Page 16 of Torment

Learning that she’d inherited what he could only assume was a shit load of money and assets, and that because of said money and assets her life was in danger from a man who had already taken so much from her, was a lot of shit for Scarlet to process.

How much more hurt did this woman still have to endure? How much more before she finally broke into tiny pieces that would never be able to get put back together again?

After walking down a long hall with nothing but a few pictures on the walls and bright lights hanging from the ceiling, Riggs stopped in front of a door.

“This is her room.” He glared at Hunter. “Your room is further down the hall, to the left.”

“Like hell it is. If this is where she’ll be staying, it’s where I’m staying.”

Just as Hunter was about to reach for the door, Riggs stepped in front of him. “I assure you that she won’t be safer anywhere else than right here. There’s no need to share rooms.”

Hunter leaned his face closer to Riggs. “And I assure you that if you don’t move out of my way right now, I will punch you in the face.”

There they were, like two alpha males glaring at each other while imagining who would rip off whose head first. But Riggs could be sure that when it came to the woman currently glued to Hunter’s side, he would rip, tear, claw, destroy, and fucking incinerate if it meant keeping her safe. He’d made her a promise, and intended to keep it—even if it killed him.

“Hunter, stop being such a guy. I need a shower.” Scarlet tried to pull away from his side, but he tightened his hold around her, making it impossible for her to move. And then he tightened his hold some more, probably making it almost impossible for her to breathe—which was okay. Her breathing easily was not as important as him keeping her as close as fucking possible. Did that make him a little insane? Probably.

Did he care? Nope.

Hunter slanted his head to the side while keeping his eyes glued to Riggs’s face. “You heard the woman. Now if you’ll excuse us.”

With that he reached for the doorknob and pushed Riggs to the side as he walked into the room. He turned around, shot Riggs a smug grin, then slammed the door shut in his face.

Fucking dildo.

“You should lay off Riggs.” Scarlet pulled away from him, and this time he let her.

“I don’t like him.”

“I don’t think he cares.”

“Well, if he values his life, or those white polished teeth of his, he would.” Hunter walked around the room, inspecting it. Judging by the beige sheets, brown furniture, and brown paneling on the walls, earthy and boring was definitely the theme they were going for.

He walked over the plush white carpet in front of the bed and started looking through every drawer and every cabinet.

“What are you doing?”

Hunter closed the drawer of the bedside table. “Looking for bugs.”

“Excuse me?”

“You can’t be too careful. Especially now that we know what kind of setup they have going here.” He lay flat on his back and checked under the bed, and only when he was sure it was clear did he get up.

Glancing at Scarlet, he saw her frowning at him. “What?”

She shook her head. “Nothing. I’m going to take a shower.”

“Scarlet?”

She paused, but didn’t turn around.

“We’re going to need to talk.”

“Maybe we don’t,” she replied softly.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing, Ace. Nothing.” And then she walked away, into the en-suite bathroom, closing the door behind her—shutting him out.

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