Free Tell Me Lies by Tessa Dayne Page B

mine?”
     
    “Darren…please….you’re hurting me!” she whimpered, struggling to get free from his vice-like grip.
     
    “The truth, Paige!”
     
    “The truth is, I am with another man and you can’t stand it. Now get out of my way!” she yelled, breaking from his grip before pushing him.
     
    Darren stumbled backwards, his arms flailing as he tried to regain his balance.  Just as he fell to the floor, Paige rushed by him, grabbing a coat as she passed the chair.  She was out the door, rushing through the crowd, before Darren regained his footing.
                 
    ~*~
     
    Jonas heard the commotion and turned his head toward it.  When he saw Paige rushing through the crowd, a coat in tow, he panicked.  He could tell, even this far away, that she was upset.  He began pushing his way through the throng, desperate to get to her before she disappeared out into the hall.
     
    “Paige!” he called, pushing at a man on his left, only to be hampered by a couple on his right.  “Paige!  Wait!”
     
    Jonas closed in on Paige and was just about to reach her, when a hand grabbed his arm.  He stared at the male fingers circling his arm, and then followed the arm up to the man’s face. Darren Armstrong.
     
    “What the hell are you doing here?” Jonas asked, his eyes narrowing dangerously.
     
    “Getting answers,” Darren said.  “Maybe I will get an honest answer from you.  God knows, Paige is lying to me.”
     
    Anger boiled up in Jonas.  He was normally a non-violent man, but Darren Armstrong was going too far.  He didn’t want Paige and she had moved on. 
     
    “I don’t know what is going on in her head these days.  She was never such a lying, deceitful bitch before.”
     
    Darren never said another word.  Jonas, his hand curled into a fist, turned on him, the punch catching Darren on the corner of the jaw, sending him reeling.  A woman cried out as he went down at her feet, causing her to spill her champagne.
     
    “Paige!” Jonas yelled, racing after her.  He had lost precious time during the confrontation with Darren and she had disappeared into the hallway.
     
    He saw the tail end of the coat as the elevator doors slid closed.  Cursing a blue streak, Jonas headed for the stairwell.  Taking the steps two at a time, he navigated down the flights, praying he caught Paige before she did anything rash.
     
    Bursting through the doors, he searched the busy lobby futilely for Paige. Groaning, Jonas headed through the turnstile door, stepping out into the snow-filled street. Once outside, he stopped, searching the crowd filled street.  Snowflakes fell, covering his hair and shoulders quickly.  The wind howled and cut through the sweater he wore.  Damn, it was cold.
     
    “Paige!” he yelled, finally spotting her through the crowd of people milling on the sidewalk.
    He watched as she stopped and turned to look for him.  He knew she had heard him yell her name.  Jonas raised his arm, waving at her, trying to get her attention as he pushed his way toward her.  People all around were huddled against the icy wind and his progress was slow.
     
    Putting his head down against the onslaught of the wind, Jonas pushed onward.  He had to get to Paige and get her back inside where they could talk.  Her getting this upset was not good for her or the baby.
     
    Suddenly, tires squealed, horns blared and screams pierced the air.  Jonas pushed his way through the crowd, elbowing man and woman alike to get to the last place he had seen Paige, his heart in his throat.
     
    “She just appeared out of nowhere.  I tried to stop…” a man said, his words slurred slightly.
     
    “She wasn’t on the sidewalk…” an anonymous woman in the crowd said.
     
    “I think someone pushed her into the street,” another man said, trying to see into the street.
     
    “Someone call 911.”
     
    Jonas broke through the throng and found himself standing near the center of the road.  Lying