TRISTAN
“Simon called me this morning,” I told both Sebastian and Elliot. We were in the kitchen while the girls chatted away, watching TV in the living room. “He seems to think someone followed us here, or they’ve figured out where we’re keeping her somehow.”
“Who?” Elliot asked.
“Her fucking family,” I answered, running my hands over my face.
“Then why haven’t they made a move?” Seb asked quietly.
“Maybe they don’t want her? Maybe they’re just keeping an eye on her?” I honestly had no idea, but I didn’t like that they had an idea of where we were. That meant this house was no longer safe.
“Or maybe they’re waiting until they can secretly get enough manpower here to make their move,” Elliot chimed in, helpful as always.
“I want to make sure that there actually is someone here before we start making plans to move her. We only have so many places off the radar to take her.”
“What was Simon’s reasoning? Why does he think there’s someone here?” Elliot asked.
“One of their guys hasn’t been seen since we were in London, and he was seen on CCTV lurking around the Tower while we were there. They were probably keeping tabs on us from the moment we set foot in the city.”
“Okay,” Seb said. “Let’s figure out if someone is here and go from there. How do you want to do that?”
I sighed and looked through the opening into the living room. Kenna had said something, making Scarlet throw her head back in laughter. I wasn’t going to lose her again. We had to do something to get this shit over with. It wasn’t like we could just hide her away for the rest of her life. We had businesses to run, and she had a life to live. We were going to have to bite the bullet and end it whether we liked it or not.
“You aren’t going to like it,” I said, looking back at Seb. “We’re going to have to lure them out of wherever the fuck they’re hiding, and Scarlet is going to have to be the bait.”
“Oh, hell no,” Seb said immediately.
“He’s right,” Elliot sighed. “If they’re here, they’re here for her, not us. The only way to figure out if anyone is here and who they are is to use her.”
Seb’s face fell, and his eyes went dark. He didn’t like it, but he knew he was going to be outnumbered.
“If there was any other option,” I told him, “I wouldn’t use her like this. I really wouldn’t. But I don’t know what else to do, and it’s not like we’re going to leave her alone. We’ll be there to make sure she stays safe.”
“Where is this happening?” Elliot asked while Seb sulked and stared into the living room.
“Pub in town has a Christmas party they’re putting on. Figured we could go there, have a few drinks, and wait around to see if anyone makes an appearance.” I snapped my fingers in front of Seb’s face to get his attention. “Are you listening? I know you don’t like this idea, but Scarlet needs you to pay attention and be at your best. Nut up and do it for her if you don’t want to think you’re doing it for me.”
He rolled his eyes and took a deep breath.
“We go in loaded to our fucking teeth,” he finally said.
“Agreed,” Elliot said.
“Same.” I leaned forward on the counter, lowering my voice another notch. “We also need to keep an eye on Kenna. If anything were to happen to her, Scarlet would never forgive any of us. And,” I said, smiling to myself at the memory, “we know Scarlet can hold her own in a brawl.”
Seb laughed and nodded.
“Seems strange to me that all of this is happening after you both allowed her supposed best friend into the safe house.”
Seb and I both turned our glares on him.
“What?” he asked. “You guys really don’t find it odd that we were basically fine until you both trotted off to London and brought a stranger back?”
“She isn’t a stranger,” Seb said. “And I had her fucking watched!” he whisper yelled.
“Are we ever going to move on from this?” I asked him.
Elliot smiled and shrugged.
“If it turns out that I’m wrong, I’ll move on from it. Until then, no promises.”
Seb stared him down for a moment, and I thought I was going to have to break up another fucking fight between them. It had been so smooth lately with all of us sharing her and knowing she was back safe with us. But in future, I knew there was no way I’d be letting Seb spring any big surprises on Elliot that concerned Scarlet. Ever since he crossed over to the dark side, it seemed he took more of an interest in her safety than I expected him to.
His entire demeanor had shifted in the past week. He wasn’t as grumpy, he wasn’t picking as many fights with her, and when he did, they were playful and normally ended in him laughing and smacking her ass.
Meanwhile, I was still trying to battle the small kernel of jealousy I felt whenever I saw either of them alone with her. We had all shared women before, but never for anything serious. It was always a night or two of shared fun, and it never went further than that.
But I was falling for Scarlet, and Seb had already told her he loved her, and she had said it back. Did she love all of us? I didn’t want to be jealous over their relationship. We were all in this together, and she was important to all of us. And the way she treated each of us proved that we were just as important to her.
“Are we telling her?” Seb asked, bringing me out of my thoughts.