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I raise my brows. “I have fun.”
She deadpans, “Really? When's the last time you had fun?”
I give her a thousand-watt smile. “I'm having fun right now. Ruffling your feathers is becoming my new favorite pastime.”
She shakes her head. “I still can't believe you freaking handcuffed me.”
That makes me smile wider. “Daddy wouldn't have had to handcuff you if you weren't being such a naughty girl.”
Her eyes narrow. “You’re not my Daddy and I wasn't being naughty. I didn't want to leave my sister. She's my lifeline. I’m scared, Killian. I'm still having nightmares. Every time I'm alone or I close my eyes, all I see is him pushing me into that cold, pitch black box.”
A lump forms in my throat. I didn't know my girl was having nightmares. I hate that I haven't been with her when that's been happening. I check on her nightly, but I usually just pop in for a few minutes. That's going to change. I'll sit in there all damn night if I have to.
“You're not alone anymore, Scarlet. I know your sister's not here, but I'm here. Bash is here. Grady's here. It's going to be okay. There will be a ton of men surrounding us. I might not be your sister, but you can lean on me.”
She blinks, tears falling faster as she looks away. Several minutes pass in silence, and I'm glad Bash is paying attention to whatever is on his phone. He’s probably sending texts back and forth, trying to get everything ready for what we need.
“Why do we have to go to a safe house?” she asks.
I don't want to scare her, but I want her to understand how serious the situation is.
“Three of the Russians tried to breach the wall on the south side of the property. We killed them, but they had explosives. If they're brave enough to try to attack us on our own property, they could be planning something much worse. So, the only answer is, until we figure out what's going on, you and Cali need to be somewhere safe. At our meeting last night, the Russian boss told us there would be no fallout. We shook on it. But now… We just don’t know what’s going on.”
She stares down at her hand in her lap. “This is my fault. My sister is in danger because of me. Everyone's in danger because of me. I’m so stupid. I had to be withhim. Why do I always choose losers? Fuck.”
I reach out and roughly grab her chin, forcing her to look up at me. “I don't ever want to hear you call yourself stupid. What he did to you was abuse and manipulation, and that's on him. Not you. None of this is your fault. But I need you to understand the severity of the situation. Having too many people in one location is a sure way to put a huge target on your back. If they're retaliating and trying to come after you and your sister to get back at us for killing their men, we want you separated so it's harder for them to find us.”
Using the pad of my thumb, I brush away the tears on her cheek. “I know you don't want to trust me, but I need you to try. We're going to protect you and your sister. There isn’t a single thing we're going to let happen to either of you.”
Bash clears his throat. “You're part of this family now, lass. We protect our own. I don't know what that fucker told you or if he ever made you feel part of his family, but we're different. Once you're one of us, we don’t turn our backs on you. We don't hurt women or children. It's not in our blood. We don't believe in it, and we don't condone it.”
She stares at him for a long moment before she turns her gaze to me. The light in her eyes has dimmed and she looks so defeated. “Will you please uncuff me?”
“Good girl for using your manners. I’ll uncuff you from the bar but I’m leaving it on your wrist. If you try anything, I'm going to handcuff your hands together and you're going to be in big trouble. Do you understand me?”
She sighs. “I understand. I'm not going to try anything. I'm sorry for being a bitch.”
I lean over to unlock her from the bar, our faces only inches apart. “You're not a bitch. You're scared and you're trying to protect yourself. And don't swear. It's naughty.”
Her lips roll in over her teeth like she's trying to stop herself from smiling. “I'm not naughty.”
I wink at her. “I don't know. You seem pretty naughty to me. Then again, I like naughty girls. They’re so much fun to spank.”
Her entire body trembles with a shiver. I'm fully satisfied with myself that I'm knocking her off balance. When I pull back and look her in the eye, I see the arousal on her face. She may notwantto like me, and she may not trust me, but her body likes me. My cock stirs. My body screams for this girl.
“Are you hungry?” I reach behind the seat and grab a bag of Goldfish crackers.
Her eyes widen. “You brought Goldfish for me?”
I shrug. “You said it's the only thing that doesn't make you feel nauseous, so I brought ten bags for you.”
Her breathing quickens. “Thank you. You're a royal pain in the ass, but you're kind too.”
I chuckle. “I think you're the only person who's ever called me kind, baby. But I'll take it. Maybe you're the only person I've ever wanted to be kind to.”
We drive for several more hours. She’s getting sleepy. “Lean on me and close your eyes.”
“I'm not tired,” she mumbles.
