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It'slate by the time Scarlet pads out from the bedroom. We're still dressed in our suits, but we've taken off our jackets and rolled up our sleeves. She still looks tired. I’m going to make it my mission that she gets as much sleep as possible these next few weeks.
“Hey, Little one.” I offer a smile that makes her blush.
She can say she doesn't like me, but the way her body reacts tells me otherwise. So that's what I'm choosing to read at the moment.
“Did you sleep well?” I ask.
“I did.” She looks around. “This is a nice house. Not what I would expect for a safe house.”
I chuckle. “We like to live in luxury.”
She nibbles on her lips. “I can see that. What happens now?”
“Now, you get comfortable, baby. We have games, coloring books, diamond art, bracelet art, pretty much anything that you could want to stay entertained in the movie room.”
Now, I’m going to show her that she can trust me and that she’s mine. I’ll keep that to myself, though.
“Have you heard if Cali’s okay?” she asks.
I pat the couch next to me, pleased when she reluctantly sits down. She keeps her distance, though. It's like she's trying to make herself as small as possible so she doesn't have to be any closer to me than absolutely necessary.
“Yes, we talked to Declan. They're safe. We have a phone for you so you can communicate with her.”
That information seems to relieve Scarlet.
Against my better judgment, I reach over and brush the back of my index finger over her cheek. “Are you hungry?”
She scrunches her nose. Unfortunately for her, she's not going to get away without eating tonight. She hasn't had anything since lunch. And even then, Declan's house manager told me she ate two bites of a sandwich and nothing else. That's not going to fly with me. I was giving her space before while we were at Declan’s because her sister was there. That space just ran out.
“You’ve got to eat something. Do you want grilled cheese, soup, cereal, oatmeal, or something else?”
She picks at her cuticles as she thinks about it for a moment. “Can I have oatmeal?”
“Of course. I'll go make it for you.”
Her eyes widen. “You're going to make me oatmeal?”
I grin down at her. “Yes, Little girl. I actually do know how to make food. I might be a big, bad mafia guy, but my mom wasn't going to let me get away with not learning how to cook.”
“Do you need help?” she asks.
It's sweet that she's asking. It might not be much, but that little offer means I'm slowly working my way through her defenses that she’s built up so high. Not that I blame her for it. She's been through a traumatic experience. Someone doesn't just get over that.
“No, I got it. Here's the remote. Change it to whatever you want.”
She glances at Bash and Grady. “But they're watching the news.”
Grady smiles at her, a little too wide for my liking. “It's all right, lass. Watch whatever you want. The news is way too scary for you to be watching it anyway.”
Her eyes linger on me as I leave the living room. I know because I keep my gaze on hers too. It’s a small connection, but I'll take it. I'll take anything I can get from Scarlet.
7
SCARLET
Idon't know where we are, but this safe house is ridiculously beautiful. It's not as big as Declan’s—not even close—but it's still enormous in my book. Considering I grew up in run-down apartments, it’s not hard to impress me. For some reason, I’d expected a safe house to be some little shack in the middle of nowhere, completely off the grid. This is not that.
