Page 19 of Psycho Saints

"So what do we do?" I asked, steering the conversation back to the problem at hand.

Tyrone exhaled slowly. "I don't know. Part of me wants to tell Cristian to fuck off. But..."

"But he's family," I finished with an exasperated sigh. "And he's trying."

"Yeah." Tyrone's eyes were troubled. "And if Scarlet is pregnant, it could be his."

I pursed my lips at the thought. Cristian had lost out on being a father once before, and it had unraveled him. I knew it was twisted, how he'd wanted all of this and orchestrated it, but it was hard to not see some slight warped perception of why he'd thought it was the thing to do. Not the right thing, but then again, his brain wasn't right. Even before the injury, it hadn't been the most normal.

"I don't know if he deserves it, or is equipped to be a father," I said carefully as I turned to look back inside the empty apartment, wondering if Scarlet was enjoying her spa day.

"Neither do I," Tyrone agreed. "But he wants to prove himself, to all of us."

"We can't let him hurt her again," I said, my voice lower than I'd expected. Our little pyro had really brought out a protective side of us now.

Tyrone nodded, his expression hardening. "We won't. If he comes back, it'll be on our terms. And he'll have to prove himself, not just to us, but to her."

I snorted. "Good luck with that."

We fell silent again, each lost in our own thoughts. The city sprawled before us, oblivious to the drama unfolding in our little corner of the world. I thought about Scarlet, probably relaxing with her best friend and venting, blissfully unaware of the storm brewing around her.

She'd changed everything without even trying.

When we first contained her here, she was just supposed to be a plaything, a distraction. But somehow, she'd become so much more. I remembered the first time I truly let my guard down around her, the way her eyes had lit up with genuine interest as I talked about my favorite games. It was such a small thing, but it had cracked something open inside me.

The more time I spent with her, the more I felt myself thawing. Years of carefully constructed walls began to crumble, and I found myself looking forward to our conversations, to the sound of her laughter echoing through the apartment.

It wasn't just me, either. I'd seen the change in Tyrone, the way his eyes softened when he looked at her. Even Cristian, for all his faults, had been different around her before everything went to hell.

We'd been monsters for so long, keeping everyone at arm's length to protect ourselves and our empire. But Scarlet had waltzed in and turned everything upside down, despite how things had begun, how we'd used her and abused her. She'd seen past our carefully crafted personas, somehow finding the humanity we'd buried deep inside.

How flawed did a person have to be that they could see humanity in such cruel beings? She had been traumatized herself, and it was that darkness that was both her strength and her weakness.

I thought about the mornings we'd spent together, just talking or sitting in comfortable silence. The way she'd curl up next to me on the couch, completely at ease despite knowing who we were and what we were capable of. It was like she'd seen through to our cores and decided we were worth caring about anyway.

For the first time in years, I felt... human. Normal, even. Like maybe there was more to life than just business and power plays. Scarlet had brought warmth and light into our cold, dark world, and I wasn't sure I could go back to the way things were before.

Whatever happened next, one thing was certain: I'd do whatever it took to keep her safe. Even if that meant protecting her from my own brother.

10

SCARLET

Isank into the plush leather seat of the sleek black vehicle, relaxed after the spa day with Noms. The tinted windows offered a barrier between me and the outside world, but I couldn't shake the feeling of being trapped in a gilded cage. I sighed as I touched my stomach, wondering what was going on there, if anything. I didn't feel all that different, no morning sickness or anything, which was a good sign that nothing was growing.

I'd taken too long hugging Noms goodbye, and she'd reassured me that things would be okay, this would be over before I knew it, and my lack of pregnancy would have me free in just a few short weeks.

I frowned as my phone buzzed, and I raised it, Tyrone's name flashing on the screen.

"What's up?" I answered, my stomach flipping uneasily.

"Scarlet, Cristian wants to speak with you."

"No." The word left my lips before he finished his sentence.

"He's trying, Scarlet. He feels remorse, which is a lot for our brother. He wants to make things right."

I scoffed. "Make things right? After what he did? We both know that's not possible."

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