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Lennox snorts. “He’ll burn it in the last ten minutes, I promise. Believe me. He has a long track record of nearly setting the house on fire. I’m shocked Scarlet suggested he cook, of all things. If she wanted him to impress you, she should have just asked him to hack something. Oh, wait, I guess he kind of did. He beat the heck out of all our sorry asses.”
“Speak for yourself,” Atlas grumbles.
“I was just trying to let him shine,” Orion protests.
“You’re both eejits,” Ransom grumbles.
Lennox quickly switches subjects before a bare-knuckle fight can break out. “Anyway, I know he went ahead and kidnapped you without your permission—”
“That’s what kidnapping means, you moron,” Orion says, rolling his eyes.
Lennox shifts his feet and grumbles something under his breath. Probably some sort of wedgie threat. “As I was saying…he might have kidnapped you, but he truly is selfless. He’d jump in front of a bus for me if I asked him to.”
Atlas snickers. “Why would he ask you to do something like that, you meatball?”
“Okay, if I needed him to. The point is that if I were in trouble, he wouldn’t hesitate to put his life on the line. That goes for all of us. He’s devoted his whole life to this, and that means not dragging anyone else into danger, so he’s hardly dated. You’ll have to excuse his lack of…well, you’ll have to give him a break. He might appear rough and annoying and have a serious lack of charm and some real scowling issues, but he’s the best person I know.”
Ransom clears his throat. “I’ve never seen him so quiet before.”
Atlas thumps his chest. “He’s got good bits. I mean a good heart. Under the prickly bits. He’s smart when he’s not acting like a nincompoop.”
“Just give him a fair shake, and you might be surprised,” Orion says, backing up his brothers.
“If you didn’t notice, he has mad hacking skills,” Lennox goes on in smooth tones. I can tell by now that he’s the ladies’ man of the bunch. I bet he would be smooth as velvet if he wanted to be. “That’s gotta come in handy in a husband.”
The guys groan in unison. “The marriage isn’t real, you twit-totter,” Orion grunts.
“I know that. I was just saying and looking on the bright side because, unlike you, my friend, I’m a bright guy.”
“Yeah, brighter than a lightbulb and sharper than a tack. Duly fucking noted.”
“Is that the F-bomb I hear being dropped in a lady’s presence?” Scarlet storms into the room, her face bright and alive with real affection. She’s obviously ignoring the fact that she likes to drop a few curse words here and there and liberally everywhere. “Let’s take the party to my place, boys.” She sweeps her hand to include the four goons hanging back. “You four as well. You’re coming with me tonight.” They’re much quieter with the louder brothers around. I get that. They’re all characters, alright, so vibrant that it’s a little bit intimidating to have to stand anywhere near the big shadows they cast.
“What are you going to do with eight strapping men, Granny?” Atlas asks smartly.
Scarlet grins deviously at him. “Well, I have some pictures to be hung, dishes to be washed, a floor to sweep and vacuum, trees to prune, a pool to clean, garbage to take out, a bathroom to be scrubbed down…I’m sure between you all, you all should be able to handle it.”
There’s a chorus of groans from everyone. “Why did we just spend the afternoon trying to prove she’s not a tyrant?” Lennox gripes.
“A tyrant I am, indeed, and a tyrant I’ll always be.” Scarlet flavors that with more than a grain of salt before she steps toward me and enfolds me in her warm, soft, granny arms. Her head only comes up to my chin, and it’s more like she’s attached herself to me, but I let her. And I even manage to hug her back a little.
Then they’re gone, all of them, a swarm of energy moving out of the house like crackling electricity.
I stare at the door after they’ve left. How easy would it be for me to just walk out, walk down the block, break into a run, and never turn back? Honestly, I thought that maybe it was an option, but now I know how Scarlet covers her bases. She’s real, and she’s really working to take down massive criminal empires. A woman like that doesn’t leave her boxes unchecked, meaning there are probably men watching the house.
Does that mean I shouldn’t put the theory to the test and try and escape?
I don’t know, and I don’t want to just capitulate. I’m too spirited for that. I might be a librarian, but I guess there’s always been a restlessness in me.
