Chapter 12
TWELVE
SCARLETT
I slip out of Rook’s bed before the sun is even fully up, moving as quietly as I can because the last thing I need is him waking up and pulling me back under him again.
My body is still sore in the best and worst ways, and every time I shift I can feel him on my skin, inside me, like he’s branded himself there and I’m never going to be able to wash it off.
I find my clothes scattered across his bedroom floor and pull them on in the dark, my fingers fumbling with buttons and zippers because my hands won’t stop shaking.
The house is quiet except for the low hum of the air conditioner and Rook’s steady breathing behind me.
I pause at the bedroom door and look back at him, just for a second.
He’s lying on his stomach, one arm stretched across the space I just left, the sheet tangled low around his hips.
Even asleep he looks dangerous, all that ink and muscle and that hard jaw, and something in my chest squeezes so tight I have to force myself to turn away.
This is already too much. I can’t afford to stand here staring at him like some lovesick idiot when my dad could find out any second and burn the whole world down.
I grab my shoes and tiptoe down the hall, holding my breath like I’m sixteen again and sneaking out after curfew.
The front door of his house on the compound clicks shut behind me with a sound that feels way too loud in the quiet morning.
My car is still at Perdition where I left it last night before everything went sideways in the best possible way.
I can’t exactly walk across the compound in last night’s clothes without someone seeing me and asking questions I’m not ready to answer, so I pull out my phone with shaking hands and text the only person I can think of who won’t immediately rat me out.
Me: Hey… you up? I need a ride. I’m at Rook’s. Don’t ask. Please just come get me before anyone sees me doing the walk of shame across the compound.
Tessa replies in less than thirty seconds.
Tessa: BITCH
Tessa: You spent the night at Rook’s???
Tessa: I’m already in the car. Be there in 5. You better spill EVERYTHING or I’m leaving you on the side of the road.
I let out a shaky laugh and shove my phone in my pocket, then duck behind the side of Rook’s house like some kind of criminal.
The compound is still mostly quiet this early, but I can already hear a few bikes rumbling in the distance and the low murmur of voices from the garage.
My heart is pounding so hard I’m surprised no one can hear it.
True to her word, Tessa pulls up in her Jeep five minutes later, music low, sunglasses on even though the sun is barely up. She leans across the passenger seat and pushes the door open with a grin that’s way too wide for this hour.
“Get in, you filthy little slut,” she says, voice bright and teasing. “Before your dad’s enforcer comes out here and drags you back inside for round two.”
“Oh my god, shut up,” I hiss, climbing in and slamming the door a little harder than necessary. “Drive. Please. Before someone sees us.”
She pulls away from the curb, still grinning like she just won the lottery. “So… you spent the night at Rook’s house. On the compound. Where anyone could have seen you. And you’re doing the walk of shame at seven in the morning. Scarlett Blackstone, I am so proud of you right now I could cry.”
I groan and drop my head back against the seat. “It wasn’t planned. It just… happened. After the bar and church and everything. He was being all intense and I was pissed and then we were kissing and then we were at his place and then…” I wave a hand vaguely. “You know.”
“Oh, I know,” Tessa says, laughing as she turns onto the main road toward Perdition.
“I could tell the second you two disappeared last night. Cole asked me what was going on and I told him you were probably finally letting that grumpy bastard rail you against a wall. He didn’t believe me. I should’ve bet money.”
I cover my face with both hands, but I’m laughing too. “You’re the worst friend in the history of friends.”
“Accurate,” she says cheerfully. “Now give me details before I explode. Was it good? Please tell me it was good. Rook looks like he’d be mean about it in the hottest way possible. All that quiet, broody energy? I bet he talks filthy when he wants to.”
I peek at her through my fingers, cheeks burning.
“It was… really good. Like, stupidly good. He’s intense.
And bossy. And he kept calling me princess in this growly voice that made my brain melt.
And then this morning I woke up in his bed and panicked and snuck out like a complete coward because I have no idea what the hell I’m doing and my dad is going to murder us both when he finds out. ”
Tessa reaches over and squeezes my knee, her voice softening just a little even though she’s still smiling.
“Hey. First of all, you’re allowed to want something that feels good.
You spent eight years shrinking yourself for Ethan.
If Rook makes you feel like this? Like you’re actually alive again?
That’s not nothing. And second… your dad loves you more than anything.
He might lose his shit at first, but he’ll get over it.
Eventually. Maybe after he punches Rook in the face a few times. ”
I let out a weak laugh. “That’s not as comforting as you think it is.”
“I’m not here to comfort you, I’m here to make you laugh and then drive you to get your car so you don’t have to do the walk of shame across the entire compound.” She glances over at me again. “Your car’s still at Perdition, right? From last night?”
“Yeah. I left it there before everything… escalated.”
“Perfect. We’ll swing by, grab it, and then you can go home and face your mom like a responsible adult who definitely did not just get thoroughly fucked by her dad’s favorite enforcer.”
I shove her shoulder, laughing despite myself. “I hate you.”
“You love me,” she says, pulling into the Perdition lot.
My car is sitting right where I left it, looking completely innocent even though everything about last night was the opposite.
“Now go get your car, text me later with more details, and try not to look so guilty when you see your parents. Your mom already knows something’s up anyway. She always does.”
I climb out and pause with the door open, looking back at her. “Thanks for coming to get me. Seriously. I didn’t know who else to call.”
Tessa’s grin softens into something warmer. “That’s what besties are for. Sneaking you out of your secret boyfriend’s house at the crack of dawn and making inappropriate jokes about it. Now go. Before Rook wakes up and realizes you’re gone and comes looking for you like some possessive caveman.”
I roll my eyes, but I’m still smiling as I shut the door and walk to my car. Tessa honks once as she pulls away, and I wave, feeling lighter than I have all morning even though the guilt is still sitting heavy in my chest.
I still don’t know what I’m doing with Rook. I still don’t know how I’m going to look my dad in the eye. But at least I’m not completely alone in the mess.
Rook: You snuck out.
Me: Had to.
Rook: We’re not done talking about this.
Me: I know. Later. Please.
I shove the phone back in my pocket without waiting for his reply and climb out of the car.
The front door is unlocked like always, and the second I step inside I smell coffee and bacon and that familiar mix of leather and Mom’s vanilla candle that always makes this place feel like home no matter how long I’ve been gone. My stomach twists anyway.
Mom is sitting at the kitchen island in her robe, hair up in a messy bun, scrolling on her phone with one hand while she cradles a mug in the other.
She looks up the second I walk in and her eyebrows lift just a fraction.
That’s all it takes. One look and she knows. Of course she does. She always knows.
I don’t say anything at first. I just walk over to the coffee pot like it’s any other morning, pour myself a cup, add way too much cream and sugar because I need the comfort, and then slide onto the stool across from her.
The island feels huge between us. I wrap both hands around the warm mug and take a slow sip, letting the heat burn my tongue a little.
It gives me something to focus on besides the way my mom is studying me like she’s trying to read every single thought in my head.
She sets her phone down and tilts her head, that soft little smile playing at the corner of her mouth. “You look like you didn’t get much sleep.”
I shrug, trying for casual even though my face is already heating up. “It was a long night.”
“Mm.” She takes a sip of her own coffee, eyes never leaving mine. “How was your night, baby girl?”
The question hangs there between us, gentle but loaded. I can feel the knowing in it. I shrug again and smile around the rim of my mug, the expression feeling shaky even to me. “It was fun.”
Mom shakes her head slowly, that smile growing a little wider and a little sadder at the same time.
She sets her mug down and leans forward on her elbows, studying me like she’s trying to decide how much to push.
“Scarlett Ann Blackstone, you have never been a good liar. Not once in your entire life. So why don’t you try that again and this time tell me the truth. ”
I let out a breath that turns into a half-laugh, half-groan and drop my gaze to the dark swirl of coffee in my cup. “Mom…”