Chapter Twenty-Three
Greyson
Amonth after Cain whips me half to death, I finally get cleared to hit the gym again, which is a fucking relief.
Taking a break from working out isn’t a major deal for most people, but when you’re an assassin, your body is both your shield and weapon.
Muscle is the only thing standing between a knife or bullet and my vital organs—I need to be strong to survive.
I’ve grown attached to having Scarlett nearby over the last weeks, so I ask her to come with me.
After a few contemplative moments, she agrees.
I have Tobias clear the gym in advance to make sure nobody will bother us for an hour, and take her downstairs.
I remove her necklace for her workout, but promise to put it on right after.
Scarlett goes straight to a treadmill and starts jogging.
I select the nearest weights machine—a leg press—and watch her ass bounce as she runs while fiddling with the weights.
One of the doctors says my thigh wound is all but healed—the drugs he’s been giving me, pills that apparently expedite tissue repair and got him banned from practicing medicine in any official capacity—have certainly helped.
I still start at a much lower weight than I’m used to, testing the water.
I go around multiple machines for the next hour, and cool down with a jog on a treadmill. “You look sexy when you sprint,” I tell Scarlett once we’ve both shut off our treadmills.
She gives me a look that’s slightly hesitant, slightly intrigued.
“You look hot when you’re on the weights machines.” She bites her bottom lip. “I like the way your muscles bulge…”
A smile steals over my lips. “You like my muscles, Flower? You a biceps kind of girl?”
She nods slowly. “I like strength. It makes me feel…” her eyebrows touch. “Safer, I guess. Like I have a protector.”
“You do,” I tell her. “I’ll always protect you.”
She glances away, uncertainty flashing across her features. I gently take her chin and turn her to face me again. I pull her necklace out of my pocket and carefully wrap the jewels around her neck, locking them behind her.
“These should tell you more than my words will.” I finger one of the teardrop-shaped diamonds tickling the dip in her neck. “I treasure you, and I will protect you.”
The door to the gym opens with a beep. I turn around, my blood heating when I see Cain standing in the doorway.
As usual, his hands are in his pockets, his expression is blank, and his posture’s relaxed.
I’m not fooled by his calm demeanor—odds are, he’s here to stir the pot and try to antagonize me and Scarlett.
“Greyson,” he says after a few moments of staring at me in silence. “How’s healing coming along?”
From the near-death experience he caused? “Fine.”
He nods. “Good. And your relations with your property?”
Mother. Fucker. “Fine.”
He arches an eyebrow. “For your sake, I’m hoping they’re better than just fine.” He turns to look at Scarlett. “How are you feeling about Greyson, Sharpe? Word has it you’ve been doing a very good job taking care of him.”
She swallows. “Fine.”
I hide a smile when Cain’s jaw clenches.
“You’re returning to active duty next week,” Cain tells me. “There’s a backlog of administrative work that needs to be done, and—”
“No, there isn’t,” Scarlett interrupts. “Greyson’s been getting everything done.”
Cain arches an imperious eyebrow, but doesn’t berate Scarlett since she hasn’t said anything offensive. “How would that be? As I understand it, he’s spent the last month lying on his ass—or front, as it were—and doing nothing.”
“I read over all the work as it came in, and had Scarlett organize and assign caseloads under my supervision,” I say sharply. “If you were paying attention, you’d know this.”
Now, both of Cain’s eyebrows are lifted. “You trusted her with that? You gave her an internet-connected device?”
“She was sitting beside me in bed, holding a laptop with the screen tilted in my direction so I could read and instruct,” I respond calmly. “I had eyes on her the entire time, and she didn’t try anything nefarious.”
“I do hope that’s true,” Cain says. “I would hate to break up the… blooming relationship the two of you seem to be forming. Watch yourself, Grey. You’re still on thin fucking ice.” He folds his arms over his chest. “Eric’s been in touch, asking if we have any information on his sister.”
Scarlett gasps; my eyes flutter shut. The world around me feels like it turns into one huge sinkhole.
Fucking. Damnit.
I’ve been dancing around the topic of Scarlett’s brother, not broaching it. I didn’t want to have this conversation with Scarlett before I was at full strength, a conversation that could screw up the last month of us bonding.
And, of course, fucking Cain had to go ahead and break the news that he knows. That I know. That all of fucking leadership knows.
Scarlett turns to look at me with wide eyes, panic swirling within her fear-stricken orbs. Her lips part and shut; my heart clenches in my chest. All the progress we’ve made might’ve just been upended by Cain being his usual, bastard self.
Cain zeroes in on the sign of weakness from Scarlett. “Oh, he hasn’t told you, has he?” he releases a cruel chuckle. “Yes, Scarlett, Grey found out our business partner’s relation to you weeks ago. Strange that he hasn’t brought it up yet, isn’t it?” he drawls.
Scarlett’s still staring at me, and now, there’s betrayal and devastation written into her expression. “Business partner?” she whispers. The fear, the grief in her words eviscerates me. I want to gather her in my arms, hold her close, and explain everything, but I can’t—not with Cain here.
My heart pounds away painfully, adrenaline makes me itch with an ache to kill Cain, and the wounds on my back begin to prickle and sting. Scarlett’s horror is affecting me on a physical level. I’d do anything to take this pain from her.
Either Cain doesn’t know when to shut the fuck up, or more likely, he wants to antagonize Scarlett as much as possible, because he keeps talking.
“Soon, you’ll need to call your brother and tell him that you’re here voluntarily.
Happily. That Greyson saved you.” He lets out a cruel chuckle.
“If you fail, you’ll turn into leverage against your brother.
Succeed, and you’ll strengthen the Nighthawks relationship with your brother…
once he’s gotten over the initial shock. ”
I turn to glower at Cain, my eyes shouting threats I know I can’t deliver on. I hear Scarlett swallow. Right now, Cain’s behaving like a crueler, more calculated version of Boyce—and that could become a serious fucking problem.
“Here are my suggestions for what to say to your dear Eric Sharpe—I strongly recommend you heed them. Tell your brother that we took you in, and that you were using a fake name with us to protect both you and him,” Cain says.
“You recently discovered that the Nighthawks are partnered with Eric, so you decided to reach out. You didn’t do so earlier because you didn’t want any contact with your brother to be traceable, but we’ve assured you that we have the best encryption in the world.
As for how you’ve been earning sanctuary with us…
I’d suggest saying you were helping form the agricultural branch of our fortress, and in doing so, you ended up forming a romantic relationship with Greyson.
” Cain smiles. “I’m sure you’ll find a way to cover your bases.
Otherwise, your brother will be more useful dead than alive.
” He turns and leaves without another word.
I spin around to face Scarlett, my heart dropping at the haunted expression on her face. She’s pale as a sheet, there are tears swimming in her eyes, and her bottom lip trembles. She looks so achingly vulnerable, it brings out the protector in me.
I pull her into my arms just as her knees buckle and nearly give out. A soft sob breaks against my neck, and my heart shrivels up in my chest. It breaks for everything that’s happened to this girl, all she’s had to endure, and the fact that the blows just keep coming.
I wish I had met Scarlett out in the wild.
Courted her properly. Treated her the way she deserved to be treated.
I’d have still put her on her knees and made her into my toy, but only when she was ready.
I’d have sprinkled a mattress with rose petals before taking the gift of her virginity. I’d have done everything differently.
“You knew,” she whispers, betrayal staining the words.
I swallow. “Yes.”
“How long?”
“I found out shortly before the whipping. I was going to tell you, but then… Cain.”
“Cain,” she echoes. “Greyson, there’s something I have to tell you.”
My eyebrows lift. Not only at her addressing me as Greyson, but at the haunting tone beneath her words.
I pull back to observe her. I tuck a few strands of hair behind her ear and wipe at the tears streaming down her cheeks. My woman looks terrified and so let down.
She is let down. I’ve let her down on numerous occasions.
“What is it, Flower?”
She exhales a long breath. “Cain might kill me for telling you…” A fine tremor works its way through her limbs.
Anger sparks in my chest. She has a secret with Cain?
What has that treacherous piece of shit done to her?
With her? My mind begins to reel with possibilities, but I shut down my thoughts before they can run away from me.
Right now, I need to listen, not assume.
Making assumptions has gotten me into enough trouble with Scarlett already.
“I’ll kill him before he has that chance,” I say, keeping my tone steady. “Talk to me, Scarlett.”
She blinks up at me. “I’m afraid.”
“I’ll protect you.”
Some of the worry fades from her eyes. She blinks again, slower this time, and her shivering calms. “Yes, you will,” she agrees softly. She looks away, gazing at a weights machine instead of me. “The day that I got away, after I’d…” She trails off with a grimace.