Chapter Sixteen

 

“You have a lot of nerve, talking to me like some child.” Andrej Brevic’s voice sounded from down the hallway.

Scarlet stole another glance at the group of men.

Edward, Alex, Andrej, and Armand argued within earshot as Scarlet sat in the waiting room of the same hospital she had been at a week prior.

“I’m not,” Edward insisted. “I’m merely trying to tell you every step was taken to ensure the safety of the gala.”

“Oh really?” Andrej barked. “If every step was taken, then why was Balthazar Maxim invited? Why is my daughter in the hospital?”

Nora was stable, and had even argued that she felt fine, but precautions were precautions as Edward liked to say.

“It’s just a bump,” Nora had said. She explained that one minute she was getting ready for her entrance. The next thing she knew, she had woken up on the floor, looking into Scarlet’s face with a massive headache.

At least her kneecaps were in place. The thought remained—whoever had hit her, could have meant to kill her.

She’s okay, Scarlet reminded herself. She’s okay,

            Her attention drifted back to the argument.

“Inviting Maxim to the gala was needed to settle any ruffled feathers,” Edward explained. “We don’t have proof he has anything to do with this.”

“And in all honestly,” Alex added, “your daughter wasn’t supposed to linger back by herself. All dancers were specifically instructed—”

“I don’t want excuses,” Andrej spat. “This is a serious problem. Two dancers attacked in one week. What have the police found out? Nothing.”

“They’ll be meeting with me first thing Monday morning,” Edward said. “You’re more than welcome to sit in and listen. I’m doing everything I can to keep this under control.”

Andrej held up a hand to silence Edward. “I have meetings all day Monday that are impossible to reschedule. I’ll expect you to call me after you meet with them.”

Scarlet watched Alex carefully. He had done a good job at keeping her calm during her freak-out. She knew she’d seen something, and he’d been the only one to show legitimate concern.

Now, the question was, why was someone terrorizing her? Surely, Nora wasn’t the sole target of some dancer’s jealousy. This now felt even more personal—like someone really hated Scarlet, and didn’t want to stop at harming just her, but the people around her.

Jason sat down next to her. “How is she?”

Scarlet looked over at him and smiled. “She’s okay. Thanks for coming.”

“Like I had so many other pressing matters,” he said. “I feel horrible I didn’t think to tell Nora not to lag behind.”

“I don’t think we should blame anyone but the asshole who hit her.” Scarlet let out a long breath and leaned her head back against the wall. “I feel like I’m going crazy. I feel like that entire gala just thinks I’m nuts.”

“Well.” Jason flipped his hair. “You are playing Cassandra. It’s strangely poetic.”

“Right.” Scarlet rolled her eyes. Her phone vibrated in her clutch. She pulled it out to glance at it. There was a text from her father.

We’re waiting for you at the flat. We aren’t leaving until you’re safely at home.

Scarlet sighed as Jason glanced at her screen.

“Oh.” He scrunched his face up. “How’s Daddy taking all this?”

She shook her head and sighed. “Not well. More uptight than usual. He was so weird tonight.”

“He’s worried,” Jason said. “I don’t need to remind you why he worries.”

“I could really use a break.” Scarlet frowned at the phone screen.

Scarlett: I’ll be home soon. Still waiting to hear from the doc.

Jason winced. “Can’t keep something like this away from the media. They were already at the party.”

“I know.” Scarlet closed her eyes. “I just want this all to be a bad dream. Nora’s dad is super pissed, and that means Edward won’t be in a good mood Monday.” She took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. “I just want to focus on the good parts of the night.”

Jason shifted his weight next to her. “Speaking of which…”

Scarlet opened her eyes and glanced at him. He had a mischievous smirk on his face, and his lips were pursed like they always were when he knew something she didn’t.

“A little bird named Lily was on a smoke break earlier tonight.” Jason let out a sigh. “You know that bitch is diabetic, and insists on smoking when she’s nervous. I keep telling her that it’s the path to the dark side in our line of work, but she never listens.”

“Jason.” Scarlet threw him a look.

“She saw you lip-locked with that piece of James Bond over there.” Jason looked down the hall. “Look at him in that suit. Super tasty.”

“Great.” Scarlet sighed. “The whole company already knows.”

“Lily does like her attention,” Jason commented. “Since she lives in big V’s shadow, but there could be worse things being said about you.”

Scarlet looked down the hall. Andrej was now speaking to a doctor while the others stood off to the side. The doctor led him into a room, leaving the other men outside.

“You’ll have to tell me about it,” Jason said.

Her phone buzzed again. Consider coming home with us.

She wanted to tell her father to stop it. The last thing she needed was to run back home to the outskirts of Oakland. It wasn’t far, but far enough to complicate things further.

“I don’t kiss and tell,” Scarlet said, ignoring the text. “But I will say I wasn’t disappointed.”

“I’m jealous.” Jason pouted. “Bodyguard comes in and sweeps you off your pretty ballerina feet. Why not me?”

Scarlet stiffened. “First off, there’s nothing pretty about my feet, and second, we have a serious issue going on here, so I shouldn’t be talking about this.”

They fell into silence, watching the hospital move around them. Scarlet noticed Edward, Armand, and Alex moved around the corner and out of earshot. Jason decided to go check out a vending machine across the way.

Scarlet looked down at her dress and noted the bloodstains on the bottom.

Nora’s blood. Nora was lucky, Scarlet had no doubt about it. Although her friend had no recollection of what had happened, Scarlet was sure it was the same man. She had seen him in the shadows, mocking her.

But what does he want? Was it just some vendetta against Edward North? Or was there something more sinister happening?

Scarlet pushed herself up from her seat, and walked down the end of the hall.

“I can’t overlook the fact that you were so busy kissing her, you didn’t keep an eye on your surroundings,” Edward was saying. “I have investors to think about—one of which isn’t thrilled his daughter was attacked by this hooded man no one but Scarlet has seen.”

“Listen.” Alex’s voice sounded tired. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. Of course I put the safety of the situation first. Regardless of the five minutes I walked outside, everything was secure. It’s time to think it might be an insider.”

Scarlet pressed her body against the wall, straining to hear further. Insider? She shuddered. Maybe she had been too quick to discount Victoria.

“And let’s not forget, you’re the one who invited the Frisco Met guy,” Alex said. “Not me.”

“We’ll talk to the detective Monday,” Edward said. “Be sure you’re there. Ten a.m. sharp. And I want you to keep a safe distance from Scarlet.”

Across the hall from Scarlet, the door opened and Andrej stepped through. He peered at her and nodded. His nod was noticed by Alex and Edward.

“Mr. Brevic.” Edward walked back over. “What’s the word?”

“She’s going to be fine,” he muttered. “I’ll take her home soon. There’s still a guard posted outside the house, yes?”

Edward nodded. “Twenty-four seven.”

Andrej frowned. “Make it two. If you need more manpower, I’ll provide some.”

Edward and Alex exchanged glances. “I’ll handle it,” Alex assured the man.

Edward finally turned to Scarlet. She sheepishly stepped away from the wall, clearing her throat.

Edward gave Scarlet a tight smile, then glanced over at Alex. “Take Scarlet home. It’s late, and I’m sure she’s exhausted.”

Alex clenched his jaw, taking his car keys out of his pocket. “Yes, sir.”

He motioned for Scarlet to follow him and began walking down the hall. Edward grabbed his arm. “Just take her home. No funny business.”

At the words, Scarlet’s cheeks heated.

Alex yanked his arm away. “I got it. Goodnight, Ed.”

Outside, Scarlet let out a breath and made a beeline for Alex’s SUV. Excruciating. She felt bad that Edward was blaming Alex for what happened. It wasn’t fair. It was a large party with both hotel security and Alex’s men patrolling. What did Edward expect?

The drive home was awkwardly silent. Scarlet thought about what she could say to him, but she kept quiet until he pulled up to her house.

Alex did the usual bit of getting out and opening her door—a security measure, not chivalry, she reminded herself.

She looked up at the front door, noting all the lights were on, something her mother tended to do when nervous.

“Thanks, Alex,” Scarlet said. She walked up the stairs to the front door and fished her keys from her clutch. Once she pushed the key into the lock, she paused and turned back to him. He was staring up at her, his expression looked like a mixture of concern and confusion.

“Um.” Scarlet cleared her throat. “Can I ask you a question?”

His face relaxed and he climbed the stairs to the small landing. “Sure.”

“Back at the gala…”

            Alex’s lips curved into a smile.

“Why didn’t you believe me?” She crossed her arms in front of her.

Alex’s smile faded into a frown. “I’m sorry. A lot was going on, and I reacted poorly.”

Scarlet relaxed her arms. “You also didn’t seem to like my dad very much.”

Alex exhaled. “I was just upset. He was making the situation worse by challenging my integrity. Not his fault. He’s just a father concerned for his daughter’s well-being.”

            Scarlet nodded. “He can be difficult. He was gone for a lot of my childhood, and I think he tries to over compensate now.”

Alex looked down the row of Victorian-style houses. “He’s doing a good job.”

Scarlet stepped closer to Alex, and reached up a hand to his chin. “I don’t want to talk about my dad.”

Alex turned his head back to her. “I, uh…”

“I’d like you to kiss me again,” she said. Alex inhaled and closed his eyes as she brought her hand up to touch his cheek.

She brought her face close to his. Alex leaned in and urgently kissed her. A renewed thrill rushed down her body as his lips met hers again. This time, there was no one around to interrupt them.

His breath was hot, and she could still smell the vanilla spice. She wanted more of it—she wanted more of him.

Alex pulled away too soon. She blinked in confusion as he smiled at her. “You heard Edward. No funny business.”

Scarlet shook her head. “This isn’t funny to me.”

He brushed a strand of loose hair away from her face. “No, I suppose it’s not.”

Scarlet let her hands fall down to his chest. She traced the lapels of his designer jacket. “Do you want to come inside? I’ll kick my parents out.”

Alex let a faint smile play on his lips. “I think it’s better if I don’t. Not tonight, anyway. I’ll sit in my car until Uly gets here to patrol.”

Scarlet pushed her lips into a pout. She wanted to ask to go back to his hotel room. She imagined standing in a room high above the city as he freed her from the elegant confines of the dress, kissing her body all over. She imagined his control, picking her up to have his way with her against a wall.

“Well.” Scarlet finally smiled back. “Thank you for a memorable night. And for what it’s worth … I know you kept me absolutely safe.”

Alex’s smiled widened. “Just doing my job, Miss Rush.” He made his way back down the steps.

“You need to stop calling me that,” she called after him.

He opened his car door, and Scarlet saw him smile to himself.

“Goodnight, Scarlet.”