Page 17 of Never Again

“Can I at least have my computer so that I can work?” Bailey asked as she accepted the small bottle from him.

“Not an option,” Quinn said, making his way back to the couch where he’d spent the past three days watching over her.

“Why not?” she asked, frowning as she sipped her juice.

“The doctor said no screentime for the next two weeks,” Quinn said as he watched her face drop.

“Please tell me that you’re joking,” Bailey mumbled weakly, looking like she was going to be sick.

“If it would help ease the pain,” Quinn drawled as he grabbed his iPad off the coffee table and returned his attention to the list of things that needed to be done at Haven Technologies before he could bring her back.

“I have to work.”

“No, what you need to do is rest. You just had a baseball bat knock you out,” he reminded her, looking over the notes that the security company emailed him last night.

“Three days ago,” Bailey pointed out, making his lips twitch.

“You’re not leaving that bed,” Quinn said, looking over the notes about the elevator before glancing back at Bailey.

“You really can’t stop me,” Bailey said with a sad shake of her head as she moved to climb off the bed only to go still, swallow hard, and ease back against the pillows when he narrowed his eyes on her.

Clearing her throat, Bailey mumbled, “On second thought, I think I’ll stay where I am and enjoy this lovely bed.”

“Good idea,” Quinn mumbled, focusing his attention back on the notes he’d made about the options they had for securing the elevator.

“I don’t do well with downtime,” Bailey said on a wistful sigh.

“I remember,” he said, chuckling as he swiped to the next page and looked over the notes for the roof.

“You do?”

“It’s hard to forget being evacuated in the middle of a snowstorm while you’re changing for gym class because every alarm in the school, along with the sprinkler system, went off and you’re forced to evacuate and wait outside in your boxers,” Quinn drawled, glancing up to find her struggling not to wince.

“I believe I apologized for that during the following school assembly,” Bailey said with a solemn nod.

“Didn’t really feel like an apology when you kept pointing out that it wouldn’t have happened if the principal had picked a better password,” Quinn said, watching as her lips twitched.

“I still stand by that statement today,” Bailey said as she laid down and closed her eyes as she released a sleepy little sigh while he watched over her, determined to do whatever it took to keep her safe.

CHAPTER9

“It’s just that,” Bailey began, only to pause so that she could release a heartfelt sigh as she lay there, staring up at the ceiling, “I wasn’t ready for what they did to Glenn.”

“It’s three in the morning,” came the firm reply from the man who didn’t understand her needs.

“Which is the perfect time to process my pain fromThe Walking Dead,” Bailey said, even as she couldn’t help but think about all the things that she could be doing right now if she had a computer.

God, the code that she would write…

“For the love of god, go to sleep,” Quinn bit out from the couch, where he was most likely still glaring at her.

Shrugging against the mattress, Bailey shook her head as she said, “I wish it was that easy.”

That was followed by Bailey rolling over onto her stomach, only to immediately regret that decision when the soft pillow brushed against her forehead, sending a fresh wave of pain through her head. Thankful that it was too dark for Quinn to see her biting her lip to hold back a well-earned “Owie,” she rolled back over onto her back and-

“Oh, no…”

-found herself wondering how Quinn managed to make it across the room without her hearing him. Swallowing hard, Bailey stared up at the man who was taking his job a little too seriously. Not knowing what else to do, Bailey went for a hopeful smile that he probably couldn’t see, she realized when he continued standing next to the bed.

---