Hate or Love?

Chapter Twenty

Andreas was still sitting in the chair when the doorbell rang. He frowned, looking up, but finding his view was blocked by Arthur and Barretts men. He was silent, watching as Barrett left with a few of the guys, going to the front door. A few minutes later, he walked back in, Quinn's arm in his right hand and a smirk on his face. Andreas went rigid as he met her gaze.

"Andreas... Jesus Christ you're alive..." she let out a breath of relief as a second chair appeared, and she was tied to it right beside Andreas.

"Why are you here? Quinn I told you not to fucking come." Andreas frowned, and she chuckled, merely shaking her head.

"If you really think I could've stayed away you're crazy." Quinn replied, shifting a little on her chair as Arthur got ready to record another video.

"One last touch." Arthur went over to Quinn, punching her in the face. Quinn groaned a little, and Andreas lunged towards Arthur, not really getting far, to his disappointment.

"Don't fucking touch her!" Andreas shouted, and Arthur turned on him, smiling wickedly as he patted his cheek.

"Relax, Andreas." Arthur said, and went to the camera. He turned it on, and Andreas looked at Quinn momentarily, before turning his gaze on the camera.

"Mr. Leuth!" Arthur exclaimed, and Andreas could feel Quinn look at him, already trying to figure out how to get out.

"We almost hit our twelve hour mark when she showed up on our doorstep!" Arthur turned and walked back to Quinn, putting one of his slimy hands on her shoulder. She flinched away, just the tiniest bit, and Andreas wished he could wrap his hands around his boss' neck.

"You better hurry. Or we'll hunt you both down and make you watch us kill them. Then we'll kill you both ourselves." Arthur said the threat with a smile, like it was just casual banter. He took a step back from Andreas and Quinn, looking at Barrett. Andreas' chest tightened as Arthur stood in front of Quinn.

"Go ahead, show Jayce what'll happen if we don't get him and Lucas." Arthur instructed, and a few men walked on screen. This was about to suck even more than it already did.

"Best not to be late." Arthur chuckled, and the last thing Andreas saw was a fist coming towards his face. Then, it was darkness.

When Andreas woke up, the first thing he noticed was that he wasn't tied to a chair anymore. He was instead in an almost dark room, the only light was a lightbulb high on the ceiling. He was lying on a rather uncomfortable floor, cold and hard, and his face was wet. He touched his nose, looking at his fingers and finding they were dark red. He was bleeding.

"Andreas?" Quinn was standing over him. Other than a black eye and some dried blood under her nose, she looked relatively okay, and Andreas let out a soft breath of relief.

"Hey." he pushed himself off, finding his whole body was in pain.

"Oh my God, you had me scared for a moment there..." she cupped his face, and he pushed her hands away, waving her away.

"I'm alright, don't worry." he reassured her, and she frowned, sitting back against the wall. He looked around the room, trying to figure out where they were. On the far right wall, he noticed there was a staircase leading up. They were in a basement.

"What happened?" he looked at her, and she sighed.

"After they ended the video, they threw us down here. Said Jayce has 24 hours or we're dead." Quinn ran a hand over her face, and Andreas fell silent.

"He's not coming is he?" Andreas asked softly, and she looked at him.

"He is." she replied, and his heart skipped a beat. His heart raced as he thought of all the possibilities, and he wondered if she'd tracked him down or if they'd found his letter.

"You found the letter?" he looked at her, and she nodded.

"Did you um... was he..." Andreas tried to figure out what to say. How did he ask her if Jayce knew about his confession?

"We all saw it." she answered without looking at him, and he sucked in a breath. He felt almost light headed, knowing now that if Jayce came for him, he'd have to face him.

"He's coming?" he inquired, and she looked at him, nodding.

"Yeah. He is." she responded, and he was quiet. Now Jayce knew the truth, he knew everything. Andreas felt so goddamn exposed, despite the fact that Jayce wasn't even there. What would he do? Would he laugh in Andreas' face? Did he feel the same? Would he hate Andreas even more?

"What if he just... doesn't come?" Andreas looked at her, and she shook her head.

"We made a plan. If I know Jayce Leuth - if you know Jayce Leuth - you know that man will stick to a plan. It's like he goes insane if he doesn't." Quinn replied, and Andreas chewed on his lip, debating asking her the question nagging at him.

"Does he feel the same?" Andreas questioned, and she smiled a little, shaking her head.

"I wondered how long it would take for you to ask that." she chuckled, and he relaxed a little when she laughed.

"He didn't say it directly, but that man is head over heels, Andreas." she added, and he frowned a little.

"What if he doesn't, Quinn." he ran a hand over his face, sighing.

"Don't even think that. If he really hated you, he would be long gone with Lucas. He wouldn't have even come near me, as a matter of a fact, the first time I told him I tracked you to Venezuela, he told me he was out. But then he called me not even 24 hours later to tell me he was in." Quinn leaned a head on his shoulder gently, and he felt a small smile on his face.

"Oh." was all he could respond with. They sat in silence for a long time, and it was strangely peaceful. Slowly, wincing a bit at his ribs, he put an arm around her protectively, wishing he could keep himself between her and Arthur and Barrett forever. There was a thud above them, that made them both jump a little.

"What do you think that was?" Andreas looked up at the door at the top of the stairs hopefully.

"Jayce." Quinn responded quietly, and Andreas felt a smile on his face yet again.

"Yeah?" he questioned, and there was another thud above them

"Oh yeah. That's Jayce." Quinn chuckled.