Page 18 of Sofa King Safe

“And that’s enough of that.”Quinn interrupts me and pushes me out the door.“I’ll see you at lunch.”

“And then maybe you’ll have to take the rest of the day off because you’ll be so sore,” I say a little too loud, and Quinn laughs.

“Get out of here.”

I wink at her before I cross the street and open up the hardware store.Macy is already in the back stocking supplies when I get in.

“You’re here early.I thought you weren’t scheduled to open today.”

“Hannah wanted to take the kids this morning, so I decided to come in early.It’s weird because I swear I saw you drop Quinn off like thirty minutes ago.”Macy pretends to look confused.“What took you so long to walk across the street?”

“According to Mrs.Agnes, we were rearranging guts.Or whatever that means.”

Macy chokes on her own spit before doubling over and laughing.It takes some time, but when she finally gets it together, I help her do inventory on the supply truck that came this morning.

“Are these yours?”she asks, holding up a box of cameras.

“Oh nice, they came in early.”I nod across the street.“I ordered them for Quinn’s shop.”I check my watch and see the other employees are already here.“I’m going to go ahead and do it now since they’ll take some time to set up.I’d rather not have to do it after dark.”

“No problem.I’ll hold it down.”

Grabbing the box and the tools I need, I make my way across the street.Before I’m halfway there, I get a feeling that something's wrong.Boss is in the window, and when she sees me, he practically leaps into the air and starts meowing loudly.

Something in my chest tightens, and I drop everything I’m holding as soon as I reach the sidewalk.There’s a crack in the glass door and the handle is broken, but I ignore it as I race inside.

“Quinn!”I shout and run to the back, Boss hot on my heels.“Quinn!”

Boss meows like he’s calling for her too, but when I get to the back, the exit door is wide open.There’s another meow, and I look over to see Coco, Mrs.Agnes’ cat, in one of the kennels Quinn uses for drying.

He’s taken her.The man she’s been terrified of.The man I said I would protect her from.

My entire world comes crashing down around me as I pull Boss into my arms.

ChapterEleven

QUINN

My head pounds as I try to open my eyes.They’re heavy, and no matter how hard I try, they still won’t open.A sweet but sterile smell lingers in my nose while my mind swirls.It doesn’t help the headache, but I try to piece together what’s going on.Did I go out and have one too many drinks?

An ache in my shoulder throbs, and when I try to roll off it and onto my back, I can’t move.A rush of fear fills me when I’m only able to move my fingers.I take a breath, trying to calm myself, but it’s no use.

A door opens and closes in the distance, and my instincts tell me it's not good.Maybe it’s the adrenaline, but I manage to roll onto my back, and my eyes start to open.That’s when reality comes rushing back.

There was a noise at the back of my shop, and I thought I heard the door open.It wasn't until I was almost to the back door that I remembered the new lock Rhodes installed.I’d already checked it earlier that morning, and when I turned to walk back up front, I came face to face with Simon.

In my shock and surprise, I froze.That’s when he covered my mouth with a rag, and I inhaled whatever it was that’s now filling my lungs.I started to fight and throw my body into his, but it was too late.I remember crumpling to the floor before everything went dark.I’m so pissed at myself.Why did I freeze up?Why didn’t I fight harder?

You can still fight.I hear Rhodes’s voice in my head telling me not to give up.This isn’t over yet.

This time when another door opens and closes, it’s louder and much closer.I steel myself, pretending to still be asleep.As my body slowly wakes up, I can feel the binds around my wrists, keeping my hands together.

I do my best to keep my breathing even as the steps draw closer.I know he's standing over me when his shadow partially blocks whatever light is on.He moves in, and it takes everything in me to remain still while he drags a finger down my cheek.A whimper threatens to escape, but I fight it back.

"I've missed you."His hand moves to my neck, and I feel him wrap it around my throat before squeezing slightly."But you’ll still be punished for what you’ve done."

He releases his hold on my throat and steps away, the sound of his footsteps fading in the distance, and the door opens and closes again.

I peek through my lashes to make sure he’s no longer close.When I do, I can’t believe what I see.What the fuck?

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