Page 112 of End It All

"I know you are." I smiled up at him. "It's okay."

Quincy groaned. "Stop being so nice to me or I'm gonna be bending over and spreading my legs every hour, on the hour."

"Yeah, as if you'd complain."

"I would not," he called as he headed toward the kitchen.

I followed behind him. For a second, I stared at my ring. It looked so odd against my finger. I'd told Paolo and York I would pay them back, but York insisted Paolo could pay it back with his disgusting drug money. Both of the twins being in trouble had been the highlight of our night. Even Enzo couldn't stop cracking a smile.

"Hey, Blake."

I blinked and looked at him. "Yeah?"

"Are you ever going to tell me what you're running from?"

I stared at him. "What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb," he countered. "You came to New York because of whatever was happening back home. And don't try to lie, because you said it when we were fighting." He frowned. "So, what are you running from?"

I blew out a breath. The hesitation only sat in my chest for a second, but then I saw the ring on Quincy's finger too. Maybe it was just aformality, but I had someone I could talk to now. Someone that wouldn't judge me. And it had always been him.

“I was pretty sure you would have figured it out for yourself now,” I said. “I know you could.”

He nodded. “I could.”

“So, why didn’t you?”

Quincy shrugged. “I wanted you to tell me from your own lips.”

“Why?”

“I honestly don’t know,” he said as he tilted his head at me. “I guess in my head, I figured when you really trusted me, you would.”

I stared at him for a while. How could someone as idiotic as him be so wise sometimes? It was freaky.

I rushed forward. "I robbed a bank in California."

Quincy stared at me. "I'm sorry. Say that again?"

I groaned. "I robbed a bank."

He stared at me for a while longer before he blinked rapidly. "Holy shit! You're not joking, are you?"

"Nope. Why do you think I came here with no cellphone, no money, and no choice but to go to my brothers?"

"Wait, what happened to the money?"

"You can't just use it right away," I said. "They trace that shit!"

"Ah." He continued to stare. "So you're crazier and smarter than I thought."

I balled up a takeout menu and threw it at him. "Shut. Up."

"Sorry, sorry." He scratched his head. "What's the state of the investigation?"

"I don't know!" I said. "I check the internet every once in a while, but the case is still open. My mom and I can't see each other until it's taken care of, but I don't know how to do that. Cesare knows, but I’m pretty sure he’s waiting until he can tell I’m worth it. And Benito? Well, I still didn’t tell him. But all of you have a way of just finding crap out,” I muttered.

Quincy seemed to think it over. "I'll handle it."