Page 51 of Crushed
My heart ached at the mumbling way she said those words. Had I done that to Rose? Neglected my daughter in favor of my work, only to tell myself that it was worth it, if I could promise she would always be healthy and alive?
When were those reasons no longer enough? At what point did the mental suffering outweigh my goals?
“That must have been hard,” I said.
“Well,” Scarlett said, “She made it into a lesson. Anything she had to do at home, she taught me how to do it myself. One, so that I would have the skill set, and two, so that I could help her if she was ever in a crunch.” She laughed, and the sound was airy and exhausted, and so damn delightful. I reached over and held her hand. “She may not have been my mom, but she did the best she could, and I love her. I’m grateful that she was always there for me.”
“That’s all that counts,” I said.
“Exactly. We all need to do our best,” she squeezed my hand. “But, you know, maybe next time, warn me if you’re going to give me a fake pill.”
I grinned, then pulled her into my lap, “Only if I want to warn you, pet.”
My fingers traced the delicate line of her neck, and she ran her hand over mine, pressing my palm into her skin. “Am I your property now?”
A warmth resided in me. It wasn’t a demand. It wasn’t even a request. It was a question, one that bordered on begging. She said it with such meek modesty, that I knew she wanted it. Whatever it was that Scarlett had come after me for, the information her employer sought, whatever it had to do with SNC, it paled in comparison to her desire to serve me.
“Not yet,” I whispered. I brushed my fingertips along her cheek. “Soon.”
I kissed her lips, drinking in her taste, and she opened her mouth, letting my tongue search her, conquer her. Every bit of Scarlett surrendered to me, her body easing into my grasp like putty, and I molded her,crushedher, made her right for me, until she was built up again to something unmistakably mine. My property.Mine.
Soon couldn’t come quickly enough.
***
An hour before dawn, I returned to my estate. I checked the nursery monitors; Rose was asleep, her head tucked against a ladybug pillow, a stuffed ballerina bear clutched in her arms. She was peaceful, looking so much like the tiny infant I had brought home alone before we had moved here, before I had built a fortress centered around her.
In my office, I used my personal databases to search for SNC. Nothing came up. Every search result was different, so there was nothing conclusive. Her guardian’s name, Lizzy, popped into my head, but this time, I searched in the dark web, pairing her name with SNC to see what came up.
A link to a forum:Silent Network Consulting, led by Lizzy Fox.When I clicked it, the first sentence stood out like a lighthouse in the darkness:Assassins for hire.
What was the normal reaction to information like this? The woman I had been lusting over, had been after me for a reason, like I had always assumed, but that the reason was far deadlier than I had imagined. That realization should have been harrowing. I had let her come close to me, and she was a threat. It made sense now. Scarlett wanted to take my life.
My reaction, my gut instinct, was to keep going. To play with her charades. To see how far she would take it.
I must have been one fucked up soul.
Scarlett might have been clumsy with fire and erratic at her seduction, but she was strong and capable of taking me out. But I had unlimited resources and security that was efficient and tight. Perhaps that was part of her angle, using the Dahlia District to unnerve me. The entertainment club was discreet, but it wasn’t sealed shut, and getting me to enjoy her company would bring down my protective barriers, showing her my weaknesses.
But why hadn’t she killed me yet? There was a reason for that too, somewhere deep within.
I had ruined people’s lives, yes, but I never left them without resources. They always had enough that they could rebuild. It could have been far worse.
So who had sent her?
I knew what I should have done right then. Searched her out with my security army. Killed her myself. Put an end to this dance we were tangled inside of. But instinct held me back.
Hell, I hated that I wanted her, but I wanted her like I needed air to breathe. I wanted Scarlett completely.
I could play her game. Use it to figure out who had sent her. Bend her to my will and force her to switch sides. Annihilate the coward who had sent her.
Then I would figure out Scarlett’s weaknesses, what it took to destroy her.
