Page 60 of Crushed
CHAPTER 20
Cormac
Morning light shone through the windows, lighting Scarlett in a soft haze. A few spots of makeup had bled onto the pillow beneath her. Black makeup was smudged around her eyes, and the faded red paint on her lips was chalky. She looked well spent, and yet, she was still beautiful like that, innocent in her sleep. Unassuming. Not hiding behind a facade. As if she truly was the Scarlett she presented herself as.
I stroked her hair, gently waking her. She stirred. It was well into the morning; we had a lot to do that day.
“What time is it?” she asked, her voice groggy with sleep.
“Almost ten,” I said. “I have brunch planned for us in the garden.”
“Brunch?”
She stretched, smiling at me, then sat up and checked her phone, texting someone. Even though I had awoken before her with enough time to pick through her device, I hadn’t. It was something I had done before with others, if I saw the opportunity, but I decided to trust Scarlett. Instead, I sent the evening dress to the staff member in the laundry room and retrieved the clothes I had picked out for her. I placed the small tubular hair brooch in the pocket of her new pants.
I trusted her. I had to keep reminding myself of that. Scarlett might have been an assassin, but with me, she was my property, at least for right now.
But what was she checking on her phone? Was she still planning my demise?
“What kind of brunch?” she asked, interrupting my thoughts.
“Eggs benedict, a fruit salad, bagels and lox, a cheese plate, other things.”
“That sounds amazing.”
“Mimosas and coffee too.”
“Coffee,” Scarlett said. “Definitely coffee.” Her eyes crossed to the robe on a chair beside the bed.
“More clothes are waiting in the bathroom for you,” I said.
“Thank you.” Her phone buzzed, and she texted on it with quick swipes of her fingers. Then she stowed her phone and shrugged. “I don’t even want to see how much of a hot mess I am right now. You must be embarrassed by me.”
I shook my head, smiling to myself. “You’re perfect.”
I showed her to the bathroom, marveling at how easily she undressed from the robe into complete nudity, the pear shape of her hips and thighs making me salivate. Soon, the glass walls of the spacious shower were steaming. I headed to the surveillance room to check the nursery; Rose had finished enjoying her breakfast a few minutes ago and was now making a house with her leftover toast. By the time I was back from that, Scarlett was dressed, waiting on the balcony.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t do brunch today,” she said. She held my hands in hers, clutching her fingers tight. “I wish I could, but I’ve got a meeting to go to.”
“A meeting on a Sunday?”
She lifted her shoulders and eyebrows at the same time, trying to play it off. “Maybe we can do brunch tomorrow? Oh, you work tomorrow. Next weekend, then?”
I narrowed my eyes. “You’re my property,” I said in a low voice.
“And I still am, but this is a promise I made before we discussed what TPE meant.” She bit her lip. “This is something I need to do. Please, try to understand. After I finish this, you’ll have my complete attention.” She winked. “Besides time spent on my job, of course.”
“Your job at the Dahlia District,” I said, my tone flat.
“Right. The Dahlia District.” She sighed, her eyes flitting across the room. She perked up. “Of course, I can try to arrange something more preferable with Dahlia.”
Still, she was keeping the lies. Was it promising that she wanted to keep her word to attend a meeting this badly? Or could Inottrust her if she was already putting up this much resistance?
Would she always lie to me about why she had sought me out, hiding behind the facade of the Dahlia District? Or was this simply another part of her plans to kill me?
“We’ll have a meeting with Dahlia together,” I said carefully. For now, I would play Scarlett’s game.
I walked her to the front of the estate, then watched her get into a car with one of my drivers. Once they were on the road, I called my top security guard. “Put a tracking device on her car before they arrive,” I said.
