AllFreeNovel
Share Us
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.
“No, Rocco wasn’t nearly as successful as I’m sure he hoped to be,” Carter bit out. “I’m going to bed,” he said abruptly.
Scarlett followed him upstairs and into the master bedroom. As she undressed, he looked over at her. “I haven’t slept more than two hours,” she explained. “I’m tired too, and I’d love for you to just hold me.”
“I’m too tired to comfort you, Scarlett,” he said tersely.
Biting back her hurt, Scarlett nodded complacently. “Then I’ll be content to lie beside you.”
“I’d prefer to sleep alone at the moment.” He was uncompromising. “I’m dirty, and I don’t feel like taking a shower.”
“I see.” Scarlett gulped, fighting back tears. “Then I’ll return to my old room.”
“That would be best,” he agreed tonelessly, keeping his face blank as she threw on her shirt and left.
Scarlett returned to her old room, but she couldn’t sleep. She packed a small suitcase with a few outfits, before unpacking. After everything was put away, she ended up yanking the carry-on from the closet again and refilling it. She didn’t want to run away from Carter, but she couldn’t continue to deal with his sudden unrelenting hostility. He seemed to hold her partially responsible for the fire simply because he suspected Rocco had set it.
Sighing, Scarlett sat down on the bed, refusing to cry. To her surprise, she started feeling sleepy, so she stretched out, leaving the suitcase on the foot of the bed.
It was several hours later when her eyes opened, and Scarlett groaned as she discovered an ache in her neck from sleeping in a strange position. She rose from the bed and stretched, noticing the suitcase and remembering she’d considering running away.
