Page 24 of Coming Home

Scarlett

“Who’s found you, Princess?” Shaun looks at me concerned and with slight anger flashing in his eyes, his jaw is set, determined to ensure I am all right.

“FUCK!” Stephen yells, clearly frustrated at the turn of events this afternoon.

I am a shaking mess. I can’t even talk right now, my emotions are all over the place, and I can’t pull myself together.

“Let’s go to my office, get some privacy and you both can tell me what the fuck is going on,” Shaun says, clearly going into protective, strategist mode. He hasn’t let me go, and it feels good to have someone to lean on.

I gather my things, hands shaking. I can’t believe they found me. I thought it was over. I stupidly thought that moving across the world I could escape them, the past, and try and have a normal life. How did they know where I was? How did they know my phone number and the fact that I was with both Shaun and Stephen at this exact time? They must have been following me. The thought makes me shiver. I have been here, living a life that was more normal than I have in a year. I should have known it was all too good to be true. That it wasn’t over.

As I step into Shaun’s office, I hear him tell his assistant to cancel all his meetings for the rest of the day and not to interrupt us. Then I feel the guilt. Now both Stephen and Shaun are involved. If I hadn't come here then their lives would be going along perfectly, and now not only have I squashed their business deal, but their lives could very well be in danger purely by being associated with me.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” I start to break down and look at Stephen and Shaun. Stephen is pacing the room like a crazy person as Shaun sits me down with a glass of water and takes my hand again. Oh, he is perfect, he doesn’t deserve this level of crazy that my life has become.

“Okay.” Stephen stops his pacing and looks at me, his breathing is hard, and I can see he is trying not to panic. “Let me get you on the next flight to Europe, surely they can’t find you there! You can hop from country to country for a while, you can be a lady of leisure, you know see the sights and experience different cultures. It will be just like having a long holiday. Meanwhile, the police can work harder in finding them. Perhaps we can get some private detectives onto it to speed up the process now we know they are here.” Stephen starts pacing again.

Shaun pulls up to his full height. “Will someone tell me what is going on here?” He looks at me, his eyes holding mine. “Princess, are you in danger, is someone trying to hurt you?” He gently caresses my jaw, looking at me to ensure I am in one piece, holding my hand in his like he will never let me go. I need to tell him. I need to tell him everything, but where do I even start with it all.

I try to be strong. I have made so many promises to myself over the past year that they will never break me. But here, now, as Shaun looks at me, I finally break inside. I look up at him, tall, dark and handsome, towering over me, clearly wanting to protect me, and I have never wanted to fall into someone’s arms as much as I do right now. I have spent the past year fighting this battle on my own and here is a man who looks willing to pick me up and take care of me, but I can’t let him do it. He has too much to lose now that my past has caught up with me. A silent tear rolls down my cheek, and I hear his breath hitch as he places his hands on either side of my face, “Tell me, Princess,” he whispers.

“I can’t get you involved,” I whisper, shame filling my gut and guilt pulling at my heart.

“I’m with you whether you like it or not. I’m not letting you go, so please tell me so I can help you.”

I look to Stephen who continues to wear down the carpet in Shaun’s office as he walks back and forth, clearly the earlier issue with the business deal no longer anyone’s priority. He looks at me, and we stare at each other for a short moment—speaking with our eyes, reaffirming the solid understanding that shit has just hit the fan in a big way and then he nods at me, telling me it is okay to involve Shaun into this.

Taking a deep breath, I look back at Shaun and I tell the full story from the very beginning. My dad’s successful business and my role in it, I talk through in detail the night my family was murdered and the past year, moving from place to place, trying to keep a low profile. Throughout it all, Stephen looks like he is about to bash the wall down, but Shaun is calm, considerate, and holds my hand to help me talk through the details. But I notice his jaw tick, and I feel his anger permeating off him; he looks like a soldier ready to go to battle. When I finish, a weight is lifted. While Stephen knew most of the story, I feel lighter for sharing it with them both.

“What did he say to you on the phone just now, Scarlett?” Stephen looks at me, waiting for further information, like what I can tell him may make sense and give us a lead to finding these people before they find me.

I look from him back to Shaun and take a deep breath. “They said they know where I am, they know who I’m with, and they said they prefer my hair down rather than pinned up, and that they look forward to ripping my pretty pink blouse off my body.”

Shaun grabs his desk phone and dials his assistant. “Get Romeo in my office ASAP.” He hangs up as quickly as he dialed. Looking to me he says, “Romeo is my personal security and has connections. He has done a lot of detective work and knows contacts in the Feds and Boston PD. He will know how to help.”

“I think perhaps I should leave,” I say, starting to pull myself together to stand. “Clearly, they are watching me, and you both are now on their radar, I don’t want that. This is my mess, they want me. I don’t want to be the person that leads them to you both or interrupts your business…” But before I say anything else, Shaun is quick to shut me down.

“You’re not going anywhere; you are staying right here in Boston. Stephen and I will use everything we have to keep you safe and secure. I’m not letting you go.”

I sit back down and hang my head in shame. I cover my face with my hands and try to concentrate on my breathing. Shaun comes to me and kneels in front of me, rubbing my knees. “Whoever they are, Princess, I will protect you with everything I have. I have just found you, there is no way I am letting you go now.”

How did I get so lucky to meet this man? Who knew when I admired him on that plane that we would end up here. I look at him, and he kisses me gently, stroking my hands and holds me as I calm down a little trying to balance my emotions.

The three of us sit in Shaun’s office in silence, not too sure of what to do next as we wait for Shaun’s security contact to arrive. Shaun gets up and pours us a drink of whiskey and looking at my watch, I notice that it is already 5pm. We have been here for the past four hours, talking through the business deal, and now the threat to me. I lean my head on the back of the chair and close my eyes, not believing that this is actually happening. Realizing that they were watching me this entire time. These past few months of building up my confidence and career, not to mention my time with Shaun and my best friends, and they have probably been watching all of it. I feel so stupid and so exposed, vulnerable and dirty.

Stephen jumps up. “I need to make a few calls.” Shaun tells him to take the conference room, it will be quiet and vacant for him to use, then Stephen walks out and closes the door behind him. I look up at Shaun who is now standing in front me, resting on the edge of his desk. He reaches out with his hand and grabs mine, pulling me up so I am standing in front of him, less than an inch apart. “I got you, Princess, trust me, I will keep you safe.” I fall into his arms, surrendering to him as my body molds into his and his arms wrap tightly around me, fitting together just like puzzle pieces. Like it was always meant to be this way. I let him hold me, and for the first time since I lost my family, I let someone carry me and take control.

31

Shaun

It has been a long fucking day.

When I woke up this morning, the biggest concern I had was how to keep Scarlett in my bed and if I could play hooky from work for the day to make love to her over and over again. But now, fuck. Now, my biggest concern is how to keep her safe, alive, and mine. Our business deal is on hold, and I move all my meetings for the rest of the week. Something unheard of for me before, and while my assistant knows better than to ask me, if her face is anything to go by, she seems surprised by my actions.

Marco comes into my office, as one of the meetings I cancelled was with him and pulls up short when he sees Scarlett in my arms. Taking in her red eyes and disheveled appearance he looks at me. “Everything all right, brother?”

I give him a small nod, but he knows me better than anyone, and he picks up on the fact that things are not all right. At that moment, Stephen returns with Romeo on his heels. I held Scarlett in my arms for what felt like hours this afternoon, not wanting to let her go. She was pale, shaking, and teary after receiving the phone call. With everyone now in my office, I encourage them all to sit, and I place Scarlett on the couch, keeping her close to me with my arm wrapped around her as she proceeds to tell the whole story again.

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