Chapter 21

CHAPTER21

“You brought this on yourself,” Bailey said with a firm nod and a glare that the large man who kept manhandling her had absolutely no chance of seeing with her being thrown over his shoulder and all.

“Start talking,” Quinn said, not really sounding all that concerned that she was using her good glare as he carried her into the elevator. He kept his hold around her legs as he closed the gate and typed in the code for the third floor, which reminded her…

“I’m going to be needing that code,” she said, clearing her throat as she shifted over his shoulder and went back to glaring at his back.

“And I’m going to need you to tell me why you didn’t tell me about Kelly,” Quinn drawled as she found herself wincing.

“Because it wasn’t relevant?” Bailey said, really hoping that he would drop this so that they could move on.

She heard the gate slide open seconds before he was carrying her into her apartment. “You didn’t think that it was relevant that the woman that used to make your life a living hell was working for you?”

Sighing heavily against his back, Bailey said, “It’s not her.”

“And you know this how?” Quinn asked as he dropped her down on the couch.

“Because I’m psychic?” Bailey said as Quinn sat down on the coffee table so that he could glare at her.

Seeming to think that over, he nodded slowly as he watched her closely. “And the reason that her last name was changed in the employee file?”

“Because she changed her name after she ran away from foster care,” Bailey said as she slowly exhaled, nodded, and managed to pull off the glare that no doubt had him regretting all that manhandling.

There was a heavy sigh, and then Quinn said, “You really can’t pull that off.”

“And yet, you’re sitting there struggling to stop trembling in fear,” Bailey said with a firm nod as she folded her arms over her chest, careful not to do anything that would cause her glare to weaken.

“Yeah, that’s what I’m doing,” Quinn said dryly, only to sigh heavily as he rubbed his hands roughly down his face while she doubled down on that glare.

Once he dropped his hands away, Bailey decided that this was a good time to revisit their earlier discussion. With that in mind, she said, “I don’t need an assistant,” deciding that was the best place to start.

“You’re probably right,” Quinn murmured in agreement as she slowly nodded only to go still when he added, “And Pam?”

“Can go back into security?” Bailey asked with a hopeful smile as she tried to figure out what she was going to do about Pam.

“Never going to happen,” he bit out as she found herself wondering if Pam would be a good fit at the receptionist desk.

Probably not, mostly because Andrea didn’t like anyone else going near her desk. That left…

“Fine. She can work as my assistant, but she follows my rules, not yours,” Bailey mumbled reluctantly, hoping that she could at least make this work in her favor.

Slowly nodding and giving her hope, Quinn said, “That’s never going to happen.”

“Why is that exactly?” Bailey asked as that dull pain that she’d been trying to ignore all afternoon took it up a notch and left her struggling to bite back a wince as pain shot through her temple.

“Because I won’t be able to protect you if you get your hands on caffeine again and decide to go play in traffic,” Quinn said, only to curse as he stood up and made his way to the kitchen.

“It was one time,” Bailey pointed out as she began rubbing her temples, hoping that it would be enough to make it stop.

“It was enough,” Quinn murmured quietly as he sat back down on the coffee table with the bottle of water and her painkillers that left her grumbling pathetically as she allowed herself to slump over onto her side while she did her best to look pathetic, hoping beyond hope that it would be enough to get him to take pity on her.

“I’m fine,” Bailey said as she turned her head so that she could bury her face in the throw pillow as she tried to breathe through the pain.

“Yeah, you look it,” Quinn said, sighing heavily as she heard him place the pills on the coffee table before he was rolling her onto her back.

“We can talk about this,” Bailey mumbled weakly as she watched Quinn reach for the pills.

“Which part?” Quinn murmured, sounding thoughtful as he opened the bottle and dumped a pill in his hand.

“All of it?” Bailey said, going for a hopeful smile, only to decide against it when the move sent a fresh wave of pain through her head.

“Why don’t we talk about it later after you wake up?” Quinn suggested as he placed the pill against her lips.

She opened her mouth to argue, only to end up taking the pill into her mouth and swallowing it dry when the pain shooting through her head intensified, leaving her with no choice but to close her eyes and hope for the best.

* * *

“Wantto tell me why you thought hiring Kelly was a good idea?” Quinn asked as he stood there, pinching the bridge of his nose and wondered where he went wrong.

“It wasn’t my idea,” Nathan said as Quinn dropped his hand away with a heavy sigh when the little pain in the ass asked, “Why won’t anyone save me?” with a sniffle.

“We did,” Nathan assured the small woman sprawled out on her stomach beneath the kitchen table where she ended up after she’d escaped from the couch where she’d claimed the blanket that she’d curled up with after the pill hit, kidnapped her.

“Why are you lying to me?” came the sadly mumbled words that was quickly followed by a whispered, “Oh, no,” as Quinn reached down and grabbed hold of her ankles and pulled the little pain in the ass that managed to get her hands on a Coke when he made the mistake of believing that she’d fallen asleep, out from beneath the table.

“Let’s get you back to bed,” Quinn said as he released her ankles and picked her up so that he could throw her over his shoulder.

“I don’t wanna,” Bailey mumbled sadly against his back as he carried her to her room and laid her down on her bed.

“Did she tell you that Kelly and her friends used to make her life a living hell?” Quinn asked as he stood up and leveled a glare on the man who should have done a better job keeping his sister safe.

“I have a feeling that she left a lot of it out,” Nathan said, sighing heavily as he reached up to rub the back of his neck only to narrow his eyes on the little brat when she muttered, “I really did,” against the mattress.

“I don’t think Kelly’s behind this,” Nathan said as they watched Bailey burrow beneath the blankets.

“Why’s that?” Quinn drawled as he was forced to pull the covers aside and grab hold of Bailey before she managed to roll off the bed.

“I just don’t see her doing it,” Nathan said, shrugging it off as he reached across the bed, grabbed hold of his sister, and helped pull her back to the middle of the bed.

“Are you willing to bet your sister’s life on that?” Quinn asked as his gaze flickered to Nathan before returning to the small woman curling up into the fetal position.

“No, I’m not,” Nathan said, sighing heavily.

“I had my men start running background checks on every employee here while I was gone,” Quinn said, curious to see what his men were going to be able to find out about Kelly.

“When will you hear back?” Nathan asked as he reached down and tucked Bailey in.

“They’re already starting to come back in,” Quinn said as he thought about everything that his men had found out so far.

“Anything I need to know?” Nathan asked as Bailey grabbed hold of the blankets and yanked them over her head.

“Nothing so far,” Quinn said as they watched Bailey roll over onto her stomach and-

“We can see you,” Nathan said, sighing heavily as he reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose while Quinn watched Bailey suddenly go still mid-wiggle at the bottom of the bed where she was currently trying to make her escape.

That was followed by a mumbled, “No, you can’t,” and Quinn resigning himself to the long night ahead.