Page 11 of Saving Scarlett

After we stopped at a rest area to use the restroom, where Bane waited right outside the women’s entrance while I was inside, we continued our journey in relative silence. It had surprised me when he told me about his sister and young niece, but it was also clear he didn’t wish to talk about them. I got it. Although I wasn’t a threat to them, I appreciated his need to keep them safe. He wasn’t comfortable talking about his family and I didn’t want to talk about my husband, so eventually I fell asleep. When I woke up again, it was to the sound of the car door opening.

Rubbing my eyes, I twisted my head, trying to ease the pinch in my neck from how I’d been sleeping. Bane stood beside the car, putting gas in it as he scanned the empty parking lot. I assumed he was worried we’d been followed, but I didn’t ask. I had no idea where we were. The air outside was cooler, and the landscape, at least from what I could see, was no longer flat. One thing was for sure, we were nowhere near Louisiana.

When the gas pump clicked that it was finished, he poked his head back into the car, his light eyes nearly glowing in the fluorescent light. “Do you need to use the restroom or anything?”

I stretched, giving into my body’s need to yawn. “How much longer do we have to go?”

Reaching into the car, he looked at his cellphone. “About forty-five minutes.”

Outside my window, the sun was just beginning to rise above the horizon, highlighting the deep blue with oranges and pinks. “I could use some coffee, but I can wait until we get there.”

By the look of the shadows under his eyes, it was clear he needed coffee and sleep, but I didn’t say it out loud.

As we continued on in silence, I thought about my options. I knew I needed to stay away from Joshua, but that didn’t mean I had to stay with the assassin who’d been hired to kill me either. I had no cash or identification, but if I could get away, I was sure there would be somewhere I could go to hide, somewhere I could have more control over my life. With Bane, I was completely at his mercy. So far, he’d been kind to me, but I didn’t know if it was real, or if it would change. I didn’t want to chance him turning on me or deciding I was more trouble than I was worth. The thought crushed something inside my chest, but I knew it was a possibility.

We got off the interstate again shortly after our pitstop in a town I’d never been to before. There were no businesses or homes near the exit, just mountains, trees, and more trees. It was a beautiful area, but completely rural.

“Are you taking me to the boonies?” I asked, humor in my tone. “Please tell me I won’t have to use a porta-potty where we’re going.”

Letting out a chuckle, he turned a side eye to me. “The cabin is definitely in the sticks, but there is running water and basic amenities. I needed to keep you off the radar and I had just the place to do it. You’ll be comfortable there.”

By the time we pulled off the main road and onto a long rock-covered driveway, the sun had risen, sending streaks of light through the trees. We winded around the curvy path and then a small wooden cottage came into view. The structure was nestled among a cluster of tall pine trees, with a large porch and a brick chimney rising from the roof. The wood of the cottage had been weathered by time, the gray paint chipped and faded. There were a few other structures tucked away in the trees, one of which looked like a barn.

“Is this your place?”

The remoteness of the property made my chest tighten, anxiety of the unknown filling me with nervousness. I’d seen enough horror movies to make me imagine every scenario as I thought about sleeping in such a place.

Bypassing the driveway that led to the front of the house, Bane pulled around to the back, putting the car into park before turning in his seat to look at me. “Technically, yes, it is. It’s a good place to escape to when you need to disappear for a while.”

Although the outside of the cottage looked abandoned, the inside was cozy. It wasn’t large, just a basic two-bedroom home with two bathrooms. However, the living area and kitchen were one open space, and the stone fireplace was a beautiful eye-catching feature.

While Bane unloaded the car, he insisted I sit on the sofa and rest. The injuries to my leg and arm ached, but not enough for me to listen. I stayed inside the cottage, but I unpacked everything as he brought it in, specifically the food items he’d boxed up. Surprisingly, the cabinets and freezer were already full.

The bedrooms were equal sized but one of them was clearly for Bane, since the closet was already filled with clothes, most of them black. When I’d picked on him for his lack of color before, I’d been borderline joking, but the moment I opened the closet in the cottage, I realized he was definitely obsessed with black everything. He didn’t seem goth otherwise, but on my next visit to a store, I fully intended to buy him some black eyeliner. With his dark hair and bright eyes, I imagined it would actually make him sexier.

Ignoring all the thoughts about my assassin with a smoky eye, I grabbed the bag containing the items his sister bought for me and disappeared into the room that would be mine.

For a moment, I sat on the bed, smoothing my hands across the plush white comforter. The cottage walls were a sand color, but there were wooden beams accenting the walls and ceiling, giving it a rustic feel. The room itself was minimally furnished, with a queen bed, a dresser, and a five-shelf bookcase that was filled with books—mostly classics like 1984 and a collection of Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories.

I stood, pulling a dusty copy of Fahrenheit 451 off the shelf and flipping through the worn pages. While I was there, I hoped to have time to read some of the books I’d yet to devour.

“Are you hungry?”

So, caught up in looking through the book collection, Bane’s voice startled me. When I turned my head toward him, he was leaning against the doorframe, his hoodie abandoned. The short-sleeved black shirt fit his toned body like a glove.

“Is there coffee?”

He nodded, and as though on cue, the smell of coffee wafted through the air, luring me to follow behind the mysterious man in black when he turned and sauntered toward the kitchen.

“What’s for breakfast?” I asked, watching the flex of his muscles from behind, realizing how inappropriate it was but not caring enough to stop.

Beating me to the coffee maker, he poured some in a surprisingly colorful mug and handed it to me before turning back to the stove. “I’m just throwing together an omelet. We’ll eventually have to get more perishable food from the market,” he said, cracking eggs into an already sizzling pan. “The creamer is in the refrigerator and the sugar is in the cabinet above the coffee maker. Help yourself.”

After I fixed my coffee just the way I liked it and set it on the small table, I poured another mug for him and set it beside where he was working. I sat at the table while I waited for the food to be ready, not wanting to get in his way. It was odd to see him act so domesticated. Not much for words, Bane’s actions said what his mouth didn’t. He may have been a contract killer, but at the end of the day, he was just a regular guy. With the money he made taking lives, he had a family he loved and took care of, and a house he lived in and cooked in, just like everyone else. Well…not like everyone else, but it was what I had to tell myself so I didn’t think about the stuff that would keep me up at night.

Chapter 12

The Savior

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