Quinn’s sitting on the couch with a drink in hand. He doesn’t look up or make a move when I sit down. He strapped my ribs after the shower, and it’s helped with the pain. Plus, the alcohol takes the edge off.
“Your father gave you the list, right?” I look up, confused at his words. He tips the rest of his drink back and continues on, “The list to incriminate them. Plus, the safety deposit box. He gave it to you, right?”
“He did. How did you know?”
He laughs. “Who do you think created it for him?”
Of course, he did. I completely forgot about the list. I put it in my pocket, and that was my last thought of it. I guess that’s what happens when your father dies. Running my hand through my hair, I hear Quinn pour another drink. He offers it to me and sits back down shaking his head.
“I’ll use it against him because he isn’t going to rest. I could see it in his eyes. He hates me. Hates that I made him cower and now he’s lost all respect from his people.”
Quinn nods his head. “You disrespected him in his place.”
I clench my teeth hard. “He deserved it.”
He doesn’t argue that I am wrong, he agrees with me. “You should’ve killed him because now he’s going to try to kill you.”
He’s right, Antonio won’t let this slide. He’ll be on a mission to bring me down. I just have to work out first, how to bring him down. I didn’t plan on killing him, he’s too valuable. But all things can be replaced, Antonio included.
“He won’t be able to.”
Quinn looks behind me to the room where she’s currently sleeping. “You sure she isn’t going to try to jump from the window?” he jokes.
“No, she’s passed out.” Plus, we’re up high in the hotel. We own this suite. And the only way for her to get out would be to pass us.
“Are you going to talk about what Livia did, or do you plan to just phase her out?” He means how she lied to me about the baby.
“I need time away from her. If I saw her now, I don’t know what I’d do to her. That’s what scares me.” It’s true. My love for Livia has changed, but my love for Barbie has stayed the same. I don’t even know why.
“Do you want to know what I think?” I shake my head but know he’s going to tell me anyway. “You never really loved Livia, you just thought you did. Because that’s what you should have done. Because that’s what your father told you to do. You think you love her because she was there for you.” He could be right, but then again, he could be wrong.
My cell starts ringing. It’s her, it’s always her. Livia never stops. I’m drained, though, so fucking tired that I could pass out right now and never wake up. But I don’t want to do that. Right now, I want to see Saskia, touch her, and feel her. To know she’s mine, and I can have her. Obsession is a word I’d use for her. It’s what I feel with her, day in and day out and have done since the first day I saw her. Even when I tried to convince myself to hate her. It never worked. How could it on someone so perfect?
“I’m going to sleep.” Standing, my hands touch my ribs. They hurt, but the painkillers and alcohol have finally kicked in.
“Try to not molest her when she sleeps,” he jokes as I walk away. “Oh, and where the fuck is Cane?”
Shit. I forgot he was even here.
Looking back to Quinn. “You can’t find him?”
He shakes his head. “Nope, his cell is off, so I can’t track him. He’s probably drinking and fucking,” Quinn replies, which is what Cane usually does these days.
“Still, try to find him anyway, especially now.”
Walking over to the room, I open the door and check she’s still there. She hasn’t moved from the spot I left her in, with a sheet over her and wearing my shirt. Pulling the sheet back, I slide in next to her, careful to place my arms around her so I can wrap myself into her. She breathes deeper and sighs in her sleep.
This is my happy place. Pity it’s fabricated and not to last.
SHE’S MOVED, ONLY TO come closer to me. Her hair is fanned out everywhere. I’m stroking my fingers through her beautiful hair, and I know she’s awake. She isn’t moving, though. She just lays in the same spot.
“Are you going to talk?”
She shakes her head in answer.
We stay in the same spot, both not speaking, just lying still.
The bedroom door swings open and it slams against the wall. We both move looking up, and Livia stands there. She looks to both of us, and the glass in her hand is thrown straight in our direction. I cover Barbie taking the glass to my back, followed by the cold water that hits us.