Page 31 of Fighting for Scarlett

As Scarlett climbed out of the Uber, looking so utterly defeated, and so very small and vulnerable that he almost got out of his car and went to her, the door to her house was flung open.

Apparently, none of the four women had any idea they were being watched if their behavior was any indication. There was not a single glance around, no attempts to hurry and get inside, no concerns that perhaps a sniper was waiting to pick them off, or a team of Raul’s men close by.

If by chance Scarlett was telling the truth, then there was a leak at Prey who had set Scarlett up and had their own plans to sell the Reactivator to a dangerous weapons trafficker. If there was a leak at Prey, then no one on Athena Team was safe.

Raul Castillo was not a man to be messed with, and once he set his mind to something he was going to follow through. Either he would come after Scarlett again or he would target one of the other women.

Tate watched as Scarlett stiffened when her team came barreling toward her, taking a step back. Because she knew she had betrayed them and was feeling guilty? Or because she was hurt that they hadn't been there for her?

His dad had been lucky, Tate had always been there for him, always supported him, and made sure he had a good lawyer—not that it had ended up doing any good—but so far, Scarlett had been facing this alone. Her own problem if she was suffering the consequences of her own choices, but hell if she was suffering for something outside of her control.

Another wave of guilt surged through him as he watched Scarlett break down.

Noisy tears burst out of her, her sobs audible even from inside his car parked across the street and one house down from Scarlett’s place.

Whatever words were exchanged amongst the women he couldn’t hear, but he did see them bustle Scarlett inside.

Before Tate even realized what he was doing, his hand was on the door handle, ready to follow them.

The problem was, he wasn’t following because he wanted to keep a visual on a suspected traitor.

Never had been.

It wasn’t why he’d gotten in his car to tail Scarlett home, and it wouldn’t be why he spent the night right there, watching her place.

The reasons he was there were a whole lot more personal.

He was there because he felt an … all-consuming need … to watch over Scarlett.

It was ridiculous and he hated himself for it, because chances were, she was guilty of the things she had been accused of, but there was that tiny niggling piece of doubt in the back of his mind that kept whispering, what if?

What if Scarlett was innocent?

What if she’d been kidnapped?

What if she’d been horribly tortured?

What if, instead of attempting to support her, he’d been cold and callous after rescuing her?

What if it really had been a rescue and not a retrieval of a target?

What if she’d been left alone to answer hours of questioning when what she needed was care and comfort?

What if he was the villain in this story and not her?

It was that last what if that irked him the most. Tate had always felt like the outsider, the one in the wrong even when he knew he’d never done anything wrong. He hadn't asked to be born to parents who would have preferred to remain childless so they could focus all their time and attention on one another. He hadn't been responsible for his mother’s death and yet his father checking out had made him feel as though he somehow were. And he wasn’t responsible for the mess his dad had gotten into when he remarried, even though there were times his father had implied that if it weren't for Tate and his quote “pressuring” he never would have remarried and betrayed the deceased wife he still loved.

Was his own recent history with his dad being framed, the betrayal of the stepmother he thought would breathe new life back into his family, clouding his thinking? It simultaneously made him think of Scarlett as just another traitor, while making him feel like she was innocent.

When his phone buzzed with an unknown number, Tate debated whether or not to answer it. His CO hadn't approved this little stakeout, not that he’d told anyone where he was going and what he was going to be doing, but his team knew there was something with him and Scarlett, they just didn't know he’d slept with her then been unable to forget her. The last thing he wanted was to be either directly ordered to stop following Scarlett, or for his team to be sent out on another mission.

He needed answers, needed proof one way or the other.

All numbers from anyone he knew were programmed in his phone, but wondering if it was the agents who had interrogated Scarlett, he answered the call.

“Tate Laurier?” a voice asked before he could even say hello or ask who it was.

“Yeah. Who is this?”

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