“Can we go inside, please?” I asked, trying to change the subject and get us moving. “I’m still in a ripped flimsy piece of fabric here.” He gave a short laugh and motioned for me to follow him. He shoved his phone in the back pocket of his jeans and unlocked the front doors.
“No butlers?” I asked, making sure he could hear the sarcasm dripping off my mouth.
“It’s three in the morning, Scarlet. What kind of employer would I be if I made my butler stay up this late just to let us inside?”
“A heartless gangster that kidnaps innocent women?”
All I got was an eye roll in response. He was harder to rile up than Elliot. I would just have to try harder in the future. When we walked inside, I was greeted by sweet, sweet warmth. Even for such a big house, it was nice and toasty inside. The front doors opened into a large foyer with double staircases. To the left looked like some sort of sitting room. The remnants of a fire still glowed. The other doors I could see were all shut. He threw his keys down on the stand next to the wall to our right and then stepped out of his boots.
“Shoes off,” he said, pointing at my boots.
Holding my shirt to the front of me as I bent over, I unlaced them and slipped them off. I picked them up to take them upstairs with me, but he shook his head.
“These cost more money than I had to spend, asshole. I’m not leaving them lying around in a strange house.”
“Scarlet, seriously. We are holding you for ransom and you think we are going to fuck with your shoes?” I shrugged and hugged them tighter to my chest. He sighed. “Fine. But don’t let any dirt fall off of them and onto the carpet. It’s new.”
I followed him up the stairs, and he veered off to the right. We walked down too many hallways before getting to the room that was supposed to be mine. I was going to have to get out of there and explore if I was ever going to learn my way around and get the hell out of this place.
“We are all on this floor, on this hallway actually, and one of us will always be here.” I knew a threat when I heard one, even if it was said with some politeness.
He opened the heavy wooden door and walked in first, flipping the lights on and checking in the closets, under the bed, and behind the curtains. He moved into the attached bathroom as I walked into the bedroom. All of the windows were covered in thick, velvet curtains, and the room had been painted black. The rest of the room was minimal, with exposed wood and some plants dotted around the room.
It was surprisingly cozy. I had expected a dark and drafty room with not much comfort, but that massive bed was calling my name like a siren song.
Tristan walked out of the bathroom.
“You reek of weed and alcohol. Take a shower before getting into bed. The guys decided while you were asleep that we would just make pizza here. I’ll bring you some so that you can eat before you go to sleep. All of your clothes are here, and everything you need should already be stocked in the bathroom. If there’s anything you find to be lacking, let one of us know and the housekeeper will make sure it’s there tomorrow.”
“Excuse me?” I said. “All of my clothes are here?”
He smiled, and those green eyes lit up. “Indeed they are, poppet. Went and got them myself before we came to get you at the party. I think this room should serve as an upgrade to the hovel you were living in.” And with that, he left me alone. I didn’t hear him lock the door, so I must have been allowed to move around the house as much as I wanted. For now.
I walked over and opened the closet. Sure enough, all my clothes were there. All of my shoes were organized on the floor, and all of my clothes were hung up. I opened the chest of drawers, and all of my bras and underwear were in there. Lovely. They had gone through my entire room. I made a mental note to lose my shit on them about that later.
The bathroom was all black and wood as well. The shower was huge and had jets coming out on all sides. It was literally the best shower of my entire life. If it wasn’t for the whole being held against my will thing, I could’ve easily gotten used to this type of life. When I dried off, I threw on an oversized shirt and gently ran a comb through my hair.
God, I looked rough. I had a handprint on my throat, scrapes across my face from where I fell, and red rings around my wrists. My blue eyes looked bloodshot and beyond tired. Although, considering it was well past three in the morning, I wasn’t surprised.
“You’re going to have to wear clothes around the house.” I jumped and whacked my hip against the vanity.
“Fuck’s sake. You need a damn bell around your neck.” I rubbed my hip bone. “Another bruise to add to the list.”
Tristan ignored me and sat the tray of pizza down on the bed and licked my legs with his gaze. “You can’t walk around wearing a shirt and nothing else in a house full of men. Especially a house with Sebastian in it. He will lose his shit.” He stalked towards me, and I backed up until my back hit the shower. He just smiled like something I had done was humorous before digging through the drawers. “Here,” he said. “Give me your wrists.”
I stepped closer and reluctantly gave him my hands. His tattooed fingers rubbed the cream into my sore skin. The relief was instant. I didn’t realize how badly they had been stinging until then. His hand then found my chin and pushed it up to expose my neck. Out of habit, I pushed my chin back down, conscious of the jagged scar there. I hated that I was self-conscious of it. It was proof I had survived, but it was also a link to my past. And it reminded me of it every time I saw it.
“Fine,” he sighed and sat the cream down on the sink. “Put that on your neck. It’ll help with the pain.”
“Thanks.”
“Get a good night’s sleep, Scarlet.” I followed him out and watched him go. Well, I watched his ass go. “Oh, and there’s a fan for noise in the back of the closet. We knew you wouldn’t be able to sleep without it.” I shot my eyes up to his face, hoping he hadn’t caught me gawking. I felt my cheeks flush.
He just winked and shut the door behind him. And then I heard the lock click. I figured that was coming.
After I ate every single slice of pizza he brought me and drank the entire bottle of water, I found the fan and turned it on. I really didn’t want to know how they knew that little fun fact about me. I had never been able to sleep in silence. Ever since I was a little girl, I had slept with a fan to help drown out the noise of my parents fighting, and it was a habit that had followed me into adulthood.
Lying down on the bed, I passed out before my head even hit the pillow.