Scars (The Triad 1)

SCARLET

“Alright, love. Are you going to come kindly, or are we going to fight all the way back to the car?”

I looked up into Blondie’s face and smiled before spitting right in between his very green eyes. I laughed and then was hauled up onto my feet in one swift pull. My shoulders screamed, and I was very proud that I didn’t.

“That’s quite a mouth you’ve got on you, little one.”

I pulled at my arms again, trying to get the blood moving in them, but it just made the one behind me pull me tighter against him. The sheer amount of muscle this guy had was infuriating.

“How much are they paying you?” Blondie wiped my spit off his face with the bottom of his shirt, and Jesus wept. His entire stomach was covered in dark, intricate tattoos that moved across his hips and dipped down over that delicious vee and into his jeans. When I looked back up at his face, he held my stare with a smirk. Not ashamed of finding an attractive man attractive, I held his gaze with my own smile. It’s not like I’d have to deal with them much longer. I was not going to be handed over like a prized cow. I just had to figure out how to get away first.

“Nothing yet, princess.” That caught me off guard, and my face instantly betrayed my confusion. “Not what you were expecting? We’re full of surprises.” Dude behind me zip-tied my wrists, gently I noticed, as I stood there in a stare-off with Blondie. “Seb,” he said with a grin. “You want the honors, seeing as she drew blood?”

I looked down at his arm and saw I had cut him pretty good. Blood was dripping down the outside of his forearm and down his fingers. I snorted and looked back at him.

“Oops.”

His dark eyes lit up with amusement as he laughed at me. Okay, maybe these guys were full of surprises. That was not the reaction I was expecting either. His bloody hand reached up and marked my cheek. I fought against the warring feelings that caused. I couldn’t decide if I was revolted that some stranger’s blood was suddenly smeared across my cheek or if I was turned on.

Yeah, I was fucked-up. And he saw it. Those dark eyes held mine for just a moment too long.

“Let’s go, little one.” He bent over and threw me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, making my face bounce off his hip. Then he swatted my ass. Hard.

“Motherfucker,” I swore against the sharp pain in my nose.

“Motherfucker sounds so sweet coming out of your mouth, but my name is Sebastian, sweetheart.” I grunted as we started walking back towards the house.

“And Man Bun and Blondie back there?” I couldn’t see them from my current position, but I could hear them mumbling to each other.

“Elliot and Tristan. Respectively.”

“What a delight it is to meet you all.” Sebastian laughed again, and it vibrated through me. “Where are we going? If my family isn’t paying you to get me, then why are you here?”

“You ask a lot of questions for someone in your position,” one of the boys behind us said. Someone was grumpy.

“You’ll have to excuse Elliot, darling. He’s always been a little moody.” Elliot scoffed, and Tristan walked up closer to me so that I could turn my head and look up at him. The blood was rushing to my head, and that mixed with the alcohol was already giving me a headache. “You see, Scarlet, when we got word that you were hiding out in our city, we thought it might be smart to capitalize on the opportunity.”

The motion of my head bobbing and my body moving with Sebastian’s steps was going to make me sick. I looked back down at the ground and closed my eyes.

“So, you haven’t spoken to my family? They don’t know where I am?”

“Not yet. But we’ve heard they’ve been looking for you. You’ve been in hiding for quite a while, haven’t you? Disappeared on your twenty-first birthday and you’re, what? Twenty-three now?”

“Twenty-four.”

“You had a good run. But I would prefer you not be found in our city. It could look like we’re harboring a fugitive and cause an all-out gang war between us and your family. So we are going to happily turn you over. And I’m betting they’ll be willing to pay good money for you.”

“Oh, I’m sure they will. Either that or they’ll just have you off me yourself.” Sebastian stopped and dropped me to my feet. I swayed a moment before catching my balance. We weren’t back in front of the house. We were on the old dirt road that led to it. They had pulled over and hidden the idling car among the trees.

Sebastian opened the back door and easily picked me up and put me on the seat. There was an older man sitting in the driver’s seat, staring straight ahead like he wasn’t allowed to look at me.

“Scoot to the middle for me, love.”

“Ugh,” I groaned as I shifted over. “Enough with the little pet names.”

Sebastian laughed and took off his shirt to wrap his forearm as he slid into the car. Fuck me, this was going to be a long ride if I had to sit next to those abs the entire time.

Elliot, the grump, opened the other door and sat on my other side. Where Sebastian let our bodies touch and sat a little too close for comfort, Elliot made sure his body was pressed firmly against the door instead. Once Tristan was in the front seat, we were off.

I shifted my attention over to Sebastian since he seemed to be the nicest of the group—and not hard to look at in his current state of undress. He looked down at me and grinned, throwing his arm around the seat behind me. His fingers found strands of my hair, and he twisted them over and over.

“Yes, love?”

I rolled my eyes. “Can you tell me where we are going?”

“He cannot,” Elliot grunted.

“I didn’t ask you, big boy. I asked Sebastian. Don’t speak unless spoken to. First rule of good manners.” Suddenly my entire throat was wrapped in his hand, tightly. He gripped it and dug his fingers into my neck, and the immediate pain and lack of oxygen made my eyes water.

“Listen here, little girl. I eat bitches like you for breakfast. Shut the fuck up and sit there like the pretty little princess you are.” He let go and pushed me back. I fell into Sebastian, and his arm landed around my shoulders and stayed there.

“If you wanted to get me in bed, Man Bun, all you had to do was ask. I like it a bit rough” I rolled my neck as Elliot swore under his breath and turned his stare out the window, sinking further into the door than I thought was possible. Sebastian’s hand came around my throat, and I froze, thinking he was going to bruise it even further.