had no idea what to say to him. His arms loosened around me and slid down to my waist, allowing me the freedom to slip the gloves off.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, turning to leave when his arm reached out and held my waist.

“You have nothing to apologize for.”

I stopped where I was, letting his hand rest firmly against my stomach, and looked up at him.

His brown eyes clouded with emotion and I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. Before I could overthink anything, he dug his fingers into my side and pulled me back to him. I stumbled briefly before he had both hands planted on my hips and his chest braced against mine.

I looked up at him, knowing that he felt the electricity sizzling between us. He muttered a curse word before leaning in and planting his lips on mine.

“You’re going to be the death of me,” he groaned before sliding his hands down to grab my ass.

I kissed him back and didn’t allow myself to worry about anything else for the few minutes we had before we left to pick up Rosie.