by Goode, Ella
“Oh my God, no. We’re cleaning this place up,” Quinn commands. “You make me a steak and I’ll gather up the trash.”
And that’s what we do.
Chapter Fourteen
Quinn
“Look what the cat dragged in.” I look up from my phone as I pull my keys out of the new fancy front door lock that Daman installed a few weeks ago. I find Trin sitting on the sofa pulling her shoes on.
“Sorry.” I cringe, feeling bad. I have been pretty MIA around here for the past few weeks. Daman’s bed is way bigger and he has a huge bathtub. One with jets in it that do more than only soothe your muscles. It was hard to say no when he asked me to stay the night. Which happened to be every night since we were first together.
“Don’t be sorry. I’m only messing with you.” She smiles, standing up. “I can’t say I blame you.” She wiggles her eyebrows at me. I feel my face warm. Being casual about the whole having sex thing is new to me. For as much as we’ve had it at this point I shouldn't be shy about it.
“Class?” I ask as she pulls a hoodie on over her head before fixing her hair.
“Yeah. Same shit different day.”
“No new guy on the hook for you?” I drop my own bag down by the door. She shrugs, looking bored at the idea. She must be in one of her no-men phases. I don’t see this lasting very long.
“Before I forget, I wanted to mention that the handyman got pissy about the new lock. It’s safe to say he hates the new boyfriend you’ve got.” She comes over, grabbing her bag for class. Her comment strikes me as odd because why would the handyman care? How the hell did he even notice that we had a new one?
“What’s wrong with the lock?” I look back at the door.
“Landlord has to have a key. I guess we aren’t supposed to change the locks ourselves. Some kind of policy they have.” She rolls her eyes. “I got a copy of mine and gave it to him so he’d leave me alone. That man is relentless.”
I’ve never given much thought to someone else having a key to our apartment before. I’ve only ever lived at home. I guess we don’t own the place so it sort of makes sense.
“That’s not the worst of it. When I got here today he was in here. He scared the shit out of me.”
“So, he can just come in here?” I remember the handyman. I feel bad because I can’t recall his name offhand. I’ve run into him a few times but try to avoid him as much as possible. He hit on me when we first moved in here.
At least that’s what Trin had said he’d done. He gave me his number and had me text him so he had mine. I thought it was in case something broke or there was an emergency. Trin had taken my phone and blocked his number, telling me to trust her before I got a dick pic I would never forget. I thought she was being a little over the top blocking his number, but I didn't really care. I kind of forgot about it after that.
“He said he tried to call you but couldn't get through to let you know he was coming by today. But we all know he’s a creeper so I thought I should mention it.”
“He’s blocked.” I mumble what we both already know. Goosebumps still cover my arms at the creepy feeling the idea of someone just being able to unlock our door and come in gives me.
“Yeah. I told his ass that he needs to contact me next time.” She puts the bag she’s holding over her shoulder, giving me a kiss on the cheek. “Text me later.”
“Bye.” I watch the door fall closed behind her, the lock clicking into place. I’m more thankful than ever that Daman installed it. I could care less if the landlord, the handyman or anyone else likes it. I know that it will keep me safe and that seems to be Daman’s number one concern. I walk into my bedroom to pack more clothes. Little by little more and more seem to be ending up over at Daman’s house.
I look around my room noticing that some of my stuff looks to have been moved. I shake my head at myself. I’m being silly and paranoid. I’m sure it was Trin looking for something. I’m sure it’s normal for the maintenance people to have keys to everyone's apartments. I can’t let it bother me because the handyman creeped me out. I’m letting my mind run wild and I need to reel it in.
My phone dings in my hand. I look down and see a text from Daman.
Daman: Are you okay?
Me: Yes. Got out of class early so I came to get some clothes from my place. Shouldn't you be in class?
It is the reason I didn't text him when I got out early. I was going to pop into my place and meet him like planned at his car before we went and got dinner. Only a few weeks together and we already have a schedule. I kind of love it. I think I kind of love him, too.
Daman: I’ll pick you up.
His text is simple like always. Daman is always to the point when he talks. It’s taken me a minute to understand that sometimes he can be very literal. Some may not like it but I find it endearing. The man’s words often catch me off-guard and melt all my insides.
Me: I’m sure you will.
Me: Do not leave class early!
I text again, knowing how he can be. He worries over me. It’s nothing like how my dad is. I feel like Daman does it because he truly cares that I’m okay. That my well-being is his number one concern. He doesn't check on me because he thinks he’s supposed to. He wants to. To me that makes all the difference in the world and it’s why it doesn't bother me. I wish I could say the same when my father did it. Unlike my dad’s constant overbearing ways, with Daman I enjoy it. If he’s always checking in on me then he’s always close.
Daman: Too late.
I snort out a laugh. Of course I am. I grab a bag and start tossing things inside. Before I can even get it zipped up, I hear the front door opening. My heart drops for a second knowing Trin is in class. I turn to see Daman walking into my bedroom.
“What’s wrong?” His whole body goes rigid, the smile dropping from his face.
“You scared me. I forgot you have a key.”
He comes over to me. “There is something else.” Jeez. Am I that easy to read?
“I think I’m on edge. Trin told me the handyman was inside when she got home today. It’s weird to me that random people have keys to our home but I guess he’s not random. He works here.” Daman stares down at me. His face is unreadable. “What?” I ask when he says nothing. I can see the tight line of his jaw and the way his hand is balled into a fist. He hasn't even kissed me, which is very un-Daman like. Causing me to think that he’s not very happy about my handyman’s unannounced visit either.
“You’re staying with me tonight,” he finally says, causing me to laugh. Everything's better when he’s around.
“This is shocking news.” I grab his shirt, pulling him down to kiss me. He comes willingly. I might as well move in with him at this point. But like the I love you, I think it’s too soon to say or ask. This is turning out to be so much more than a crush.
Chapter Fifteen
Daman
I take Quinn home and run her a bath. She really loves the jets in that thing and after a few rounds of sex with her, I do, too. But right now I have a different sort of cleaning that needs to be done. I put a glass of wine and a plate of cheese and crackers next to the tub and give her a quick kiss on the forehead.
“Aren’t you going to climb in?” She raises a pink toe out of the bubbles and wiggles it at me.
I swallow hard and trudge to the door. “Nah, I have some homework to do. You relax and once you’re done, we can go to the Mexican place and get the tamales you like. Holler at me if you want anything.”
I hop out of the bathroom quickly so I’m not tempted to stay. Once I’m in my chair, I pull up the surveillance footage I’ve ignored for the last three weeks. Quinn has been with me almost every free minute of the day so there hasn’t been any need to look at the footage. If she’s not with me, then she’s at class. I don’t need the cameras. I have my own two eyes but I’m glad I didn’t remove them because I’ll be able to see exactly what’s been going on in her apartment.
My software program dumps the feed int
o a file every twenty-four hours and I haven’t deleted anything. If he’s doing something shady, I’ll catch it.
I start backwards from yesterday since Quinn sensed something was wrong. Her roommate rolls out of bed, bypasses the coffee machine and goes straight for the freezer. She grabs a small round pint of something and spends five minutes leaning against the counter eating it. I fast forward. The girl washes dishes, disappears into the bathroom, comes out looking like a different person and exits. After fifteen minutes, the door cracks open and a square head peeks in. He clears his throat.
“Anyone home? It’s Chris. The handyman.” When he hears no response, he pushes the door open and slides through. After he locks the door, he moves into the kitchen, where he rifles through the dishes that the roommate washed. He holds up a cup to his nose and sniffs. This guy is weird as fuck.
“What are you doing?”
I nearly jump out of my chair in shock. “When did you get out of the tub?” I hadn’t heard her. That’s never happened to me before.
“Is that…” She leans forward. I move to try to block her view, but she’s seen my monitors. They’re hard to miss. “My apartment?”
I hear confusion in her voice, like she doesn’t want to believe what her eyes are seeing. I scramble for an excuse, but my mind is blank. I’m usually better at this. I can come up with a glib lie if I need to, but I also am way more alert. Old me wouldn’t have allowed that to happen but I’ve gotten complacent.
“Wait a second.” She looks at the screen and then eyes the counter where the appliances sit.
“That toaster is the same one I have and so is the coffee maker. I didn’t know they came in green. How long have you been watching me?” She spins back to me and glares. “Are you spying on me? Is my dad paying you to spy on me?”
“No. Fuck no. I told you I’d kill him for you. Why would I spy for him?” I shove a hand through my short hair.
“I don’t know, that’s why I’m asking. And we’re going to talk about why you always say you’d kill—” She stops abruptly. Her eyes go from narrow, questioning slits to wide, surprised circles. Then she shakes her head.
“Quinn, you’re not in some damn action movie.”
I run my tongue along my teeth. There are a few hired killers that have families. I only know this because one of them had his kid held hostage in exchange for doing a hit. He killed the mark and then the person who hired him. After that I never heard of him again so there’s no one around I can ask for advice in this situation. It never occurred to me that I’d be in a position where I’d need to know how others broke this to their lover. Hey babe, got to go to work. There’s a mob boss trying to take up too much territory and I’ve been paid a cool milli to knock him off. I’ll be home before five. Love ya.
Quinn is not a fan of my silence. “You better start talking. You have five minutes.”
What do I explain? She’s not going to like this. She’s a twenty-one-year-old college student. Sleeping with a killer isn’t really high on college students’ lists—as far as I know.
“Four.”
“I’m trying to work out the words to explain this.”
“Fine. I’m leaving.” She starts toward the door. “And I don’t want you to—”
“Wait!” I shout.
She stops. “Are you going to talk?”
I nod but realize she can’t see me because her back is turned. “Yes,” I croak out. She pivots and takes a step toward me. Her chin is up and out and her eyes are flashing with anger. The near miss of losing her makes me weak in the knees. I collapse in my chair.
I gesture with my hand. “Ask me anything. I think that’s the best way through this.”
Maybe, just maybe, I can get away with not telling her that I used to kill people for a living.
“Why are you spying on me?”
“I was worried about your safety.” She cocks her head to the side as if to say the answer was not the kind of bullshit she was interested in. “When I met you in the cafeteria I thought you were the most beautiful person alive. I wanted to get to know you better, which sounds terrible now that I say it out loud but at the time, when I was planting the bugs, it seemed rational.”
“I don’t see the bathroom on your screen.”
“No. I didn’t put one there.” I mentally pat myself on the back.
“But there’s one pointed at my bed.”
I cringe. “Yes.”
One step forward, two back, I think.
“Do you work for my dad?”
“No. I told you before I didn’t.”
She presses her lips together into a thin line. “I’m double-checking. Don’t I have the right to do that?”
“Yes, absolutely yes.” She can do anything she wants. “You’re in charge.”
“Why were you looking at your film?”
“Because you said your handyman made you nervous. I wanted to see if he was in there doing shit he wasn’t supposed to do.”
“And?”
“He just came in after your roommate left and sniffed a coffee mug.”
“That’s weird.”
I nod vigorously. “Very.” Anything to make me look less like a nut.
“What else?” She cranes her neck for a better view of the screens.
“I stopped there because you arrived.”
“Hmmm,” she hums. Her eyes look less angry and I’m tempted to relax but I know that’s a mistake. My instincts are proven true with her next question.
“You just have a bag full of spy cameras that you can install whenever you feel like?”
My whole body is tense, but I force out an answer. “Yes.”
“Why?”
I take off my glasses and throw them on the desk. I’m going to lose her if I don’t come clean. I’ll probably lose her if I tell the truth, but I knew that going in. The thing is, I’ve claimed her. She promised that she would be mine forever. I get to my feet and walk over to her. She doesn’t back up but I can sense she doesn’t like this, me using my height and body to intimidate her. I drop to my knees and take her hand. “You promised me when I took your virginity, when I gave you mine, that you were mine forever and you can’t take it back, no matter what I did in my past. I won’t let you.”
Her hand lands on top of my head. “I feel dumb for even saying these words, but do you have a particular set of skills?”
Chapter Sixteen
Quinn
I don’t want to take it back. I want to be Daman’s forever but I need the truth.
“I have many skills.” His other hand rubs up my bare thigh, distracting me. I’d only come out here with his shirt on. I’d gotten lonely in the bathtub and was going to try to lure him to come back and join me. I know how he gets when I wear his shirts. It turns him on as much as me being naked. He says everything about me does that for him.
I would have gone with naked but it is still daylight out and someone might see me through a window or something. But then Daman might cut their eyes out. That thought popping into my head should be a little telling in itself. He is very much the territorial type when it comes to me.
“Daman.” I grab his hand with my other one, stopping him. He closes his eyes, looking almost pained that I’d done so. I smack his chest. “Hey! Don’t make me feel bad. You’re the one in trouble here,” I remind him. “You know everything about me.” I lift my eyebrow at him, still waiting for him to give me an explanation of why he set up cameras in my place. “And you’ve yet to explain a single thing to me.”
“You’re going to leave me.” His voice is low. His eyes are downcast. He is breaking my heart. I should be losing my shit right now on him. He has freaking cameras in my apartment. Yet here I am feeling bad for him. This must be that whole love makes you do crazy things part of a relationship. Because I’m not losing my mind, nor am I storming out of here like I thought I would be. Instead I’m standing half naked, waiting for answers.
I bring my hands to his face, making him look
up at me. “Just tell me the truth. That’s what I want.” I have a feeling that there’s not many things he could say that would have me walking out the door away from him, but I can’t make that decision until he tells me what’s going on.
“And you won’t leave me?” His eyes fill with hope. This big man on his knees in front of me is scared that I’m going to walk out of his life. He’s acting as though me leaving would be a death sentence to him. I lick my lips because I’m going to say something to ease his mind. I know I shouldn't, but deep down inside of me, I can’t believe that my Daman could have done something so wrong that I’d want to leave him.
I know I haven't known him long, but since the moment he walked into my life it’s felt like the only thing he’s done is try to make me happy and keep me safe. We click together so easily. I truly believe this man would do anything for me. I see it in everything he does.
“No, I won’t leave you.”
He moves, picking me up. I let out a small scream of surprise as he puts me into his lap. I rest my head on his shoulder, my fingertips tracing his jawline while my eyes plead with him to give me answers.
“Yes, I have a set of skills I no longer use,” he tells me as he pulls me in closer to him, keeping a firm hold on me.
“It looks like you’re using them on my apartment,” I remind him.
“I would say I’m sorry but it would be a lie. I’m only sorry it upsets you.” I purse my lips to keep from smiling. “I’ve never worried over someone before. I thought I was doing what was best for you. That I was helping to keep you safe. Since the moment I saw you in that cafeteria, I knew that you were mine. That it would be an honor to love you and protect you for all the days of my life.” His response is a mix of naïve, possessive and sweet at the same time. Daman and I clearly come from two different worlds. Maybe that’s why we work so well together.
“What did you do before college?” He always said before he did random jobs. Daman wasn't one for talking a ton. I knew there was something different about him. I think I filled in some holes about his past in my mind on my own that I’m finding out aren’t factually correct.