Page 31 of Vermilion Desire

“Hands off, Wolf. Just because we’re partners doesn’t mean you can get touchy with my daughter.” Cal rasps his knuckles on the kitchen table.

I scowl at him and his parental instinct even if she isn’t biologically his, but I admire him and his determination when I challenge him with a glare.

We have been partners for years, so it’s not surprising to know that I don’t intimidate him anymore.

“I know how to convict Braxton without the rest of the trial.”

Cal jolts, rattling the chair as he leans forward. I accidentally pinch her cheek with my grip, and she whines in pain. Letting go, I find her hand again while her other one strokes her pink cheek.

“How?” Cal and I demand with one voice.

“I have been testing out something in the lab, and because Braxton is a shareholder in the facility too so it wouldn’t be too hard for him to get that information too.” She nods, a face full of nonchalant and calm contentment.

“Then, we have to get to the district attorney right now!” Cal exclaims, shooting up from his seat.

“I have a lot of things going on in my workspace. Braxton doesn’t know what to look for because he doesn’t know what I know.” Scarletta laughs.

As if her mental breakdown hadn’t happened yesterday, she returns to that curious and manipulative little red. Nevertheless, she had learned her lesson, and she doesn’t do anything without my permission now.

I can guarantee it.

“Uncle Cal, you’re aiming for Captain,” she states. “The less you know, the better it is for you.”

“What—” he sputters, indignant noises spitting out of his mouth.

“Mr. Wolf, though, he can know so he can protect me.” She spins to look at me, and I give her a nod of approval.

“Cal, I got her. Focus on your captain training; I don’t want anything to happen to your chance of passing.” I’m doing this for both of them.

Cal’s years of hard work can be easily run down the drain with one wrong move, and I can protect Scarletta when she tells me everything.

Just about his mouth want to spill out more protest, his phone rings, and he answers it with an agitated sigh. He coughs and hurriedly ends the call with a hand messing up his hair.

“Alright, but keep her out of trouble. We know how sly that Berkshire bastard is.” He groans, shutting his eyes for a moment. “I have to go. Captain training schedule had been changed.”

Scarletta gives him a thumbs-up as encouragement while I just nod at him. I leave her in the kitchen to lock the door after Cal. The streets are busy as hell since traffic always fucks with my mood during these hours.

Returning to the kitchen, I find her with the corner of my eyes. She swings her short legs on the couch, and I close the distance between us.

Scarletta jumps from the couch, spewing out nonsense. “I’m going to take a nap!”

Her back turns with her perky ass bouncing with her scurrying feet. She is not going to avoid this conversation that I want to have her with, not a damn chance.

I stalk her, making sure she knows that I’m cornering her like a predator darting after a prey. She looks over her shoulder and squeaks, picking up her pace and runs into the bedroom. Her mistake is not shutting the door as I make it there, but I do it for her as a way for symbolically destroying her escape route with a lock on the door.

“Don’t think about going without me,” I warn her.

She innocently gazes at me, and it’s working; my resolve is breaking when she crawls to the edge of the bed with doe-eyes.

“What if he’s hiding something because you’re there?” she wonders, breath shallow and soft.

“I don’t care. You’re not going by yourself.” I run my fingers through her hair, yanking her head back and forcing her little mouth to open.

“Can I convince you?” she tries.

I raise an eyebrow at her offer, but I have had everything possible thrown at me for bribery, and I have not once been swayed. Scarletta, on the other hand, is a weapon that can cripple me with one look.

She paws at my thigh, pulling me on the bed, and my heart skips a beat at the implication. How could I ever resist the woman who haunts me in my dreams with scandalous dresses and a sinful body?

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