Scars (The Triad 1)

SCARLET

I fell asleep at some point because I woke up to being forcefully pushed off a shoulder as I fell into another one. And when I opened my eyes, I could see. Thankfully, the blindfold had been removed. I sat up and looked around. We were pulling into a long gravel driveway that was surrounded on both sides by heavy forest.

“You snore,” Elliot said.

I whipped my head around to him. “I do not. And you didn’t have to shove me off of you so violently.”

He gave me a smirk.

“Yes, you do,” Tristan chimed in from the front seat, still texting away on his phone.

“It’s okay, precious. Something so loud coming out of something so little was absolutely adorable.” I moved like I was going to flip Sebastian off, but the sharp sting of muscles that had been bound for too long reminded me of my current state.

“I don’t have any weapons. Can we please cut these fucking things off of my wrists before I lose my hands?”

We pulled up to a wrought iron gate, and the old man rolled down the window and spoke to someone on the other side of the speaker.

“Go ahead, Seb.” Tristan caught my eye in the rearview mirror and winked. “She’s been a good girl.” I stuck my tongue out at him, the worst gesture I could do with my hands still tied behind my back. “Be careful, Scarlet. Stick your tongue out again and I might be inclined to find something it can lick. Especially with that tongue piercing. What a nice little surprise that is.”

I clamped my mouth shut so tightly I tasted blood. The gates opened, and we started moving further down the road.

“Fuck you. I would bite your dick off if you put it anywhere near my mouth.”

Sebastian cut my hands free, and I slowly massaged my arms to get the blood moving. Fuck, that was painful. Tristan ran a hand through his blond hair and laughed.

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

I rolled my eyes at him and bit back another snarky remark. I needed them to trust me, not hate me.

I watched as the safe house came into view. It was still pitch-black outside, so I didn’t think we had been traveling for very long. A mansion that could have belonged in something like Pride and Prejudice rolled into view. Don’t get me wrong, my family was wealthy, very wealthy, so I was always in mansions and penthouses. The rich and their desire to show everyone their wealth was a universal trend.

But I didn’t think a safe house would be so lavish. And I definitely didn’t think I would be afforded any type of comfort like this.

“Christ,” I breathed, not really talking to any of them.

“Just wait until you see your room, little one,” Sebastian murmured into my ear. This guy had no idea what personal space was.

“Although I am reconsidering how close we put you to all of us after hearing you snore like a chainsaw for the past hour.” With my hands free, I was able to smile and flip Tristan off with both hands, but he just grinned.

“I don’t snore,” I mumbled.

We pulled to a stop in front of the house, and everyone climbed out, but I just sat there and looked up at the building. Sebastian smiled when he realized I wasn’t moving and leaned back in through the door. He licked his lips and looked me up and down. My entire body heated under his gaze. It had been way too long since I’d gotten laid if my kidnapper was turning me on this much.

“You want me to throw you over my shoulder again, love?” God, he was too beautiful for his own good. And that Yorkshire accent was just about to do me in. My eyes traced down over his cheekbones and across the stubble forming on his jaw. I gave myself a mental kick and met his eyes again. His were filled with pure mischief.

“No, thank you. I can walk perfectly fine.” I jumped out of the SUV and landed painfully on my feet. I was going to have so many blisters from running in brand-new boots.

“Seb, Elliot, go check the perimeter, and when you come inside, I want every exit personally checked by you both. It’s been too long since the meatheads we have running this place have had such an important visitor.”

Sebastian groaned. “But I wanted to be the one to show our pet her room!” he whined. He let out a curse when Elliot grabbed him by the back of the neck like a dog grabbing her pup. Sebastian’s face shifted, and holy shit, I had never felt so much aggression roll off someone. Suddenly, the cinnamon roll was gone, and in its place was a predator. “Get your hands off of me, Elliot, or I will cause a scene in front of the lady.”

Elliot rolled his eyes and gave him a push towards the side of the house.

A low growl made its way out of Sebastian’s chest as he stalked over to me and grabbed my face in his hands. He squeezed me just a little too tight, and my body froze. I could feel him barely containing his anger. He licked my bottom lip, and my insides turned to jelly. I tried to pull back from him, but he held me too tightly.

“I’ll come give you a tour tomorrow, pet,” he said onto my mouth before letting go and stalking off in the other direction. My eyes closed, and I took a deep breath to get ahold of myself as he walked away. My body really needed to stop responding to violence this way.

“Report to me when you’re done!” Tristan yelled after them, and Elliot raised his arm in confirmation.

I started shivering and bouncing on my toes. It was too fucking cold to just be standing around outside making small talk. Tristan looked at me, then down at my chest that was probably pushed up nicely by my crossed arms, and then back to my face. I couldn’t see his facial expression well in the dim light, but I could feel the mood shift in him.