We pulled apart, breathless and flushed now for a different reason. Quinn was the first to speak this time.
“I missed that,” she murmured against my lips. “I missed you so much.”
“Ditto,” I whispered, smiling.
That truth buzzed along my skin. It had been only five days, not even a week, but it had felt longer. During that time, we hadn’t had a lot of moments to sneak away and talk outside of text messages and pulses of emotions through the bond between us, with everything happening. I was busy soothing Talli’s grieving and devastated family. Quinn had been dealing with her own storm with her family. Now, it was time to catch up.
Well, not before a muffled bark interrupted our moment first.
I looked down and grinned just as Clarkson, my clingy shadow of a dog, padded into the room on her stubby legs. She sat at my feet, facing Quinn with her stub of a tail thumping against the floor with rhythmic insistence.
“My sweet little traitor, I’m surprised you are even acknowledging me,” Quinn said, crouching down toward her. “Did you behave while I was gone?”
I gasped, hand flying to my chest in mock outrage. “Excuse the hell out of you?Behave? Quinn Garcia, how dare you question the integrity of the absolute bestest girl who ever lived?”
Clarkson barked once, like she was agreeing with me and taking personal offense. She even raised one of her paws like she was about to object in court.
“Oh, please forgive me,” Quinn chuckled. “I forgot you were a distinguished lady who could do no wrong.”
Clarkson sniffed Quinn’s outstretched fingers like a queen considering the presence of her most loyal knight and not her actual owner. She licked them promptly, yawned, and went to climb onto my bed and go to sleep. Forgiveness had indeed been granted.
“Change of clothes, huh?” Quinn asked, noticing Clarkson’s red ruffled number with gold trim stitched delicately into the hem and gold satin bows on top of each ear.
“Why, of course!” I smiled, smoothing the tiered skirt over Clarkson’s tail. “Talli’s girlsinsistedI bring her, and I was not about to argue with them and risk my own funeral today.”
Quinn melted at that, her smile glowing all around the edges. “That’s freaking adorable. How’d that go, by the way?”
I exhaled slowly, my fingers absently brushing over Clarkson’s silky, curly fur. “As well as it could’ve, honestly. Rosso’s trying. He’s grieving, but he’s showing up for those girls like his life depends on it. Maybe it does in a way.”
I paused and looked down again, watching Clarkson’s eyes begin to close. “It’s sad to say, but… maybe it’s a good thing they weren’t fated mates, you know?”
Quinn was standing next to me now, her head tilted and her gaze thoughtful. “How do you mean?”
“He’s sad and heartbroken, but he’shere. He can keep going for them. There’s still air in his lungs, and he’s not drowning in the loss. It’s not like Pops or Sire Kaya, where they were fading away without their mate. It’s horrible to be happy that someone didn’t find their fated mate, but I think this is a moment when that’s a good thing actually.” I smiled faintly, rememberingLeah’s blue eyes steeling with resolve and Betty’s unrelenting sparkle in the face of her loss. “But, those girls? They’re going to be okay. I think even Rosso will be okay, too. I just know it.”
Quinn reached for me again, pulling me against her. “Eres tan jodidamente increíble, ¿lo sabías?You are so fucking incredible, I don’t think you understand. I am so obsessed with you.”
My heart caught in my throat at the tenderness in her words and the quiet conviction in her eyes. There were a thousand things I could have said in return, a thousand emotions building behind my ribs, but none of them felt like enough. Instead, I gave her another quick kiss, hoping that would be enough to tell her how much of an anchor she was for me.
When we parted, I asked softly, “How did the talk go?”
Quinn’s face darkened, the light in her eyes dimming slightly. She leaned back and lowered her hands to my waist, gripping me tightly and closely to steady her. When she spoke, her voice was quieter than before with less of that spark in it. “As well as can be expected. Mama took the news about you well, but the news about Cooper was taken the hardest out of everything, of course. Aunt CK is still pretty broken up about losing her son, which is understandable. She put on a funeral for him, but I didn’t go, considering everything he had done. I couldn’t stand there and listen to Aunt Carol-Kay try to wax poetic about how good a son and man he was, not even if it meant being supportive and being there for her. I told the cousins that they should go, but they couldn’t stomach it either. So, she has added that to her list of reasons to not ever talk to me again.”
Quinn’s jaw clenched, just for a second, but it was enough for me to notice. “She isn’t over what happened. Even though it was his actions and his consequences that he had accepted the costs of to get what he wanted, she still blames me for his death. I just don’t take any of it personally. I think she also believesI poisoned the remaining cousins. While they were reminding her that they are free-thinking adults who can make their own choices and mourn in their own way, I chose to walk away. It’s her grieving process. I’m not going to argue with her when she is trying to find the best way to cope with this. That’s been more of my Mom’s job lately, and I’m leaving it to her.”
My chest tightened. The honesty in her voice landed like a stone between us. Her eyes were hollow, her shoulders sagging and tired. I held onto either of her cheeks, waiting for her to focus those hazel eyes on me before I said ever so softly but with a steady voice.
“You are doing great, baby. Everyone grieves differently, and it’s good for you to give your aunt some distance and stay out of this. I’m sure she will get past this. She just needs time.”
Quinn nodded, her expression softening. “That’s what Aunt Tess said, too. It’s just wild to see. Nothing has hit my family this hard before. Not Uncle Harry’s death. Not my Grandma Jane’s death.”
I nodded before deciding it was time to lighten the mood a bit. We already had a long day ahead of us. There was no reason to dwell on something that made it even harder.
“Well, I know someone whose grieving process seemed to involve quite a bit of alcohol.”
Quinn groaned. “Fuck, don’t remind me. I drankwaytoo much. I didn’t think a huntress could have this much of a hangover. I’mstillrecovering.”
I grinned and reached into my pocket. “Oh, I know you drank a lot, Queenie, because you left me this absolutegemof a voicemail.”
