Page 80 of Last Man Standing

Her cheeks glow bright with chagrin. “No, I⁠—”

“I’m working right now. I have a guest, not a captive, and when I’m not dealing with either of those, I’m visiting with my uncle. That’s it. That’s all of my time accounted for.”

“I just thought⁠—”

“I’m not trying to be a dick. I’m not trying to hurt your feelings, either. But whatever we may or may not have planned back in September is no longer something I’m interested in. I have too much else to focus on, so I suggest you look elsewhere.”

I don’t give her time to argue or, worse, attempt to persuade me otherwise. I catch Mav’s eyes as he steps out of the central family building, so I start in his direction and leave her behind. Bringing my binoculars up and searching Scarlett’s window while I walk, I frown and pull them away again.

Where is she?

Blinking, blinking, blinking, I swing them up and try again.

“Where’d she go?” When only twenty feet separate us, I drop the binoculars into my leg pocket and meet Mav’s stare. “Where’s Scarlett?”

“Uh…” Confused, he glances around the yard. “I don’t know.” He narrows his eyes. “Should I know? I’m not assigned to her door, so…”

“She was in the window a minute ago.” I look past him, like she might’ve lost her damn mind and decided to tour a yard bursting with a hundred men. Not fuckin’ likely. “Take over for me. They’re running drills.”

“Or we could leave it to Dad, and I’ll help you search for her?”

It’s almost tempting to accept his offer, to recruit an extra set of eyes and a man I trust with my life, but his goofy grin tells me this is just a game to him, like finding her has nothing to do with her safety and everything to do with what he thinks is going through my head.

He’s wrong. Dead wrong.

“You go left, I’ll go right,” he teases with a snicker. “First to find her gets to bring her a tray for lunch. She wouldn’t be mad if I sat with her, right?”

“Don’t follow me.” I push past him and stride along the snow-covered pathway that cuts between the main building and the one beside it. Scarlett hasn’t explored this place yet, which means she doesn’t realize this property is basically a massive main dwelling with wings, one for me, one for Mav, one that’ll eventually be for Koda, and one where my parents sleep. Each of these wings are joined by a centralized kitchen and dining room only the family uses, then those wings extend with long, narrow hallways that lead us to the next buildings.

The chow hall. The chow kitchen. Rec rooms. Medical. Munitions.

If a person didn’t know better, they’d have no clue the hallways are bridges to the next building, each new entryway sealed with a guard and, sometimes, a security panel accessible only to those of us with clearance.

On the south side of the main building is the training field my men hate to use, while on the north side, a pool sits front and center, and beside that, a full-sized tennis court. Basketball courts. More rec rooms. Pool houses. Bathrooms.

These places aren’t only for family use. Any person with a permanent contract and an assigned bunk in the barracks can use the facilities at any time they’re not scheduled to work.

Though, on the off chance my mother decides to don a bathing suit and take a dip in the pool, there seems to be a silent agreement amongst all: stay the fuck away.

I charge between buildings now and press my palm to the control panel guarding my family’s home. I wait for the scan to complete and a noisy ding to grant me access, then I swing the door open and stalk along the warm hall.

“Scarlett?” I shove Mav’s bedroom door open, though fuck knows I wouldn’t expect her to come in here. Slamming it shut again, I jog along the hall and swing Koda’s future bedroom door open. “Scarlett? Where are you?”

A loud, piercing scream reverberates from the other side of the house. Not even Scarlett’s scream. Koda’s. With my heart pounding a painful tattoo against my chest and my head buzzing with an ache only adrenaline gives me, I drop my shoulders and run.

My footsteps thunder against the floor, and a battle-like tunnel vision narrows what I see. Red tinges my peripherals, and worry for my baby brother, for Scarlett, makes sweat trickle along my spine.

“Koda!”

“No!” Scarlett yelps. “Don’t do that!”

I crash against my bedroom door just three feet before my mother, then shoving it open and catching the heavy wood when it bounces back again, I lock eyes with a horrified Scarlett who stands by my bed, her arms stretched wide and her cheeks deathly pale.

Koda hangs from the light fixture twelve feet above my bed, a wild grin smeared across his face and his arms and legs clinging to the ceiling like he’s Spiderman.

“What the hell are you doing?” My mom barges past me and sends Scarlett skittering backwards in fear. “Koda! Get down!”

“I-I told him not to climb up,” Scarlett whimpers. “I swear, I⁠—”