Page 56 of Fighting for Scarlett

“I'm sorry, Scarlett. There’s a warrant out for your arrest.” Tate’s voice was gentle, and he’d said he wanted her to hide out here. Actually, he’d said that they were going to hide out here together.

Together.

Why?

Rubbing at her temples, she looked up at him through her lashes. “I don’t understand why you're staying. Why you're not turning me in. You're risking your career and your freedom.”

Why on earth would he do that for her when he didn't even like her?

“Can I make you something to eat while we talk?” he asked.

Curling her fingers around the key when he placed it in her palm, Scarlett weighed her options. With law enforcement, every defense agency, and the weapons trafficker hunting her, she wasn’t safe out there. Tate didn't like her, and he’d betrayed her by planning all along to bring her here and lock her in, but he was offering her protection anyway.

And risking a lot to do it.

With a tired nod, she turned and clutched the key as she headed back into the apartment. With Tate here it felt that much smaller, but oddly less claustrophobic. This man threw her system completely out of whack, and she didn't really understand why.

Didn't understand him either.

“What about grilled cheese sandwiches?” Tate asked as he headed for the kitchenette.

Honestly, she didn't care what they ate. It had been … much too long since she’d last eaten, and yet she had zero appetite. “I'm not all that hungry.”

“You need to eat, Scarlett. You haven’t had anything since at least the night you went home, that’s forty-eight hours ago now, and you’ve been running on adrenalin ever since. Food, we talk, then you're going to go take a hot bath and get the sleep you need.”

There was authority in his tone, and she got the feeling arguing about anything was pointless.

For now, at least, she was going to take the path of least resistance.

“Fine. Grilled cheese is okay with me,” she said, sinking into a stool at the breakfast bar.

“Once I’ve got the food cooking, I’ll take a look at your hands.”

Glancing down at her hands as they rested on the counter, she saw her knuckles were bloody, more wounds to add to her growing collection. She felt like one big, throbbing, bloody mess, battered inside and out.

“First off I need to apologize to you for blowing you off after the night we spent together,” Tate said as he prepared their food. “I shouldn’t have done that, and I definitely shouldn’t have pretended I didn't know you that day at the grocery store. Truth is, you scare me, Scarlett Madden.”

Surprised by Tate’s honesty, her gaze darted up to look at him. “You're scared of me?” she asked incredulously.

“You aren't afraid of anything, Scarlett, not even getting hurt. You put yourself out there, wear your heart on your sleeve, you trust your gut in a way I haven’t been able to do. You don’t let the possibility of getting hurt hold you back, you just go after what you want, and I respect the hell out of that. Truth is, I've been scared to fall in love ever since I was a kid because my parents loved each other so much they didn't have room in their hearts for anyone else. Not even me. I never wanted to risk being so dependent on another person that if I lost them I could no longer function. But you … you got under my skin.”

Unsure if that was a compliment or an insult, Scarlett cocked her head and studied the man cooking in the kitchen. “So, you hate me for that?”

Tate’s sigh was as weary as she felt. “No, Scarlett. I never hated you. I resented you for making me feel things I didn't want to and reacted badly. I’m truly sorry for that. No excuses. I was a jerk. And I'm sorry for not trusting what I knew about you to be true and thinking even for a second that you would be a traitor. I let some … family stuff cloud my judgment, and that was unfair to you. I'm sorry that I left you here today. I had to go into Prey, and I couldn’t risk taking you there knowing there’s a mole. I … don’t know what to think when it comes to you, Scarlett. But I know that when you're around, I feel different, and when you're not I can't stop thinking about you. I don’t deserve your forgiveness but I'm asking for it anyway. Do you think you can forgive me for treating you so badly?”

January 16th

5:26 P.M.

He had laid all his cards on the table.

After thinking over it all day, Tate had come to the conclusion that he had to find the courage to see through this thing with Scarlett. Wherever it ended up leading him.

Now he had to wait and see if she was willing to give him a chance.

A chance to … what he wasn’t quite sure yet.

All he knew was that Scarlett held nothing back. Allowed her childhood of being neglected and abandoned to fuel her and make her go after what she wanted harder. Unlike him. He’d used his childhood as an excuse to wave the white flag of surrender and hide.

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