Page 6 of Bound

“Where are you?” I snarl, immediately seeing red. I toss back the covers and firmly plant my feet on the ground, ready to run to her.

“The bathroom. I locked myse?—”

“No, Quinn! Where the fuck are you?” I interrupt her, needing to know how to get to her. Now. She rattles off an address not far from my place as I quickly pull on my pants and shoes. “I’ll be there in five.”

After abruptly hanging up the phone, I grab a sweatshirt from the floor and pull it on as I head toward the kitchen for my keys. My steps are fast and heavy, echoing off the concrete as I make my way through the parking garage. I cannot get behind the wheel of my Shelby fast enough.

I reach the address Quinn gave me and am surprised to find it’s a brownstone with a party in full swing. Drunks stagger down the front steps and into the street as music blares through the open front door. I park half on the sidewalk, and I take the steps two at a time and push through the front door before heading upstairs.

I shove open the first door as I rush down the hall. Empty. Muffled cries come through the second, and I’m about to barrel through it with my shoulder when I hear her broken screams come from down the hall. “Stop! Help! Someone!”

“You don’t get to be a fucking tease all night and not be expected to fucking put out,” a tall, muscular blond snarls as he pulls Quinn from the bathroom by her hair.

“She said no,” I shout over Quinn’s screams for help as the blond bends her over the bed and hikes her skirt around her waist.

“Dec…” Quinn pleads for help through the tears streaming from her bloodshot eyes.

He stares at me as he hastily undoes his pants and claws at her panties. “This doesn’t fucking concern you, Dick. Get out and shut the fucking door.”

“But it does,” I mutter under my breath. Turning on my heel, I push the door shut and click the lock.

“Dirty little teases get exactly what they ask for,” the blond shoves her face into the mattress before realizing I haven’t left the room. “Stay if you want, but there won’t be much left of her by the time I’m done.”

“I could say the same about you.” I snidely reply, seconds before rushing and tackling him to the ground. Quinn curls into a ball on the bed in a pile of tears as I pound at the man pinned beneath the weight of my body. My fists pummel his face until my knuckles are cracked and bleeding like the skin they’re crashing into. But I don’t stop. I hit him again and again until he no longer resembles a man, not stopping until he is a limp pile of bloody skin and broken bones beneath me.

“You have no idea just how much she concerns me,” I whisper, wiping my bloodstained hands across his shirt before climbing from his dead body. Turning, I find Quinn tucked into a ball, still exposed, and sobbing uncontrollably. I approach her slowly and try to comfort her. “You’re safe, Quinn. I’m here.”

Hooking my fingers under her panties, I pull them back into place before lowering her skirt and helping her from the bed. Her tears dampen my sweatshirt as she holds on to me tightly and sobs into my chest. As I hold her against me, I place akiss on the top of her forehead while pushing back thoughts I shouldn’t be having about her.

Pulling back slightly, she stares up at me with her big green eyes as she releases the fistfuls of my shirt. Not caring about the blood droplets staining my skin, her fingers lightly rub over my cheek. Her lower lip quivers as her words tremble over it. “Thank you.”

“I’ve got you.” I cup her face and stare down at her. “No one will ever hurt you.”

CHAPTER SIX

QUINN

Last night was my first full night of sleep in months. No nightmares. No tossing and turning. Not even that normal unease of sleeping somewhere new. I woke up feeling completely refreshed. Which, based on yesterday afternoon, is going to come in quite handy for trying to keep up with the massive amount of energy Fiona has.

Pulling my hair into a messy bun atop my head, I take a quick shower and throw on a pair of yoga shorts and a baggy tank top. After applying a few swipes of mascara, I head down the hall and am surprised to find both Declan and Fiona already awake.

“What do you want for breakfast this morning,a stóirín?” Declan croons to Fiona, currently standing atop his bare feet in her Hello Kitty pajamas. Her giggles fill the apartment as he marches her through the kitchen. The sight of the two of them is unbelievably adorable—and so unlike the Declan I know—that I pause at the edge of the kitchen merely to watch the two of them.

“Waffles!” Fiona shouts her giggly response, causing a smile to spread across my face.

“Again?” Declan dramatically questions as he dips at the waist to pull Fiona into his arms. Peppering kisses across her face as she laughs even harder, he teases, “You’re going to turn into a waffle,a stóirín.”

I’m pretty sure my ovaries just fluttered.

Fiona catches a glimpse of me over Declan’s shoulder and boldly declares with a broad grin, “Quinn wants waffles too!”

Declan turns at the sound of my name as he places Fiona back on the floor. “Is that so?” He rakes his fingers through his graying morning bedhead as he stands until I’m met with his searing blue eyes and a sheepish smirk. “Is that what you want?”

Yup, they definitely fluttered.

“Y…yeah,” I stammer, mentally trying to remind myself he’s asking about the waffles.

I haven’t had an inkling of a sexual thought—at least not a positive one—since the night the Bratva attacked me at the bar. Yet, the second I’m within arm’s distance of Declan’s rippled abs, my brain turns to mush, and it’s the only thing I can seem to think about. This isn’t exactly a new problem for me, though. My inability to think about anything else in his presence has plagued me since I was about sixteen.

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