Page 32 of His Lovebug

I pulled the Hummer into traffic and started driving.

“Where are we going?” Quin peered out the front windshield, frowning as we passed the road that would’ve led us toward our home. Instead, I turned down a side street. “Matt?”

I didn’t look at him, afraid that I’d give away my thoughts. Quin was more perceptive than people realized, and he read me as easily as an instruction book opened for him to peruse. I merely shook my head.

“Matthew.Whereare we going?” he demanded, stomping his heel on the floor. “Tell me right now or so help me I will jump out of the Hummer and walk home.”

“We’re nearly there,” I said, gripping the steering wheel with one hand even harder.

“Where?”

I didn’t have to answer him as I pulled the Hummer to the curb in front of Derek’s house. It wasn’t a big home, not something anyone would expect from a crime boss like Derek Uhlig, but it had a family feel. Situated in a suburb close to the bridge that led to Vert Island, Derek’s Cape Cod house was a three bedroom with a pretty lawn that he paid people to take care of. Two stories with a rectangular profile, the home had a steep-pitched side-gabled roof, two dormers at the front of the second story, a classic brick chimney, and a wide white front door flanked by windows with shutters. To innocent eyes, Derek was merely a successful businessman with no illegal connections.

“We’re at Derek’s.” Quin shot me a quizzical look. “Why are we at Derek’s?”

I licked my dry lips and tried to extract my hand from his, but Quin didn’t let go. If anything, he held on with a firmer grip, suspicion sharpening his gaze.

“Lovebug, I need you safe. I know you’ll be okay here.”

He blinked, then blinked again, before my words settled in and he gasped. “You arenotleaving me here.”

“Princess—”

“You will not leave me here.” He yelled the last part even though he was only repeating what he’d said already. “No. Absolutely not.”

I crowded in closer to him and brought his hand to my mouth, peppering kisses across the expanse of his palm and wrist. “You are my world, Baby Girl, and I can’t have anything happening to you. Derek and his men will take care of you while I handle Topher, and then we can get married and be happy for the rest of our lives.”

He laughed maniacally. “I don’t even know who Topher is. You still haven’t really told me, but I don’t care, either. I’m not going to hide at another man’s house. I refuse. I am going to be your wife, and I will stand at your side through thick and thin.”

I raised my chin. “We’re not arguing about this, Quin. It’s final. You’re staying here.”

He stared, and every emotion that washed over his face was a knife to the heart.

Hurt.

Betrayal.

Anger.

At the beginning of our relationship, I’d wanted to emotionally destroy him, but I’d quickly fallen in love, and since then, I hadn’t wanted to be the reason for his pain. But here we were, and Jackson was the cause of this mess. Heartbreak always started because of him.

“Colt—”

I winced. Fuck. Quin using my nickname hurt more than I’d expected.

“—if you make me get out of the Hummer right now, then there won’t be a wedding. I will not marry you.” He pressed his mouth into a thin line. “Either I go home with you and we handle thistogetherand get married when we’re supposed to, or I get out and walk away for good. We’re done.”

I swallowed around the panic that rose in my throat. With his hand still in mine, I hauled him closer, his face inches away. “Listen to me, sweetheart?—”

“No. I love following your orders at home. Ilovebeing your perfect housewife, but when it comes to this, I won’t. I love you. Ifuckinglove you.”

The use of a curse word had me sucking in a deep breath. Damn it.

“But I won’t hide while youhandle business. I can’t kill people like you, but I am a good wife, and do you know what good wives do for their spouses?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “They support their husbands. We’re a couple, no matter the circumstances. We figure out our problems together. So, that’s your choice. Either you leave me here and we’re done, or you take me home, and we’ll get married the way we’re supposed to in two months. Decide.”

I knew who I’d chosen to spend the rest of my life with. Quin was many things, but despite his willingness to obey me, I’d quickly learned he had fire in him. He was sweet and innocent, but he was hardheaded, too. He did what he had to in order to survive. And that was who I’d fallen in love with.

He shoved open the door, then slammed it closed. Standing outside, he crossed his arms, and I knew what he wanted. He was waiting for me to tell him to get back in so I could take him home. But I couldn’t. Not while his life was in danger. I could always ask for forgiveness later.

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