Page 50 of His Lovebug

17

COLT

Quin wasn’t here.

He wasn’therein the room where he should be. I’d checked the hotel bar and asked Landon at the front desk, but no one had seen him.Fuck.I’d called Derek, knowing that wherever he was, Quin was probably with him, but there wasn’t any answer, and that only made me more irritated.

I paced the length of the hotel room, shoulders rigid and spine stiff. Gruesome nightmares filled my head of someone capturing Quin and doing vile things to him, and a horrible taste rose in the back of my throat. I swallowed, hoping to get rid of any vomit that might make its way up my esophagus.

“Where are you, Quin?”

I called his phone next, but he didn’t answer, and that only made the fear grow worse. I brushed a hand over my head and sighed, staring up at the ceiling. There wasn’t any religion in my life, but if there had been, I’d be praying right now.

The door opened, and I shot across the room to greet Quin the moment he entered. I hauled him into my arms, ignoring his “umph,” and shoved his face against my chest as I held on tight.

“Where have you been, Princess? I was so fucking worried.”

He snuggled deeper against my chest, his warmth a comfort that I wouldn’t take for granted again. “I was helping Derek with O’Neill.”

My spine turned to steel. “What?” I stepped back and stared down at him. “You. Were. Helping. With.O’Neill?”

“Matt.” He touched a hand to my chest, eyebrows furrowed in an expression that said he’d known exactly how I would react. “Don’t freak out.”

I laughed at the ridiculous request. “Baby, I asked you to stay here. I told you why you needed to stay in the room, and instead, you went with Derek.”

“I know, but this involves me, too. You’re my husband, and O’Neill has it out for you. I need you to be safe.” He stamped his heel and crossed his arms. “I did what I needed to do.”

I threw my hands up in the air, not quite believing what I was hearing from him. “Do you not realize you’re my weakness? If O’Neill could get to you, he would.”

“We didn’t go near him. We went to visit Hanlon at The Precinct, a bar. He told us what we could use against O’Neill.” Quin dropped his arms and closed the distance between us. Reaching for my hand, he gave me a soft smile. “I was safe. I had Derek with me.”

I shook my head. “I trust Derek with my life, Princess, but when it comes to you, it’s different. The only one I want protecting you isme.”

We didn’t acknowledge the elephant in the room—that I’d tried to make him stay somewhere again. What could I say? I wasn’t a rational man when it came to Quin.

“I know.” His soothing voice stayed low, as if he was trying to calm a rabid dog. He stroked the back of my hand, and the tension leaked from me despite the anger that still thrummed in my temples. “Matt, I’m sorry, but I’m not the type of man to sitby and watch you do all this yourself. If I can help, I will. I’m good for more than sex.”

“I know that,” I said, not missing a beat. I drew him in again and wrapped my arms around him, laying a kiss on his forehead. “I wouldn’t marry you if I only wanted somewhere to stick my cock. That’s why I care so much. O’Neill’s pissed because I was involved in killing his nephew, and I don’t want you in the crosshairs.”

“Well, I talked to Hanlon, and we figured out something together. He doesn’t like O’Neill, either, and he set me up with an anonymous phone line to report O’Neill drinking on the job.” He raised his chin to look up at me. “It probably won’t be enough to get him fired, but it’s a start. It’ll be a warning for him.”

I snorted. There was no way in hell I trusted Hanlon, despite him being a better cop than O’Neill, but then there was the fact that O’Neill would know exactly who it came from. Word would get around that Quin had been seen talking to Hanlon. And anonymous or not, I had no doubt that a phone number would be recorded somewhere.

The truth would come out eventually.

“Warning or fuel for his anger? Fuck.” I rubbed my face as fatigue set in. “I don’t want you involved in this. You have other, more important things to worry about, such as your upcoming graduation. You have classes and assignments coming out of your ears. Nursing isn’t easy, and I want you to concentrate on that, notthis.”

“I’m already embroiled in this. Let me finish it with you. I’ll keep trying to help.”

I heaved a sigh. I knew a lost fight when I saw one. Quin was stubborn, but it was another reason why I loved him so fucking much. “Fine. But you stay with either me or Derek at all times whenever you’re doing something about O’Neill. I don’t want you to leave our sight, no matter what.” I laid my foreheadagainst his and closed my eyes. Inhaling, I breathed in the flowery scent of his perfume and the remnants of smoke. He was here with me now. Safe. “Promise me, Baby Girl.”

“I promise. Only you and Derek.” He kissed me, and I reveled in the softness of his delicate lips against mine.

As warm as this moment was, I lowered my hand and brought my palm down on his ass, eliciting a gasp from him. His eyes shot open wide and he gaped at me.

“What was that for?” He pouted.

“I told you to be in the bed, waiting. You disobeyed me. Imagine how scared I was to come to the room to find my wife not here when he should’ve been.” I landed another sharp strike against the same asscheek. Even though his dress and underwear softened the blow, it was clear it still hurt because he sucked in a breath through his teeth. “I was excited to see you on the mattress, naked with your ass in the air, and it didn’t happen. I’m disappointed.”

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