Chapter 12
12
QUIN
Instead of going directly into the cute house that belonged to Derek, I paced outside the front door. Rage stabbed my brain. Just who the hell does Matt think he is? This alpha male bullshit makes me want to scream.
After being insulted for hours by that blowhard, dickwad cop, all I’d wanted to do was cuddle up with Matt and let him love me. He always told me I was beautiful and perfect, and right now nothing would’ve made me feel better.
But no .
Without consulting me, he’d dumped me on Derek’s doorstep. Why? Because he thought it was safer? I held in a shout that tried to crawl out of my throat. I didn’t normally devolve into lamenting the idiocy of men, but right now I wanted to claw his eyes out. What was he thinking? Why would I be better off without him?
“What an absolute cretin,” I muttered.
I wasn’t stupid. Situations like this were bound to arise from time to time because of what Matt did for a living, but if we couldn’t discuss these things when they happened, how would we ever make our marriage work? Was there any way to do it?
A car pulled into the small driveway, and I crossed my arms and glared in that direction as Derek hopped out and hustled toward me with a wide smile. A placating smile. Oh, he could go directly to hell, too. Who did he think he was kidding?
He came at me with his hands spread wide. “Don’t glare at me that way, Quinny. You’ll break my heart. Why aren’t you inside? Someone so beautiful shouldn’t be standing around on the doorstep.” Derek lightly rested his hand on my back and urged me toward the door, but I shook him off. His dark eyebrows shot upward.
“No. Don’t you dare.”
“Oh.” He glanced around as if he was confused. “But I sent two men from the casino over. They must be inside. They’re armed to the teeth, and they’ll mow down anyone who steps foot on this property who shouldn’t be here. You’re in good hands.” He tilted his head and gave me a broken puppy look. Maybe he thought I was upset about the lack of security outside? Maybe if I’d had any input on it, I would have something to say about it. I gritted my teeth until my jaw ached.
“No.”
He cupped my hands and smiled wider. “It’s cold. I don’t want you out here when you belong inside. There’s a fireplace in the living room. I could?—”
“I’m going home,” I said, tone clipped.
Derek rubbed one of my hands between his, and damn it all to hell, it was sweet and comforting. I could see him treating his son this way. He stared at the ground for a minute before he hit me with another small smile. “Colt nicely, well nice for Colt anyway, asked me to keep you safe while he’s handling some messy business. Very messy. I don’t want anything to happen to you, so I agreed. Please go inside.” His blue eyes gleamed with hope and sincerity.
I swallowed hard. Derek had always been sweet to me, but I knew that he didn’t bat an eye at helping to bury random bodies. His business wasn’t a clean one. Was there a point past which I couldn’t push him? I’d never had to worry about this crap with Derek, and I was mad all over again that I even had to consider my friend might hurt me simply for not listening to him—not following orders from Matt.
I stomped my foot. “Derek, your house is beautiful, but I want to be in mine. I’m going home.”
He gripped my wrist and frowned, then turned toward the door. I stood stiffly as he opened it. He was careful not to hurt me, but he put his arm around me and sort of pushed me inside the front door, then locked it. I didn’t fight, but I didn’t exactly go easily, either.
“For your own safety, I insist,” he said quietly, but I could see the regret in his eyes.
“For yours, you better let me go.” The words contained all the fire I was holding in. “This isn’t okay.”
Derek sighed and reached toward my shoulder, but I dodged back a step, and there was sadness on his face as he let his hand fall to his side. “You know we live a dangerous life. Kit doesn’t know anything about our business to keep him as safe as possible.”
“He’s your son. I’m going to be Matt’s wife!”
Derek nodded, jaw bulging with tension. “He wants you away from anything that could hurt you, and I understand. More than that, I agree with him. There’s nothing you can do to help. You’ll only get hurt. Stay here so he doesn’t have to worry about you. Let him keep his mind clear. I’m happy to keep you safe.”
Derek thought he was helping—I knew he did—but all I wanted to do was slap him across the face. “If I walk away from here, what will you do?”
He winced. “Please. I adore you. Don’t put me in this spot. I don’t want to accidentally hurt you, but you have to stay here. I’ll do what needs to be done.” Derek gestured toward the living room, and I was seething as I dropped onto a couch and crossed my arms.
Derek paced and rested his hands on his hips, pushing back his suit jacket. He exposed a gun holster that I’d never seen on him, and my blood ran cold. I’d known this was serious, but Matt had said more than once that Derek usually let his men do the “dirty work.” I guess my safety was something he was willing to get elbow deep in blood for.
“He cares about you.” Derek flashed me another one of those too-big smiles that weren’t the real ones, the friendly ones I’d become used to receiving along with dinner conversation.
“People who care discuss problems, along with their options, and find solutions together,” I snapped.
He rubbed a hand across his face, then turned to me. “Are you hungry? I heard you were in the police station for a good while.” He glanced toward the windows that were turning into dark mirrors already. How long had the cops kept me there?
“No.” My tone could’ve frozen a whole ocean.
Derek gave me a sympathetic frown. “Kit will be home soon. Can I count on your discretion?”
I hated that he looked a little worried, so I gave him a nod, even though I was still furious with him and Matt. “Of course.”
“Quin, he really?—”
“Save it.”
Derek gave me a silly bow. “I’m going to send the men outside so Kit doesn’t see them. They’ll keep anyone away from the house who shouldn’t be here.” He gave me a grin that in the past I might’ve described as dashing. “If you need anything, please help yourself. I’ll be in my office. Maybe you could show Kit how to cook something. It wouldn’t hurt him to learn.”
I sucked in a deep breath as two muscle-bound men armed with big guns, the kind you saw in old war movies, walked toward the front door, then outside. I hadn’t even heard them or noticed them in the house. Wow, that was bad. I let out a shaky breath, and while Derek appeared concerned, he hustled out of the room and back a hallway.
Rage ate at me, and I shot to my feet. There was no way I could sit here all night while Matt did who knew what.
“This will not be happening for my entire life,” I muttered.
I’d told Matt I wouldn’t marry him, and if he couldn’t learn to treat me like a partner and not a play toy, I was serious. I wouldn’t do it. I let out a long breath and glared at the front door. Those men were out there, and in these heels and this dress, I wouldn’t have a chance in hell of outrunning anyone. With the darkness closing in, I should at least be able to get away if I was careful and dressed slightly better. I glanced toward the staircase.
Kit was about my size.
Biting my lip, I shot toward the stairs and went up them, trying to keep my footfalls silent. This wouldn’t work if Derek knew what I was up to. I searched around until I found a room that I assumed was Kit’s. The desk and textbooks gave it away. I rushed to a dresser and was already tugging my sundress up over my head. I kicked off my heels and ditched the clothes under the bed. It didn’t take long to find socks, jeans, and a T-shirt. Kit didn’t seem to own much in black, so a navy blue hoodie was the best I could do. A quick investigation of the closet turned up a pair of sneakers that were a size too big, but I tied the laces tight and double knotted them, and they were okay.
Once I was fully clothed, my anger came back with a vengeance. It had been a long time since I’d dressed this way. I didn’t feel uncomfortable, exactly, but I wasn’t myself, either. I didn’t like it. Scowling, I went over to the dresser. In the mirror, I spotted an NG Riders cap hanging from the corner of the bed. I snagged it and twisted my hair into a simple knot, then plopped the cap on. Except for some smudges of makeup, I was any guy, anywhere.
Yeah, I fucking hate this.
I’d gotten used to being myself, my real self, and this was awful. Turning away from the mirror, I rushed to the door and put my ear against it. I couldn’t hear anything on the other side, so I opened it and bolted down the stairs. My hand was on the knob for the front door when I froze.
Shit, those big guys were outside. I was so mad I’d been about to do something really dumb.
Huffing, I rushed toward the back of the house. I found a door in the kitchen. Derek’s home overlooked Lake Ontario, and I thought there was a small bluff behind the backyard. Most people who were up on the bluffs had a way to get down to the beach below. I licked my lips, then cracked open the back door. Glancing out, I looked one way, then the other. The coast seemed to be clear, which wasn’t exactly inspiring me to feel protected, but since I wanted to sneak out, I wasn’t about to say anything.
The sound of a vehicle pulling into the driveway had my heart in my throat.
“Now or never.” I rushed out into the darkness. No one stopped me, but the sun had set and only a brilliant purple rim lined the lake when I got to the edge of the yard. I had trouble spotting the stairs that I figured would lead down to the beach, and it took me a minute of searching. My heart almost dropped to my toes.
The stairs weren’t really stairs so much as dirt steps. Cursing, I carefully walked down toward the bottom. The steps zigzagged, probably to keep them from being one steep drop. There was a handrail that I gripped, but as soon as I put any weight on the thing, it wobbled.
“Stop that!” I snapped at the rickety wood, but it didn’t listen, so with a steady stream of “damn it” and “fuck,” I let go and kept moving. It was probably about two hundred feet to the bottom, and the shoreline seemed close when the toe of one oversized sneaker caught on the stair I was stepping from. My stomach lurched as I pitched forward and rolled with a groan down about ten steps before I flopped onto the rocky sand at the bottom.
For a few minutes, I quietly lay there, assessing the various bruises. “That sucked.” With a groan, I sat up. My cap had gone flying and my hair was everywhere. I took the time to force it back under control and put the cap on again before I scrambled to my feet.
I was free!
But now what?
You better have something good to say to me, Matthew Coltrane.
Anger poked at me again, and I walked along the beach until I was far enough away from Derek’s house that I figured I would be in the clear. Some of the stairs had solar lights—though not Derek’s—and I climbed up to one of the backyards on Derek’s street. I was huffing and puffing and swearing I would get in more cardio by the time I reached the top, and then I set out for my house with my hands clenched into fists.
It took me forever to get home, but I was so mad all I could do was barely smile at my victory as I reached my driveway. Okay, maybe it wasn’t mine anymore if Matt didn’t have a damned good apology. I was sweaty, tired, hungry, and also pretty sure there was a blister on my left heel the size of Texas, but I marched forward.
The front door opened, and I was horrified when I realized that there were men I didn’t know coming out. Someone grabbed me from behind and slapped a hand over my mouth, dragging me down to the ground and out of sight behind a wide old oak tree in the yard. It took me a second to get my shit together.
Growling, I struggled, but the nip on my ear sent a streak of fury and need through me. My stomach clenched hard and my cock tingled.
Only Matt would do that.
“I put you where you would be safe.” This time he bit my ear with enough viciousness that it stung.
A feral snarl slid up my throat, stifled by his palm, and he chuckled; although, I could still hear the anger threaded through the happy sound.
“Princess, I am going to spank your ass red for disobeying me.”
I melted against his chest as something close to euphoria swept over me, but this was a problem. If I couldn’t make him understand where the games had to end and discussions between us must start, then this was it. I slapped the back of his hand, but he didn’t move it away from my mouth.
The smell of acrid smoke had my stomach churning. Where was that coming from? Strange orange light flickered on the yard.
“Those motherfuckers,” Matt whispered.
That stench was terrible. Suddenly, I knew what was happening. The house was on fire. I ripped his hand away from my face.
“Are we just going to sit here while the house burns?” I asked, looking over my shoulder. I couldn’t see his expression well in the shadows.
He pressed a kiss to my neck. “It’s just stuff, Baby Girl. Everything important is right here.”
I let out a sob. “I am so mad at you.”
“Same. I was obviously right,” he said, giving me a little shake.
I turned in his arms and smashed my lips against his, and he held me tight. The sound of gunfire had me stiffening, but when he pulled back, his grin was pure evil. I had the feeling that the men dying right now were the ones who’d set the house ablaze, and not a single bit of me felt bad for them. I’d worked really hard to decorate that house.
Matt kissed me again, and I let him, because angry or not, I loved the jerk.