CHAPTER 14
SCARLETT
Several days have passed since Daddy told me the whole place was safe. He eventually took me around the perimeter to see the guards and settle my nerves. It did wonders, and Daddy knew I needed it.
He was the one to bring it up when I told him it was fine after looking at the screen for almost an hour. He just knew and took action to make it better.
“Do you want to go for a walk, Juniper?” I ask her as she gazes up at me.
Daddy is currently out on the back porch on the phone, but he won’t mind if we stay near the house. I’ve done it several times before and Daddy has never told me no.
But this time, he looks a little stressed. Maybe I should stay inside until he comes back and then ask him. Juniper coos at me, and I turn to her, taking that as her yes to go outside. Standing, I pick her up and hold her close to me as I head to the front door.
Living up here the past several months has been amazing, and I never want to leave. Thankfully Daddy doesn’t want to get rid of us, which is perfect because we never want to leave him, either.
“Isn’t this nice?” I ask as we step onto the front porch and take a deep breath of the fresh air.
Juniper holds onto my shirt and leans her head on my shoulder. It’s about her nap time, but I can’t go back inside and put her down.
“You are staying out here with me. If Daddy is cross at me for not putting you down for a nap when I’m supposed to, I’ll take full responsibility,” I babble as I walk down the stairs.
“You shouldn’t have to deal with any of that.
Not that you really can, since you are just a baby.
Though I wonder if I could say you wanted to go outside and Daddy would believe me. ”
I shake my head at the thought and look around.
Daddy says sometimes deer come out and find little scraps of food, but I haven’t seen them since I got here.
Maybe they realize I’m here and Daddy doesn’t need the company anymore.
Or maybe they went to Uncle Aiden’s house to make him feel less lonely.
“We are going to go to Uncle Aiden’s house and see if the deer are there. Then maybe you can see your first deer.” I start the journey toward his house, but I stop and look back at the cabin.
I should tell Daddy where I’m going so he doesn’t worry, but he knows the only place I know on the property is his or Uncle Aiden’s cabins. Well, and Brix and Elijah’s cabin, but they aren’t here, so I can’t go there.
“You won’t be able to get close to the deer, though.
We could get hurt, or they will run off before we can even get close to them,” I tell Juniper as I continue to walk.
“I know, it’s so sad that we won’t be able to pet them, but maybe we can get Daddy to get us one as a pet so we can go out and touch it at any time. ”
That would be amazing if he could actually do that.
“But I think Daddy will say no,” I ramble to her. “Daddy doesn’t want any pets, I don’t think. Or he hasn’t mentioned it, but at the same time, he just got us and is probably a little overwhelmed with everything right now. Especially since my ex wants to come after me.”
And now I’m in a bad mood just thinking about him. I shouldn’t be thinking about him at all. We are safe here.
“Scarlett!” someone yells. “Where are you?”
My eyebrows scrunch together as I look around the forest trail. Why are they shouts my name?
“Juniper? Scarlett?” Another person calls from a different direction.
Worry churns in my stomach as I continue to walk down the path.
“We are almost at Uncle Aiden’s house.” I hold Juniper tighter against me, not liking the bad feeling washing over me. “Everything is going to be okay.” But I’m talking to myself when I say that, trying to help keep myself calm.
“Little One!” Daddy shrieks, panic clear in his voice.
I turn around and take a step back. Daddy sounded close, yet I don’t think he’s close enough to me.
Not when Harold is standing right in front of me, a smug look on his face.
“Hello, Scarlett,” he wickedly says. “Is that our daughter?”
I hold Juniper closer to me, moving to shield her from him. “My daughter. She is no daughter of yours.”
He growls and takes a step closer. “She is when we fucked and I got you pregnant. She is my flesh and blood.” He points at me.
I shake my head and take another step back, trying to put distance between us. Maybe Daddy will find us soon enough, or some of the other guys will save Juniper and me.
“You may be blood-related to her, but she will never be your daughter. She is mine and Thorin’s,” I reply loudly, standing my ground. Maybe my voice will carry through the forest and catch someone’s attention.
I shouldn’t try being so brave, not when I don’t know how close anyone else is to saving us or whether Harold is armed.
“You’d better be careful with that mouth of yours. I might just sell your body to show you who you actually belong to and why you can’t back-talk to me,” he sneers.
A shiver makes its way through my body, and terror engulfs me. Juniper starts crying in my arms, and it takes everything in me not to take my eyes off Harold to help settle her.
Harold draws a gun and points it at my head. “You are going to be a good girl and come to me slowly. Don’t you dare try anything, or I will shoot you. Do you understand?”
Nodding, I briefly look around the forest, trying to see if anyone is close enough, but the hope dies when my eyes find Harold’s again.
No one is here.
Do they not want me here anymore? Was it just a show to give me hope?
I push the thoughts to the back of my mind as I take a small step toward him, everything in my body screaming at me to turn around and run away.
But he has a gun, and I have Juniper in my arms. I can’t put her in danger.
I also suck at being coordinated, and I am worried I’ll trip on a root and hurt Juniper in the process.
No.
I just need to have faith that Daddy is going to save me and get rid of Harold for good. I knew something bad was going to happen, yet Daddy didn’t listen to me. He told me I had nothing to worry about.
Harold, standing right in front of me, is something I was worried about, and now it’s true.
“Slowly walk toward me,” Harold spits at me. “Don’t think about doing anything stupid. Unless you want a bullet in you.”
I shake my head and take another hesitant step toward him. I don’t him to shoot me, and I really don’t want to walk toward him. It’s a lose-lose situation ,and there is no way out of it.
“Bitch!” he yells. “When I say slowly, I don’t mean molasses!”
I flinch and shield Juniper even more. If any of us is going to get hurt, it’s going to be me. Daddy can take care of Juniper if I’m gone. He’s done amazing so far, and I know he’s going to continue to take care of her. He can tell Juniper all about me and how we met.
I never thought I was going to meet the person I would spend the rest of my life with like that. After I’d just had a baby and had driven a couple of hours to get to safety and collapse in his arms?
Never crossed my mind, but I’m so glad I did. My life has been incredible ever since I met Daddy. I wish our time together could have been longer.
“Come on.” Harold moves the gun, and I stop moving, closing my eyes and waiting for him to shoot me. But the gun never goes off.
Arms wrap around my wrist and yank me toward them. Harold holds me against his body, his gun digging into my side. Juniper wails in my arms, and I can only hope that someone hears her and comes to rescue us.
“Walk.” Harold hisses in my ear. “Try anything and a bullet will go in your side.”
Nodding, I take a tentative step forward. I move my eyes around the forest, trying to see if anyone is there, but all I see are trees and bushes. Tears pool in my eyes as we head down the path, my fate seeming to be solidified with each step we take.
“Please, you don’t have to do this,” I whisper. “I promise I won’t tell anyone what I saw or what happened.”
“You are mine, and you always will be,” he growls in my ear as we get near to the clearing. “You are never getting away from me.”
The tears run down my face as he digs the gun even further into my side. His car is in the middle of the dirt road, door open.
“Get in. Make a sound and our daughter dies,” he sneers and pushes me forward.
I stumble, my body falling against the car. I hold Juniper tightly as I climb into the car and scan the area, trying to see if there is anyone to save us. But yet again, my shoulders drop when I realize no one is out there.
They really don’t care about us.
Harold shuts the door and rounds the car, but before he can get into the car, I hear a voice.
“Scarlett, close your eyes, Little One,” Daddy tells me.
My eyes are wide as I search around the area, trying to find where Daddy could possibly be.
“Close your eyes, Little One!” he yells again.
I push Juniper’s face into my neck and close my eyes. Flinching, I hear a pop and a body slumping against the car, but I don’t dare look even though I want to. Daddy told me to keep my eyes closed.
Silence fills the space around me, and worry churns inside of me. What happened? Is Daddy okay? Maybe I should look to see where he is and if he is alive.
Hands wrap around my shoulders, and I scream, keeping Juniper close to me as I try to fight off my attacker.
“You’re okay. It’s just Daddy,” Daddy whispers. “Keep your eyes closed. I’m going to pick both of you up.”
Nodding, I feel him lift me into his arms and start walking. It takes everything in me not to open my eyes and look at the scene.
“I was so worried about you,” he whispers. “I couldn’t find you anywhere.”
“Sorry,” I mumble against his neck. “Juniper and I were going to Uncle Aiden’s house to see if any deer were keeping him company.”
“Next time, tell me where you are going,” he begs me as we go into the cabin. “No matter if I’m on the phone. You tell me.”
Nodding again, I relax into his embrace as he sits on the couch.
“Uncle Aiden is going to check both of you over.” Daddy turns us both around.
“I’m okay, Daddy. Harold didn’t do anything to me,” I try to reassure him.
“Uncle Aiden is going to look over both of you,” he states, leaving no room for any arguments.
Sighing, I allow Uncle Aiden to start examining us.