Page 40 of A Twisted Arrangement

“So what the hell happened?” Damon collapses in the chair across from me. He’s wearing the expression every older brother seems to have mastered that clearly statesspit it out, or I’ll kick your ass.

“One of her exes showed up and started pressuring her. When I’d looked into him before, he’d been after her spot in the Order. I should’ve killed him then.”

“What the actual fuck.” Bash smacks both hands on the back of the sofa, swaying a little with the motion. “Can’t you close that loop, Damon?”

Our eldest brother shakes his head. “The Laurent position will stay open so long as Scarlet’s not married.”

I rake both hands in my hair and pull at the ends until my scalp aches. “Which makes her the perfect target for assholes looking to join the Order.”

Bash looks between us. “Let’s say they manage to get someone to marry her. We’d just make her a widow, right?”

I stand from my seat, rage building a fire in my gut. “You really think that would go down nicely? That they wouldn’t hurt her to get what they want.”

Xander steps between us. “Honest question. Why don’t you just marry her? It’ll null and void everything. When you have a kid, they’ll take that position.”

“I plan on it.” I roll my neck, taking a deep breath. It’s brutal sticking to my plan. With every day, I’m closer and closer to saying screw it.

“I just need to keep her safe for two more fucking days.”

Chapter 21

Scarlet

It’s8:00 p.m. by the time I shut down my work computer. I can tell myself I was just trying to get some extra work done, but I know that’s a bold-faced lie.

My run-in with my ex shook me up. Between him and Liam, that’s two men in the last week who decided to take their shot at my family’s spot in the Order of Saints.

I can’t be positive that was Jeremy’s intention, but considering I’d previously gone on one date with him, I feel comfortable making that assumption. What was his plan anyway? It’s not like I would go with him freely. There’s always the chance he planned on killing me. Definitely the messier route in all ways. First because of the actual pain of hiding my murder, and second, because it’s not a sure way to get my spot. It just opens it for everyone.

Which makes me think he was going to try to force me to marry him.

A tiny part of me wishes Oliver had gotten there a few seconds later, just so I could’ve seen Jeremy’s snot-covered face as I soaked him with pepper spray. From that distance, he’d be crying for a week.

The other part of me knows that underneath my pride, I’m barely holding it together. I put on the brave mask I’ve worn my whole life and pushed through it, but it’s not real. If there was anyone close to me, they’d see I’m fraying at the seams. It’s like every day, another string gets pulled, unraveling my life, and I’ve been left scrambling to grasp the pieces.

Being alone is something I’m used to. It’s as much of a survival instinct as it is a habit, but there are times like tonight that I wish I had someone. Someone who knows that I’m really not as fine as I’m pretending to be.

Deep brown eyes with gold-rimmed pupils flash in my mind, and I push down the thought.

Oliver: Rides here.

I grab my coat from the back of my office chair and lock the door behind me. All I want is to get home, take a bath, and pass out. That’s not too much for a girl to ask for, right?

Maybe I’ll have Oliver take me to a drive-through. I think the chaos of today calls for something extra greasy.

I approach the exit door, swiping my pass to open it, and I’m met with the rushing sound of rain, so thick I can barely make out the outline of a car parked a few feet away. I step out under the small overhang, and a wet chill seeps into my bones, causing my entire body to shiver.

I knew it was raining, but at some point between leaving my office and arriving down here, it’s gone from a drizzle to a monsoon. I close my eyes, tipping my head back, and tighten my grip on my jacket. No part of me wants to wait it out, which means I’m going to have to make a run for it.

I trail my fingers through the curtain of water in front of me, its weight pushing my hand down. This is going to suck. I secure my purse over my shoulder, give myself a pep talk, and push offmy heels, but instead of being drenched, I slam head-first into what feels like an immovable wall.

“I’ve been waiting for you, Little Sparrow.” Matthias’s low, gravelly voice tickles my ear, his mouth so close it brushes the skin. A shiver rolls through me that has nothing to do with the cold, damp air. He’s so warm I can’t stop myself from curling into him, all rational thought disappearing as he wraps one arm around my back, pulling me closer.

We’re standing under a giant black umbrella, rain droplets tumbling down the sides, blocking out the noise around us and encircling us in our own private space.

The wall I’d painstakingly built around myself today crumbles brick by brick as his warm breath puffs out against my neck. I don’t want to speak; I don’t want to break whatever small truce we have right now, where I can pretend he’s just a normal guy I like and we don’t have a decade’s worth of history.

I stiffen. Maybe for him, we don’t. Maybe the time we spent in my family’s castle meant nothing to him, when those small moments of peace meant absolutely everything to me.

---