Page 28 of Bound

“But—”

“No. Listen to me,” Quinn interrupts. “Life ends. Love doesn’t. I know you love her, and I know you always will.”

Quinn slides her hands from my face to my chest and rests them over the thud of my heart. “I don’t need you to love her less to make room in here for me, just like you didn’t forget about me to make room for her. I know that your heart is plenty big enough to have room for us both because it always has.”

She slides her arms around me and holds me tight. With her face resting against my chest, I mutter, “I will never grasp how you can be so understanding of…everything.”

“It’s simple. The stupid decisions you’ve made, your pain, your faults, Sarah, Fiona… All of them have made the version of you finally ready to let me in… To love me.”

“I do,” I whisper against her forehead. “I fucking love you,mocheadsearc.”

“I love you, baby.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

QUINN

About a month later…

“Alrighty, kiddo.” I give Fiona a big push on the swings. “I think it’s time to head inside so I can make you something for dinner.”

“Two more!” she shouts.

“One more, but that’s it.…” I give her a final push, and she squeals as the swing goes high. She kicks her feet, trying to keep the swing going as itbegins to slow. It might not be helping, but it sure is adorable. I wait until itcomesto a stop before helping her down.

Taking her hand and walking inside,Iask, “What do you think we should make for dinner tonight?”

“Can we have pizza?” Fiona chirps as I close the door to the terrace.

“Hmmm. Let me text your dad and see if he’s coming home soon.” I reach for my back pocket, only to realize I left my phone by the slide of her swing set after taking a few pictures of her to send to Declan.

Leaving Fiona to play in the living room, I head back onto the terrace to retrieve it and call Declan.

“Hey, baby,” I greet him when he answers the phone. “A cute little redhead is asking to have pizza for dinner.”

His laugh billows through the speaker as he teases, “Is it the cute little three-foot-tall one? Or the cute little five-foot-tall one?”

“Both. If it means I don’t have to cook dinner, it is definitely both.”

“You know I’m not capable of saying no to either of you,” he admits. When I step back inside, I immediately notice that Fiona isn’t where I left her in the living room. Declan’s voice continues to carry through the phone’s speaker, but I’m distracted by the ding of the elevator in the foyer.

It’s never that loud.

Except whenwe’re in the foyer.

Quickly, I rush around the corner and gasp when I see that the front door of the apartment is open. I drop the phone, running toward the open doorway as I scream, “Fiona!”

With my heart pounding, I lunge through the threshold and into the foyer. Relief momentarily washes over me when I see her, but it quickly dissipates when I realize she’s waving to someone as the metal doors slide closed.

Rushing toward her, I drop to the floor and firmly grip her arms, roughly admonishing, “What are you doing?”

Tears immediately well in her eyes, and I realize that I’ve scared her as much as she did me. I only scare her further when I hearthe whir of the elevator motor and see the display over the cab is only at the floor beneath us.

The bell announcing the cab’s arrival dings as I swoop Fiona into my arms. I hastily carry her back to the apartment and slam the door as a thick Russian accent taunts, “You can’t hide from us forever, you redheaded bitch.”

It isn’t until I lock the deadbolt that I realize tears are streaming down both of our faces, and I’m trembling as hard as Fiona.

I run through the apartment and fall to the floor by my phone. Somehow, I clamor to lift it from the hardwood, and I yell for Declan and plead him to hurry home. Clutching the phone tightly, I find the line dead when I lift it to my ear.

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