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Scarlett didn’t look up from her oatmeal, but noticed the room temperature seemed to drop. She forced the ball of paste down her throat and sipped at her juice before finally lifting her head. “Good morning,” she said stiffly.
Carter ignored her greeting, and Darren’s as well, as he took a seat at the head of the table. Ann bustled in with a tray for him, and they maintained an uneasy silence. Darren finished his meal quickly and left them with a nod. The room grew even colder.
“Feeling better?” Carter sounded disinterested in her reply, making it plain he only inquired because it was expected.
“Yes, thank you.” She strove to match his distant tone.
“We need to get something straight.”
Scarlett lowered her spoon and looked at him. “What’s that?” she asked in a quiet voice.
“You can’t soften me up.” He glared at her.
“Excuse me?” Scarlett inquired, but she knew he was referring to the kiss.
“You heard me,” he bit out. “I don’t know what kind of scheme you hatched with your father, but I’m not relenting, and I’m not relinquishing my claim to the house.”
“I never thought you would be so kind,” Scarlett said blandly.
Carter snorted. “Of course not. You just decided to kiss me for other reasons,” he mocked. “I suppose you fancy yourself as Beauty?”
Scarlett blinked her eyes for a moment before grasping the reference to the fairytale. “And you’re the beast?” She arched a brow.
“If you like.” He shrugged. “But don’t expect a happy ending here, princess. After six months, I’ll be returning you to your father in exchange for the house, and I couldn’t care less what happens to you or the rest of the Terinis after that time.”
“Why did you agree to accept me in exchange for an extension?” Scarlett demanded, tossing her napkin on the table. “If it’s so important to you, why did you prolong things for another six months?”
His smile was hateful. “To see your father squirm. I rather enjoy the thought of him scrambling to come up with the cash and not having a prayer.”
“You’re a detestable man.” Scarlett shook her head. “Why would you want to hurt my family? We’ve done nothing to you. You’re taking business much too far.”
“Done nothing to me?” Carter repeated in a hard voice. “I could destroy all of your illusions about your father, Scarlett, with a few simple words.”
“I wouldn’t believe anything you told me.” He couldn’t say anything she didn’t already know. She had accepted her father’s mob ties and gambling problems years ago.
“Try this one,” he suggested. “Your father offered you to me as a virtual sex slave for cash. A lot of cash, assuring me you were surely worth it, since you had dated only approved boys. You might call it a virgin sacrifice,” he added in a husky voice.
Scarlett’s face flooded with heat, and she gasped in outrage. “That’s a damn lie,” she screamed, bringing Darren running into the breakfast room. “I hate you, Carter Braxton,” she cried and ran from the room, not acknowledging the pain in her ankle until she was halfway up the stairs. She pulled herself along using the banister, then collapsed on the bed into a sobbing heap.
After her ankle stopped throbbing, Scarlett called a taxi and arranged for them to meet her at the gate. She couldn’t stay in this house another minute, regardless of the stupid deal her father had struck with Braxton. After hanging up, she grabbed her jacket to ward off the light rain showers and left her room. No one saw her go down the stairs, and she made it out of the house without being noticed. Scarlett thought regretfully of the clothes and books she’d left behind, but the suitcase was just too heavy to lug with her injured ankle.
It was an unpleasant and painful walk to the gates. She found the taxi waiting for her, and the man looked impatient. “I’m sorry you had to wait,” she apologized, offering him a hundred dollars from the meager amount of spending money left in her wallet. “This should be enough to cover your wait, and a trip to San Francisco airport,” she said. The cabbie eagerly accepted the money and drove her into the city. He tried to chat with her a few times, but her answers were monosyllabic at best, and he gave up to her relief.
At the airport, Scarlett made her way inside and went to the nearest charter service. A flight she needed left in an hour, and she booked herself on it. The attendant ran her credit card through and frowned. “It was declined, miss,” she said with a sniff of disapproval.
“What?” Scarlett asked in shocked disbelief. Her father had given her that card two years ago, and she’d never had any problems with it before. “Is there a phone I can use?” She had be forced to leave even her cell phone behind so they couldn’t track her. Braxton surely had it tapped. But the card was her father’s, he wouldn’t find her with that.
The attendant returned her card, and Scarlett made her way to bank of payphones against the wall. She dialed the customer service number and waited on hold for a few minutes before a male voice answered. She explained the circumstances, and he looked up her account. “That card hasn’t had a payment for two months. You’ll need to get current or we’ll be forced to take further collection actions.”
“It’s my father’s card,” Scarlett said softly. “He just gave me one in my name.”
“You’ll need to have him call us, Ms. Terini.”
In a daze, Scarlett agreed and hung up. She was stranded at the airport. She sat on a chair and counted out her cash, realizing she shouldn’t have given the cab driver such an extravagant tip. She had enough to rent a car if they would allow her to pay cash.
She made her way to the rental car desk, and the clerk didn’t ask why she wanted to pay cash when she had a credit card. He just took an imprint of her card, a copy of her license, and called her insurance company to confirm she had coverage. After taking her payment, a younger boy came and took her out to the lot, handing her the keys to a sedan.
Scarlett found it nearly impossible to drive with the brace on and pulled over before leaving the city so she could remove it. Her ankle was still throbbing, but at least she could manage the pedals now. She drove on toward her home, wondering what sort of reception her father would give her. She’d never let him down before, and she’d never shirked her duties, but surely he would understand. He had to. It was his fault she was in this mess
