Chapter 22
The aftermath of my run in with the Rhodes twins was tumultuous to say the least. After learning that I was on the opposite side of Piper than when I'd been shopping with Bas, the first thing I did was call my best friend.
The coffee shop employees were wonderfully empathetic to my situation, despite not knowing the actual horror behind it.
I had just told them that I'd gotten lost, broken my phone, and needed to call someone to come get me.
If only it were that simple.
Once Bas had figured out where I was, I’d never been so relieved to see a familiar face in my life.
We’d embraced so hard I was a little curious if I’d accidentally left soon-to-be bruises on him.
After he’d attempted to calm me down and I’d tried explaining the situation as best as I could muster outside the coffee shop, he’d been directly by my side as I’d called the police to report what had transpired.
I’m not sure I would have been in a stable enough state to recount the crime if it hadn’t been for Bas’ unwavering support out there on the sidewalk as I spoke to the officer on the phone.
Retelling what the twins had done to me wasn’t a happy mental visit.
Even though in the moment I hadn’t thought more beyond simply surviving the encounter, now that it was behind me, now that I had actually weathered the storm they’d tried to forecast, I was feeling completely shaken by the experience.
The fact that it reminded me of the worst time of my life, that being the tandem loss of losing my parents and having to remove Troian from my life, made me feel just like I had before I’d met Qwill.
Confused, hurt, and in some desperate need of something comfortable and familiar.
What I wouldn’t have given for a kiss from Qwill as I hung up the phone after speaking with the police officer.
Bas had ordered us a rideshare to the police station, since they wanted to speak with me in person, but all I wanted was Qwill.
What made it worse was that I couldn’t bring myself to speak that into existence even as I piled into the car with my best friend.
I didn’t want Bas to think that his company wasn’t enough.
It was, but the comfort of Qwill’s handsome face wasn’t something that could have been rivaled.
I’d laid out every detail once I was ushered into a room at the police station with the same officer I’d spoken with on the phone.
I made sure not to hold back any detail that I could remember from the excursion with the twins.
I didn’t think I was missing anything after I’d spoken my truth, but my mind and my body were so sore, both figuratively and literally, and I just wanted to lay the fuck down and be done with this day.
After making some phone calls, the police told me they would be looking for the Rhodes twins.
Aside from that, they were contacting Warren Rhodes, the eldest brother of the family and the one that the twins had mentioned was behind allegedly ordering the hit on Troian.
Of course, he was denying it, but he was going to be brought in for questioning anyway.
Considering he was the current Chief Of Staff, he was claiming that he couldn’t just drop everything over what he called a ridiculous claim.
One mention of the word arrest and he’d changed his tune and would get the earliest flight out from D.C.
that he could. I had every faith that Warren Rhodes was going to delay his trip to Piper by any means necessary.
Until he arrived and was questioned, there wasn’t anything else I could do but wait.
By the time Bas and I exited the police station, the sun had set behind the horizon, blanketing us in the beginnings of a new night. I pulled my arms across my chest in a futile attempt to warm me.
I really just needed Qwill right now.
“Are you ordering us another rideshare?” I asked Bas once we were on the sidewalk.
“Not exactly.” Bas smiled slyly, and I wasn’t liking the little mischievous look he was wearing with pride.
“Please don’t surprise me right now, Bas.” I exhaled heavily. “It’s been a long as hell day and I don’t need anymore surprises.”
“I called Troian.” Bas nodded, seeming to understand my current stance on incredulity. “He bought a car and he’s going to give us a lift.”
I scoffed, unfurling my arms. “I was kidnapped and tortured and my brother went out and bought a fucking vehicle?”
“He was buying it while we were shopping I think,” Bas nodded. “I think he was going to surprise you with one too but that got cut short after I went to meet you at Out-Yours and realized you were gone.”
“I don’t want a fucking car.” I knew I was being bratty, but I couldn’t help it. It was nice that Troian was coming to pick us up but he wasn’t the male presence I was craving.
“He’s right here.”
Bas waved to the brand new SUV that came right up to the curb of the police station. It was nice, undeniably so. And maybe if I hadn’t been so fucking exhausted I might have gawked at the beautiful black car and cared more about Troian’s latest purchase, but I wanted to get the fuck home.
I wasted no time in walking up to the tinted vehicle and flinging open the backseat of the car before it had even finished rolling to a stop.
When I looked inside, I could see Troian driving, his head whipping to see me as he finished pressing the brakes and the car officially stopped.
When I dared a glance at the backseat, I could have burst into tears as I saw the figure waiting there on the other side waiting for me.
Tears shimmied against my eyes as I took in a zigzagged breath.
“Qwill.”
He gave me a small smile as I flung myself inside the SUV, desperate to feel his warmth and his touch.
As soon as I crashed my head into his chest and felt his arms wrap around me, everything else ceased to exist to me.
My body rocked as sobs spilled out of my mouth, unable to keep it in anymore now that I was surrounded by his intoxicating aroma of earthy delight and fresh rain.
Being in his arms felt like the most right thing in the world, like everything had finally righted itself since the kidnapping and the universe was back on track to its rightful path.
“It’s okay, baby.” Qwill said, swirling patterns with his fingertips across my clothed back, squeezing me tight as my sobs reached completion, sniffling into his black t-shirt and taking lungfuls of his scent into my body. “You’re okay. You’re safe. Everything’s going to be okay.”
And because it was Qwill saying it, I knew that it would be. Because I was in his arms, it felt like everything really would be okay again. I might be feeling out of sorts right now, but being enveloped by Qwill’s muscles, everything would align itself accordingly.
Still holding on to Qwill, I heard one of the front door’s of the SUV close.
I opened my eyes, directing them towards the front of the vehicle.
Troian had his body twisted toward me front the driver’s seat and Bas was now mirroring the same thing from the passenger seat.
Looks of ultimate worry covered their faces and it hurt my soul that I was the cause of their current stress.
“I’m okay,” I iterated, slightly nodding the side of my head into Qwill’s chest. “I’m alright. Or I will be.”
They both gave me a synchronized nod and turned back in their seats. Troian threw the vehicle into drive and started speeding away from the police station, hopefully taking me back to my apartment where I could at least pretend that I was safe from the horrors of the world.
My head spun, but the affection I felt pouring from Qwill’s touch was doing a lot to ease me into a more consistent state of calm. I felt Qwill’s hand snake between us so that he could pivot his palm against my jaw, making me look at him.
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I am now.” I smiled weakly, leaning up and placing the lightest of kisses on his lips before curling my face into his neck.
“I was so worried about you, baby.” Qwill’s voice wobbled with emotion and it was enough to make my cry, hearing how much he cared about me from the tone of his voice. My tears were stalled as he made me look at him again. “I don’t ever want to feel that scared again.”
Seeing the potential tears wanting to be let out from Qwill’s golden eyes made mine stay in place.
I hated that he’d been so bereft in my absence and I wanted to reassure him just as much as his being in this vehicle with me right now was doing for me.
“I’m alright, Qwill. I just want to go back home and recluse from the world for a bit. ”
“Kroven’s waiting at the apartment,” Bas offered from the front seat, looking over and seeing him tap away a text to his beloved on his phone. “Any requests for food being delivered to the apartment?”
My mouth watered at the idea of food. I hadn’t been too hungry while I’d been in the warehouse despite that I hadn’t eaten since breakfast this morning. Something about surviving made having an appetite the last thing on your mind, it seemed.
“Pizza. Just pepperoni. The greasier, the better.” I called up to him, curling into Qwill’s embrace once more.
It wasn’t until Qwill’s fingers started combing through my hair that I felt the ease settling into my bones again.
Now that I was wrapped around my man and feeling safe in his arms, surrounded by the support of my best friend and my twin, my body felt like it could accurately relax.
And before I knew it, with Qwill’s fingers soothing trails against my scalp, my consciousness was taken from me as I fell asleep.