Page 54 of Cruel Master

I nodded. “Yeah, we actually just got away from a kidnapping attempt at the motel I was having him hide out at while I was…” I didn’t want to mention Gaven. “…indisposed.”

Scarlett’s lips twitched at the last word, but she didn’t press for more information. She knew a little bit about the husband I’d left behind and how we’d come together, but she couldn’t know that I was indisposed because he’d found me and held me captive for several days.

“Okay, so you want to protect this guy and make him disappear with his work?” Hadrian asked.

“Yeah, that’s what I’d like to do,” I said. Though, if I were to ask Ron, I knew he would want to go public with what he knew. He mistakenly thought that if the public knew of his invention and what it would do for the good of mankind, he would be protected. I wish he were right, but I knew better. The media was nothing if not a tool for corporations to use at their will. They’d label him as a crazy idealist and he might be protected for as long as he was in the public eye—but eventually, the public would forget, the world would move on, and he’d be snuffed out in the shadows.

I’d seen it happen a time or two in the last few years and I hated the thought of him being yet another casualty of that corporate greed. If I were honest with myself, I knew that a part of the reason I wanted my life back was because I wanted the allies and power that came with it. If I had more than just myself, I could have protected Ron much better.

“So, a new identity then,” Hadrian said as he turned away and went back to his seat in front of the wall of computer screens. “That’s easy enough to do.”

“More than that,” I said, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. If all he needed was a new identity, I could’ve done that myself. “He’s going to want to leave his work somewhere. He wants it out there in the world, and before I make him disappear, I want to help him get it there.”

Hadrian’s hands froze over the keyboard and he looked back at me incredulously. “You want to actually help him go up against the medical corporations? That’s fucking insane.”

Scarlett tapped one long, manicured finger against her chin. “Is it really that crazy?” she asked.

Hadrian’s gaze snapped to her and he lifted a finger, pointing it her way. “No,” he practically growled. “You are not considering this. She’ll be a target; if you help her, so will you. I will not have you painting a big fat target on your gorgeous ass, baby. If you want red on you, I’ll spank you. Otherwise, stay out of it.”

I blinked at the carnal words but didn’t have a chance to step in or say anything as Scarlett rounded on him. “She’s my friend, Hadrian,” she snapped. “She asked me for help—not you.”

“The answer is still the same,” he replied. “It’s a flat fucking no. If you think you can fight me on this, you know you’ll be outnumbered. Shall I call Wolf right now?”

Scarlett snarled at her husband. “Just because your ring is on my finger and your collar is on my neck,” she said, reaching up to touch the light gold necklace encircling her throat. “Doesn’t mean you can control every aspect of my life, Hadrian.”

Hadrian arched one dark brow. “Want to make that a bet, baby?”

The two of them were at a stand-off, but my ears were ringing with the words that had come out of their mouths. Collars and spankings. Were they … no, they couldn’t be. I shook my head and dismissed it. Even if they were in a similar relationship to the one I shared with Gaven, it didn’t mean anything to me or pertain to the matter at hand.

I moved closer to the two of them, capturing their attention as I began to speak. “I don’t want anyone else to get a target painted on their backs,” I said. They both swung their heads my way. Hadrian narrowed his gaze. “What I need help with is coming up with a plan—to not only protect my client but to deliver his formula to the right hands so that it can’t be covered up no matter what the corporation and the media try to do.”

Hadrian cursed. “That’s a tall fucking order,” he said, biting the words out through clenched teeth. He shut his eyes and leaned back into the chair, his hands white-knuckling the armrests. I could practically see the steam pouring from his forehead and his ears.

“But you’ll help?” Scarlett asked.

Tense silence met that question. After a beat, she circled the tables and returned to his side. Her hand touched the top of his head and then she ran her fingers down into his hair, stroking the short strands back as he opened his eyes and met her gaze above his.

“Please?” she asked again. “She’s my friend. You know I don’t have many of those.”

I waited with bated breath to see what Hadrian would decide. If he turned me down, I’d have to think of something else, and honestly, I wasn’t even quite sure if I could protect and hide Ron—not with Gaven on my heels.

Hadrian's arms lifted from the armrests and wrapped around Scarlett’s slender frame, pulling her between his legs as he pushed away from the desk to give her room.

“You have me,” I heard him say, his voice muffled against her stomach as he pressed his face into her. “And Wolf and our daughter.”

She continued to soothe him, running her hands through his hair and somehow, I felt like this was a scene I shouldn’t be privy to. This was a private moment between them, and watching it made me feel more of a pervert than anything Gaven had ever done to me. Turning away helped, but not by much because I could still hear them.

“I know,” Scarlett said, “but you aren’t friends—the three of you are family. Please, Hadrian. Please help me help her.”

My chest clenched. It was clear just by listening to their conversation that they truly loved and cared for each other. They were what Scarlett said they were—family. I didn’t have a family. Not anymore. Jackie was a problem, not a sister. She was a blackmailer and a traitor. And Gaven … well, I’d run from him too many times for him to see me as little more than a liability. He still wanted me, but likely only because he wanted answers and his shot at the Price Empire.

It made me a sucker of a woman, but once my sister was dealt with I would give it to him. I wanted what Scarlett and Hadrian obviously had. Trust. Caring.Love. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever get it—or if Gaven could be the one to give it to me—but we were already married. So, I had to at least try.

“Fine.” Hadrian’s begrudging response had me spinning back to face them.

“You’ll help?” I clarified.

Hadrian leaned around Scarlett and glared my way. “Yes,” he replied. “But I want your fucking guy up here. He shouldn’t be out in the street, waiting in the car.”

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