Page 50 of Scarlett Thief (Criminal Underground 2)

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Hadrian

The slam of the door echoed in the hollow silence of the flat. Wolf’s jaw tensed and he looked over at me, his expression echoing mine. Cold, hard, deadly. We had guessed there was more—something darker—to Scarlett’s past, but there was more than we originally thought and I had more questions. Wolf sighed, striding away from where he’d stopped when Scarlett scurried back to take a seat across from me.

“So,” I started, “I suppose now we understand why she pushed so hard at the club.”

“At least the basics of it, yeah. There’s more though, but I doubt she’ll be willing to tell us about it any time soon.” Wolf slouched back against the cushions, his finger tapping rhythmically on the arm of the chair as he stared past me and toward the window.

“That’s even if she sticks around,” I said, voicing the biggest obstacle we were currently facing when it came to the three of us as a team. “With the guilt she’s probably dealing with from tonight—”

“She’s going to run as soon as she gets a chance,” Wolf finished for me. “As soon as this job is over probably.” His frown grew which told me one thing—he was as deep in this as I was. He didn’t like that statement and neither did I.

Tonight had been a shit show. If I was honest with myself, I knew I would have been pissed if it’d been anyone else. Any other job—blackmailed or not—I would have been furious, but this wasn’t just another job or another team.

“Did you see it?” Wolf murmured, cutting into my thoughts.

“What?” I looked back to the serious expression on his face. “The fear?”

He nodded, and I felt my stomach turn. Scarlett was a confident woman—it was clear she took pride in her talents. It had been made clear in the way she’d played me on our surveillance. To see bone deep fear in her eyes, to see her step farther away from Wolf when he approached, it meant we were right. Jaxson was more than an old boss; he was an old flame—one that used the control and power he wielded over her like a bludgeon. I wasn’t much of a hands-on operative, but it made me want to strangle the bastard myself. Jaxson wasn’t just a threat to this job, he was a threat to Scarlett, and I didn’t like that at fucking all.

She was so caught up tonight—in him and in her past—that she’d fucked up a job, and it was clear she hated herself for that vulnerability. It made me want to wrap her up and hold her close and show her how it didn’t have to be that way. She didn’t have to submit to a man that would abuse that authority. She could submit to us and find that place I knew she desired—that place she was chasing. A safe place in her own head where she wasn’t just a thief anymore, she wasn’t a con princess or a criminal. She was just … Scarlett.

“She needs this,” I finally spoke after a long pause. “This … us … what we can give her,” I outlined when Wolf’s brows knitted together.

“You think she’ll give in to that tonight?” he challenged.

“She needs an outlet.” I shifted forward so I could brace my forearms on my thighs. My gaze never left his. He may have been the hard, typical Dom of a D/s relationship, but he wasn’t the only one here. “A place to let her emotions out. A safe place. We can give that to her. Not only is this shit unhea—”

“What shit?” Wolf cut me off.

“Repressing everything, including her submissive sexual desires. It’s not healthy and probably why she got taken advantage of by that piece of shit. Narcissists and abusers prey on those who crave that. We need to show her that it’s okay to want to be taken care of.”

“I want to push her tonight,” I admitted after a slight pause. “It’s the best chance to get her to trust us. Show her not all men are like that bastard. We can’t let her run away, not from us. Not only are we a ticking time bomb to get this fucking diamond before Mr. Black decides to fuck the three of us over, we now have to worry about Jaxson. The thought of him breathing down her neck without some sort of backup is no doubt going to be difficult for her to work.” With how shaken up she was, that was apparent to both of us. “I plan on getting searches going, reaching out to some of my contacts.”

“For the diamond or on Jaxson?”

“I’m sure you already know the answer to that.”

“Both then. That works for me. We need to be prepared from all potentials going forward but honestly, my main focus right now is—”

“Scarlett?” I guessed. I smirked when he glared at me for interrupting him. Hypocrite. “Mine too. So, is it agreed then? We push tonight?”

“Yeah … yeah, it’s agreed,” Wolf whispered, his hand rubbing his jaw absently. “How do you suggest we go about that?”

“You’re the … more growly of the two of us, the one she’s used to taking charge in shit like this. I’ll get the room ready while you go in and talk to her. Take your time, soften her up. Okay?”

“Since when do I take orders from you?” he snapped, but I just continued to stare and finally he shook his head and grinned. “Fine, ya bossy bastard. And I will take my time, thank you very much.”

“I have no doubt,” I murmured, cocking an eyebrow as he looked back at me. I wasn’t an idiot; I knew what he would be doing in that shower and I found myself more than willing to wait for my time.

As soon as he walked into the room, I got to work. I knew it would take a while for my searches to run, and with our limited time before the Prince and his wife left the country, we needed as much information as possible.The sooner the better, I thought, pulling up new windows and typing in everything necessary to get it up and going. My eyes trailed across the screen to the minimized window of my original searches from when we got back to the hotel.

Wolf was right when he mentioned searching for Jaxson; I had started the moment we returned. Whoever the bastard was, whatever he’d done to Scarlett or anyone else, I wanted to know about it. Unfortunately though, the elapsed time hadn’t been long enough for it to find anything.

Grinding my teeth, I forced myself to be patient and got up from the computer as soon as everything was running smoothly. I had the perfect distraction waiting for me, but not before I had everything prepared for her. There was muffled talking mixed with the sound of the shower, but I couldn’t quite make out the quiet exchange.

Ever since our trip to the club and the bet we’d made, I’d been aching to have Scarlett the way I wanted. In preparation to hopefully have that chance, I’d taken a couple of hours to pick up a few toys and things I felt might come in handy. Unzipping my bag and digging around, I pulled the items from their hiding place among my clothing and electronics.

Lube. Crop. Handcuffs. All of the objects lined up for easy access, the final toy still clutched in my hand. A vampire glove. The material was soft and fuzzy, but along the fingers in the fluffy material were little needles used to scratch and sensitize. I could almost picture how Scarlett’s skin would turn pink under the toys, how she’d react to the contrasting sensations of the glove as I ran a hand over her legs, chest, and back. Just the thought of it was making me hard and now that it was all set and ready for our night, I chucked my shirt off and into my luggage before making my way over to the bathroom.

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