“We don’t have time for this, Charlotte.” Flynn sounded pissed.
“Please, just leave it.” My heart was going to be ripped apart walking away now. If I stayed any longer, he would break me beyond repair.
The door handle rattled, and my gaze snapped to it.
“Charlotte,” Flynn growled.
The entire drive here I had felt the chasm between us grow wider and deeper. Now, I was unsure what to say. I sat and stared at the wooden door.
I jumped at the first bang at the door, my hand going to my chest. The next bang made my heart race and my attention cut to the door handle. The third bang saw the door swing open to reveal a very angry Flynn.
“I’m in the bathroom,” I said in a hushed voice.
“I can see that,” he replied, glancing around the room. “Now can we please act like adults, pack some clothes, and get out of here before the bad men with guns arrive?”
I blinked once. “I doubt that is going to happen.”
“Then you’re delusional,” he responded. “Do you want me to pack because I guarantee I won’t pack what you want to wear.”
I glared at him, my eyes narrowing in warning. “I refused to be bullied out of my own home.”
“Fine, me packing it is.” He turned on his heel and stalked in the direction of my bedroom.
I slowly rose and followed him, watching in disbelief as he hauled drawers out and dumped the contents on the bed.
“Shout out if there’s anything in particular you want to bring with you,” he said as I hovered in the doorway.
I was finally spurned into movement when the fourth drawer was emptied onto the bed. If he kept going, he was going to find my adult toy collection. It wasn’t vast, but it was private and his cock was the only other thing in this room that had visited where they had.
“Enough!” I stomped into the room and pulled the lace underwear from his hand. “You don’t get to tell me what to do in my own home. This is a democracy, not a dictatorship.”
Flynn grabbed my wrists and backed me step at a time until my back hit the wall and he pinned my arms on either side of my head. His head leaned forward until I felt his breath against my cheek.
“Stop fighting me,” he said in a low hiss. “I have no idea what surveillance is in this house. We lost one of the suspects, he could have been placing cameras.”
Everything inside me stilled.
“Get your stuff and let’s get out of here,” he continued.
I stared up at him in confusion. “Where?” I started to look around.
“Slap me on the face, then pack while I go downstairs. Whoever is watching needs to believe we don’t care for each other.”
Considering he’d been ignoring me, I believed he didn’t care about me—never mind anyone else who might be watching us.
“Make it believable,” Flynn said as he took a step back.
I sucked in a breath, my hand rising and slapping his face. “Don’t ever try anything like that again,” I almost shouted. “I am no one’s puppet!”
He stared at me for several seconds. “Noted. Get your fucking ass in gear and get ready.” Flynn spun on his heel and stalked from the room, leaving me in a state of emotional turmoil.
I lifted armfuls of the clothes on my bed and shoved them into drawers before I lifted two large grip bags and filled them with clothes and underwear. Then I wandered into the bathroom and put more shampoo and toiletries into another bag. I didn’t have very many fancy clothes, but I put in two dresses and some fancy blouses before I zipped up the bags.
I tried to drag them down the stairs, but Flynn appeared to lift them easily and take them out to his car.
He had packed the last of Pixie’s toys in her pet carrier and her extra bag of cat litter sat beside it. Flynn had also filled a cool bag with all the extra stuff from my fridge that I’d mentioned earlier.
I felt as if eyes were watching my every movement, and sickness crept up my throat at the thought of whoever sent those men sitting somewhere in front of a screen.