Page 34 of His Lovebug

“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 inthe 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, myrealself, 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’tmineanymore if Matt didn’t have a damned good apology. I was sweaty, tired, hungry, and also pretty surethere 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.

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