Page 120 of All In Good Time

“Yeah,” he said. His grip on the chair tightened.

“She came in here a few times herself a little bit ago and told me some stuff.” Her voice trailed off, but she didn’t need to finish the thought for him to immediately catch on. Thatstuffwas the same stuff he’d been trying to keep quiet.

His jaw clenched, and his mouth rose to an undeniably unconvincing smile. “She likes to make up stories,” he lied.

“They sounded pretty realistic.”

“She’s creative.”

She didn’t respond, and they sat in silence. She stared at him, and the seconds bore down on him, one by one, the weight of each settling onto his shoulders.

His patience quickly drew to an end. “What do you want me to say?” he snapped.

She’d been expecting that. Ms. Roylance finally relaxed a bit and leaned forward. “I just want you to tell me what you need. These meetings are 100% confidential, Derek, but I’m not going to lie to you—if there is something harmful happening in your home, I have an obligation to report it. What Mal said leads me to believe that there is.”

The sour taste of bile filled his mouth, and his right hand trembled just enough for him to feel it. He intertwined his fingers to hide the movement and swallowed. “I can handle it.”

“Mal mentioned that Rebecca already told someone about these things?” She raised her brow and posed the sentence like a question.

He stared at her. How much had Mal told this woman?

She took his silence as a yes. “Is that why you were upset with her?”

Derek’s temper was starting to rise, boiling on the fear that bubbled in his chest. Mal didn’t know what she was doing. She might think she was making the best choice, but she didn’t know what it would bring.

“It’s why I know that reporting it isn’t worth it. It’s better for you to not waste your time and pretend Mal never told you anything. Trust me. I know my father better than anyone, and itwon’t help. Not the way you think it will. You want me to tell you what I need? Fine. I need you to not tell anyone. We can handle it,” defensive anger spat through his words.

“Believe it or not, Derek, but you’re both still so young. You should nothaveto handle it on your own.”

“But we can.”

She paused, her eyes searching his face. She had to see his desperation, had to see the fear. Maybe if she did, she’d keep quiet. After a minute, she shook her head. “I had to do my job.”

Derek’s entire body froze. His blood chilled, and he felt like a rug had been pulled out from under him, and he was falling into a deep, endless hole.

Had.Past tense. She already did.

He stood up so quickly that the chair he was on pushed back, wobbling. He pointed his finger at her. “You don’t have to doshit.”

Ms. Roylance didn’t say anything else as he turned and barged out the door.

He’d felt this way before—the crippling feeling, like the only way to survive was to run as fast and far away as he could. He could get into his car. He could drive until he ran out of gas. How far would a half tank take him? Madison? Chicago? Not far enough.

There was a pressure in his chest, wrapping around his heart and tightening by the second. His lungs weren’t holding air the way they should, and his eyes blinked rapidly as he rushed from the room and down the hallway.

He had to escape.

“Derek.”

The soft voice called out, and he froze mid-retreat. Immediately, a numbing sensation flooded his body, and dulled the thoughts of leaving.

He turned just as Becca’s soft hand wrapped around his upper arm, and she moved to stand in front of him. Those gorgeous eyes were wide under a worried brow as she looked him over. Like him, she was panting after running to catch up with him.

Her frown hit him in the chest with a sting. She always worried about him. Ever since they met, she’d worried and gone out of her way to fix him up.

He didn’t want to do that to her anymore. He didn’t want to be the reason she cried or the reason her stomach dropped. He wanted to be the reason she smiled, and laughed, and did everything she wanted to do.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?” She searched him over.

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