“I wondered when you were going to call.”
“Yeah, well, I’ve been waiting for you.”
“I see Killian was dealing with his moral compass again. That is going to cost him.”
Bain gritted his teeth. “What do you want?”
“I’d say with the fact you’re calling now, I bet I’ve got Viper to thank for this, right?”
This was why Boss would forever be on fucking top. He knew shit that no one else ever did.
“What will it take for you not to come after Scarlett?” he asked.
There was laughter over the line. “Oh, Bain, there are times I question why I wanted you as part of the team. You’re always so quick to judge.”
“She had no part in any of this. Your beef is with me.”
“On that you are correct, but you see, years have taught me that a way to get a message across is to hurt the ones close to the person.”
Bain closed his eyes. It had been years, since he was a child, since he had begged for anything. “Please.”
“Oh, what is this I hear? You’re begging me now, is it?” Boss laughed, this time even louder than before. “I find this so fucking funny. I never thought anything would get the precious Bain to beg.”
“I’ll do anything. Whatever it takes, just don’t harm her. Take me, fuck with me, I don’t give a shit.”
“Bain, I’m the boss. I say what goes, and when I’m ready, nothing will stop me from taking her. She’ll bear my mark, and every time you see it, you’ll know that you did it to her.”
Boss hung up, and Bain yelled, throwing his cell phone across the room, watching as it smashed into pieces.
He spun around as Scarlett placed a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay,” she said.
“No. It’s not going to be okay.” He gripped the back of her neck, holding her close. Kissing the top of her head, he tried to think of anything that would stop Boss coming after her.
Fuck! Fuck! Shit! Fuck!
Scarlett didn’t say anything more to him about that. They shared dinner, washed the dishes together, and then sat down to watch a movie. Neither of them spoke about Boss or his threats. Bain had cleaned away the broken phone and dumped it in the trash.
After watching a movie, he’d taken her upstairs and made love to her. Once again they had the long drawn out battle of who would fall asleep. He won. He always won, and he watched her sleep. Her light snores were sweet music to his ears. Placing a hand on her back, he felt her back rise and fall with each indrawn breath.
“I will protect you for the rest of my life. I can’t lose you, Scarlett. You’re the only thing that is good in my life. The only thing I want to keep.”
He hated that he had fucked up, and there was no way to take it back. After the life he had lived, he’d promised himself he wouldn’t feel helpless again, and yet here he was, helpless to save the woman he loved.
Boss would hurt her, and unless Bain could find something to appease the monster in Boss, it would mark her for the rest of her life. He knew about scars. He had more than any man he knew, and he didn’t want that for Scarlett.
For the next week, their life remained the same, going through the same motions. He slept for a few hours, trained, ate, spent time with Scarlett, and then they ate again, made love, and he watched her sleep.
Exhaustion was a horrible thing, and on the eighth night, Bain lost his battle with Scarlett. He fell asleep, and even as he drifted, he promised himself it would be but a few moments.
When he woke up, Scarlett was gone, with a note on the bed.
Picking it up, Bain felt sick to his stomach.
“Revenge is a dish best served cold. Sweet dreams. Boss XXX.”
Chapter Eleven
Scarlett had gotten up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom. Instead of the en-suite, she used the one in the hallway. She made sure to be extra quiet because Bain needed sleep in the worst way. When she came out of the bathroom, a huge man dressed in black wrapped an arm around her waist, slapping his hand over her mouth. At first, she kicked and struggled, until she realized what was going on.