Page 47 of Quinn

“Tchokai?”

I nodded. “We also have Mindare, the man who threw Arabella at you, and the bitch doctor.”

“Mind if I join the party?”

“I’d be disappointed if you didn’t.”

We both downed our whiskey and I pushed onto my feet. “Give me a few minutes and we’ll head down.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

ARABELLA

The sound of men running, the ground rumbling as their boots pounded the earth, jolted me into consciousness and I watched as they ran past with guns poised, ready for battle.

Tchokai sneered at me as he approached with Mindare, his most trusted warrior who, apart from Tchokai, was one of the men I feared the most.

They stopped by my side. “We’ll be back for you shortly; we have a lesson planned which I’m quite sure you won’t enjoy.” Tchokai clucked his tongue. “One day you’ll learn to pay attention to your lessons and your life will be much less painful.”

As he started to move away, Mindare put a boot to my ribs and I felt the crunch of bone as they broke. Pain ricocheted around my chest. My breathing stuttered and I fell back into darkness. My last thought—please let my time here come to an end.

***

When I opened my eyes confusion seeped in; I was no longer lying on hard ground but something soft.

Turning my head to the side, I met the anxious looks of Tania and Natalie.

“Thank fuck.” Tears were evident in Tania’s eyes.

Natalie had tear stains on her cheeks, so I didn’t need to be a rocket scientist to know she’d been crying. She placed her hand on mine that rested on top of the sheet and was already gripped in Tania’s.

“Where am I?” My throat was dry and scratchy, I was barely able to manage a whisper.

“In our guest room,” Natalie answered. “Jake brought you here before the fighting began.”

I moved to get comfortable and gasped when pain shot through my chest.

“Doctor Vincent will be here shortly, we think you might have broken ribs so try and lie still, honey. You have a lot of bruising in the crotch area and your face is swollen where you were hit. Nat and I washed you and applied some cream to the sunburn which is pretty bad.”

“Thank you. I’m sorry to be so much trouble.”

“You’re no trouble at all, Bella.” Quinn’s deep voice had me tingling all over and I turned my head towards the door. “Ladies, can I speak with Bella alone for a moment please?”

Tania and Natalie stood, smiling at me before leaving the room and closing the door with a soft click. Quinn sat on the side of the bed and gathered my hand.

“I’m so fucking sorry; I should have been with you. I should never have trusted anyone else to take care of you while Sangumala was a threat.”

“It’s…” Quinn held up a hand and I closed my mouth.

“It is my fault, Bella. I was so busy thinking about being the hero, getting rid of your enemy, coming back to the compound, and pounding my chest like a fucking caveman, that I lost sight of what really mattered…You.”

“It’s not your fault, Quinn. The doctor was very aggressive and threatened Gabim. She said there would be no test if he didn’t stay in the waiting room with the others. Please don’t blame yourself or the other men. We were in a hospital. People were everywhere. It should have been okay, but I made the mistake of trusting her when my gut was screaming at me that something was wrong.”

“But…”

I squeezed Quinn’s hand. “No buts. You obviously ‘saved’ me. I’m here and I’m safe. I assume Sangumala are done with?”

“We have a couple of loose ends to tie up and then, yes, they won’t be a threat anymore.”