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Except I meant what I said about her cousin.
But Scarlett shatters at my story. She falls just a little bit more for the broken man I just presented. I drain the rest of my glass.
“I’m still a monster, but I’m not out to hurt you,” I say, telling a half-truth. I won’t do it intentionally. But she’s going to be collateral damage, my Scarlett. And I can’t help that. “But you wanted to know why I was being nice to your cousin. That’s why.”
“She reminds you of your sister?”
“No. She fucking reminds me of you.” That’s the truth. They look similar. They have strength, and I’ll suspect my sister is as big of a pain in the ass as Scarlett is. “I was nice because she shouldn’t feel scared and alone.”
Scarlett gasps. “Do you think my uncle’s not taking her seriously?”
“Do you?” I counter.
Scarlett wobbles, I can see it in her expression. “I don’t know. I don’t know why he isn’t here.” She pushes past me to return to the living room and then picks up her phone from where it sits on the coffee table. “I’ll call Dad and Uncle Grant and?—”
“No.” I put my hand on hers and take her phone. “We should wait until he gets back. And if he doesn’t, I’ll get a second guy to cover the place.”
She lets me take the phone, not that I give her a choice.
I think we should take this opportunity to do a search.
She breathes out. And if I had a heart, it’d break a little at her loyalty. Her father doesn’t deserve it, and from what I’m learning, neither does the uncle. “I felt bad going through the office.”
Of course she did. That’s the kind of person she is.
Idiotic. Loyal. Kind.
Scratch the last one. Kind to her cousin, perhaps, but beyond that? I refuse to let myself go there.
“I know, but if we search here, maybe I’ll get a better understanding of who’s doing this. The other threats have stopped, but not this one. Why?” I shrug. “I can only protect to a point against the unknown. But once I figure out who’s behind it all, then I can take them out and end this whole thing sooner rather than later.”
And then she gives the strangest look, one that whispers she doesn’t want this thing between us to end. I chalk that up to my libido talking utter shit as she says, “Let’s get started then.”
Uncle Grant doesn’t fucking come home, so at four, I call in a trusted associate to sit by the door. It’s a woman, Miranda, who’s deadly and does work for me when I need that female touch.
She’s up to speed with my role and Orchid Lane, so I feel comfortable leaving her and Scarlett to talk while I use the time to take a trip to the bathroom. I don’t go near there, of course. Instead, I do a last sweep of the place, taking a photo of a list that I found earlier. I couldn’t photograph it with Scarlett there.
It was the first line of the list. YF and a backward date. Year, month, day. Turn it the other way, and that’s the date of the last shipment they had for UR Fantasies.
It might mean something, it might not. But right now, I’m collecting all the stones. It’s not the client list, but it might be a piece, a key to cracking the code when I find it.
I upload the photo to my cloud and delete it from my phone.
When I’m done, we head out.
Scarlett’s quiet, and I leave her alone for the car ride. Let her think I’m brooding over everything.
I don’t check with her to see if she’s okay with everything that’s happened. And I definitely don’t ask if she believes the line of bullshit I fed her. Those would be red flags. JM would never give a shit enough to ask.
Privately, I know this isn’t the end of our conversation. Her instincts are bristling, but the worst thing I can do is continue trying to smooth them.
Privately, I’m fucking thinking she’d make a great little personal lie detector.
Privately, I’m thinking of casting ropes on her and taking her hard while she’s suspended in the air.
When we get back to SoHo, I let her go to bed without giving her a mind-bending orgasm.
The bed I’m in has somehow morphed to rock and I can’t sleep. I punch the pillow, then get up and get the bottle of scotch and my computer. If I can’t sleep, I’ll do some work.
