Page 47 of Against the Clock

Twenty-Three

Roman

5 Days Ago

“Is that really necessary?”I asked, standing in the living room with my arms folded.

Mike shifted the coffee table in front of the door and stepped back to look at his work.

“If anyone tries to get in, I want to make sure that we hear them.”

“It’s late.Can we just wrap this up so I can get Rosie to bed?”Quinn asked with her hands on her hips.“It’s been a long day, and she has school tomorrow.”

“Yeah, I’ll be there in a minute.Go ahead and get her situated, you won’t even hear me come in.”

“Why are you coming to the bedroom?”Her brows pulled together tightly.

“I’m sleeping on the floor.”

I rolled my head back on my neck and waited for the fight I knew was coming.

“Look,” she said sternly, holding her hand up in front of her.“I know you want to be here to watch over Rosie and keep her safe, but I don’t think that entails you sleeping on the floor.I’ll be in there with her, and if anyone gets into the apartment, you guys will hear them before we do.”

“Unless they come in through the window,” he countered.

“What in the world makes you think someone is going to climb four flights of rickety stairs on the fire escape to get in through the window?”

“It happens all the time.”He spread his feet, widening his stance as they continued their stare-off.

“When?”I asked, pulling my head back in surprise.

He tilted his head and looked at me.“Max said that Hannah’s friend—”

“Wasthrownfrom a window,” I corrected, feeling satisfied when I saw the embarrassment flash across his face.

“Oh, yeah.That’s right.There was a lot going on, and I didn’t hear the full story.”

I didn’t bother to go into the details of how she was murdered by some psychopath that also kidnapped Max’s sister before taking Hannah.Quinn had enough on her plate to worry about without the gruesome details of someone else’s tragedy.

“You don’t need to sleep on the floor,” Quinn insisted.

“Why not?It’s not like there’s room out here.”

“You can sleep in that chair,” she said, nodding to the one beside the couch where I would be sleeping.

“I’m six-two, Quinn.How the hell do you think I’m going to fit in that thing to sleep?”

“Maybe you can curl up on the couch with Roman?”

I watched the sparkle that danced in her eyes when she cautiously glanced at me.

“Yeah—like hell he is.”

“Why not?”Mike asked with a decent amount of hurt in his tone.

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