Chapter 26

CHAPTER26

“Let me see your hands, Bailey,” Quinn said, trying to keep it together as he placed her on the kitchen island and-

Oh, fuck…

There was so much blood, Quinn thought as he took her hands in his and turned them over, looking for the source as he struggled to keep it together, only to feel his stomach drop when he couldn’t find it. He ran his trembling hands over her arms, pushing the sleeves out of the way as terror tore through him when he still couldn’t find anything.

“Baby, I need to know where you’re hurt,” Quinn said, moving his trembling hands over her, pushing blood-stained clothes out of the way, barely aware that she was saying his name or that she was trying to stop him.

He needed to make sure that she was okay.

He needed-

Oh, Christ, he never should have let her leave that fucking table. One minute, he was telling himself that it was time to put a stop to this before it was too late and the next…

He couldn’t move fast enough.

“Baby, please, just tell me where you’re hurt,” Quinn said, running his hands over her shoulders and-

“It’s not mine,” Bailey said, reaching up to cup his face in her hands. “It’s not mine, Quinn. I’m fine.”

Swallowing hard, Quinn met beautiful blue eyes that he thought he’d never see again as he said, “Be sure.”

“It’s not mine, Quinn,” she promised him as she gently caressed his face. “He didn’t hurt me.”

Licking her lips, Bailey said, “He didn’t hurt me,” again as she dropped her hands away and gently pushed him back so that she could climb off the kitchen counter and take his trembling hand in hers.

“I’m fine,” Bailey promised him again and gave his hand a gentle squeeze as she turned and took a step back, her beautiful blue eyes never leaving his as she moved. He clenched his jaw tightly shut as he allowed her to lead him into the bathroom as he thought about that knife and-

“I’m fine, Quinn,” Bailey promised him again as she pulled him into the bathroom.

She kept telling him that she was fine as she reached for his shirt, quickly unbuttoning it and pulling it free before pushing the blood-stained item off as he stood there, unable to look away from her as he thought about just how quickly he’d been cut off from her, the flash of silver, the screams, and-

“Tell me again,” Quinn said hollowly as she carefully pulled his holster free and placed it down on the bathroom counter.

“I’m fine,” Bailey said, reaching for his belt.

“Again,” he said as she quickly undid his pants while he toed off his shoes.

Slowly exhaling, she said, “I’m fine,” as she pushed his pants down.

Nodding, Quinn said, “Again,” as he reached down and pulled his socks off, tossing them aside, his focus never leaving her face as she quickly discarded her shoes and socks and pulled off her blood-stained shirt.

“I’m fine,” Bailey said, dropping her shirt on the floor before she pushed her pants off, taking her panties down with them as he spotted the blood staining her neck and stomach and-

“I’m fine,” she promised him as she reached back and released her bra, dropping it to the floor before she was reaching for him again.

“Say it again,” Quinn said as she took his hand in hers and stepped back into the large shower.

“I’m fine,” Bailey said as she blindly reached back and turned on the shower.

Swallowing hard, Quinn stepped inside as he thought about the moment that knife moved and-

She was fine.

* * *

“Is this okay?”Bailey asked, even as she couldn’t help but wonder when her hands were going to stop trembling.

It happened so fast.

One minute, she was trying to get out of the way, and the next, she was watching helplessly as the knife moved towards her, and then Quinn was there, stopping it before it could touch her. That didn’t stop her attacker. He kept coming after her, kept trying to reach her, but Quinn kept stopping him, blocking him, and knocking him back until he was finally able to get the knife and then-

“I’m fine,” Bailey found herself saying, releasing a shaky breath as she grabbed a bottle of body wash from the small shelf so that she could wash the blood off Quinn to make sure that he was really okay only to have the bottle taken from her.

She watched Quinn squeeze body wash in his hands, his gaze locking with hers as he reached over and washed her face, taking his time to gently wash away the blood. When she moved to grab the bottle to do the same for him, he shook his head and kept going, carefully washing every inch of her body as he made sure that she wasn’t hurt, slowly running his hands over her with gentle caresses that had her biting back a groan as he slowly worked the tension out of her muscles.

When he had her turn around so that he could wash her back, Bailey closed her eyes and stood there, thinking about everything that happened tonight. The way that he moved, the way that he protected her, doing whatever it took to keep her safe, only to lose it when things took an unexpected turn and the waitress pulled that gun out.

If Tommy hadn’t been there…

She’d never seen so much blood before or heard that many curse words before, but Tommy made sure that he said every single one at least a hundred times while they waited for the ambulance. He was supposed to be keeping an eye on the parking lot, but once customers and employees started fleeing the bar screaming, he came in to help. One second, he was grabbing the guy that Quinn was beating the hell out of before he ended up killing him, and the next, he was pinning down the woman who shot him, the sounds of the gunshot still tearing through her head as she struggled to make sense out of what happened.

He’d been shot because of her and-

“Shhhhh, it’s okay,” Quinn said, turning her around so that he could pull her into his arms. “He’s fine.”

“They shot him,” Bailey mumbled weakly as she wrapped her arms around him.

“He’s fine,” Quinn promised her as he held her close.

She released a sniffle as she mumbled, “He deserves a raise.”

“I’m sure that he’s telling Tristan that right now,” Quinn said, making her lips twitch despite the fact that she couldn’t stop thinking about what would have happened if Tommy hadn’t been there and-

“I don’t want to be alone tonight.”