Chapter 16 #2
Shit, is Cy sending me home outside of a compass ceremony after all? They’ve already broken a few of the rules for him, so what’s one more?
“Where are we going?” I tuck the phone under the mattress next to the iPad, then stand.
Rather than leading me out of the room, Mara shuffles to what I assumed was a locked closet on the far side of my room and produces a key. A closet, it is not. Beyond the door is another door that is already open. Beyond that? Another room. A bedroom.
And based on the hint of cologne lingering in the air, this is Cy’s bedroom.
The only things separating me from Cyrus Fucking Darby are two semi-solid wooden doors that unlock with a key.
Oh fuck.
I did not need to know that.
The increasingly erotic dreams haunting me need much more distance. More boundaries. Not fewer. Whether he’s avoiding me or not, when one wakes up with a lady boner, the best way to move past it is to satiate the need. It would be way too easy to knock on that door.
Like Cy says, I’m not a rule-follower. I’ve also never been good at resisting temptation.
Why is he so tempting?
Ignoring the thought, I step more fully into the room. Immediately, I’m enveloped in the warm spice of the cologne that has been teasing me since day one.
“I thought having you here would prevent this kind of thing from happening,” Mara says, her voice dripping acid, as she points at the bed.
“What?” I track her finger to the innocent-looking envelope lying against the pillow. But as I get a good look at it, I realize it’s not so innocent after all. A bright red kiss—a scarlet kiss—makes it obvious who it’s from.
The bed is made but mussed. Like Cy lay down at some point after he made the bed.
Or someone did.
Did she lie down and smell his pillow the way I want to?
Get a fucking grip.
Son of a bitch. Scarlett was here. Right next door. And I heard nothing.
It would help if you could focus.
And on the right things. Not on my body’s sudden, untimely awakening.
“Has Cy seen this?” I ask.
I was right next door when Scarlett was here. She slipped in right under my nose. Dammit. I should have caught her.
Mara whips around and hits me with a resting bitch face that puts mine to shame.
“Of course not. Danny is keeping him occupied. I thought you were here to ensure this type of thing didn’t happen? That’s what your boss told the head of the studio, at least.”
Sawyer may own SAFE Haven, but he’s definitely not my boss.
Technically, he is.
Not that he ever acts like it. Unless Cole and I are bickering, he leaves me to my own devices.
Annoyance sparks to life inside me. I’ve had just about all I can stand of her tone.
“Where was fucking show security? I’m here to find the woman responsible for sending these.” I stomp to the bed, stopping just shy of snatching the letter up the way I want to.
This won’t be going to the police. Sawyer will use his contacts to get it dusted for prints.
“I am one person,” I continue. “Focused on doing the job I was hired to do. Which is to find Scarlett. Not catch her in the fucking act when show security is taking a smoke break. What about cameras?”
She shakes her head once, sharply. “Cy refused cameras in the hallway near his room. You were right next door. You’re telling me you didn’t hear anything?” Her acerbic tone has softened slightly, easing my own nerves.
“Nothing. But honestly, I figured that was a closet. Had I known I was supposed to be listening, I would have been.”
“Alicia didn’t tell you? We set it up that way on purpose.”
“Alicia didn’t tell me anything.” If she was supposed to, then why didn’t she? The hairs on the back of my neck stand up as I consider the question.
“I’ll talk to her,” Mara says.
“Where is Cy?”
With another contestant? Who? And why does an emotion like jealousy flare up inside me?
“Downstairs. Danny found this. He came up here to grab a baseball cap for Cy. When he saw it, he came straight to me. He hasn’t been briefed about Scarlett. I managed to convince him that one of the women is more amorous than we anticipated.”
“I need to send pictures of this to Sawyer.” I dart back into my room and dig my cell out again, then hustle through the door once more. I snap several images, then text them quickly.
“That should do it. I’m going to take this back to my room and take a look. Can you get it to Sawyer when I’m done?” I ask.
She nods. “I can have it messengered over.”
I use the edge of my sleeve to pick up the letter to avoid disrupting any possible prints. “Are you going to tell Cy?”
“If I do, then I’ll have to explain why I don’t have the letter. He’ll want to see it.” She sighs. “So no, Danny told me he wouldn’t say anything. Let’s keep this from him for the time being.”
I’m not sure I fully agree with her, yet she has a point. How can she tell him Scarlett has surfaced without showing him the proof?
You’re a professional liar at this point. Yet you can’t figure this out?
I ignore the way my conscience pricks at me. I’m not lying. I’m pretending. The line between the two may be thin, but if this is what I need to do to catch Scarlett, then so be it.
Retreating to my room, I close the door.
Mara doesn’t follow me, so I assume she locks it from the other side and exits through Cy’s room.
I hold the envelope gingerly with the fabric of my shirt, until I can grab the disposable gloves also hidden in my suitcase.
Sawyer had given them to me. Just in case.
The man’s ability to think through all these scenarios was spooky, but I was glad I had packed them.
Now, maybe Sawyer’s contact can find something.
There’s a chance they could even extract DNA, since she pressed her lips to it.
Careful not to smudge it, I sit cross-legged on the bed and ease the letter out.
Cy,
You have no idea what it does to me, to watch you move like you’re the only real thing in this mansion full of people pretending to feel. They don’t see you—not the way I do. Not the way you deserve.
It took everything I had not to approach you and confess who I was at the pool yesterday.
No one else was around. It would have been so easy.
You looked so handsome in that green T-shirt.
And I know you wore it for me. You know how much I love you in green.
I received your message loud and clear. I understand.
You’re choosing me. You always choose me.
I felt it. I always feel it.
The cameras catch everyone else, but they never catch you the way I see you.
Soon you’ll see me for who I am—your soulmate.
You weren’t cast for entertainment.
You were cast for destiny.
For us.
I’m here.
Waiting.
Like I always have been.
Forever yours,
Scarlett
“Fuck me.” I tuck the creepy AF letter back into the envelope and shudder.
She’s off her rocker, whoever this woman is.
But is she capable of harming Cy?
I shake my head. “No. Not physically.”
Though it’s wise not to rule it out completely.
Leaving a letter like this for him? It’s more unhinged than the other instances when she’s reached out.
Shit. Cy may have started as my enemy, but I’ve seen the real him. He’s a good guy. He cares about people.
It’s even more than that. Feelings I don’t want to admit to.
The memory of our kiss swims to the surface of my mind. The way his eyes collided with mine in the car when he asked me if I was okay. That moment when he almost touched my jaw when he sought me out after the pool Q and A.
We have a connection. There’s no denying that.
But my priority here is finding Scarlett. I have to check with Cy. Find out who he’s told about Katie. I shared the story in confidence, and it needs to remain private. I don’t want her story released to the world like that. I don’t want my part in that story to be fodder for fan gossip.
I shouldn’t care what they think.
But I do.
And I care what Cy thinks.
“I’m growing soft in my old age,” I mumble to the empty room.
It’s time to toughen up again.
My sanity—and Cy’s safety—depend on it.