6 Asher #2
She’s already barely holding herself together after the attack and everything that followed.
But at the same time…I don’t want to lie to her either.
I disappear into the bathroom long enough to wash the blood from my skin and clear my head.
By the time I come back out, Scarlett hasn’t moved.
I slide back into bed carefully and pull her into my arms.
She melts against me instinctively in her sleep.
For the next few hours, I lie awake staring at the ceiling while trying to figure out how the hell I’m supposed to keep her safe from something this big.
At some point exhaustion finally drags me under.
The next thing I know, I feel Scarlett trying to slip out of bed. I tighten my arm around her waist and pull her back against me.
“Where do you think you’re going, Red?” I murmur against her neck. She laughs softly.
“I need to pee, and if we don’t get out of bed soon, we’re going to be late for school.”
Shit. School. Somehow between the break in, the interrogation, and the million-dollar bounty placed on Scarlett’s head, I completely forgot I’m supposed to be pretending to be a normal high school student.
“Or…” I say while dragging her back down onto the mattress, “we could skip today entirely.” She squeals quietly as I bury my face against her neck.
“We could stay in bed all day,” I murmur, “and I could teach you a million different things without ever leaving this room.”
She laughs harder and twists free from my arms before darting toward the bathroom.
“Sorry,” she calls through the door. “I really had to pee.”
I grin despite myself.
“We can’t miss today,” she says a minute later while walking into the closet. “We have a Calculus test and an English test. You might get excused because you’re new, but I definitely won’t.”
I groan dramatically.
“Fine. I’ll take you to school.” I sit up and run a hand through my hair.
“But the second those tests are over; I’m kidnapping you and bringing you right back here.”
She peeks around the closet doorway with an amused smile.
“Pretty sure that’s illegal.”
“Only if you don’t enjoy it.”
She rolls her eyes while trying and failing not to smile.
“I’m gonna go change across the hall,” I tell her while climbing out of bed.
“Meet me downstairs when you’re ready.” I lean down and press a kiss against the top of her head before heading into the hallway.
The second I step out of Scarlett’s room, Roman appears from Harper’s doorway across the hall.
I stop immediately and give him a questioning look.
“What?” he says defensively. “I was dropping off water, painkillers, and enough electrolytes to hopefully keep the little spitfire alive through the school day.”
I snort.
“She that bad?”
“She threatened to throw up on my shoes.”
“Fair.”
Roman starts toward the stairs before stopping beside me.
“We talked to Grant after you went upstairs.” The seriousness in his tone instantly wipes the amusement from my face. “He thinks we need to change tactics.” I lean against the hallway wall while Roman lowers his voice. “He thinks we tell Scarlett everything.”
I tense immediately.
“Roman….”
“Hear me out,” he cuts in. “The more she knows, the more alert she’ll be. She needs to understand how serious this is now.”
I stay silent.
“He also thinks we should start training her.” That makes my head snap toward him.
“What?”
“Self-defense. Situational awareness. Weapons basics if needed.” Roman crosses his arms. “She’s already a target, Asher. We can’t have her depending entirely on us every second.”
I rub a frustrated hand across my jaw.
“She’s already been through too much.”
Roman studies me carefully before speaking again.
“Would you still be saying that if you weren’t thinking with your dick?”
The hallway goes dead silent and before he can react, I grab him by the front of his shirt and slam him back against the wall.
“Watch your fucking mouth.”
Roman lifts his hands slightly. “Hey, I’m not disrespecting you.” His expression hardens. “I’m just saying feelings change judgment.”
I slowly release my grip, but every muscle in my body stays tense.
“If this was a normal client,” Roman continues carefully, “would you still hesitate to tell her the truth?”
The question hits harder than I want it to, because the answer? I honestly don’t know anymore. Roman straightens his shirt before walking toward the stairs.
“Just think about it.”
I stand there for several seconds staring at nothing before finally walking into my room and slamming the door shut behind me.
When I make it downstairs, Declan and Roman already have breakfast made and are eating at the kitchen bar.
Eggs, bacon, toast, fruit… enough food to feed a damn army; in our case they kind of are.
I grab myself a plate and make one up for Scarlett as well before pouring two glasses of orange juice.
I take the stool beside Declan and lower my voice.
“Before either of you say anything, I agree to telling her. And the training.”
Roman raises an eyebrow while Declan nods slightly.
“You were right,” I continue. “Even with Zariah here, there’s still too much risk now with the bounty involved.”
Just saying the words out loud pisses me off all over again.
“I’m just not one hundred percent sure we tell her about last night yet,” I admit. “I think it’ll freak her out and make her think we can’t keep her safe, and I don’t want that. I don’t want to give her a reason to run.”
Roman leans back against the counter.
“Fine. But if there’s one more incident like last night, we tell both of them everything. We can’t keep putting them at risk.” Before I can answer, footsteps sound on the stairs. A moment later Scarlett and Harper appear with Zariah trailing behind them.
Scarlett’s hair is still slightly damp from her shower, falling in soft waves around her shoulders, and fuck if seeing her in one of my hoodies doesn’t immediately wreck my concentration.
“I made you a plate, Red,” I say while pulling out the stool beside me. “Sit and eat. The guys and I need to talk to you and Harper about something.”
Harper immediately grabs a cup of coffee before collapsing dramatically onto the stool beside Roman, her forehead hitting the counter.
“It is way too early for this shit,” she groans. “And somebody better swear to me right now that you’ll never let me drink that much again.”
Roman snorts. “Pretty sure we told your ass not to drink in the first place, Tempesta.”
She blindly flips him off without lifting her head.
“Alright,” Declan says, cutting through the bickering. “Enough. Back to the matter at hand.”
His expression shifts into full business mode as he looks toward Scarlett.
“So far you know we were hired by your grandfather’s attorney. What we haven’t told you is exactly who we are or what our firm actually does.”
Scarlett slowly sets down her fork.