Page 25 of Coming Home

I knew Scarlett was special the moment I laid my eyes on her on that plane. But shit, having lived the past 12 months like she has, I now come to realize that my Princess is a fucking warrior. Not only is she the sexiest damn woman I have ever seen, the smartest woman I have come across in my professional life—after spotting that issue with our business deal—and if that isn’t enough, I love her flirty confident behavior when she is around me. Add to that list that she is a minx in the bedroom, and I have found my ideal woman.

But today, I hear all about her losing her family and what she has been through, and this woman now owns me hook, line, and sinker. She is strong, capable, resilient, tough, and now at the end of the day, I can tell she is still hesitant to let anyone help her. Her pride at trying to fix what she believes is her own situation cuts me, but I can see her letting me in, inch by inch. If I thought Scarlett piqued my interest before, I am now all in. I would do anything for this woman, and I am going to start by getting her safe. I am never letting her go. I realize then that I don’t want anyone else, she is it for me.

Here I am. Boston’s richest and most eligible bachelor who never wanted a woman for more than one night, and I am now totally and utterly in love. In love. Done. I’m finished. The end.

Romeo takes notes during the conversation, asking some questions throughout that clearly help him paint a picture of who we are trying to trace. I have learned that Foster isn’t her real surname, it is in fact Sullivan, which is why when Romeo did his search, we couldn’t find anything on her. I understand why she changed her name, but it is a shame that she not only lost her family but lost her family name too.

Thinking through things this afternoon, I have to say that there is something niggling at me. There wouldn’t be too many people that knew Scarlett was in this building and meeting with me. The fact that she got that phone call so soon after highlighting the issues with the business deal, which clearly implicates old man Ray in some seriously shady stuff, makes me think that we could be dealing with a threat that is close to home. I don’t want to air my thoughts in front of Scarlett, given that I have no proof and just a gut feeling. I don’t want to stress her and Stephen any more than they are right now. But I gaze to my brother, and I get a feeling that he is already drawing similar conclusions to me.

As Romeo finishes up and tells us he will work through the night contacting both US and Australian authorities, I see Scarlett relieved that we have someone on the case. I walk Romeo out just after 8pm, and as we get close to the lift, I quietly tell him my thoughts that perhaps Ray might be involved in this somehow. Raising his eyebrows in surprise, he nods his head, and whispers, “Onto it. I will report back in the morning.” Then steps in the lift and leaves us for the evening.

I head back to my office and notice Stephen and Scarlett grabbing their things. “Scarlett, I think you should stay with me tonight, I really don’t want you to be out of my sight before we get a handle on this situation.”

Before she can answer, Stephen pipes up, “She is coming home with me and will be safe and secure in the house. We have full security, and I have doubled the security around the house this afternoon. Both my parents are out of town, so I think it is better that she stays where she feels comfortable and where they know she always is, and we don’t want you to get targeted too. I will go out and wait for you at the lift, Scarlett, the car is downstairs and waiting for us. Thanks for everything, Shaun, we will talk more in the morning,” he says, not waiting for me to reply he stalks out the door, not giving me the opportunity to plead my case further.

I’m frustrated. But I look at Scarlett, and she looks at me. I can see that she is exhausted, the fight is slowly leaving her, and I just want to wrap her up and take her home. “Come home with me, Princess, I can’t be away from you knowing that I can’t protect you.” I grab her waist, pulling her to me, and I lean in to kiss her like it is that last time I will ever have a chance to do it. I try not to think about if that is actually going to be the case.

Breathless, she pulls away and puts her hand on my cheek. Looking straight into my eyes, she takes a deep breath. “I have waited my whole life to meet a man like you.” With another quick kiss, she squeezes my hand. “I will see you tomorrow.” She walks out of my office, down the hall, and into the waiting lift with Stephen.

Resigned to the fact that my girl is independent and at least for tonight she is going to be well protected by her cousin, I sit back in my chair and look to Marco as he passes me another glass of whiskey. We sit in welcome silence for a moment while I collect my thoughts.

“Whatever happens, Shaun, I am with you 100 percent. I can see that Scarlett means a lot to you. Fuck, I have never even seen you hold a women like you held her today. If she means a lot to you then she means a lot to me, and I will support you in any way I can through this.”

I nod to Marco. “I appreciate it, let’s get out of here. I have a feeling it is going to be a long night.”

I pack up my things and walk to the elevator, enjoying the peacefulness of the office now that the staff have long gone home. My driver has the car waiting for me at the curb, and I sink in the backseat ready to go home. The events of today repeat over and over in my head. I am still frustrated, trying to pull all the puzzle pieces together to figure out this situation.

Once home, I go straight to my bathroom and take a long hot shower, trying to think about who would want Scarlett dead and why. I keep coming back to the same conclusion. Has she found other issues with old man Ray's work? Has she picked up on things in other deals he has done? Whoever is after her, they clearly want her dead and are taking it very seriously, tracking her movements from Australia to Boston. As I step out of the shower and get changed, my body is exhausted but my mind races. The more I think about it, the more I feel my gut instinct about Ray being involved is right.

I lie on my bed, thinking through what I know about the man. He and my father never got along, but I never fully understood why. It was just something I knew of but didn’t really know the details of. I don’t sleep. I can’t sleep. My clock says it is 3am, and I have been tossing and turning for a few hours now. As I lie there and look at the ceiling, my phone pings.

Scarlett: I can’t sleep

I dial her number, and she answers quickly.

“Hi,” she says, sounding wide awake.

“How are you feeling? Are you okay?” I ask quickly. I have been wanting to know if she is all right all night.

She lets out a sigh, “I’m okay. But I’m scared, Shaun, like really scared. I have never spoken to them before, and I really thought it was over, I would have never come here to Boston had I known. I would never have gotten involved with you had I known. Hearing the person on the phone, I will never forget his voice…” she trails off, lost in her own thoughts.

All I want to do at this moment is jump through the phone and grab her. Keep her close to me and never let her go. I have never felt as powerless as I do right now, not being able to be with her or near her.

“It will be okay, Princess, I promise you. I am not going to let anything happen to you, and I will spend all my time and all my money to make sure of it. I am not going anywhere and neither are you.”

We continue to talk through most of the next two hours. I hear her getting sleepy, and I tell her to go and get some sleep then hang up, struggling to break the connection we have but knowing she needs her rest.

Just as I put the phone down, it rings again. It is Romeo.

“I got something; I think I have found a trail.”

“Get here now,” I bark at him. I hang up the phone and jump out of bed, heading back to the shower to wake myself up. I am ready to take on this fight. I am determined to get this finished.

I have found my Princess, and now I plan to keep her. No one is standing in my way.

32

Scarlett

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