Page 102 of Never Again

“Got it!” Casey said as she pulled a black cellphone out of the bag while Quinn glanced back at Jess to find her watching Bailey with a smug smile on her face and-

“I keep my promises,” Jess said as the sounds of the can of Coke hitting the table drew his attention to find Bailey turning pale as she grabbed onto the table with trembling hands and a weakly mumbled, “Something’s wrong,” as she stood up and-

Lost his fucking mind when she stopped breathing.

CHAPTER58

“Try not to panic,” came the words that, of course, left her with no choice but to panic, especially since she was pretty sure that she was dying.

God, everything hurt, Bailey thought, moving to swallow only to rethink that decision when the move sent fire down her throat. Why did everything hurt so much, she wondered as she watched Casey open her mouth only to close it on a heavy sigh and follow that up with a muttered, “Of course, you’re going to panic,” that had Bailey nodding since talking really didn’t seem like an option at the moment. Having absolutely no idea what else to do, Bailey settled for lying there in what she assumed was a hospital bed, staring helplessly at the woman who looked completely lost while she struggled to figure out what she was supposed to say.

After a few minutes, Casey gestured absently to the door behind her with a weakly mumbled, “Everyone’s fine,” and a hopeful smile that quickly died away with a muttered, “I have no idea what the hell I’m still doing here.” When Bailey could only lay there, staring at her, Casey dropped down in the chair by the door with a heavy sigh.

“I honestly have no idea what I’m supposed to say to you right now,” Casey admitted while Bailey thought about everything that happened as she ran her eyes over the small woman who’d lied to her, taking in everything from her dark brown hair to the blue eyes that matched her own and-

She had a sister.

“Do…” Casey began, only to lick her lips nervously before she continued, “Do you remember me?” After a slight hesitation, Bailey shook her head as Casey sighed and mumbled, “Of course, you don’t,” once again looking at a loss for words.

Swallowing hard, Bailey managed to get out, “What happened?”

“Jess took advantage of your caffeine addiction and put insulin in that Coke, which led to you to stop breathing, scaring the hell out of us, and forcing me to put my skills to the test and destroying that program that was blocking our cellphones in record time so that Nathan could scream at the 911 operator while Quinn and Tristan put the first-aid skills that they’d learned in the Marines to good use and managed to get you breathing again before the paramedics arrived,” Casey explained as she absently toyed with that thick watchband that she always wore.

“Once they had you stabilized, they transported you to the hospital, where you decided to scare the hell out of everyone again before slipping into a coma,” Casey added with a sad smile that had Bailey’s breath catching in her sore throat.

“H-How long?” she managed to get out on a hoarse whisper.

Meeting her gaze, Casey swallowed hard before she said, “Ten years,” while Bailey lay there, struggling to remember how to breathe.

That is, until she saw it, the slight twitch of the traitor’s lips.

Narrowing her eyes on the cruel woman who should know better than to toy with her emotions at a time like this, Bailey bit out roughly, “You are the worst sister ever!”

Chuckling, Casey got up with a satisfied sigh and headed for the door as she said, “You’ve been passed out for two days, but the doctor said that you’re going to be fine,” with a teasing smile before adding, “I’ll go see what’s taking Nathan so long.”

Grumbling incoherently, Bailey watched Casey go until she grew bored and found herself focusing on the man who’d been glaring at her since she opened her eyes. “How long are you planning on glaring at me?”

“That depends,” Quinn drawled as he pushed away from the wall.

“On?” Bailey asked, doing her best to bite back a wince when she rolled over onto her side so that she could focus on the man who looked like he’d been through hell.

“On how long you’re planning on scaring the hell out of me,” Quinn said as he carefully took her left hand in his, drawing her attention to the bandage wrapped around her arm. At her questioning look, he said, “You got shot because I fucked up,” as he leaned down and pressed his lips against her forehead.

Frowning, Bailey said, “That wasn’t your fault.”

“Yes,” Quinn said as he pulled away just far enough so that he was looking into her eyes, “it was. I never should have let her near you.”

“You didn’t know it was her,” Bailey said, reaching up to run her fingertips along his jaw, needing the comforting movement right now to let her know that he was really okay.

“That’s no excuse,” Quinn said softly as he leaned into her touch. “God, you scared the hell out of me, Bailey.”

“I have the unfortunate tendency of doing that to people,” she said, nodding solemnly as she slid her hand behind his neck and pulled him down so that she could brush her lips against his and-

“I pushed the button.”

* * *

“What the hellare you talking about?” Quinn asked hollowly as he stared down into baby blue eyes that he never thought he’d see again.

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