SCARLET
Tristan had explained what was going on before Kenna and I went upstairs to get ready. I didn’t like that this was happening while she was here or that we had to take her out into the line of fire, but there was no getting around it. We definitely weren’t leaving her behind. This little group did not have a good track record of leaving people behind.
“Remember the last time we went out to bars together?” Kenna asked as I straightened another piece of her hair. We were taking the opportunity of getting out of the house for the first time to actually make an effort. I had been wearing the boys’ clothes since I got back, and it felt nice to actually wear something that was my own for once.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” I said with a laugh.
“Can you even remember it?” she asked, laughing at my expense. “You got turned down by five different taxis. I thought I was going to have to carry your drunk ass home on my own.”
“It’s not my fault that no one would bring me fried chicken.” I had walked from taxi to taxi, shouting at her and the other people around me that how dare they send me home without any fried chicken. Or so I was told, anyway. I don’t remember much from that night.
“You didn’t have to shout it in every taxi driver’s face. That was also the night you got a cigarette burn on your nose, wasn’t it?” I nodded and laughed. “How the fuck did that even happen?”
“I’m telling you, I don’t remember a fucking thing. I was also supposedly jumping into random circles of people and dancing, remember? The stories about that night are wild.” I combed my fingers through her hair and sat the straightener back down on the sink, flicking it off. “I remember getting home and running up the stairs to vomit.” I cringed at the memory.
“Yeah, I pushed you in there and went to bed. You were a bit more coherent by that point.” She stood up and walked back into the bedroom, pulling on a pair of jeans.
“I fell asleep with my face on the toilet seat and woke up when my nose touched the toilet water,” I told her, shivering at the memory.
“Let’s not get that out of control tonight.” She laughed and walked over to pull me into a hug. “I thought you were fucking dead,” she said, holding me to her in a death grip.
It took me a moment to react to her sudden show of affection. It wasn’t like we had never hugged, but she was pouring a lot of emotion into it, squeezing me like she had actually lost me. I shouldn’t have kept her so in the dark.
“I’m sorry, Ken,” I said, wrapping my arms around her. “I shouldn’t have kept so many secrets. I thought I was keeping you safe, but it just made it harder on you. I’m sorry.”
She pulled back and dabbed at the few tears that had escaped, trying not to mess up her makeup. God, she was beautiful. Her brown eyes were almost black, and with her heavy eyeliner, it made her look a bit alien in the best way. I grabbed her face and gave her a quick kiss.
“I won’t keep you out of the loop anymore, okay?” I told her. “Forgive me?”
“Of course I forgive you,” she said with a smile.
“Are you guys about to make out right now?” Seb asked, suddenly appearing in the doorway. “Can I watch?”
“You wish, Sebby,” Kenna shot back. She got sick of all of his nicknames for her pretty quickly and decided to fight back with a nickname she discovered he hated. I found it hilarious and contemplated giving her cinnamon roll to add to her arsenal but decided to wait for the right moment. Seb’s face fell into a scowl, and he flipped her off as she walked past him.
“I’ll go grab the rest of my stuff, and then I’ll be ready to go,” she said, disappearing through the door.
“You look good enough to fucking eat, little pet,” Seb said, pulling me into his arms and grabbing my ass in a bruising grip.
“Don’t threaten me with a good time,” I told him as I stretched up onto my tiptoes and kissed him. “Let’s go get this shit over with. How many weapons do I get?” I asked him as we made our way downstairs.
“Two pistols and a few knives,” Elliot answered, coming around the corner with Kenna. “This one said she has little to no experience, so I’ve given her one gun and a quick rundown on how to shoot, but I’d rather her not have to use it.” He pulled his silky hair up into a tight knot. “She’ll get us all killed,” he murmured grumpily.
Kenna rolled her eyes at him.
“I’m not completely helpless, and I’m definitely not going to get you killed just because I’ve never had the reason to shoot a gun before, asshat.” She stuck her tongue out towards him and then saddled up next to me.
“Let’s get this shit over with. I’m already tired at the possibility of having to deal with your family,” Tristan said to me as he walked down the stairs.
“Yeah, let’s maybe stop calling them my family since they tried to kill me,” I told him as he kissed my forehead. He did look tired. I looked around at my boys, trying to see if they were all worn down. I guess playing bodyguard in a safe house for your girlfriend was kind of an around-the-clock job, especially when it took them away from London. That was definitely an extra stressor.
We needed to figure this shit out and fast.
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