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Sergio nods. "I understand. That's why I stopped you."
"That's whywestopped him, motherfucker,” Mario says with a laugh. "You didn't suddenly grow another pair of arms, asshole."
Sergio gives him a playful punch to the shoulder that makes Mario wince. He chuckles, and we stand up.
"Go. Go home to her. Everything's fine for now, and we'll figure out our next move after the next meeting. Nothing’s going to happen immediately, we know that much."
And if it does, I'm ready.
I call her, but she doesn't answer. I text Bruce. The response is immediate.
She's asleep, Boss. She’s safe.
I stare out the window at the Boston skyline as I drive home.
All I've ever wanted to do was keep her safe. Keep anyone I loved safe. I didn’t mean to scare her. But fuck, when I saw that panic in her eyes…the motherfucker’s lucky he’s still breathing.
I open the door to the apartment, and even though I've had an entire team here while I've been gone, I still do a safety check. I can't help it. I check every closet, every entrance, my video cameras. Every single one safe, and no one’s come here to hurt her.
I pour myself a drink and try to get back to a place of calm so I can talk to her without scaring the shit out of her. I don't want to scare her. I never wanted to.
I adore her. I fucking love the woman.
I walk to the bed and sit beside her and rest my hand on her back. She rolls over, sees me, and sits up, scootching back.
"You’re home."
It doesn't surprise me that her voice is guarded, after the shit that went down tonight. I run my fingers through her hair, loving the way it feels. She's here. She safe.
It's the mantra that I repeat to myself over and over again.
"Quinn," I begin. "I'm so sorry for what happened tonight. I should've kept myself in control."
She pulls away from me, which doesn't surprise me, but it still feels like a knife in my heart. I let her go, and watch her lean against the headboard, tucking her knees up to her chest.
"Thatcan'thappen again, Adriano."
Is it my imagination, or is there a tone of finality in her voice? I tell myself it’s just my fears, my worst fears.
"I know."
"We need to talk," she says, biting her lip.
"We do. We found out news tonight that I have to tell you."
Something that might change everything…
"What's that?" I hate the guarded looks she's giving me. I hate that she is sitting right next to me, yet it feels as if she's rooms away, no, even further than that. Miles away from me, on another planet, even.
"Your mother’s been trying to reach you."
She stares at me, unblinking. "How do you know?"
"You know that I track your social media. She's left several messages in the past few days, and some are confusing, but some are very lucid."
"What does she want?" Quinn asks in a whisper.
"She wants to see you. She said she misses you."
