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It’s beenfour days since Scarlet woke up and found out what her sister did to get her back. In that time, she hasn’t left her room. The doctor came two days ago and removed her IV. She’s barely eating, though, and it’s starting to piss me off.
Cali stays with her during the day while we work. From what I’ve heard from Declan, they’re having a ball together. They’ve been making bracelets, watching movies, and who knows what else. But the moment I walk into the room, Scarlet’s smile turns into a scowl.
The only time she’s not hissing at me is when she’s asleep. She’s told Cali every day that she wants to leave, but with no savings, no car, and no place to go, she’s stuck. And I’m going to make sure she stays stuck here for the foreseeable future. There’s no way in hell I’m letting her return to normal life after everything she’s been through. She’s not going anywhere…ever. Whether she likes it or not, she’s part of this family now.
I’ve been staying in the guest room next to Scarlet’s since I brought her here. Even though my house is only a stone’s throw away on the same property, I refuse to be any farther from her than necessary. I check on her multiple times a night to make sure she’s okay. She sleeps like a rock thanks to the pain medication, so I’ve been able to sneak in without her knowing. The most peaceful part of my day is when I’m sitting beside her bed watching her and she’snotthrowing eye-daggers my way.
“We need to fly out to meet with all the heads. Bash and Grady will hang back and keep an eye on the girls,” Declan says.
I hate the idea of leaving her. After killing multiple men in the Russian organization, including the boss—if you could even call him that—we need to make sure we’re all on the same page. After we took out Ivan Petrov—the piece of shit who kidnapped my girl—the Russian’s second-in-command took over. He said there were no hard feelings over what happened but it’s still good to have a face-to-face.
Declan goes up to collect Cali from Scarlet’s room and get her ready for bed—because the mafia only holds board meetings in the middle of the goddamn night. At least Scarlet will be sleeping while I’m gone.
Ronan and Kieran walk into Declan’s office and drop onto a couple of chairs.
Kieran gives me a smug look. “How’s it going with Scarlet?”
Fucking bastard. They know how it’s going. She won’t speak to me. Every conversation we have is one sided. It’s a thrill a minute with her.
I flip him off and leave the office to go check on Scarlet before we leave for the night. Kieran and Ronan laugh and start talking shit about me. Assholes.
There’s no answer when I knock on her bedroom door. She never answers because she knows I’m not her sister. Cali always walks right in. When I’ve waited as long as I’m willing, I open the door.
She looks up from her book and glares at me. I smirk as I stroll into the room.
“Hey, Little one. How are you feeling?” I sit at the edge of the bed, hoping this will be the time she’ll talk to me.
Nothing.
I shake my head and sigh. “I’m going to be gone for the evening. Declan and I have to go to a meeting. Bash and Grady will be here if you need anything.”
Nothing.
My hand itches to spank her ass until it’s bright red. She needs it. She needs to know someone actually cares enough to hold her accountable and not let her get away with being a brat. The lenience I’m giving her is wearing thin.
“I’m going to have a snack sent up. Please eat it. I was told you hardly touched your soup for dinner.”
She presses her lips together as she pretends to read her book.
“You’re not going to get stronger if you don’t eat, Scarlet. You need nutrients.”
“I’m not hungry. Every time I eat, I feel like I’m going to throw up.”
I turn and look at her again, my eyes wide. She actually spoke to me. She’s still not looking at me, but baby steps.
“Is there anything you’ve tried eating that didn’t make you sick?”
Her gaze flicks to mine then quickly back to her book. “Goldfish crackers.”
Not much nutrition in those. But if it’s something she feels like she can keep down, I’ll feed them to her for every meal. At least they’ll provide some calories.
I rise from the bed. “I’ll have some sent up.”
She doesn’t respond for a long moment and when I give up expecting one, I turn to leave.
“Thanks.” It’s so quiet I barely hear her.
“You’re welcome. Get some rest. We’ll be back in the morning.”
