Page 31 of His Lovebug

West narrowed his eyes at O’Neill and dropped his briefcase on the table. “Is this true, Detective O’Neill? You know the lawslightlybetter than that.”

Hanlon pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. He was at least ten years or more younger than O’Neill, and despite the suspicion in his eyes, he was handsome. He was tall with dark hair and a strong build, and the suit jacket he wore fit his wide shoulders well. “No. Mr. Kiskadden is only here as a witness to a crime.”

O’Neill snorted. “He was until we sawwhohe’s engaged to.” The asshole turned to glare at me and placed his palms on the table, leaning toward Quin. “You’re getting married to this criminal? Maybe we need to reassess what part you had to play in this murder, Mr. Kiskadden.”

Quin’s face hardened and he leaned toward O’Neill, as though he was trying to meet him head-on. “Do not talk about my Matt that way, Detective, or I’ll use this nice lawyer to sue you for defamation. I won’t have you insulting my future husband.”

O’Neill froze, surprise flitting across his hard expression for a short moment, but long enough for me to catch. He grunted andshoved away from the table again. “You really want to ruin your life, huh? You’re young. You can do better.”

I growled and went to step forward, but Quin grasped my hand and tugged me closer. I glanced at him, and he gave me a small shake of his head and a smile.

“That’s enough,” West said. “If my client is only here for you to insult his fiancé, then we are leaving. If you wish to speak to Mr. Kiskadden again, you won’t do so without me here. Am I understood?”

Hanlon inclined his head. He didn’t say a word, but he touched O’Neill on the shoulder and leaned in to whisper to him. O’Neill’s face twisted in irritation and he shrugged off Hanlon’s touch.

O’Neill stalked around the table until he was standing in front of me.

I straightened my shoulders, smirking.

With a finger pointed at me, close to my chest, he sneered. “Don’t think I’ll let this go, Coltrane. I know what you did.”

“Are we talking about the incident today or another?” I kept my tone relaxed in the way that I knew only annoyed him more.

“Youkilled my nephew. You and your slimy boss, Uhlig. I know you did, and I’m going to prove it.” His attention slid to Quin and a smug grin curved his mouth. “Or I’m going to destroy everything you love instead.”

My hand tried to curl into a fist, but I couldn’t move it because Quin was still holding on tight. He shifted in closer to me and placed his other hand on my shoulder in comfort.

“Careful, Detective, that sounds like a threat.” West moved beside Quin and crossed his arms. “Don’t make me file a report to your department for harassment, because you know I will, and it may finally be enough to destroy your career.”

O’Neill bared his teeth at West. “You fucking cocksuckers.”

West nodded and snatched his briefcase up again. “Thank you for providing me proof of your discrimination. I’ll be adding it to my report. You do realize it’s 2024 and not 1987, right? We will be leaving. Now.” He gestured at the door. “After you, Mr. Coltrane, Mr. Kiskadden.”

O’Neill laughed. “That’s not even a real insult.” He rolled his eyes. “Stick around and I’ll really say something.”

I tugged Quin to my side and folded him under my arm, sending O’Neill a final smug grin before I guided Quin out of the interview room and toward the exit of the police station. No one stopped us, but police officers watched us as we went.

West was right behind us until we made it outside onto the sidewalk. “I’ll be compiling a report about Detective O’Neill’s behavior.” He paused beside a purple RAV4 and yanked out a set of keys and a business card from his pants pocket. Settling his attention on Quin, he offered a small smile and handed over the card. “If they contact you again, you need to call me immediately. I’ll be your lawyer from now on. I’m Caleb Weston, but my friends and clients call me West.”

Quin hesitantly nodded. “What about Morgan? They didn’t pull her into the station, but what if they target her, too?”

“Then, call West.” I pressed a kiss to his forehead and cupped his face. “West is on our payroll, Baby Girl, and Morgan is your best friend. If they try to bully her, we’ll get West, or one of his coworkers, there immediately. We’ll take care of her, too. I promise. She’s family.”

Despite being in heels, he still rocked onto tiptoe and planted a kiss on my mouth. Stroking my jaw, he smiled. “Thank you. You’re the best husband anyone could have.”

“I’ll take that compliment.” I wrapped my arm around his dainty waist and dragged him closer, holding him tight against me. All my worry for him still weighed heavily on me. This was far from over. Between Topher—who I would kill the first chanceI got—and now O’Neill, the battle had only begun. I was used to having enemies, but I refused to let them target the man I loved.

West said his goodbyes and left, and I guided Quin to the Hummer, making sure he was secured with his seat belt before I strode to the driver’s side and slid in.

He leaned back against his seat, head turned so he could stare at me as I hit the ignition, and the vehicle rumbled to life. “Did you think something like this would happen?”

I rubbed the back of my neck and sighed. Placing my hands on the wheel, I shrugged. “Topher’s not the kind of guy to let things go. I thought he might kill Tyler, but I didn’t expect the attack on you.” I clenched my teeth, my grip on the steering wheel tightening. “He’ll regret that.” I reached for him and entwined our fingers as I stared at his handsome face, pale from fear but still so fucking brave. This man was going to be my wife, no matter what, but first I needed to handle this. “I won’t let him touch you, Princess. I’m sorry he got so close to you.”

He raised our hands to his lips and placed a kiss on the back of mine, smile soft. “I trust you. You’ll keep me safe.”

If only that was true. Today showed me a fatal flaw in my logic. I couldn’t protect Quin while he wasn’t at my side. He wasn’t the type of person who’d enjoy being locked inside a house, especially when he and Morgan had so many activities happening, including cooking classes, which made everything so much more dangerous for him.

No, I’d known this when I’d come to the police station, and Derek had reminded me of the truth, too. Quin wasn’t safe while I was handling Topher.

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