Page 20 of Quinn
“My mistake, I guess. So…mafia. Do you kill people?”
“We have.”
“Drugs?”
Quinn sighed. “Bella, it’s not information you should have, sweetheart, unless you make the decision to stay. The less you know, the safer you will remain.”
“If I’m to stay here, even if for a short while, shouldn’t I know what I am getting myself into? I could be jumping from the proverbial frypan into the fire.”
“I’ll assure you, there is no danger here, and once you feel well enough, you’ll be free to leave.”
The look in Quinn’s eyes told me he wasn’t telling the truth.
CHAPTER FIVE
QUINN
Bella raised an eyebrow at my statement that she was free to leave, and although I’d tried to reassure her, I knew what I’d said was untrue. Once my brothers found out she knew we were mafia, there’d be no escape.
She was an outsider, not to be trusted with the knowledge of who we were. The thought of her wanting to leave, and us having to terminate her life, caused an overwhelming feeling of dread to bubble in the pit of my stomach. I couldn’t allow her to be harmed more than she already had been.
“Quinn, is everything all right? You’ve become awfully quiet.”
“It’s all fine. You must be hungry, how about I ask Lynetta to fix you something to eat?”
“Thank you, I would like something, I think it’s been two weeks since I’ve had more than a few sips of water. I was being punished for kicking and screaming when Tchokai tried to take my body when it wasn’t my birth date.”
Fuck, I wanted to get on the plane, fly to Moresby and blow the entire fucking village to pieces.
After standing, I leaned forward and kissed her forehead. I had no idea why I felt compelled to do such a thing.
***
I woke to screaming that set my heart pounding and had me leaping from the bed. I raced for the guest room at the end of the hallway and reached the doorway as Lynetta appeared from her suite nearby. I was about to push through the door when her words stopped me cold.
“Quinn, you might wanna put something on or you’ll scare that already scared girl, shitless.”
I glanced down and saw I was naked; no big surprise, it was how I always slept and hadn’t given it a second thought when the screaming had started.
“Go, I’ll look after her.”
I dashed to my room and pulled on a pair of shorts before hurrying back down the hallway. When I reached the door, I heard Lynetta’s soothing voice along with quiet sobs.
Quietly, I entered the room to find Bella engulfed in my Haus Meri’s arms and she was rocking her back and forth like you would an upset child. My heart hitched at the sight which was an odd response for a man who rarely allowed anything to affect him. I wasn’t the compassionate or nurturing type except when it came to Mahiro.
Lynetta turned her eyes towards me; sadness reflected from them. I lowered to the bed beside Arabella and Lynetta turned her into my arms before standing and leaving us alone. I ran a hand over the girl’s back until the sobbing stopped and she faded back into sleep. I held her for another half an hour, lowered her onto the pillows, grabbed the blanket draped over the chair beside her bed, sat down, and settled in to watch over her for the rest of the night.
***
“Quinn?” The soft voice had my eyes springing open, and sitting forward in the chair, I groaned at the sudden pinch of pain in my back.
A beam of early morning daylight poked through the centre opening of the curtains allowing me to see that Arabella was seated on the side of the bed.
“Did you want something?”
“I need to use the bathroom.”
“Of course, It’s through that door.” I indicated one of the white painted doors on the side wall, stood, and slid the chair back along the wooden floor until it was out of the way. When I turned back to Arabella, her eyes were wide and fixed on my bare chest. It was then I realised I was wearing only a pair of snug fitting boxer shorts that did nothing to conceal my more than ample package. “Sorry, I’ll go and have a shower and dress.”
