Page 6 of Never Again

“Oh, joy, you’ve given her more coffee,” came the dryly murmured words as Nathan dropped down on the bench next to Bailey with a heavy sigh.

“Start talking,” Quinn bit out as he watched Bailey suddenly stop scribbling, only to mumble sadly, “I don’t remember howBuffyended.”

“She saved the world,” Nathan said as he reached over and patted her on the head.

“Did she end up with Spike?” Bailey asked, looking really fucking hopeful.

“Sure,” Nathan said with a careless shrug.

Nodding, Bailey mumbled, “Good,” before she went back to whatever it was that she was doing.

Shifting his attention back to Quinn, Nathan said, “She doesn’t metabolize caffeine well.”

“Tell me why I’m here,” Quinn said evenly.

Sighing heavily, Nathan rubbed his hands roughly down his face before dropping his hands away and said, “I honestly don’t know where to start.”

“Start by telling me where Miss Thompson is so that I can do my job,” Quinn said, deciding to get to the only reason why he wasn’t heading for the door and finally washing his hands of the little brat.

Frowning, Nathan glanced at the small woman sitting next to him as she happily hummed what sounded like the theme song toSupermanbefore glancing back at him. “She’s right here,” Nathan said, looking confused while Quinn sat there telling himself that this wasn’t fucking happening.

“No, that’s Bailey Smith, the little pain in the ass,” Quinn bit out with a glare for the small woman who was now humming the theme song toGilligan’s Island.

“You know her?” Nathan asked, sending Bailey a questioning look as Quinn opened his mouth to answer, only to end up glaring at the little demon when she said, “I made him cry once,” with a solemn nod.

Narrowing his eyes, Quinn said, “I didn’t cry.”

“He did. I felt bad,” Bailey mumbled absently as she reached for her coffee only to end up pouting when Nathan grabbed it before she could.

“Just tell me why I’m here,” Quinn bit out, feeling a headache starting at the back of his head as he shifted his glare from the woman who had some explaining to do back to the man that better have a good reason for him being here.

Nathan’s eyes flickered to the small woman sitting next to him before saying, “We should probably wait before we discuss that.”

“Wait for what?” Quinn asked, only to frown as he watched Bailey suddenly stop scribbling on the napkins with the pen that she stole from him, blinked in confusion and-

“For that,” Nathan said with a sad shake of his head as he reached over and caught the little brat before her head hit the table. Keeping his hold on the small woman that passed out, Nathan sighed heavily as he stood up and picked her up, throwing her over his shoulder in a well-practiced move that told Quinn that he had to do this a lot. “Like I said, she doesn’t metabolize caffeine well,” Nathan said as he grabbed the napkins Bailey scribbled on and shoved them in his pocket before gesturing to the door.

Wondering what kind of trouble she could have gotten herself into, Quinn followed him back across the street, noting that Pam was back in her spot by the door, looking absolutely miserable as they made their way to the elevator.

“I’m curious about something,” Nathan said, throwing him a questioning look as they stepped into the elevator.

“What’s that?” Quinn absently asked as he pressed the button for what he was assuming was Bailey’s apartment.

“How are you supposed to protect a woman that you hate?”

CHAPTER3

“Start talking,” Quinn said, his gaze flickering to the other man as he carefully laid Bailey down on the couch before he returned his attention to the text message that was going to save him from this bullshit.

Find someone else.

“You never answered my question,” Nathan said, grabbing a blanket off the back of the couch and laid it over Bailey before he began tucking her in, making sure to shove the blanket between the couch and the cushions that she was lying on, ensuring that she wouldn’t be able to move.

At Quinn’s questioning look, he said, “Trust me.”

Not really caring, Quinn said, “We grew up together,” as he made his way to the windows and closed them, absently noting that whoever took over for him was going to have to upgrade the security system on the entire building.

“That really doesn’t explain why you looked like you were debating throttling her,” Nathan pointed out as a chime drew Quinn’s attention back down to his phone and-

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