Chapter 67
“I THINK I LOVE YOU” BY THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY
Quinntessa trying to pretend she wasn’t in pain was more painful than losing her.
I couldn’t stomach it, watching her fight through her obvious agony with handprints bruised around her neck and the star of my bloodline engraved in her face.
She was a strong woman, but I worried about how far Oscar had pushed.
I had walked along the edge of the water with Quinntessa.
Her legs dragged through the current, her hair sopping wet as she looked up at me with such despair, it made me want to jump in and carry her through.
The dogs were trained to follow a scent, even through water.
I knew from Dominik if Quinntessa walked long enough through the river, the dogs would get confused by the drifting current and downward winds in this lower area of the woods.
When we finally darted off on the same side of the river as we came, only further up the river, I was carrying Quinntessa through the woods.
She wasn’t light. Her muscles weighed her down, and I fought to keep the adrenaline trickling inside me to push the pain in my leg away with each step. I held her thighs up over my hips like a hiking bag, listening to her shivers in the settling darkness.
Her head laid on my shoulder, and I focused on her breathing. It was difficult with my heart pounding in my ears, the pain in my ribcage making everything feel dull. It was an all-consuming pain. I wanted to collapse with each step.
But I couldn’t stop.
I wouldn’t lose her again.
My daughter was Satan only knew where with her fucking father, and I was running from killer Dobermans and my backstabbing Papa, all for a chance at love. I put her in this position. I ruined her, and I was not going to let her go again, not without a fight.
In the distance, like an oasis, I finally spotted the old shed. I hated to bring her here, but it was the only place I knew in this area by heart.
“Quinntessa.” I took a shaky step and tried to get her attention. She didn’t stir, her head completely limp on my shoulder. “Sally, look.”
I shook my body lightly and paused. My heart sank as I was engulfed with fear. She didn’t answer again, her head nearly rolling off my shoulders. I jumped and groaned with pain, hoping the movement would wake her.
“Mhm?” she mumbled.
It was music to my ears. It was dark now, and the forest was lingering with different noises. I wouldn’t make it far if she wasn’t conscious enough to help me. I was not as strong as her, nowhere near.
“We’re here,” I whispered.
When we reached the old barn-styled shed, I placed Quinntessa down and helped her limp through the creaking doors. She coughed, shivering even after I closed the doors. There wouldn’t be any heat, but at least the hay up top in the loft might keep her from getting pneumonia.
The old ladder was difficult. She climbed most of the way without my help.
Quinntessa stopped on the third notch to cough and catch her breath before reaching down to help me.
My foot was aching in my boots. Thankfully, Quinntessa was strong enough to help pull me up when I struggled to get over the ledge.
We pulled the ladder up together from there. It laid to the side as I scattered old, dry hay onto a pallet for us to lie on.
“Here.” I tore off my jacket from my shoulders and exposed the glass cuts along my arm. I’d have to clean those up later, after she fell asleep. “Take off your clothes.”
“I am not having sex with you here,” Quinntessa hissed, her entire body shaking.
“You’re soaked.” I paused, smirking lightly at her narrowed eyes. “From the river. You’ll get sick. Strip your shirt at least and take my jacket.”
Quinntessa chewed on her bottom lip and hugged her stomach. She looked down and toyed with the dripping end of her shirt.
“I’m not . . .” Her nervous eyes sputtered up to mine. “My body isn’t like the cheerleaders and stuff you’re used to.”
I was assaulted with the image of Quinntessa throwing her hair back on the football field. How her hair fell over her shoulder pads out of her helmet, her hands lifting her shirt to clean her face, showing that beautiful fucking body to everyone who wished to stare.
“Good. I’m not into cheerleaders.” I sat down on the boards beside her. I smiled when she rolled her eyes up at me, unconvinced. “I’m into you. And even so, I’m not going to touch you unless you want me to. I meant what I said. You’re safe with me.”
Quinntessa nodded weakly. I tried not to stare at the bruising on her neck, or the way she continued to touch her vacant chest for her necklace.
I sat back with my jacket in my lap and watched her struggle to peel her shirt over her head. The vein in my neck throbbed. I bit down and scattered my eyes over multiple bruises and cuts. Her sides were swollen, black and blue taking over her tawny skin.
Oscar did a number on her. My poor girl.
“I’m so sorry,” I breathed out.
Quinntessa took my jacket and slipped her arms through my sleeves. She rubbed her face and snuggled into its warmth.
“Are we going to get out of the woods tomorrow?” Quinntessa asked, leaning her head into my shoulder. She frowned when I winced, squinting through the little light coming in from the dirty window above us. “You’re hurt. Did he cut you there?”
“It’s been a long twenty-four hours,” I confessed, looking at my blood-soaked sleeve. “We have to be careful, but we should try. I know most of these woods. There will be more to worry about than just dogs.”
“Men?” Quinntessa made a face. “Horrifying.”
I chuckled and fought the urge to kiss her head. Quinntessa had pulled away from me twice. It would have been particularly rude of me to force myself on her when she only wished to process what happened to her.
“You should rest.” I turned and started untying my boots. “I’ll cover you with hay to help you sleep.”
“What about you?” she asked.
“I’ll keep watch.” I released a pained hiss as the pressure from my boots let the throbbing discomfort in my ankle shoot up to my hip.
Quinntessa pushed up onto her knees and watched me for a moment. She crawled over and gently took my ankle, feeling the swelling under my sock.
“You hurt it pretty good. Does it feel strained?” She looked up through her frizzed, messy hair. “Can I take your sock off to use as a wrap for now?”
“Sure,” I accepted.
Quinntessa carefully took my sock off and rolled the fabric under my feet. I could see her eyes fluttering over the spiderweb of scars and tattoo coverings.
“Here.” She tied a knot with my sock and brushed her fingers up my calf. “The pressure will help. So will the cold air. You should try to elevate it tonight.”
“Thanks.” I smiled slightly as our eyes met. “I’m glad you don’t hate me enough to let me suffer.”
Quinntessa looked down at my foot and shrugged.
“I never said I hated you,” she mumbled.
“You never said?—”
“I told you I loved you, and you broke my heart all in three seconds. Everything happened so fast.” Quinntessa ran her fingers through her hair and sat back, picking at the surrounding hay. “Excuse me for being upset about being lied to. I got . . .”
Her hand raised to her neck, her words falling silent. The boarded walls creaked under the strength of the wind and filled the void of sound.
“Did he… ” My eyes dropped to the rips in her pants. “Touch you any other way?”
Quinntessa and I stared at one another.
“Did he assault yo?—”
“No, no, no.”
I narrowed my eyes at the way her fearful ones avoided mine. “Are you sure?” I asked.
“Not . . . He touched my legs a lot. My thighs. That’s it.” Her bottom lip quivered.
“I will never let them hurt you again.” I reached out and hovered my hand near her face. I tried to pull back, but Quinntessa leaned into me and closed her eyes. “I’m so sorry, Sal. He won’t fucking touch you again, okay? He’s dead. Gone. He’s gone.”
A soft sob broke from Quinntessa’s lips. She held my hand against her head.
“This never would have happened if I just listened to you. Now, you’re hurt and running.” She looked up and gasped. “What about Estelle? Where is she? Erica said?—”
“I took care of it.” I tucked my finger in the front of her sports bra and tugged her closer. She blushed and sent me a look, but it only made me smile. Her eyes were so pretty, even as tired and watery as they were. “I protect my family.”
Quinntessa’s lip tucked between her teeth. She chewed softly, knowingly under my close observation. When our eyes met again, she cocked a brow and pretended to look unimpressed.
I knew her better.
“You said you’d protect me,” she pointed out. “Am I your family?”
“Yes.”
I breathed out the word without hesitation. My eyes softened as Quinntessa fought back a smile. My hand slid down to her chin, hooking my finger’s knuckle underneath. I pulled her closer and growled softly.
“And if they lay a hand on what’s mine, I shall rip them limb from limb, Dear Luna,” I whispered against her lips.
As my smirk grew so large, it could be deemed a giddy smile, Quinntessa leaned back and stared at me. Her eyes flashed with recondition, a gasp escaping her.
“You’ve read The O Word?!”
“You’ve read The O Word?” I snickered when she shoved me in the chest and looked away. I tried to pull her face back to mine, but she shoved me again. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have teased you. Come back.”
“No, you piss me off,” Quinntessa grumbled, looking in the other direction.
I waited patiently for her eyes to glide back in my direction. She sighed and looked down, the cutest little pout on her soft lips.
“I like reading weird stuff,” she murmured, hanging her head. “I know. It’s weird. I just enjoy fantasy. It takes me?—”
“Out of reality,” I finished, rubbing her back. “I know. I think we all need that sometimes. I’m not judging you. I admire it.”
Quinntessa leaned into my chest and shivered. I wrapped my arms around her and slowly laid in the hay beneath us. She turned over and hugged my torso, relaxing into me.
“Quincy?”
“Quinntessa?”
“Will we make it out?”
I leaned my head back and stared at the moonlight coming through the old window.
“Of course we will.” I wouldn’t kill her spirits. “Tomorrow, we’ll walk out of the forest into town. Everything will be fine.”
Quinntessa shivered again and nodded. I used my arms to throw some hay on top of us the best I could. Thankfully, it was much warmer up here than outside in the breeze.
“Quincy?”
Quinntessa?” I repeated her name and remembered how close I was to losing her.
Quinntessa Dawson.
Quinntessa Dawson.
“Thank you for saving me.” She turned her head against my chest. I felt her eyes watching me, so close, her lashes tickled my chin.
“Saving you?” I chuckled, pulling her closer. “How did you even escape?”
“The boy there helped me.” Quinntessa’s tired eyes drooped. “With the blue eyes. He knew Milo. And you.”
I tried to recount all the blue eyes boys who might have wanted to go against Oscar.
Milo had brown. There was a possibility the Vincent brothers had recruited some boys I didn’t know.
I’d been staying away from the mob for a while besides family matters.
Estelle and Quinntessa were the only reason I kept an eye on the inside talk.
“Do you remember his name?” I asked.
Quinntessa’s head was heavy against mine. I didn’t bother waiting for her response. She’d tell me later, when she was ready.
“Leo.”
“Huh?” I don’t know any Leos in the mob.
“He protected me. He’s dead,” Quinntessa mumbled sleepily. She inhaled and exhaled a few times as I tried to think of a blue-eyed Leo in the group.
Must have been someone new. Too bad they were dead, or I would have thanked them for putting an effort into keeping my sweet girl alive.