Page 10

QUINN

Q uinn needed to get out of that room and back to base as soon as possible.

He had a man to rip apart. Oh, he knew Rick Kern.

The son of a bitch was living on borrowed time.

How could he have treated Felicity like a frog hog?

He would be one sorry motherfucker when Quinn got his hands on him.

Fuck. Before he could go on his hunt for the CIA bastard, he needed to get Patience home.

He was about to suggest they get going when the nurse came in.

“Felicity, the NICU—Neonatal Intensive Care Unit—called, and your baby is back from her tests. Would you like to go visit?”

The sudden intense joy on Felicity’s face could have lit the darkest room. All sadness from moments before when she was talking about her dirtbag baby daddy disappeared with the mention of her little one. She sat up in bed and finger-combed her hair. “Am I allowed to just walk to the NICU?”

“Yes, of course. I’ll show you the way this time, but after that you can visit whenever you'd like. There are some rules before you can step inside to hold her. They’re posted on the wall near the entrance. I’ll show you that too.”

“I can hold her?”

If Quinn still had a heart, it would have cracked a little as he watched the hope emanating from Felicity. After giving birth in a blizzard, she probably didn’t think the baby would survive. It was a total clusterfuck. He squeezed his hands into a fist and felt his knuckles pop.

“Yes, of course. It’ll be good for both of you. Your family can go with you, but they’ll have to watch through the window. Only the parents can go into the NICU.”

Felicity raised her face to Patience. “Do you want to come? You don’t have to.

I’m sure you’re ready to get going, Quinn.

You’ve got to have something better to do than look at babies through windows.

” He watched Felicity’s expression as she spoke, and even if it was true, he wanted to leave more than he wanted his next breath. He shook his head.

“Nothing could keep me from seeing your little one. After all, I helped to bring her into the world, sort of.”

Patience snorted and gave him a sideways glance. “Are you sure? I know you’ve got to be exhausted.”

Quinn just shrugged. Sure, he was tired, but it wasn’t anything he hadn’t experienced before.

When they were on missions, it was status quo.

Besides, just the thought of wrapping his hands around Kern’s neck and strangling him had given him a second, or maybe by now a fifth wind.

It had been hours since they’d arrived on base, and he’d debriefed with Tony and Kern.

“I’m good. Let’s go see baby—” He couldn’t remember the baby’s name.

“Clara,” Felicity and Patience said in unison.

He shrugged. Must be a woman thing. “Clara.”

As the nurse helped Felicity up and made sure she was steady, he set the chair he’d been using back in its place.

They followed her to the NICU. Most babies in the unit had medical issues or were preemies, but Clara was there as a precaution. Still, she looked so tiny in the incubator. He couldn’t imagine holding something that small without crushing her. Good thing he never intended to have children.

“She is absolutely beautiful. Look how pink she is,” Patience exclaimed. Relief eased the tightness in her expression. She’d been worried about Felicity and the baby.

As a nurse pushed the baby in front of the viewing window, he could almost feel the breath of air whoosh from her. Patience’s shoulders relaxed, and a huge smile lit her face as she gazed at the tiny newborn.

“The NICU nurses will answer any of your questions. I need to get back to the unit. If you need help to return to your room, have one of the NICU nurses call for an orderly. Otherwise, come back when you’re ready,” the nurse said before heading down the corridor.

“I can’t believe she’s really here. I didn’t think this day would ever happen, you know?” Felicity turned to Patience with tears in her eyes. “Thank you for bringing her into the world for me.”

Shit. Was she going to bawl again? He tried to keep the horror off his face.

In one evening, he’d seen enough tears to last him for the next ten years.

Did that make him an asshole? Probably. But he’d been avoiding feelings and getting close to people for years for this reason.

It reminded him of too much. Let memories resurface that were better off buried.

Besides, he couldn’t really see what there was to try about. It was a baby. She was tiny, pink, and had a brown tuft of hair sticking up on the top of her head. They all looked the same, didn’t they? He hoped she’d be a fighter. With a father like dickhead Kern, she’d need to be.

Quinn needed to talk to Providence about Felicity. Maybe the team could “adopt” the woman and her baby. It didn’t seem like she had a lot of friends. Although he figured Patience would befriend her too, she was already halfway there.

Hearing Patience say goodbye to Felicity pulled him from his reverie. He turned toward them.

Quinn one-arm hugged Felicity, apparently to the amusement of Patience, from the smirk on her face. “I’ll let you know as soon as I hear anything about your car or your... Rick.”

“Thank you. Again. Both of you. I really have no words?—”

Patience hugged her. “I’ll stop by tomorrow or I guess it’s later today now. I work in the evening, but I’ll see you before then. Now go hug Clara. I know you’re dying to get that precious baby into your arms.”

Felicity giggled. It was nice to hear after the earlier tears. “You’re right. See you later.” Felicity gave her one more hug.

“Ready?”

“Yeah. I need my bed.” Patience yawned. “I seriously don’t know how you’re still standing.” Patience nudged him with her shoulder.

“I’m used to it. We get sleep when we can. There have been many times I’ve gone days without it. It’s not a big deal.”

“I’d die. If I don’t get at least four hours, I’m worthless.” Patience yawned again and laughed. “Sorry.”

Quinn shook his head. “No problem. Let’s get you to bed. Although we need to get through Snowmaggeden first.”

“Ugh, I was trying to forget about that. I bet they won’t even be able to find my car in the parking lot by the time this stops. Oh shit. I need to deal with that before work, too. Hopefully, the weather gets better and I can catch an Uber to get to there. How could I forget I didn’t have my car?”

“I’ll have Henry tow your car when he picks up Felicity’s. I don’t trust your mechanic. No car should break down less than a week after it’s serviced.”

“You’re probably right. He probably saw a single female and figured I didn’t know jack shit. He’d be right, too. But thanks. I don’t know how I’m going to pay you back for all the help tonight,” Patience said as they stepped into the elevator.

“You’re not paying me back for anything. I’m a SEAL. It’s what I do—help people. Usually in foreign countries, but still. I can take you to work. I’ll even bring you by here to see Felicity again,” he said before he could stop himself.

Quinn ran his hand through his hair, wanting to give it a good yank.

He needed to snap out of it. What the fuck was he doing?

He was supposed to be pushing her away, not making excuses to be close to her.

Helping people? That was laughable. It wasn’t even the truth.

Most missions were about destroying the threat, aka killing their targets.

She definitely didn’t need to know that.

Although if he told her, maybe she’d run as fast as she could in the other direction.

Fuck, he was even more jaded than he thought.

Quinn averted his gaze from her where she stood next to him, looking up at him like he hung the moon. It took every ounce of his training not to lift her into his arms and ravage her lips and mouth until neither of them could breathe.