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One of the great things about moving from place to place is never having to face that question.
But now I do. Because I know who I am.
I’m a woman who is madly, deeply in love with an absolutely unhinged murderer.
And I don't know how to make peace with that.
I straighten my shoulders and take my power stance. I draw in a deep breath and turn to face Flo and Helena, who seems to have pulled herself together.
"Thank you. I'm fine.”
I want to go home.
Only the word home has a hollow sound to it now. I’ve considered the club my home. For the first time in a long, long time, I’ve allowed myself to have a home, friends, a place to return to, a sense of belonging.
But now I want to go back to the place Adriano and I call home, only I'm not sure I want to face it with him. Not now.
When I go back into the club, it almost looks as if everything is back to normal.Almost.
The only indication that anything has changed is a dent in the wall where Adriano threw the man.
Adriano, Sergio, Mario, and a few other men sit at a table in the corner of the room. Sergio and Mario sit on either side of Adriano, like immovable titans made of stone. Adriano's eyes meet mine, smoldering across the room.
I walk to him. I don't know what to say, because I’m numb, still in shock, and I don't trust myself. I take one look at him and my heart surges in my chest.
I love him. I love every part of him, even the brutal, broken parts. Just like he does me.
But after all that I’ve witnessed him do, is that enough?
"I want to go home.”
His eyes burn into mine with an intensity that would have knocked my knees together a few months ago, but now I stand and take it, because that's what it means to be in love with a man like him.
“I’ll go with you.”
“The hell you will,” Sergio says in a low voice. “You have to let her go, Adriano. We need to sort some shit out here before you go anywhere.”
Adriano glares at Sergio but Sergio only shakes his head once. “Youdo notwant to go there with me right now, brother.”
Shit. Intense much?
"Fine," Adriano says. "I'll be home soon, Quinn."
I nod. I need a little time to myself, but I do want him to come home soon, because we need to talk.
He nods at the usual passel of bodyguards that follow me out.
"I can open my own door," I say tightly. I'm starting to feel a little smothered.
Bruce talks into a phone, and Eden meets me at the door to the kitchen as I walk toward the exit.
"Are you okay, Quinn?"
I nod, because I don't know how to answer that. Am I physically hurt? No. Am I okay?
Well, no.
I'm not hurt, but I'm not ready to talk either, so I don't think it's dishonest. "I'll see you tomorrow." Eden gives me a quick hug, and then her own gaze flicks from one bodyguard to the next. "Take care of her. If I hear that you took your eyes off her for a second, I’m calling my husband, and you donotwant me to do that."
