Chapter 8

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Chapter 8

Quinn

I feel horrible. I've had this stomach bug for a week and I can't shake it. Just sitting up out of bed has my stomach turning. Leo has been so sweet taking care of Hope and me. He's gone to the diner for Paige's chicken noodle soup, he's gotten me ginger ale and chamomile tea.  Unfortunately nothing seems to be helping me.

I really need to get out of bed and get moving. I think if I just start moving around again, I'll feel better. Throwing the covers back, I roll to my side and sit up. Ugh!

"What are you doing?" Leo walks in with Hope on his shoulders. "If you need something I said I'd get it for you."

"I know, I know." Holding my stomach, I stubbornly get to my feet and hold onto the bedpost keeping myself from toppling over. "I need to move. I need a shower and I really want to be downstairs for Brynn when they get here."

I fought moving into Georgia's house. I'm glad she didn't give me a choice. She's been a Godsend with helping Leo with Hope and the Inn. I don't know what I was thinking, trying to do everything myself. I can't and I don't want to try to do anything without Leo.

I've been a royal pain in the ass. I don't know why he's stuck with me but I'm incredibly grateful he has. I need to do something for him to show him how much I appreciate him. I'm very lucky.

"You could have asked for help." Leo reminds me as he has since I've been sick. "You know, I don't mind helping you."

Taking a few careful steps from the bed, I keep my hand on the dresser as I take his hand. "I know and I can't ever tell you how much I appreciate you being here. I love you, Leo."

"Good!" Leaning in, he gives me a slow easy kiss. "I love you too and you're stuck with me. So I will take care of my favorite girl here and let you get your shower. I have to get over to the restaurant this afternoon for an inspection, but I'll be home right after that."

"I plan on keeping upright until bedtime. Thank you for putting up with me. I don't know why I've been like this." I really don't know what is wrong with me. I'm never this sick.

Taking Hope back to the kitchen where Georgia's fixing lunch for the crowd she's expecting, Leo leaves me to pull myself together, so I start by taking a much needed shower. Letting the water run hot, steam fills the bathroom and I let the water soothe and take my icky feelings down the drain.

Shampooing my hair well, the smell of lavender and honey fills the bathroom and I let myself relax. I think all of us have been on edge ever since Lindsey kidnapped Hope. For months now, we have been looking around corners and watching shadows. All because Lindsey is missing and she's crazy.

She has a vendetta against this family. I don't understand why or how she is connecting us to her trauma. I know she feels jilted by Beckett and she hates Aubrey and Brynn but the lengths she's gone to have gotten out of control.

There's a clattering noise in the bathroom, making me pause. "Leo, are you thinking about joining me? ... Hello? ... I don't mind but I'm almost done here... Leo?"

Nothing. No response, no sound at all. Maybe he decided to go back downstairs. He might have figured Georgia would make a big deal about a nooner. She would absolutely approve but it might embarrass him.

Finishing up my shower, I rinse off and grab my towel. With water getting in my eyes, I start wiping my face off with my eyes closed. Not paying attention, I begin scrubbing the white fluffy towel through my hair and down my neck. That's when I saw it. That's when the bright red on the stark white towel registered.

"Oh, my God!" Dropping the towel, I've got blood red all over me. My hands, my face, my hair. Looking in the mirror, my reflection isn't what I'm focused on. All I see are the words written in what looks like blood on the mirror. Dripping down in the steam making it look even more frightening.

You won't survive my next attack.

Tell those you love you won't be back.

Three blind mice

Three blind mice

Hope. Leo. My first thoughts are for them. She was here. Close enough to get in while I was in the shower. Close enough she could have been found, or she could have acted on her threat. If not me, then who?

"LEO! GEORGIA! LEO!" Grabbing my robe, I threw it around me and raced out of the room and down the hall.

"Quinn? What's... holy shit!" Rushing up the stairs to meet me, Leo's hands are moving over my body, checking every inch of me. "What happened? Did you fall? Christ, there's blood everywhere."

"Oh my Lord!" Georgia followed, passing Hope to Emma as she too rushed up to check on me. "Good lord, sugar, what happened to you?"

"The bathroom, in the bathroom..." Pointing up the stairs, I try to get my breathing under control. "She's here. She was... Lindsey was..."

I didn't finish my sentence. Leo looked at Georgia for less than a second before he bolted up the stairs to find her. Georgia wrapped her arms around me and guided me down the stairs just as Beckett and the others walked in.

"What the hell? Quinn? Are you hurt?" Beckett immediately is concerned.

"Lindsey! Beckett, Leo is upstairs looking for her. Go, help him." As he starts to pass us, Georgia grabs his arm. "Be careful, Beck." Glancing down, it's the first time I see the small gun in her hand as she presses it into his. "Be very careful."

Beckett nods, taking the gun and hurrying up the stairs to help Leo. Georgia shakily helps me down the stairs as the others guide us to the library. "Ethan, a glass of whiskey, please."

"Oh, no thank you. I don't want that." Refusing the drink, I realize it's not for me.

"I do, sugar." Georgia waves at Ethan to bring the whole bottle over to her. "I want to see my security tapes. I have this place tighter than a virgin on prom night! How the hell did she get into my home?!" Georgia fumed orders flying out to her security.

We waited. It seemed to take forever. The tension in the room is palpable. Georgia has her security running around checking every way in. One is reviewing the tapes, another is checking the grounds, top to bottom, the three story building is searched.

"There's no one here." Beckett says, coming back in with Leo. Frustration clearly on his face. "Quinn, what did you see?"

What? What does he mean? What did I see? I didn't clean it off, I know that!

"On the mirror. She wrote on the mirror." Looking at Leo, I watch him shake his head. "It was written on the mirror! In this... this blood! I swear, I saw it!" Looking at my hands, I wonder if I'm going crazy.

"Honey, I believe you. If you say it was there, then it was there. It's not now. Tell us what happened. Just walk us through it." Beckett knelt in front of me, holding my red stained hands.

I told them everything including thinking Leo wanted some shower sex. They were silent. Leo and Beckett looked at each other as if they had information that they weren't sharing with us. "I don't understand how you didn't see it. It was there on the bathroom mirror!"

Ethan

"Emma, why don't you and Aubrey take Quinn up to get cleaned up. I'm sure she'd like to get this... off her. Please." Georgia calmly requests but she isn't calm. She's shaking just as much as Quinn is.

Following her request, they took Quinn upstairs. The rest of us remained silent until they were out of earshot. Georgia got up and closed the doors before she said a word.

"What did you find?" Turning, she looked from Leo to Beckett.

"Nothing. There's red blood or paint or whatever that is in the shower and on the floor but no message on the mirror. And no trace of anybody breaking in." Leo said quietly.

"I'll talk to security but I don't know what they're going to find. Hopefully she's on the cameras." Beckett sounds as if they're doubting Quinn. That doesn't make sense.

"You think Quinn made that up? Are you kidding? She was scared shitless!" I refuse to believe that.

Leo frowns, waiting for something to happen to give him answers. The door slides open and one of the security guys is standing there. His face is ashened and he looks like he's going to be sick. Beckett goes over to talk to him. A moment later Leo joins him.

From the look on their faces I'd say they found something. I'm not sure it's something we wanted to find either. From the way this guy is talking, animated, with his hands waving about, it seems bad.

Beckett looks our way, his eyes are hard, angry as he looks back at Leo. What the hell happened? What did she do this time? When the fuck will this be over!?

Sitting on the arm of the couch next to Brynn, I put my arm around her, hoping to get an idea how this is affecting her. She seems calm but I know Brynn, she doesn't rattle easily.

"Was this the surprise you were planning? Cause I've gotta say, if it is, we need to have a serious conversation about what is actually romantic." She smiles sympathetically up at me with an expression in her eyes I haven't seen in years. "This isn't romantic."

"I know that." Kissing the top of her head, I'm glad she's not freaking out. She should be. I am and I know everything Lindsey has done. To not remember what she's been through, Brynn is taking it well.

She just watches her surroundings, watching and waiting, the lady is a cool one. "I realize I don't remember much, but from what I've gathered, none of this is good news for us."

"No, it isn't." I agree with her. I can't say anything otherwise.

The security guys come in, fill Beckett in on more, and hurry out. The guys are busy running around here. Inside and out, they are all on the move. So what set all of them in motion like there's a fire up their asses?

"Are you sure this is the safest place for me?" Brynn whispers, looking up at me. "I'm not getting the same impression. My apartment is sounding pretty good right now."

"I'm not sure either." I mutter, knowing the amount of security around and in this house. It's a big building but there's cameras everywhere. Guards are on every door, in and out. How the hell did she get in?

"She got in through the attic!" Beckett announces, closing the door again. "We got her on camera. It looks like there's a small window on the far east side that she opened."

"What about the blood and this message Quinn saw?" Georgia asks and Beckett literally turns green. "Beckett what did she do?"

"It was blood. It was..." He looks like he's going to puke. "An animal she must have slaughtered." Closing his eyes, Beck has to force himself to swallow. "I think I'll have a drink now, Ma."

Quickly, Georgia pours him a good two fingers in a glass and hands it over. Beckett drinks it fast and refills his glass for a second before he goes on. "They're cleaning the mess up now."

"Wait! Go back! There's no window on that side, Beckett. We just searched the house top to bottom. How..." Leo stopped talking as if it just occurred to him. "There's a fake wall."

Beckett nods. "That's what they found. Ma, we need to get up there and look at it. We're going to need to search the house top to bottom. And find any other places she can hide."

We believed that this house was the safest place for the people we love. We were putting our women, Aubrey, Quinn and Brynn, the kids, and the rest of Georgia's family, all of them under this roof. We might as well have been serving them up on a silver platter for Lindsey. Is it really possible she's been right here under our noses this entire time?

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