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Thirty-One

Quinn

“I know I’ve missed work all week,” I replied into the phone. “Unfortunately, there have been a handful of personal events that have transpired and won’t allow me to come in at this time.”

I paused to listen to my boss rant and complain on the other end of the line, knowing that he was pissed off that I was being so vague.

Was I going to lose my job over this? Who knew.

But I couldn’t exactly come clean and tell him that I was hiding and trying to keep my daughter safe from whoever was trying to kidnap her and taking out everyone that my dead husband had worked with.

If ever my faith was shaken in who I could trust at work, now was that moment.

“I will touch base with you on Monday,” I confirmed. “Thank you.”

I hung up the phone and set it on the bed next to me.

After Anastasia was shot in Mike’s apartment this morning, we had agreed that none of us were safe in the city anymore.

I repacked the same duffle bag that I had just barely unpacked yesterday, added some first aid stuff, and made sure that I had plenty of medicine if Rosie spiked a fever again.

Thankfully, she seemed to be on the mend this morning, which was one less thing to worry about.

Roman had a friend who owned a remote cabin just outside of the city that we could stay at.

We made our way this morning, creating enough of a zig-zag pattern with changing trains and taking cabs that no one would be able to follow us without being noticed.

We got there around eleven, and Rosie and I settled in while Roman checked the perimeter to make sure everything was safe and secure.

I hated that everything was constantly so stressful that she had missed so much school this week.

I could tell that she was feeling the weight of everything by how cranky she was getting.

She needed her normal routine that she hadn’t had in almost two weeks.

I also hated that I didn’t have anything with me to keep her entertained.

No toys. No movies. Nothing. It wasn’t like I could take her outside and let her play just in case someone did find us out here.

We weren’t that far from Manhattan, only a few hours away in Carmel Hamlet, but it felt far enough to give us some time to stop and refocus our attention.

Whoever was coming for Rosie was sending us a clear message by taking out almost everyone that Justin had worked with.

It terrified me that Mike was still back in the city, the only person who had a connection to Justin who hadn’t been shot yet.

Roman and Mike agreed that there wouldn’t be any communication between them while we were out here, just to make sure the calls weren’t traced to where we were.

On top of that, Roman’s friend said that the cell service at the cabin was pretty spotty given the thick trees that surrounded it, so it would be hard to get calls in or out.

I wanted an update on Anastasia and, more importantly, Julia.

I didn’t believe for one second that she was innocent in this and had been attacked on her way to work.

Everyone else had been shot but her. Unfortunately, we fled as quickly as possible so we could find safety and weren’t there when the paramedics came for Anastasia.

As far as anyone knew, we weren’t there when it happened, and that’s how it needed to stay.

Rosie sat on the couch, staring at the TV that I hadn’t bothered to turn on.

I knew that she was miserable, and so was I.

I looked around the small room, looking for a board game or something to entertain us for a while.

As I scanned the room, I noticed a camera up in the corner pointed directly at the couch where she was sitting.

I casually adjusted my shirt, making sure that my gun was still strapped to me and easily accessible.

“Hey, pumpkin, I’m going to check on Roman for a minute. Are you okay in here for a few?”

She nodded and kept staring at the TV. I turned it on, assuming that the channels would be static since there wasn’t cell service but was pleasantly surprised when I found a DVD player sitting on the shelf below the TV.

There were a handful of movies on a bookshelf next to the couch, so I scanned them quickly before popping in a kid-friendly option and setting the remote on the wooden coffee table.

I glanced back at her one last time before I opened the door and stepped outside.

I walked around, checking for Roman while keeping my attention focused on the house as well as any movement.

Finally, I heard footsteps coming from the back of the cabin and saw Roman as he approached with a branch in his hand.

“Everything okay?” he asked, moving the wood over the tire marks from the Uber that had dropped us off earlier.

It was a ten-minute walk to reach a spot where we would have cell service again, so we agreed that it was best not to risk renting a car that could be traced to us and instead would request another Uber when we were ready to leave or if we needed to go somewhere.

“Did you know that there are cameras inside?” I nodded to the cabin, turning to make sure Rosie hadn’t ventured outside.

“Rob said that he had a few up. One in the living room aimed at the couch and one in the kitchen at the front door. They’re not on, but I can call and ask him to turn them on if we want him to.”

“Do we need them on?”

“It’s up to you. Rob does surveillance, and it might not hurt to have an extra set of eyes on the cabin while we sleep. He also has the perimeter set up with cameras that are on 24/7, so he would know if someone approached the cabin.”

“But there wouldn’t be any way to warn us,” I muttered with disappointment.

“There’s a landline for emergencies. If he saw someone on the cameras, he would call and check to see if we were expecting anyone. Most of the time, they’re set off by animals.”

I nodded, feeling a little more comfortable with the cameras inside. At least it was limited to the living room and kitchen. It was a small cabin with only one bedroom and one bathroom, both of which had bars on the windows, so I knew there was no need to have any in those rooms.

“All done,” he said, tossing the stick behind the wooden bench against the wall by the front door. I turned to go back inside when he snaked a hand around my waist and turned me to face him.

“How are you doing, Quinn?” His eyes searched mine.

“I honestly don’t know. This is all just too much. I feel like I should be at work, trying to solve this case, but I can’t.”

I rested my head against his chest and inhaled, feeling comforted by his scent. It wasn’t much, but I would take whatever comfort I could get right now.