Page 20 of Saving Scarlett

My fingers trembled as I twisted them into the hem of my thermal shirt. Next to me on the sofa, Bane’s jaw was tense as he clicked out of the video, shutting down the laptop to get Joshua’s face off the screen. I didn’t need to watch it again.

The chime of the oven timer caught me by surprise, jolting me back into reality. I had almost forgotten I’d even set it. It was a good thing I had, because I would have definitely burned the chicken otherwise.

Bane looked at me as I stood up from the sofa, as though to say he could get whatever I needed, but I flashed him a small smile before turning on my heel and walking into the kitchen. Seeing Joshua call me a thief had been shocking, but I couldn’t say I was truly surprised at that moment. I just needed to keep myself busy. If I didn’t, I didn’t know what else I would do.

Pulling the pan of chicken out of the oven, I set it on top of the stove and then turned the oven off.

For a stunted heartbeat, all I could do was lean my back against the counter, unsure what I was supposed to do. My biggest fear was that I was somehow breaking the law. Part of me knew it was my right to leave town, and that I hadn’t actually taken any money, but Josh’s public claims about me made me feel dirty…stained…like I could never be clean again.

Footprints approached the kitchen while my back was to the rest of the house, and when I looked up, Bane entered through the opened archway. Anger was no longer etched on his face. Instead, it had fallen into something more akin to concern, but sympathy was the last thing I wanted.

Moving away from the stove with my arms still wrapped around my middle, I dipped my chin toward the pan of chicken. “Dinner’s ready.”

Not giving the chicken a single glance, he took a step closer, reaching out his hand toward me. I flinched, making him pull back as though I’d burned him. “Scarlett, are you okay?”

For some reason, at that moment, I felt very vulnerable, and very defensive. I took a step back. “I’m fine. There’s salad too if you’re hungry.”

The air in the cottage was too thin, and all I wanted to do was go outside, but the only way to get out was to go past Bane. I may not have been trapped, but at that moment, that was exactly how I felt—like a bird in a cage—and all I wanted was to fly. The problem was, my wings had been clipped a long time ago, and I didn’t know how to grow them back.

Taking another step, he lifted his hand toward me again, but didn’t touch me. In a way, I hoped he would. I needed to feel something—anything—other than what I was feeling, but I knew that was dangerous.

“Little Red, are you okay? It’s going to be okay. Do you hear me? I’m not going to let him hurt you again. I’m not going to let anyone hurt you.”

Still, I stared at his outstretched hand as though it was a viper, ready to strike. “What about you, Bane? It’s your job to hurt people, isn’t it? Are you not going to hurt me in the end?”

For a moment, he just stood there, neither of us saying anything, his hand not moving back, and mine not moving forward. The air was more charged than a lightning storm. Our eyes remained locked on each other, like a predator on their prey, and I knew the moment I turned away, he would attack. The problem was, I wasn’t sure I didn’t want him to. If anything, I was daring him to.

After a long bout of silence, he pulled his hand back toward his body, his jaw clenching. “No, Scarlett. I’m not going to hurt you. Hurting people may be my job, but I am not that person with you. I thought I’d shown you that already.”

Huffing out a breath, he rubbed the scruff on his chin, gazing up at the ceiling. “Life would certainly be less complicated right now if I had treated you like I treat every other target, but I don’t regret saving you, Scarlett. I don’t regret it, and I don’t know what this is.” He motioned from himself, and then to me, sending my heart into the floor, its beat turning sluggish. “But this cannot go any further. I just need to keep you safe, that’s all. Clearly I’m hurting you even when I’m trying not to.”

With one more look into my eyes, he turned and walked away, his bedroom door closing behind him.

The moment the door closed, I slid down the wall, dropping to sit on the floor as my face crumpled into my hands. I knew the line Bane had drawn between us was for the best, but then why did it feel so wrong?

My chest threatened to implode, and all I wanted was for the ground beneath me to open up and swallow me whole. With everyone in New Orleans believing I’d run away from my picture-perfect life and stolen my husband’s money, there was no way I could return there, even if Joshua did somehow disappear. With my luck, I would be blamed for that, too. The only way to possibly vindicate myself would be to prove my husband’s abuse and shady business dealings, but I knew that was impossible. He had too many connections — too many people in his pocket. It would’ve been a classic case of he-said/she-said, and I knew I would lose.

When Bane and I had set off on our hike that morning, I’d wondered when the real pain would hit me — wondered if I was still in shock. As I curled up on the floor and the first sobbing wail ripped from my lips, I realized there was a lot I’d been holding back, even if I hadn’t known it, and the dam was finally breaking.

I wasn’t sure how long I’d been on the kitchen floor when I heard the click of a Bane’s bedroom door, followed by his approaching footsteps. It could have been ten minutes, or it could’ve been hours, but I’d cried enough to dry out my eyes, and give myself a migraine. Even if I had things I needed to say to him at that moment, I no longer had the energy.

“Little Red.” Crouching beside me, his fingers brushed the hair away from my face. “Are you okay? What can I do to help you? Just tell me how to make this better.”

Shrugging, I closed my eyes as another tear slid down my cheek, my body numb.

Falling back on his heels, he looked toward the stove and then back at me. “Let me get this food put away, so it doesn’t go bad after you’ve worked so hard on it, and then I’ll get you to bed. Does that sound okay?”

All I could do was nod. I hated feeling so needy, but at that moment, I just really wanted someone to take care of me. Aside from Bane, I couldn’t remember the last man who had – and that was saying something about my life.

Moving methodically around the kitchen, he placed the food I’d made into sealed containers, sneaking a few bites along the way. He offered some to me as well, but my appetite had left the moment I’d seen Joshua’s face on the screen, painting me as a villain.

Once everything was in the refrigerator and the dishes were soaking in the sink, Bane returned to where I was still lying on the floor.

Crouching in front of me, he scooped me up into his arms like I weighed no more than a child and carried me to my bedroom, setting me down on the bed.

When he turned to walk away from me, I panicked and grabbed his hand. “Stay with me. Please.”

I’d never held his hand before, aside from that first night when I’d touched his tattoos, and I wasn’t sure what had made me do it, but it seemed to catch him just as off guard as it had me.

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