AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She found Carter in his study, watching Edward clean up a shattered glass. “How did it go?” she asked, wrapping her arms around him. Was it her imagination, or did Carter stiffen a bit?
“It’s over,” he said grimly. “Your father has what he wants, for the most part. I got what I wanted, for the most part.” His eyes honed in on her. “Did you get what you wanted, Scarlett?”
She frowned at his intensity, waiting until Edward left before answering. “I got you.”
“Is that what you wanted though?” he demanded, tightening his hold on her.
“Of course. I love you, Carter.” She looked at him, noticing how agitated he was, “I know how hard this was for you,” she whispered. “I want to thank you for doing the right thing.”
Carter continued to brood for the next couple of days, and Scarlett tried to be patient with him. She knew he was disappointed about the outcome of his plans for Rocco, but it was more than that. He was distant from her, and he seemed to have moved out of the room he’d moved her into. He hadn’t slept with her for the past three nights, and she was worried.
She tried not to think about it, but at times she couldn’t help wondering if she’d been a game to Carter after all. Had he enjoyed defiling Terini’s daughter, but was now tired of her and hoping she would leave on her own? That didn’t seem reasonable, and Scarlett tried not to push those thoughts from her mind. Until her father’s arrival, she’d been absolutely certain of Carter’s feelings, and she’d been secure in the knowledge that he loved her as much as she loved him.
For the fourth night in a row, Scarlett prepared for bed alone, having decided that if he didn’t join her tonight, she would move back to her old room tomorrow. This was his room, and if he didn’t want to sleep with her, he still had the right to the master suite. She only hoped it wouldn’t come to that.
By one a.m. there was still no sign of Carter, and she gave up, getting into the bed, missing his solid presence. Tomorrow, they were going to have to talk, and she wouldn’t accept his excuses of being too busy. They had to settle their future, because this endless drifting was slowly eating at her.
Sounds in the night awoke Scarlett, and she sat up in the bed, fuzzily focusing on the clock, surprised to see it was only a little after three. She heard raised voices downstairs and grabbed her robe from the closet, pulling it on as she rushed down to the first floor.
She found Carter and Darren donning their coats. “What’s wrong?” she asked around a yawn.
“There’s been a fire,” Carter bit out.
“Here?” Scarlett asked, throwing off the last traces of sleep.
“At Roche,” Darren said. “In the Research and Development building.”
“You might have already known that,” Carter said coldly.
“What?” Scarlett asked in confusion.
“Don’t you find it coincidental that a fire destroyed Roche’s first building, and shortly after making my presence known to Terini, another fire occurs?” Carter asked sarcastically.
“You think my father did this?” Scarlett asked in stupefaction.
“You don’t believe him capable?” Carter mocked.
Scarlett bit her knuckle. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered.
“Save the condolences,” Carter snapped. “The business isn’t in trouble. R&D files are archived elsewhere. At most, your father cost me a few months in production time.”
“That’s good.” Scarlett wondered why he seemed angry with her.
“We’d better go, Carter,” Darren prompted.
They returned after six in the morning, and Scarlett was up waiting for them. They were both sweaty, and traces of soot were smeared on their faces and clothes. “How bad was it?”
“The building is a complete wash,” said Carter. “It was deliberately set. They called in the bomb squad and found a device in the main building. It was so close to going off that I don’t even want to think about it.”
“Did you tell them about my father?” asked Scarlett, hoping he didn’t plan to pursue justice on his own once more.
“Yes,” Carter answered wearily. “They’ll check it out, but I didn’t tell them about his past attack on the business. The police might get very curious about why I didn’t involve them before now.”
“What did you tell them about him?” asked Scarlett.
When Carter made no move to answer, Darren jumped in. “He told them he’d recently assumed your father’s company through a hostile take-over. They said they’d look into it, but doubted it was Terini. Men like him usually only commit white-collar crimes,” he said sarcastically.
“It didn’t affect your business too much?” Scarlett fretted.
