Page 77 of Fighting for Scarlett

Not really.

Because she would have risked everything to save someone she loved. As much as she loved her work at Prey, she would have risked it if their positions had been reversed and Tate had been the one who needed her. Risking her freedom would have been scary, but again, she would have done it. She would have put Tate above her job and her freedom. Why couldn’t he do the same for her?

Wishing that he had, especially when they had really only connected in the last couple of days, might be wildly unfair of her but she couldn’t help it.

Being here, knowing the man who she was falling for was responsible, it was driving her crazy.

“Why did you have to do it, Tate?” she whispered into the silence. “Why did you have to go and be like everybody else in my life and make your job your number one priority? Why couldn’t you have just let me go and then honestly told everybody you didn't know where I was? I could have taken care of myself.”

Story of her life.

For as long as Scarlett could remember, she’d been taking care of herself.

Sure, her grandparents had provided for her physical needs, clothes to wear, food to eat, and shelter. But that was it. There was more to caring for someone than providing them with the bare necessities.

Why did no one ever want to give her those things?

Even her own twin brother had eventually walked away, followed in their family’s footsteps, leaving her behind like she didn't matter.

Footsteps told her a guard was coming, and while she knew these weren't the same as the guards in Raul’s house, Scarlett couldn’t help but tense and shrink in on herself, attempting to become as small a target as possible.

The man slid a tray through the opening in the door and she crept over to collect it. “Umm, excuse me,” she said softly, unsure if she was allowed to speak to the guards or if she’d be punished for it.

“Yes?” The guard sounded impatient but not angry, so she asked the question she’d been dying to since she got here but hadn't had the courage to.

“Umm, has anyone tried to come to see me?”

“No. You’ve had no visitors.”

The next words were even harder to get out. “Has anyone called, to ask about me?”

“No phone calls,” the guard said, his footsteps echoing in the quiet corridor as he walked away, leaving her alone with nothing but her thoughts, her doubts, and her fears.

“The answer to why no one is ever there for you, Scarlett, is a simple one,” she told herself, brushing at a stray tear that rolled slowly down her cheek as she stumbled back toward the bed. “Because you're not enough. Not for your parents, not for your grandparents, not for your brother. And not for Tate.”

Not for anyone.

January 18th

9:03 P.M.

The cool wind whipping past him was the only thing keeping Tate together.

Each brush of the wind against his skin made him think of Scarlett and the way her fingers felt as they caressed him.

As soon as they had the mole in custody, he was going to put his entire focus into doing whatever it took to gain Scarlett’s forgiveness. Nothing was off the table. But first this.

They’d gotten off the helo about fifteen minutes ago and were going the rest of the distance on a zodiac. The boat they were heading toward hadn't moved in all the hours since they’d managed to track Warren Barone to it.

The anger raging inside him was desperate for an outlet and he was about to find the perfect target.

On paper, there was nothing suspicious about Warren. He had a high IQ, no criminal history, and graduated at the top of his class in high school and college. Had an exemplary reference from his prior job, came from a good family with no history of substance abuse. The man was even in a committed relationship before taking the job at Prey although he had broken up with his girlfriend only a couple of weeks after starting his new job.

There had been no indication the man would have done something like this. No way to predict it. Tate had no idea what had changed, if the man had been jealous of Scarlett and her team, of their permanent positions at Prey, or the drug they were working on. If he had a problem with women in general, or if he felt he should have been promoted and was angry that he had been overlooked. If the pressure of working for such a big company had set off his drinking, and he’d simply spiraled.

Whatever the reason it didn't matter.

Warren Barone thought he was going to get away with this. That he could try to sell a drug he hadn't created and take the money that rightly should have gone to the four women of Athena Team if they decided to sell it. That it was okay to set someone up to take the fall for him so he could take the money and be in the clear.

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