“Two minutes,” the guard finally rumbled. Large hand folding over the edge of the door, he dared to glance at the small hills of Quinn’s feet before closing the door to within an inch to give as much privacy as he could.
Marina didn’t take the time to thank the guard. Rushing to Quinn’s bedside, usual sensual grace cast aside, she sneered. Grabbing Quinn’s wrist, she pulled the arm taut to inspect the mottled hues of twilight decorating her daughter’s skin.
“Damn fine mess you got yourself into, girly. Fucking mated, no less. What did you do, eh? Stop taking your pills to snag him?” The caustic flow of her words kept to a quiet murmur, Marina shook her head with a glimpse of teeth as she smirked. “Nah, you’ve always been too goody two shoes for that shit. Poor little baby finally got what she had coming.”
Quinn’s voice ran back down her throat, leaving a trail of choking tears and betrayal. The hatred spouting from her mother’s lips knocked the air from her lungs. A cold band of unease squeezed her chest, refusing to allow her another breath.
“Frankly, I don’t give a shit how you got into this, but you hit the jackpot and it’s high time you quit your shit and help out someone else for a change.”
“What,” Quinn sputtered, pale brows drifting down to shadow her eyes. Trembling fingers caught and held the thin blanket, twisting it up into her fists.
“You think I want to spend the rest of my good years dancing? You need to set your mother up, you little shit.” Marine glanced at the door, a muscle in her jaw jumping as the sound of grinding teeth seeped into the near silence of Quinn’s disbelief. “Got the Gods damned Alpha of the city fucking claiming you and you can’t even slip me some cash so I can quit the club? Ungrateful little bitch!”
Quinn couldn’t do anything but stare. Lips parted over each ragged breath, it was as if her mind refused to make sense of the vitriol spilling over her. Marina had never once left it unclear that Quinn was a burden for her to bear, but this was far more than Quinn had ever dreamed.
Marinahatedher.
“You make this right, Quinn. You get me the hell out of that District, or so help me.” She paused, a sinister gleam in the icy perfection of her gaze, the pink of her tongue sliding over waxy peach. “You get me set up somewhere nice, or maybe you take another little trip. Maybe this time you don’t come back, since your buddy Alton won’t be there to save you. Be a shame if something happened to those kids this time.”
Chill creeping down her spine to infect the blood pounding through her veins in a rush, Quinn found the ability to move. Drawing up from her wounded slouch, she met Marina’s gaze head on.
Her mother knew about the kidnapping. All that happened.
No one should have known about that. Tobias and perhaps Curtis were the only ones who knew all the details. There would be no way he would share it all, even with his men as they searched for her. The slow understanding that Marina might have had a hand in it wound its way through her, devastating everything in its path as her mother continued to threaten her. Not just Quinn, but her children, too.
“Especially that little girl of yours. Lot can happen to a bitch in this world, right? Gods put that hole between your legs for a reason. Lots of Alphas these days like them younger. Easier to mold when you get started early. Should have done that with you. Wouldn’t have had to waste my hard earned cash on your pathetic ass.”
Dragging a breath into starving lungs, Quinn started to respond, but the door began to swing open. Marina’s vicious sneer disappeared, replaced by a smile made all the more unhinged by the malice shining in her blue eyes. Patting Quinn on the leg in a mockery of affection, Marina turned on her heel and slipped out past the guards.
Quinn’s throat locked tight over a cry to stop Marina. The guards wouldn’t ask questions. If Quinn voiced any pleas for help, Marina would be killed on sight. Tobias was in a vengeful enough mood to see to that.
Was she?
The thought of Marina dead failed to incite anything stronger than murky unease. Alive wasn’t much better. Quinn didn’t think she could be the cause of her mother’s death, but if Marina had some means of hurting Elise and Adam, Quinn would stand over her mother’s broken body herself.
The moment slipped through her fingers, the dry wheeze of her hard breaths echoing in the room.
She was still ripping the idea open, inspecting all of its ghastly parts, when Tobias returned. Agitated, his dark eyes scanned the room before settling on Quinn with a furrowed brow. Knowing something was wrong, but not having anything to act upon, he rocked on the balls of his feet.
Refusing to acknowledge that she did it as much for him as her own peace of mind, Quinn reached out a hand. Adrift in the open space, it shook with the hard exertion of holding her arm out. A sigh eased past her lips when he enfolded her hand in his, following close behind with the rest of him. Seated on the edge of the bed once more, he wrapped Quinn in an embrace that hurt more than her battered body.
A faint knock sounded at the door, the rumble of the guard’s voice muted beneath Tobias’ pounding heartbeat and measured breaths. Quinn didn’t even hear Tobias’ response, so wound up in the comfort of him, needing it so much. Letting herself fall in graceless abandon into the heady sunlight he offered just by being close.
Tangled up in the bond and all that it represented, she ignored the nurse that tiptoed into the room. Didn’t even feel the punch of the needle sliding back into her vein as the IV was replaced. Words were spoken that made little sense in the liquid golden hues of peace.
Time slid past, relentless and yet without measure. He held her, not once complaining or demanding.
“My mother was here,” Quinn whispered, clinging to that heady tranquility as she spilled out the story of a betrayal from a quarter she’d never expected it from. Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes, threatening to overflow.
“They let someone in here?” The evil hiss jeopardized everything, his hands fisting the thin gown at her back.
“She pretended to be a nurse. Something has to be done. I can’t… I don’t think I can live with myself if I know I’m the reason she’s dead.”
“You wouldn’t be the—”
“I’m not stupid. Whether I ask you to do it or not, it’ll be because of me. But I can’t just ignore what she said. If she hurt the kids… No. I will not stand by and let that threat hang over their heads.”
“You need to rest and not worry about this. I will deal with it,” Tobias murmured, sifting her hair through his fingers to tip Quinn into his chest.
