32. Quincy
Quincy
We’ve been locked in this tiny room for at least four hours now. Every single stage of grief has racked each of our bodies. Well, except Warren. I know he can be a cold asshole, but his blasé attitude has my blood running scalding hot.
Sure, he claims it’s because Leah shared something with him.
But not knowing a damn thing about it isn’t doing me any favors.
I’m not built for this. Leah is worth it, though.
I have to remind myself of that. Every man in this room is worth it.
That includes me. They’re not giving up, so I can’t either.
I won’t cave.
Parker is snoring on Grady’s shoulder. It’s adorable. They’re almost enough to help me forget this room is a prison. Unease burns like magma in my gut. All I can think about is curling up in bed with my people. What a cruel fucking turn of events.
“War.” My voice trembles. “H-how long do you think she’ll keep us here?”
His jaw ticks. “I don’t know. But it’s okay. We just need to wait it out.”
“Promise?”
He leans close, voice low. “Q. I swear. This room has a camera, so I can’t say anything else.”
Nodding, I melt against Grady, disturbing him for a second before he settles.
My attempt at sleeping through our time in isolation is short-lived. What must be mere minutes after I close my eyes, the lock unbolts. Every one of us jumps as the door flies open.
“So! Who has had a change of heart?” Henrietta steps into the room, hands on her hips.
The resounding silence is very obviously not what she expected.
Her entire demeanor shifts, eyes darkening, like a fox unleashed in a henhouse.
“Well then. It appears that none of you were going to inform me that you’ve all been indulging in a disgusting group relationship with Ms. Porter.
” She prowls closer, looming over Grady where he sits. “I’ve watched the videos.”
The small, lifeless office we’re in goes deathly quiet. Our faces pale. At this point, it’s officially an interrogation room, and we may as well be on trial for treason.
“V-videos?” Grady parrots with an eerie undertone, shrinking into himself.
“Oh, yes. The videos. Plural. I did not misspeak.” Pointed, her tone delivers an unspoken explanation.
She’s been aware of this for some time and said nothing.
What else has she heard?
I’m going to puke.
“So, let me rephrase.” She circles the room, passing each of us a murderous look.
To his credit, Parker is handling his first-ever run-in with the real Henrietta well. Most people are fortunate enough to never meet the evil bitch that rules this place. He doesn’t even flinch as she continues to berate all of us.
“Whom, might I ask, initiated this deplorable behavior?” She leans against the desk. Her perfectly manicured nails tap rhythmically against the top, clacking through the room in a maddening beat. The deja vu makes my skin prickle.
Only, Bridget isn’t here this time to slap around.
An eternity of heavy silence passes. Our collective tense breaths echo through the room, the only responses she’ll get from any of us. I nearly jump out of my skin as she slaps her hand against the desk.
“Very well, you had your chance. Pack your bags, you’re not welcome here any longer.
And Parker, if you think you’ll ever train again, forget it.
I’ll be informing every facility in my network of your unprofessional behavior.
As for the rest of you, well, you’d best find a way to procure some manner of financial stability, because the Hart accounts have already been deactivated.
Pathetic men, driven to betray your own flesh and blood for some nobody hussy.
She is very fortunate I pity her enough not to have her arrested for assault.
” Without so much as a second glance, she steps out of the room, door slamming behind her.
Parker is the first to break, crumbling to the floor. I move immediately to comfort him, Warren and Grady just behind me. As we huddle in the center of this purgatory, the sounds of our collective sobs and curses resonate off the walls.
“I fucking knew this was a bad idea, I’m sorry I f-failed,” Parker sputters.
Grady frames his face with his hands, forcing him to look at us. “N-no y-y-you didn’t.”
“Don’t you dare blame Leah for this,” he fires back, fierce with devotion.
“Parker.” Voice soft, I lay my hand over his clenched fist. “None of us blame her. It’s a shitty situation all around, but it’s nobody’s fault. We’ll figure this out together.”
“He’s right, and together includes a particularly feisty, pink-haired woman with a pretty impressive right hook,” Warren adds, finally breaking his silence.
All of us snap our attention to him.
“Care to explain what the fuck that means?” I ask.
“I’m not entirely sure what she’s planning, but she definitely made sure we’ll be alright in the meantime. We talked at her cabin when I was helping her pack. She has a plan in motion. I don’t know much, but she gave Grady and me the information for a hotel.”
“Excuse you?” Parker straightens, surprised, but not particularly shocked by the news.
Warren heads for the door. “I don’t know, okay? But we need to act fast before Henrietta changes her mind and ships off the three of us that she owns.”
“He’s right, if there’s one thing Henrietta loves, it’s power.
She’s upset and acting irrational. If we’re still here when she comes to her senses, she’ll likely have us sent to one of her time-out houses.
I’m not particularly keen on going back to one of them.
” My skin crawls. I haven’t had the misfortune of pissing her off in about three years now.
The memories of that place are still a black smudge in my mind.
It’s mental torture, being cut off from civilization.
Henrietta is smart about it. Never sending you away for too long, only enough to break your will, so you realize how much your livelihood depends on her.
“Well, let’s go then. I have a car, all we need are some clothes. The rest will work itself out. Fuck everything else.” Parker stands, holding his hand out to Grady. “I know it’s not the glamorous escape I promised, but are you ready to run away with me, my love?”
The tension in Grady’s shoulders releases, tears pooling in his eyes. “A-always.” He stands and pulls Parker into him, stealing a quick, heated kiss.
Warren and I have very few possessions, so it won’t take us long at all to get the hell out of here. A picture of our parents is the only thing I bring aside from a few changes of clothes. Nothing else here holds any significance. We can’t even take our Jeep since it’s technically hers.
The smallest bit of doubt pulls at Warren’s face as we make our way to Parker’s car.
He’s been stoic through most of this. Whatever Leah said is enough to convince him that she’s got everything under control.
Hopefully it’s true. Not that I don’t believe in her, that woman is as determined and loyal as they come.
What worries me is his lack of one hundred percent faith.
Warren has always been the smarter, survival-focused one.
Some might call it the curse of being an older sibling, even in our instance, where he’s only got a little more than a year on me.
The time doesn’t matter. He’s always let me find the joys life has to offer, while he sits back and keeps his eyes peeled, protecting me from the harsh realities of the world.
Watching him fall in love with Leah has made me realize that he’s equally terrified.
Witnessing him come to terms with the way he loves Parker, too, was unexpected and beautiful.
No matter what happens, I’m going to flip the script. I need to be his protector in this.
All of us care, clearly. But I’m the only one who truly sees him. I know his struggles—everything he’s endured—because I lived them, too. But he was my shield, weathering the worst of the storms.
Heart battered and bruised, he’s lived a lonely life, forced to shut everyone out. Now that he’s let people in, it’s all going up in smoke before his eyes, and for once, he can do nothing more than swallow his fears and let someone else be the sponge.
I wrap my arm around his shoulder, and he leans into me. “I love you, War, we all do. This is going to work out. You know our girl. She’s going to come through.”
“She is.” He sighs.
Parker takes our bags and loads them into the trunk. “We all good to go, boys?”
Grady nods, dropping into the passenger seat.
“Let’s get out of here before we get kidnapped,” I joke, but the truth peeks through.
Grady turns to give me a comforting look—one that tells me he feels it too, the looming uncertainty of what we’ll do after those gates are in the rearview.
Unlike Warren, Grady shows his thoughts on his face.
Hope and excitement are abundant in his eyes, but the slivers of doubt and his fear are also easy to spot.
Parker slams his foot on the gas, peeling out of the drive with a final “fuck you” to this place.
Once we’re on the private drive, the weight of the world lightens.
As dumb as it sounds, the sky seems bluer, the air easier to inhale.
Troubles and worries be damned, the energy in the car is buzzing with our excitement.
We’re free.
Maybe not how we planned, but we’re out from under Henrietta’s thumb. What a terrifying relief.
“She already cut our lines,” Warren swipes at his phone screen. “I guess it’s official, then. We’re no longer Harts…” He stares out the window, jaw working.
Parker spares a glance over his shoulder. “You want to talk about it?”
“There’s nothing to talk about. You witnessed the fallout. I’m just processing.”
And he is. They’ll get used to it in time. He’s broody, always preferring his thoughts over talking in circles about things he can’t change.
Parker wants to say something, it’s obvious by the way he’s holding the steering wheel—knuckles white from the force of his grip. “If any of you ever need to talk, just know that Grady is a great listener,” he jokes instead.
Grady gently shoves him, causing the car to jerk.
“What?” Parker chuckles. “It’s true. It’s probably the reason I fell in love with you so fast. Nobody has ever heard me like you.
” His voice wavers under the truth. “You’re all special to me for one reason or another.
I know I talk a lot of shit, and I’m unserious more often than not. But you all get me.”
Warren’s posture relaxes. “You put so much weight on your own shoulders that you use humor as armor. I get it. Someone else here is just as big a goofball.” He smirks my way. “That’s what makes the two of you so unbearable together, but perfect for one another at the same time.”
“And you?” Parker says, “Do you know why I love you?”
Warren leans forward, elbows resting on his knees. “Do tell.”
“You’re the rock, the one I can be serious and vulnerable with. Your energy is like a security blanket. Just be sure to let someone else do the same for you.” They exchange a brief, but unmistakably tender, look in the rearview.
Warren swallows. “That’s where Leah comes in. She’s my anchor. The one who keeps my feet on the ground.”
“I miss her,” I cut in.
“It’s been a whole seven hours,” Warren deadpans.
“Yeah, but those hours were different. We don’t know when we’ll see her again. It’s not like Hartbrook, where she’ll be there to curl up between us at the end of the day. It’s strange not knowing the next time I’ll hear her voice, or be close enough to count her freckles.”
“Or s-smell her sh-sh-shampoo,” Grady murmurs, hands twisting in his lap.
Parker laughs dryly. “Or have her close enough to slap me when I say something out of line.”
“We all miss her, okay?” Warren blurts, voice elevated in a poor effort to hide his pain. “And we’ll see her again soon. She paid for a hotel, that’s where we’re going for now.”
“What if she’s there waiting for us?” I ask, mood-lifting at the idea.
“Doubtful, she said she’s heading to Texas.” Warren’s face—soft with a slight twitch of his lip—gives away his disappointment.
“Well, we’ll be in Georgia, which isn’t Florida, so it’s a start. Let’s focus on the positives, okay?” Parker speaks up.
Grady smiles, taking his free hand to hold as he drives.
He’s right. And if what she told Warren is true, our girl has been up to something. If he believes her enough not to freak out, then I’m going to accept that. This is my family, and I’ll follow them to the ends of the Earth.
Or, in this case, Georgia.
Though it currently feels like the end, today is the start of our forever.