Page 8 of Saving Scarlett

“I know your husband thinks he’s the smartest guy in the room, and that his connections make him seem untouchable, but I am steps ahead of him.”

The one thing I knew I had working for me was anonymity. Although I’d met her husband in the darkened corner of a hole-in-the-wall bar, I didn’t think he could pick me out of a lineup. Not to mention, there was no way he would be able to point the finger at me, even if he did know my real name, without also implicating himself. I didn’t know what his endgame was, but I had a feeling he was hoping her body would wash up on the banks of the Mississippi. In his mind, our deal was still on, and he was just waiting for me to follow through. Little did he know, my plans had changed.

As I sorted through the thoughts in my head, Scarlett sat quietly on the chair, her eyes scanning the room as her fingers played with the edges of the blanket. When I stood, intending to pour myself a glass of bourbon, she flinched, making me feel like utter shit. I may have been a killer, but I wasn’t a woman beater. Crossing the room to my liquor cabinet, I poured two glasses, handing one to her as I sat back down. It was better that she didn’t drink with pain medication in her system, but she needed a drink more than I did, and I hadn’t given her enough to make her sick.

Checking my phone again, I scanned through some of the files Phantom had sent my way—files that included the police report her husband had already filled out that morning. “Your husband doesn’t know my real identity, nor would he share it if he did. There’s no way he could point the finger at me for taking you without explaining how I knew who you were or how I’d gotten past your security system. We’ll stay put for the day so you can rest, and I can solidify our next move, but we will leave the city tonight. No matter your husband’s reach, he won’t be able to find you where we’re going.”

Chapter 7

The Survivor

Hearing my husband beg for my return was a shock to my senses, especially after what Bane had told me. Although I didn’t know my abductor much better than I knew any stranger on the street, I knew my husband, and he was every bit as capable of doing something as heinous as ordering my death. I may not have trusted Bane, but I trusted Joshua even less. Still, I was conflicted. Sure, I’d thought of running before, leaving everything behind and starting over somewhere new, but I didn’t want to lose everything I’d worked so hard for. I wanted to leave my marriage, but I didn’t want to leave my shop, or my friends and family. Already, I knew Ashley would be worried sick, but I also knew she would take care of my store like it was her own.

Sitting in the chair across from Bane, in what I assumed was his apartment, I waited for him to tell me his plans. It seemed, however, as though he didn’t have any. “I appreciate you choosing to, um…” Even as the words entered my mind, I shifted in my seat, unable to utter them out loud. “I appreciate you deciding to not kill me. I’m sure my husband was willing to pay you a hefty sum for it.”

The way he chuckled rubbed me the wrong way, not that anything about my predicament was soothing to my soul. “Most intelligent people would know better than to pay an assassin in full before the deed is even done. I won’t tell you what your life was worth, but it was worth a lot.”

The corner of his mouth lifted in a smirk, sending my stomach into a flutter. Something was clearly wrong with me, but I didn’t have the mental capacity to analyze it yet. “To be honest, I’m not sure if I want to know.”

Tossing back the rest of his bourbon, Bane stood, crossing the room to fill his glass. Mine still rested in my hand, no more than a sip missing. I couldn’t help but to watch him as he moved around the space. He was nothing more than a shadow, dressed in black pants and a black short sleeved shirt that fit snugly to his muscular body. The only light that came from him came from his sky-blue eyes. They were a stark contrast to his dark hair and fringe of dark lashes.

“We’ll need his money to keep you hidden until I can get close enough to him to take him out.”

I should have been anticipating he would go after Josh, but his admission still caught me by surprise. An ache burrowed deep in my chest at the thought of my husband being killed, but I knew he didn’t deserve to live. Still, no matter how evil he was, it was hard to think about him no longer existing in the world. “If my body never shows up, he will probably expect you to turn on him, if he doesn’t already.” I shifted in my seat again, anxiety and dread burning my chest. “Even if he dies, I just don’t see how I’ll ever be able to live a normal life again. Not in the city I was born and raised in.”

Lowering himself back onto the sofa, Bane took a deep sip of his drink before setting it down on the coffee table. “It’s certainly something to consider. I’m not concerned about his death coming back on you. You are innocent in this, and you will remain so. What I don’t yet know is if you can return to the city once he’s gone without going public about his abuse. It’s certainly believable that an abused wife would go into hiding out of fear for her safety, but if you came back to the city after he’s out of the picture, it could be perceived as too convenient. It would, however, make sense for you to leave and begin a new life elsewhere. We just must lay a trail for the police to find, revealing his illegal dealings enough to make it seem as though someone he’d screwed over got rid of him. A business transaction gone wrong… That’s what the evidence should reveal.”

As unsettled as I was, the concussion I’d suffered began to weigh down my eyelids the more we discussed plans to murder my husband. I wanted to stay awake, because sleeping only made me more vulnerable, but my body didn’t agree. The topic was heavy, the details so much more than my conscience could balance with my morality. Where I came from, murder was wrong, no matter what the person had done. What I was starting to realize the more time I spent with Bane, however, was that it wasn’t always a black-and-white issue. He may have been an assassin, but his decision to spare me, to take my safety on as his responsibility, told me that he had a code, even if it was something he would never admit.

Pulling the blanket tighter around my body, I stood, the wounds on my thigh stinging with the motion. Bane’s eyes tracked my movement, but he was silent until I’d nearly made it to the doorway of the bedroom. Before I disappeared back into the darkness, the sound of his footsteps drew my attention. When I looked over my shoulder, he was only a few steps away from me. It should have scared me to have him sneak up on me like that, but it didn’t. I may have had a shitty survival instinct, but I wasn’t afraid of him, although he was clearly a predator.

He stopped in front of the window, the sunlight lightening his eyes to near white as he peeked through the shades. “Get a few more hours of sleep. I’m going to get clothing for you brought here so you can get cleaned up before we leave and have everything you need. I want to leave the city by midnight.”

Chapter 8

The Savior

After Scarlett went back to bed, I laid back on the sofa and dialed Phantom’s number in my burner, but I didn’t hit send right away. The way she flinched when I mentioned killing her husband had not escaped my notice. It wouldn’t matter how she felt about it, because it was the only way to ensure her safety and freedom, but somehow I hoped she would have wanted it for herself. I hoped that in time she would, because I did not want to worry about her sharing my identity when she returned to her life and her conscience got the better of her. I didn’t want to be forced to take her life after giving it back to her to protect my own. However, she and I both knew I would if she did something so stupid. There were very few people who knew who I was, and what I did for a living, and I could count them on one hand. She may not have known my real name, but she knew my face. She’d seen my apartment. That was enough to make me uncomfortable. I didn’t regret my decision to save her, but I hoped I wouldn’t start to. Protecting my identity at all costs was something I was determined to do, even if my conscience had found its way to the surface with her. Risking exposure–or worse, getting caught–was not an option.

Instead of sending the call to Phantom, realizing our conversation would go on for a while, I called my sister first. Scarlett needed clothing and other essentials to leave with me but taking her to a store would have been too risky.

Although I knew it bothered her, Caroline knew not to ask about the woman who was with me, or why I couldn’t take her shopping for herself. In order to ensure her safety, my sister and I had an agreement that she would only know what she needed to know. I hated involving her at all, but she was the only person I trusted. She was the only solid person in my life—her and Evelyn.

If Scarlett hadn’t been with me, I would have made my way to the hospital to see Evie, but even without me stopping by, I knew my sister needed a break. Anyone would find it difficult to sit in a hospital day in and day out, let alone watch their sick child unconscious in the bed. It would be good for her to let off some steam by going shopping, so I gave her a list for Scarlett, and gave her extra money for herself as well. It didn’t matter if she grabbed a nice meal or got her nails done as long as she dropped everything off before nightfall. To be honest, I hoped she would treat herself. Caroline was worth every penny.

Once Caroline and I had finished our conversation, I called Phantom. Rather than a hello, my call was answered by him smacking on food and sucking loudly on a straw. The hacker may have been brilliant, but I was pretty sure he lived in his mother’s basement, spending most of his time in a pair of white briefs and nothing else. “Are you done yet?” I asked, annoyance clear in my tone.

Taking another deep sip, the straw squelched as the well ran dry. “My apologies, Boss. Every now and then, I’ve got to eat. It takes nourishment for my brain to grow this big.”

“The brain can’t get much nutrition from a greasy drive-through burger.” As though on cue, my stomach growled. Due to the events of the day, I couldn’t even remember when I had eaten last. As tired as I was, and with so many things to do, it hadn’t been my priority. “I’m chucking this phone today so make sure to answer when I call you from the new burner at midnight, maybe without slurping on a Big Gulp in my ear.”

The sound of a wrapper being crumpled and tossed into a trashcan preceded another slurp of his straw in an empty cup. “Noted. What happens at midnight?”

Even when he knew I wouldn’t disclose information, he never stopped asking. “It’s a need-to-know basis, Phantom, and you don’t need to know. Not yet, at least. Can you falsify dental records? Don’t release them anywhere yet, just create them.”

Before I finished the question, Phantom’s fingers were already moving on his keyboard, the keystrokes so much faster than seemed humanly possible. I was pretty sure the guy could hack in his sleep. “I thought you had something challenging for me.”

A chuckle escaped my lips. “That’s not all. Do we know what our wannabe Mob boss is doing behind the scenes at the moment?”

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