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"Fuck you and the horse you rode in on."
"It was a Harley."
He grunts, incapable of blaspheming the Harley name, and then hangs up on me.
I chuckle quietly, calmer than I was before he called. Which I'm guessing was his point. Giant may act like life is all fun and games, but he can read people in a single look and sees things a lot more clearly than most. His instincts are rarely wrong. He loves fiercely and will fight to death for the people he cares about.
I shove my cell into my pocket, check around the perimeter of the house, keeping my eyes peeled for Silas's town car, and then head back inside to my little bookworm. My little bookworm has been out of my sight far too long already.
I find her curled up on the couch, staring blankly into space. She has a book spread open on her lap, but I doubt she's read a single page. Her gaze shifts to mine, her hazel eyes warming as they run across me. Her cheeks heat too, color seeping into them. She's been quiet tonight, withdrawn. I don't like it.
"Hey," she whispers.
"Hey." I flip the deadbolt, locking the door. I've already checked and secured every other door and window in the house. Ophelia helped. Rulie filled her in on the situation before we picked her up. He swears she dragged it out of him. I'm curious as hell to know what she did to make the man blush. I didn't think he had it in him. "Is your aunt in bed?"
Scarlett bobs her head in a nod, guilt flickering across her face. "She said this was too much excitement for an old lady."
"Pretty baby, that's code forI'm going to get out of your hair so that man of yours can do dirty things to make you feel better," I say, striding toward her. "Ophelia hasn't had too much excitement since she incited a riot when the ice cream factory closed."
Scarlett leans back against the couch, staring up at me. "I never know if you're joking or not," she mutters when I stop right in front of her, my legs caging hers in.
"About the ice cream factory closing?"
"About any of it."
"They put chains on the doors overnight," I murmur, slipping her bookmark into place and then sliding the book off her lap. "When the crew showed up for work, they found a note on the doors saying the place was permanently closed. When your aunt found out, she marched everyone right down to the owner's mansion and said she wasn't leaving without their paychecks and severance packages. He decided to call the police to forcibly remove her."
"Wow," Scarlett whispers.
"It didn't work out the way he planned. His workers raised hell when the cops showed up. They tore his property apart. It was such a public relations nightmare for him, he eventually fled town," I murmur, setting her book on the table beside the sofa. "He paid every dime he owed the workers before he went."
"My aunt is a badass."
"So is her niece."
"Are you very mad at me?" she asks.
"Mad at you?" My eyes widen. "What makes you think I'm mad at you, Scarlett?"
She shrugs, glancing away from me. "I'm causing you a lot of trouble. I'm sure you have more important things to do than stay here. You should really go do those things, Finn. Aunt Ophelia and I will be fine. We'll keep the doors locked. You don't need to inconvenience yourself like this."
"Come here."
She ignores me. Naturally.
I growl and scoop her up into my arms, before dropping down onto the couch in her place. She lands in my lap with a little huff of offended outrage. She doesn't try to escape, though. We both know she's right where she wants to be.
"Taking care of you isn't trouble, Scarlett." I tilt her head back until her eyes meet mine. "Worrying about you isn't an inconvenience. Spending time with you isn't a hassle.Youdidn't do a goddamn thing wrong. I'm right where I want to be."
"I'm scared, Finn," she whispers.
"You think I don't know that?" I press my forehead to hers. "I want to kill him for frightening you, pretty baby. Hearing the fear in your voice today killed me. Not knowing if I was going to get there in time…" I take a deep breath, pushing the thought away. Every damn time I think about it, I want to put my hands all over her, just to remind myself that she's here right now and that she's safe. I don't know how to be gentle when every instinct I have screams with the need to fuck and claim and possess until the beast inside is satisfied.
"That's not what I mean." She swallows. "I mean… I'm scared of this," she says. "Of you being here so much. I don't think it's a good idea."
"What the fuck?" I growl, eyes narrowed. Damn, that stings.
"I don't mean it like that," she cries quietly. "I love spending time with you! But it's different with you here."
