Chapter Twelve
“You want me to work for you?” Scarlett asked.
Boss nodded. “I’ve done a lot of digging on you. You were going to be cut from your job, and that little prick really thought he could do things without you.” He was talking about her boss. “Did you know in recent weeks that paper has had a massive decline in sales?”
“It has?”
“Yes. You haven’t been around to guide the stories, and now people are going to start realizing the truth, that they lost their best asset.”
“But I’m not even a reporter. Why would you want me to work for you?” None of this made any sense.
“Reporters are like parasites. The moment they scent a story, they just can’t help themselves. They smell something bad even before a damn dog does, and reporters are rarely swayed. You’re not a reporter, you never were. You’re a researcher, the real brains behind the stories. What kept you interested in Bain in the beginning was understanding his story, am I right?”
She licked her lips and averted her gaze.
“Don’t worry, Scarlett. None of us have secrets here. You were intrigued by Bain, and then you fell in love with him. You learned secrets that I probably don’t even know about.”
“You said you know everything.”
“I’m talking about the personal shit. I know what that boy went through, from a child up to when he was a man. I get it, and I get his pain, Scarlett.”
Boss leaned against the console, staying perfectly still. She had never seen anyone so poised before. He emanated confidence and strength.
“You see, the thing about reporters is they’re always there. No matter how much you try to fight them off. They can get past security, and often sweet talk people into getting their way, or just blend into a crowd. I don’t want you to go back to your life of reporting. I want you to work for me, but to do what you do best, get the information I need, and get out. You’re damn good at finding shit out, and that information is always valuable in my line of work.”
Scarlett hated that she savored his praise about her work. She never actually got it at work, but knowing someone saw what she had value was so damn nice.
“If I do this—”
“We’ll have our eye for an eye,” Boss said, interrupting. “I got shot, so now I want something in return. Recruiting you, having you under my control, that will deal with possible rumors that I’m weakening. I don’t need to be dealing with that shit.”
“You must have access to the top of information already.”
“Sometimes I need ground stuff, and as you can see from my men, they don’t exactly blend in well. Half of the women want to fuck them.”
Jealousy hit her hard. The thought of another woman touching Bain made her seethe. If she did this, she’d be helping Bain, helping them. She also liked that her work would actually be appreciated, because being a reporter had been her childhood dream. “I won’t kill.”
“Honey, I have professionals for that.”
“So, I do this and no one else gets hurt? No grudge against Bain?”
“Oh, I did want one more thing, but I’ve already gotten it,” Boss said, holding up his cell phone. “I just got a nice little message from Viper.”
He pressed a button and a man’s garbled voice came over the line. “Damn it, Boss, I told you to leave the fucking woman alone. This is Bain’s one chance at survival. If anything happens to her you’ll lose him forever. I’ll lose him. Look, I’ll come back to make this right. Okay? I’ll work a few assignments…”
Boss clicked the off button on the cell phone. “All it takes is a little push in the right direction to get what you want.”
The echo of gunshots had her jerking back a little. She had been so interested in the conversation, she had forgotten everything else. She’d been pulled into a different world, and it would take a lot before she was used to this chaos.
“They’re a little early. It would seem you’re well loved, Scarlett. For what it’s worth, putting Michael into a grave was a job well done.”
“You killed Lisa.”
“Killer of Kings is my life. I’ll always do what needs to be done.” he said. Boss took a deep breath, pushing off from the console. “I’m sorry that you lost your baby. I know that must have been difficult.”
Who was this man? One moment he was a monster, the next, offering his condolences on a baby she never got the chance to hold, but she still loved.
“Bain would make a good father,” Boss said. “Please, don’t take this personally.” He grabbed his gun and pointed it at her head.
Their civilized conversation had come to an end.
The door burst open, and there stood her man. He looked damn fierce, but the moment he caught sight of the gun against her head, he stopped dead. She saw fear in his eyes.
Viper and the man with him before at Michael’s house were also with him.
“You know, if you’d waited a couple of hours, I was going to deliver her back,” said Boss.
“Cut the bullshit, Boss. Just tell me what you want, and I’ll give it to you. You want more clean hits. I’ll do them. Just don’t hurt her.” She heard the pain in Bain’s voice and saw the worry in his eyes. Bain truly did love her, and seeing her like this was hurting him. She would do anything and everything for him.
Boss sighed, and he removed the gun from her head. “Now that we’re all here, I think it’s easy to say that I got what I wanted. Viper has agreed to come back on board, and I already have several jobs already lined up. Scarlett here, has agreed to help in some information gathering.”
“You’re not using my woman for your fucking work. She’s not a damn killer.”
Scarlett went to Bain, placing a hand on his chest as she smiled up at him. “I want to help.”
“You’re not a killer,” he said.
“And I won’t kill.” She turned toward Boss. “I won’t help kill innocent people.”
“I’m not stupid, Scarlett. I only want you to handle the more … dangerous people. I’m sure Bain will make sure that you won’t get hurt,” Boss said.
“You son of a bitch. Just get your fucking payback with me, right now, and leave her out of this.” Bain held out his arms, a gun in each hand.
She placed her hand on Bain, stopping him from doing something he’d regret. He was just crazy enough to sacrifice himself for her, and she loved him even more for it.
“It done. It’s over. I’m not settling, Bain. I’ll be doing what I love. Please, let’s go home. We’re done here,” she said, looking back at Boss. “We’re done?”
“We’re good for now. And I want an invite to your wedding. Someone needs to give you away.”
Scarlett saw that in a dysfunctional kind of way, he cared.
Bain wrapped his arms around her, and without another word, they left. She glanced back to see Boss watching them. There was something on his face. It was only there for a few seconds, but it looked like envy. Was it envy? No, it couldn’t be. Boss was a vicious monster who only cared about power and money. He had recruited her, and now she worked for Killer of Kings.
Even though Bain disapproved, she was actually really excited about her new role. Sitting at home all day while Bain went out and did his thing didn’t appeal to her. And she didn’t like the idea of women falling all over him, like Boss implied. If she could help, then that was exactly what she wanted to do. She’d get to live her dream, get the credit she craved, and live her life with a man who loved and respected her. What more could she want?
The moment they were near Bain’s car, he threw his weapons into the backseat, and grasped her face. “Do you have any idea how fucking scared I was?” he asked. “Nothing can happen to you.”
Tears filled her eyes, and she smiled at him. “Nothing did happen to me.”
“You made a deal with the damn devil, Scarlett. Do you have any idea what that means?”
“It means that you and I get to fight another day together. It means that you won’t lose anything, and you won’t have to look at me feeling like you failed. I love you more than anything else in the world, and if I had to sell my soul to the devil, I would do it for you without hesitation.” Her tears traced down her cheeks, and she held onto him tightly, never wanting him to go.
“I love you so much, Scarlett. I never knew what love was until I had you.” He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck. She breathed a sigh of relief having him once again in her arms, alive and well.
“Everything’s going to be okay. I promise.” She pulled back a little and kissed his lips. “You came for me.”
“Of course I fucking came for you. I’d never stop coming for you.” Bain held her close as he turned toward Viper. “Thank you. I mean it. Thank you for everything.”
Viper shrugged. “Sitting behind a desk all day has lost its appeal. I don’t think Pepper will mind too much. She’s hinted about me getting in touch with Boss. She clearly knows I’m not cut out for being the standard husband and father.”
“She’s pregnant?” Bain asked.
“Yeah, she is. We don’t know what she’s got yet, but fuck, I’m going to be a dad.”
Scarlett was happy for them.
Bain stared down at her and smiled. “One day, we’re going to have our own good news to share.” He kissed the top of her head.
“You want a baby?”
“I want whatever you want. There was a time I didn’t think I’d be good for a kid, but with you, I know I’d be the best at everything I set out to do.”
****
Three months later
“Don’t you dare come in here!” Scarlett screamed at him as he went to open the bathroom door.
“This is my moment, too, woman. I should be in there with you,” Bain said, placing a hand on the door. He didn’t want to be away from her—Scarlett was his life, his air, his everything. This was a big step for the both of them.
“You’re not going to watch me pee on a stick, Bain.”
“You think I haven’t seen worse?” he asked.
“Ew, I don’t need to hear about that stuff right now. I want you to see me as sexy, and this is not sexy. It’s gross.”
He smiled and leaned against the wall. Tapping his fingers against his leg, he released a sigh. His childhood had been a write-off, and the thought of having a kid of his own, a proper family, was more than he dreamed possible. “Have you peed yet?”
“Shut up, Bain. Aren’t you supposed to be killer stealthy and all that? Be patient.”
“We’ve just come back from an assignment, babe. I want to hold you and be with you.”
He had been apprehensive about Scarlett working for Boss. Killer of Kings was not known for being the ideal place for a woman, especially not for someone like Scarlett. In the past three months, she had proved him wrong. He was the muscle, the killer, and she had a way of finding information even out of nothing. Bain had lost count of the number of times he had brought her surveillance, and she’d gone through it, finding everything that Boss needed.
The door opened, and there she stood. She looked a little pale. The jeans and shirt she wore, molded to her gorgeous curves, and it made him want to take her right then and there. She took hold of his hand, and they both stared down at the stick.
He twirled the wedding ring around his finger, and he smiled. In a weird kind of way, he was happy to finally be owned by her, to feel her love.
“So how do we know if this is good news or bad?”
“It’s not bad news, not at all. We would just have to try again,” she said.
Bain loved her enthusiasm and her positivity. She was a breath of fresh air in his life.
“One line we get to try again. Two lines, we did it.” She squeezed his hand, and he held her just as tightly. This was their moment, and he hoped more than anything that he had given her what she wanted.
He wanted it, too.
A life with her, a family, a baby. His chest tightened at the thought, and for a split second he panicked that something was wrong with him. What if he couldn’t give her what she wanted? What if he was a screw-up because of everything that happened to him?
“Oh my God!” She screamed. “Two lines. We’re pregnant, Bain. We’re pregnant. We’re going to have a baby!”
She threw herself into his arms, and she began to cry. These were not tears of sadness; they were tears of joy. It was as if all the pain she’d held onto from her miscarriage had been healed by this one moment, this new beginning.
They were going to be parents. He was going to be a father.
The monsters in his past would stay there. He was going to be the best damn father and husband in the world.
“I love you, Scarlett.”
“I love you, too. This doesn’t mean we can’t keep practicing though.” She winked at him.
Bain shook his head, lifting her up, he carried her toward his bed. “Nope. Not going to happen. This dick is out of commission until the doctor says otherwise. For the next few months, be prepared to be pampered and waited on.”
She giggled. “So I get to live like normal then seeing as you do that now?”
He chuckled. “I’m the luckiest man having you.”
“No, Bain, I’m lucky, because you’re the best person I know.”
The End
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