Page 6

Six

Roman

I was thankful that it was slow at work because with Trevor being out of the office and Jackson calling in sick, it left me running around trying to be in multiple places at once.

The gym wasn’t usually busy on Mondays, which allowed me to work on some of the admin stuff from the front desk.

I had a few clients on the schedule, but I had been working with them for so long that they didn’t really need a personal trainer anymore.

I knew that they would get started with what we had been working on and wait for me to come guide them through the rest.

By the end of the day, I was wiped and ready to crash out.

I stopped by the market store on the corner, grabbed a few things for dinner, and headed home.

It was just me, and even though I liked to eat healthy, it didn’t mean that I was great at keeping groceries in the house.

I made note to do some shopping this weekend and stock up so I didn’t have to see the barely legal teenage girl in the lowcut shirt and googly eyes that always seemed to be working when I went to the market.

I climbed the three flights of stairs instead of taking the elevator and walked down the hallway to my apartment before stopping short.

Standing outside my door were Quinn and Rosie, huddled together as if she was trying to shield her from something.

Panic started to rise as I quickened my pace.

Something had to be wrong for Quinn to just show up at my apartment.

“Quinn?” I asked stupidly, but I still couldn’t believe she was there.

She spun around and looked at me, a protective hand reaching behind her to keep Rosie in place.

“What’s going on? Is everything okay?”

“Do you think we could go inside and talk?” she asked nervously.

I nodded and unlocked the door, holding it open for them to enter before I pushed it closed and slid the locks into place. I set the paper bag down on the kitchen counter and put my hands on my hips, unsure of what to do.

“Is it okay if I turn the TV on for her?”

Rosie stood in front of Quinn with Quinn’s hands wrapped protectively over her shoulders. Her brows were raised while she waited for me to answer her question.

“Of course.” I shook my head to clear some of the fog while I turned on the TV and flipped through the channels until I found something that seemed appropriate for Rosie to watch.

Once she was settled on the couch, I went back to the kitchen to talk to Quinn. It was an open layout, with the kitchen and living room blending into one large room, which allowed us to keep an eye on Rosie.

“Is everything okay?” I asked, arms folded across my chest and my voice barely above a whisper.

“I don’t know,” she admitted and let out a shaky breath. “I keep trying to tell myself that all of this is in my head and that I’m freaking out for no reason.”

“But?”

“But I don’t think that it’s nothing. I think someone is actively watching Rosie, and I’m afraid that they’re going to take her.”

She swallowed the last few words as silence fell between us. I looked over my shoulder at the little girl sitting on my couch with hair as dark as her momma’s and a smile that could light up the dimmest room.

“You have to trust your gut,” I agreed. “What happened?”

“My mom had to pick her up today because my boss called a mandatory meeting last minute, and I couldn’t go get her.

I think that my mom knew how stressed out I’ve been since her teacher showed me that video on Friday, so she sent me a picture of them sitting together on her couch once they got home. ”

She stopped talking and looked past me to Rosie. Her eyes filled with tears that she tried to blink away before they fell.

“When I zoomed in on the photo, I saw the same black van from Friday parked across the street.”

“Fuck,” I exhaled and ran a hand over my face. “Have you told anyone about this?”

She shook her head.

“I don’t want them to think I’m crazy if I’m wrong about this.”

“And what if you’re right?”

“That’s what I fear the most. I can’t be with her 24/7, and if someone is watching her, they will know my schedule and when I’m not around. They’ll know exactly when to take her.”

She chewed her bottom lip, popping it free when she caught me watching.

“So, what’s the plan?” I asked, desperate for a distraction from her mouth. “How can I help?”

“I really hate to ask,” she hesitated. “But do you think we can stay here tonight while I try to figure out what to do? I haven’t slept since I found out on Friday, and I don’t think I’ll get any sleep tonight knowing that they followed her to my mom’s house.”

I wanted to say absolutely, you can take my bed, and I’ll sleep on the couch— but I knew I couldn’t.

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to help Quinn—I would give my life to protect her and Rosie.

Hell, I would give a vital organ or two to protect Mike, but this was different.

I needed to know that he would be okay with me helping and letting them stay with me because if he found out on his own, it wouldn’t go over well.

“You know that I don’t mind helping you, Quinn, but why not go to Mike?”

She sighed and let her shoulders fall.

“I knew you would ask that,” she laughed.

“He’s my best friend,” I replied lightly. “I can’t imagine that I would be so easygoing if he went behind my back to help my sister and niece if they were in trouble and he didn’t tell me.”

“That’s not fair; you don’t even have siblings.”

“True,” I said, raising a brow. “But if I did, I would want to know what was going on.”

We stood there silently for a few minutes while Rosie laughed at something on TV.

“It’s not that I don’t trust my brother to protect us, but I feel like I need space to think about things.

I know that once he really knows what’s going on, he’ll be obsessive and trying to take over to where I can’t think straight.

You guys are two totally different people.

Yes, he’s strong and had training, but not the same as you had in the marines.

You both have a different skill set, and if someone’s coming for my daughter, I know that you can put a bullet between their eyes before they even see you. ”

“I’m not a sniper anymore,” I countered, feeling my shoulders tighten.

“It’s not something that you lose. You and I both know that. I’ve seen you play darts with Mike, and you don’t miss a single one.”

I rolled my neck, trying to alleviate some of the tension.

“It’s just one night, Roman.” She held her hands in front of her. “Please.”

Rosie’s innocent laughter floated through the air, and I knew what I had to do.

“Fuck,” I muttered on a breath, closing my eyes.

“I promise we won’t be in the way. You won’t even notice us.”

I bit the inside of my cheek at the thought of being in the same apartment as Quinn and not noticing her. That was like watching a giant meteor come crashing toward Earth and not understanding how you got knocked out when it hit you.

“Fine,” I said sternly. “But I have some conditions that I will not budge on.”

“Okay, whatever you want.”

Don’t fucking go there.

“First—I’m going to order pizza, and you guys are going to eat.

Second—you two will sleep in my bed, and I’ll take the couch.

Third—I will go with you to drop her off at school in the morning.

” I paused before adding, “and no matter what, you will tell me if anything happens that I need to know about. If you see something, hear something, smell something—anything that feels off—I need to know about it right away. Deal?” I held out my hand and waited for her to take it.

She started chewing her lip again, not bothering to shake my hand.

“Can we compromise on the bed part of it?”

“No.”

“Roman,” she sighed. “I do not want to put you out and make you sleep on the couch. We’ll be fine sleeping in the living room.”

“First of all, you’re not putting me out. I’m offering it. Second, you’re not both going to fit on the couch, and there’s no way in hell that I’m letting you sleep on the floor.”

“But—”

“No, Quinn. Those are the conditions. Either take them or leave them. If not, I’ll call your brother and tell him what’s going on.”

She narrowed her eyes at me and folded her arms across her chest.

“You wouldn’t.”

“Try me.”

I took a step toward her, encroaching on her space enough to feel the heat radiating off her body. I wanted to reach out and touch her, caress the soft skin on her face and assure her that everything would be okay.

She shook her head and let her arms fall.

“Fine, you’ve given me no choice. I accept the conditions and thank you again for letting us stay here.”

“You’re welcome,” I replied, ignoring the tingles that rushed through me at the thought of having Quinn stay the night with me.

It took Rosie telling Quinn that she was hungry before we snapped out of the trance that we had fallen into and stepped away from each other.

“How does pizza sound?” I called over to Rosie, taking a breath of Quinn-free air as I tossed the stuff from the paper bag into the fridge.

Even if a five-year-old was on board with sushi, I didn’t have enough for everyone and still lacked the groceries I would need to make something edible for dinner.

“Can we get extra pepperoni?” she squealed excitedly.

“Is there any other kind of pizza?” I joked, pulling my phone out of my pocket to call in the order.