Page 88 of Quinlan

“Before that”—I cross my arms over my chest—“you’ll come down to have lunch. The fridge is packed with food and pre-made meals. Healthy stuff. Anything you can dream of.”

“Not fucking happening,” she snarls, her eyes flaring. “I’m never leaving this room.”

Her fingers curl around the side of the door. She’d have slammed it in my face if I’d let her.

My hand flattens on the door. My foot is jammed against it. “You will show up.”

It sounds absurd to insist on food. To engage in this conversation that sounds like we’re reenacting a scene fromThe Beauty and the Beast. I would laugh at how ridiculous it is. Only I don’t. I insist on it for Rome. Nothing’s funny about his trauma.

“Never leaving.” She pushes. I don’t budge.

“You’ll have to use the bathroom at some point. Which you don’t have in there.” I raise a challenging eyebrow. “And you will eat, darling. That’s not up for negotiation.”

“Don’t you dare call me darling again.” If Quinlan would’ve realized what her anger’s doing to me, I doubt she would’ve unleashed the way she does. “I’m nothing to you.”

“Wrong.” When my finger twirls around a lock of hair that’s escaped from her ponytail, Quinlan goes red in the face. Her eyes widen and her lips pinch. “You’re my captive.”

Silence. It’ll take her a while before she’s used to her new situation. By the time she does, she’ll stop resenting it.

She will.

“Darling,” I taunt her. Because I’m a sick fuck. Because she’s less mad than I would’ve liked. “Did you hear what I said?”

She hasn’t tried to bite my fingers off yet. Until then…

“Shut up.” Quinlan’s lungs expand with the sharp breath she sucks in. “I’ll go out to use the bathroom. Other than that, nothing. I’ll starve myself to death, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

“Then who will provide for your parents if you die?” I’m being a prick. I’ve taken this too far. But the hatred that’s been simmering beneath my skin for Rex has returned with a vengeance after hearing him. Barely containable. Besides, Rome would lose his shit if she won’t eat. Right? “Rex? No,darling. He won’t be able to afford their health care. The doctors. They’ll lose their house eventually. Have you considered that?”

As soon as furious tears pinprick the corner of Quinlan’s eyes, I kick myself inwardly. I’ve never intended to aim my bitterness at her. Ever.

In the office, it was different. We had to convince her she had no other choice. That she had to come to us on her own terms.

We would’ve dragged her here had she said no. We would’ve.

We didn’t have to.

We scared her. Cornered her. Threatened her. She still gave as good as she got.

This, what I’m doing, is awful. Kicking her while she’s down is a bastard move. She doesn’t deserve it.

You’re no better than him, one voice whispers.Fix this. Fix her.

“Quinlan.” My regret reflects in a softer tone. My eyebrows knit, my fingers sliding to her neck. To her thrumming pulse. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. Your parents are safe. I promise you nothing will happen to them.”

“Leave me alone.” Quinlan blinks furiously. Her gray eyes are an impending storm. “I’m not going to kill myself. I’ll do my job. Stay here. It’s everything you wanted, isn’t it?”

“Quinlan.” At the sound of her name, her pulse races faster beneath my fingertips.

But she’s not blinking anymore. “Go away.”

The moment I hesitate is the moment she tears herself away from me. My hand remains in the air while Quinlan steps back into her room.

I’m dying to follow her inside. To tell her all of this is for her.

The king-sized four-poster bed is meant to make her feel like a princess. That the Egyptian gray sheets were chosen specifically to match the unique color of her eyes.

Every part of me longs to tell her we hand-picked the light gray rug for its softness. That the dark wood dresser and the stocked bookshelves on the wall are there to give her a homey feeling.

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