Chapter 20
Scarlett jerked awake, her hands instantly falling to her injured side.
She could feel the gauze, feel the pull of the stitches.
As her bleary eyes assessed her surroundings, they fell onto her father who was asleep in a chair in the corner of the room.
He looked tired as hell, but then again, so was she.
She couldn’t imagine how worried he’d been.
So, she was alive, which meant it couldn’t be too bad. Laura had assured her as she was stitching her up that she was going to be okay, but a part of her didn’t believe it. Her eyes filled with tears as she recalled what had happened and how close she’d come to dying on her living room floor.
Maddie had warned her about living a biker lifestyle, about the outlaw kind of life, but it had been her past that almost did her in.
“Scott…,” She whispered shakily.
Her throat was scratchy and dry, and she wanted nothing more than to find Limit and see him.
The look on his face as he’d held her hand in her apartment had haunted her dreams.
Goodbye…
The word repeated itself in her head, because that look in his eyes?
She recognized it.
She knew how it felt when it rolled off her tongue and she knew how fucking bad it was going to hurt if he said it to her.
Scarlett choked back more tears as she struggled to stand, doing her best not to wake her father- she wasn’t ready for that reunion, yet.
Earlier she’d seen Esme and Prettyboy as Rider and Slayer had rushed to see what was happening; she hoped she didn’t run into anyone on her way to find Limit.
The hallways were deserted enough, dark and cold as she tiptoed towards the great room. She slowly made her way to Limit’s room, not surprised to see it empty.
She had to think about it for a minute before she realized there was only one other place he could be.
Rayna had told her stories about what had happened to the Blazin’ Eagles, and Esme had taken the time to tell her about the tagalong Tasha, she’d killed.
Scarlett had heard all the gritty details of the goings on in the garage, but she’d never imagined she’d find herself in a situation where she’d have to face them head on. Let alone know the person on the opposite end of Limit’s fists.
As Scarlett stepped out into the darkness, she took a moment to suck in a deep breath.
Do I really want to do this?
Do I really want to see him like this?
Once she saw Limit in his natural habitat, she knew she wouldn’t be able to forget it. She’d catch a glimpse of the man he warned her about, the one he was sure she could never love…
But, she had to see.
She had to tell him that killing Scott wasn’t the only option. They could let him go, turn him over to the cops. She knew getting him convicted for the attempted rape was a long shot, but he’d tried to kill her. She had more than one witness who would undoubtedly testify on her behalf.
Right?
Her hands met the cold knob of the garage door, and she could hear the muted sound of Scott screaming on the other side. Her fingers shook as she turned the brass in her hand and stepped into the garage. At the other end, she could barely make out Limit’s tall form as he bent over Scott’s writhing body, tied to a chair.
Suddenly, she wasn’t so sure that turning Scott over to the authorities would work.
She felt bile rise in the back of her throat at the sight of the blood on the floor.
This is what he does.
Limit was undoubtedly doing this kill under Ox’s orders, too.
If her father wanted this to happen, was it really so bad?
Scarlett knew the difference between right and wrong, and while Ox had warned her that his club handled things the outlaw way, she hadn’t believed it.
She’d believed it, but she hadn’t actually believed it.
Limit’s low voice was saying something softly to Scott as he worked on Lord knows what.
Scarlett gathered all the courage she could before she stepped towards them, her bare feet making no noise at all as she glided towards the opposite end of the garage.
Even though she knew what she was about to see would change everything, Limit still looked so handsome to her.
The fluorescent lighting overhead didn’t illuminate much, but she could still make out the shape of him using some kind of tool to rip out Scott’s fingernails.
Scott was whimpering and crying, and Scarlett could easily tell he was missing more than half of his fingernails already.
Swallowing audibly, she whispered, “Limit?”
His head jerked up and his eyes widened when he saw her.
“What the fuck are you doin’ in here?”
She winced at the tone of his voice, but Scarlett didn’t look away from what he was doing to Scott.
“You don’t have to do this,” She said shakily.
Limit swore as he stuffed a ball of fabric into Scott’s mouth and laid his pliers on the bench beside him.
He moved towards her and took her arm into his tight grip, his hold unforgiving.
Once they were outside and alone, he looked down at her.
“What are you doin’ out here?”
She blinked in confusion.
“Me? What are you doing out here? His father will end all of you!”
Limit ran a hand over his face, smearing blood across his cheek.
“Scarlett, this is club business. It doesn’t concern you.”
Cold.
Callous.
That’s how he sounded- that’s how he looked.
“It has everything to do with me,” She breathed.
“I know the girls explained this to you. Right now, I’m doin’ my job. That fucker in there deserves whatever I give him,” Limit argued.
Scarlett shook her head.
“No! We can take him to court, he’ll go to jail-”
“You and I both know that slimy weasel in there will get off. Daddy will make sure of it. Come on, don’t be so naïve, Scarlett!”
She flinched at the use of that word, again.
“So, we’re back to that?”
Limit shook his head and threw his hands into the air.
“I didn’t want to do this now-,” Scarlett stopped him by shaking her head again.
“Don’t. Just- don’t.”
Limit’s nostrils flared as he stared at her, his grey eyes narrowed.
“I’m not a good fit for you.”
And, there it was.
Scarlett’s heart really did tear in two at his words, because she could tell that there would be no use arguing with him.
“You won’t even give me a chance to prove you wrong,” She said.
Limit hung his head before he motioned towards the garage.
“I’m going to kill your ex-fiancé. Do you understand that? However I see fit, I’m going to end his life! Scarlett, I’m not the marryin’ kind. I told you that. You just didn’t want to listen to me!”
Scarlett took a step back at that, because she’d never even asked him for that.
“I never asked for that.”
Limit stepped towards her.
“But, one day, you will. That’s just who you are. I know it. You’ll want a ring, babies, a house of our own. I’m just not built for this.”
Scarlett slapped her palms against his chest.
Pain zinged up her forearm, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as the pain threatening to suffocate her.
“Then why did you basically claim me in front of your entire club and my father? Huh! Why did you tell me you wanted me, if you aren’t willing to give me those things?,” She yelled.
Limit shook his head.
“I thought that I could. For just a second, I thought you belonged here. With us. With me. And then this happened and I was reminded of how fuckin’ soft you are. Esme and Rayna? I know they can handle their own. I know they can take care of themselves, Scarlett. But, I also know that you can’t.”
It hurt to hear that.
Hurt to hear him use what Scott had done to her as a reason to desert her.
She couldn’t deny that he was right about one thing: She wasn’t like Rayna or Esme.
She couldn’t kill someone no matter how much she wanted to.
She had a hard-enough time hurting someone’s feelings.
“You’re right. I’m not like them, but I’ve never claimed to be anything different. You knew from the start that I wasn’t like them. Why did you lead me on if you were just going to break my heart?,” She cried.
The tears in her eyes spilled over, and Limit looked pained when he wiped them away.
“I thought that maybe I could have you. I thought that maybe for once somethin’ could go my way, but tonight just proved to me that it can’t.”
Scarlett’s arm was throbbing as she sucked her bottom lip between her teeth and cradled it against her chest.
“Why can’t you? Colton, I’m falling for you! If you want me to stay out of ‘club business’ then that’s what I’ll do, but don’t push me away before you give me a real chance to be there for you,” She pleaded.
It should be noted that Scarlett Hunter had never had to beg for anything in her life- ever.
Yet, she was prepared to beg Limit to give her a chance, even if it decimated her pride.
Limit sighed before he stared off into the distance for a second.
She thought he was going to agree, to tell her she was right- that’s what she was used to hearing.
“Scarlett, I’m never gonna to be a normal man. The military changed that for me. They take men like me who want to make a difference, and they train us to be the difference.”
Limit cupped his hands around the back of his head and grunted in frustration.
“When you’re behind enemy lines, there is no such thing as forgiveness. There’s no room for redemption, Scarlett.”
Scarlett wiped away a stray tear, catching the salty wetness on the tips of her fingers.
“Limit, there is always room for redemption. You don’t have to be the bad guy that you think you are!”
Limit laughed mirthlessly as he turned to face her again, his expression pinched with pain.
His expression was stony and unforgivable; it was filled with self-loathing.
“You don’t get it, and I don’t expect you to-”
“Damn it, don’t you get it yet?”
Limit blinked.
“Grief is like the ocean, baby, and you’re drowning in it. While others may get caught up in the current and ripped into the blue depths neither you nor I care to venture to, it is never shallow.”
Limit’s eyes were stormy as they narrowed in on her, his nostrils flaring once again.
“What the hell would someone like you know about grief?”
Scarlett ran her tongue along the blunt edges of her teeth as she shrugged helplessly; she realized that she wasn’t going to get through to him.
Limit had just drawn an invisible line between them, and she had no idea now to erase it.
Maybe, even though she never wanted to admit it, it had been there all along.
“As far as you’re concerned? Nothing! I don’t know what it’s like to wear my brother’s blood like war paint. I don’t know what it’s like to hold a weapon in my hands and know that it will take someone else’s life. I don’t know what it’s like to wake up in the dirt and wonder if my life will ever take me somewhere better!”
Scarlett was panting, gasping really by the time she finished.
Scarlett had no idea what to say to a man who didn’t want to listen. She had no idea what to say to a man who’d been dead inside for years- and obviously, Limit didn’t know what to say to her, either.
She stepped towards him and tugged the edges of his cut between her shaking fingers.
“But, when it comes to losing someone, when it comes to grief?”
Scarlett did something bold then; something she didn’t even realize she had the guts to do to until that moment.
“My mother is dying. My father hasn’t known me for the last twenty-two years of my life, and my ex-fiancé just tried to rape and murder me. Jesus, Colton! When it comes to grief, I could write the damn book on it, and if you were the smarter man, you’d know not to judge it by its cover. My suffering may be different than yours, and it’s true that I may not always understand first hand who you are and what you’ve been through. However, I’m still willing to try! That has to count for something,” She whispered sadly.
Limit’s chest heaved, and Scarlett thought she was getting through to him.
She truly thought that he was listening to her, that she was making a difference.
Scarlett was vulnerable, wide open.
She wanted him to understand that if he would just let her in, that she would stay.
“Do you need me to tell you that what I just saw in that garage doesn’t change that? Huh? It scares the hell out of me, but I’ll let it go. I’ll let you do your job, and I won’t interfere. Just tell me that you haven’t been leading me on!,” She begged softly.
Scarlett wanted so badly to believe in Limit that she was utterly devastated at the reality of the situation she was faced with.
Limit huffed a harsh breath that landed on her pouty lips as he began to shake his head.
He cupped her cheeks in his calloused hands like he’d done so many times before, his mouth quivering just inches above her own.
He was staring into her eyes, and she thought that he was going to kiss her – that he would give in and give them what they obviously both wanted.
His eyes were glittering with unshed tears much like her own were.
He opened his mouth to speak, here it comes.
And, then he may as well have torn her heart from her chest when he spoke.
“I can’t love you, Scarlett.”