Page 91 of Against the Clock

She nodded.

“Yeah, but she was so desperate to stay off the radar that she hired someone to attack her.”

That didn’t surprise me any, given how crazy and desperate she had been.

“She hated him for what he did.That’s all she ever talked about.There were pictures of Rosie on her walls in the other house, and she would talk to them daily.I started to worry that she was going crazy when she started adding new ones,” she lowered her voice and nodded at Rosie.“She ended up bringing us to this cabin because she didn’t want anyone to find Rosie and have them take her from them again.I don’t know how long she was planning to stay here, but my guess is that none of us were ever leaving here again.”

“Well, it’s all over now,” Quinn said.“The police should be here shortly, and then we can all get the hell out of this creepy cabin.”

We all nodded and sat quietly at the table in the kitchen, one of the few places that didn’t have dead bodies on the floor.Soon, we heard sirens in the distance and knew the police were headed our way.

“Thank you, by the way,” Quinn added.“For stepping in earlier.Rosie told me you had talked to her and told her to fight.Thanks for looking out for her.”

Bree smiled sadly and looked at Rosie.

“I didn’t want this life for her.No one ever fought for me.I wanted to make sure that she had at least one person who would be there to fight for her if you couldn’t get here.”

Soon, the house was buzzing with activity as OMI worked on securing the crime scene.We stayed long enough for the mandatory interviews and agreed not to leave town.This was a huge investigation that would span across several agencies, so it was going to take some time before the case was closed.We said goodbye to Bree, and Quinn promised to check in on her as soon as she was able to.For now, she would go with child protective services and be placed into foster care until she turns 18.

Since we didn’t want to steal another vehicle or be caught in the truck we had taken to get there in the first place, I called Trevor and asked for a ride.

Max’s wedding was over a few hours ago, and Trevor had skipped out early to check on Mike for me.Instead of taking us to my apartment or Quinn’s, he drove us to another remote cabin and assured me that it was still within the jurisdiction we agreed to stay in.

“How’s he feeling?”Quinn asked from the backseat as we ventured down a bumpy, gravel road.Rosie was buckled in the seat next to her, asleep with her head on Quinn’s shoulder.

“I’ll let you see for yourself,” Trevor said, putting the truck in park.

Forty-Nine

Quinn

Mike was asleep bythe time Trevor dropped us off at the cabin last night.We quietly headed to the back, where a guest room had been made up for us.The place was much bigger than the last one we had stayed in, with three large rooms and two full bathrooms.

I didn’t sleep much that night because I kept rolling over to make sure Rosie was still beside me.Roman slept on the other side of her, making sure she couldn’t get away without one of us noticing.While the threat and danger of someone taking her was gone now that Julia had been arrested, it took some time to register that we didn’t have to hover and watch her every move.

I rolled over and smiled at the sunlight streaming in through the window.Today was going to be a wonderful day.Roman and I were together.We had Rosie, and no one was going to take her.On top of that, my brother was safe and alive.What more could I have asked for?

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