Scarlett

“Scarlett, get up.”

I sat up on the hard, cold bench and rubbed my eyes. “What is it?”

The woman beside me groaned with my movement. Frowning, I slid away from her drooling mouth and made my way over to the jail cell bars.

“Let me out. I’m innocent,” a large woman said as she banged her hands against the bars. “Innocent I tell you.”

“Settle down, Janet,” the officer said.

“I’m innocent, too,” another woman said.

The officer rolled his eyes and frowned at me. “Come on, Ms. Bishop. It’s time to go.”

“I get to go home?”

“Looks that way.”

“Who paid my bail? Was it Violet?”

The officer didn’t say anything but instead put his key in the cell. After a few quick turns, the door opened. I stepped out and he grabbed my arm, quickly shutting the door again. He led me down the long hallway and through the desk area where several officers sat going over paperwork.

“She’s out front,” he said when I flashed him a confused expression. “But first, she wanted you to change into this.” He handed me jeans, a shirt, and a hair brush.”

Violet. I grabbed the clothes and hurried into the bathroom next door to change. It felt so good to put on clean clothes after the horrible night in that cell.

Once I finished, the guard brought me through another short hallway and to a front desk and waiting area. As soon as we entered the room, Violet stood, a look of relief on her face.

“You’re okay.”

“Of course I am.”

She swept me up in a bear hug. “We were so worried.”

“We?”

Instead of answering, she glanced up at the officer. “Thank you.”

“Just make sure that she’s present for her hearing.”

“Of course.” Violet took my arm and steered me from the police station.

“What was that all about?” I asked as we walked down the front steps.

“What?” Violet asked as we turned right on the sidewalk and made our way to the car.

It was then that I noticed her disheveled appearance. Her normally perfect hair was askew and her clothing looked wrinkled. She wore very little makeup, and as she pressed her lips into a hard line, I knew that she was hiding something.

“What’s going on?”

She stopped a short distance from her sedan and put her hands on her hips. “The same could be asked of you, Scarlett.”

“What do you mean?”

“What do I mean? I mean that I’ve been holding down the fort with this company while you do God-only-knows-what. You’re neglecting your responsibilities.” She glanced around the parking lot before continuing. “People are beginning to talk. They’re beginning to lose faith in the company.”

“Violet.”

My best friend held up her hand before I could hug her. For the first time, I realized just how much of a toll all of this had taken on her. While I had been running around with Gabe and trying to help him solve his crime, she had basically been running the company all by herself.

“Violet, I’m so sorry.”

She let out a long breath. “Look, what’s done is done. I don’t know what you and this male escort are doing—”

“He’s not a male escort. He’s a cop.”

She raised her brows. “What the hell is a cop . . . ?” She held up her hand as I opened my mouth to explain. “Forget it. I don’t want to know.”

“You probably don’t.”

She chuckled and pushed her fingers through her thick hair. “Whatever is going on between the two of you, let’s try to bring it to a more stable place soon, shall we? I’d like to take advantage of the rest of this conference.” She frowned and crossed her arms. “I mean, since we paid for it and all.”

“Sure, Violet. I mean, it’s already over. We’re over.”

“Are you?”

“What do you mean?”

She motioned to the car next to us. “I mean, you know as well as I do that we couldn’t afford to post your bail. At least, not in a way that wouldn’t bring more negative publicity down upon us.”

I stared at her in shock. “But, if you didn’t pay for my bail, then who . . .”

She pressed her lips together and flashed me a meaningful look.

“No.” I shook my head and took a step back. “Oh, hell no.”

“He didn’t want to go in himself. Now I know why.”

“I can’t do this, Violet. I can’t talk to him right now. I’m too angry.”

She grabbed my elbow as I walked past her.

“He just spent a whole hell of a lot of money to spring you from jail. I think that warrants one conversation, doesn’t it?”

“No.”

She let out a long breath. “Look. If it is really over like you say it is, then tell him that. Tell Gabe that it’s over and move on.”

Such an easy thing to say, but such a hard thing to do. “I can’t.”

“What do you mean, you can’t?”

How do you tell your best friend that you don’t trust yourself around a guy? One look at Gabe, and all of my resolve will give out underneath my raging hormones.

“You know what I think?” she asked.

“What?”

“I think you have a thing for him.”

“What? I do not.”

“Come on, Scarlett, it’s me you’re talking to.” She crossed her arms. “I’m willing to bet that the torch never went out for your high-school boyfriend, did it?”

She was right, but that didn’t mean I had to be a part of his games. “He lied to me, Violet. Multiple times.”

“We all lie at one point or another in our lives. Maybe he had a good reason.”

I crossed my arms. “I doubt it.”

“Stop acting like a two-year-old.”

“I’m not—”

“I’m not asking you to date him, I’m asking you to hear him out. He wants to talk to you, Scarlett. After everything he did to get you out of jail quickly, he deserves that much.”

“Quickly? I spent all night in there!”

Violet crossed her arms and flashed me an irritated look. “You’re lucky you got out at all. If it was up to me, I would have let you sit in there until you got your priorities straight.”

I let out an exasperated breath.

“When you’re done talking to him, give me a call. We have a lot of work to do if we want to salvage this trip.”

I flashed her a pouty expression. “Okay, fine. I’ll do it, but I won’t like it.”

“Good.” She laughed and let me go. “Gabe will take you back to the hotel room. Give me a call when it’s over.”

“Okay.” I turned to go.

“Oh, and Scarlett.”

I stopped and glanced over my shoulder at her. “Yeah?”

“Try to keep an open mind when you talk to him. Life is too short.”

“I’m not . . .” I didn’t have time to finish my thought, as Violet had already turned around and was walking away, pulling out her cell phone on the way. That was so typically Violet, working around the clock to help me make my business a success. She deserved more than this, and once I got my life back on track I decided that I was going to do something nice for her.

But first, I needed to clean up this mess with Gabe. The sooner I made him realize that I wasn’t going to continue this little game he was playing, the better. Been there, done that. I was so familiar with manipulative men, I could probably write a book about it. No, from now on, I was going to take control of my life. And if that meant breaking up with Gabe, then so be it.

Taking a deep breath, I opened the door to the car and got in on the passenger’s side.

“Scarlett—”

“Save it.” I held up my hand. “Just take me home, Gabe.”

“But I need to explain.”

“No.” I snapped my seatbelt into place and looked at him. “You really don’t.”

He hesitated for a moment, then turned on the car. I waited until we were out of the parking lot and driving along the street before I spoke again.

“I can’t believe you left me to hang by myself back at the mansion.”

“I didn’t have a choice. If those cops saw me, then my cover would be blown. I’d have to start over.” He glanced at me and then refocused on the road. “Was it that bad?”

I crossed my arms and stared out the window at the traffic ahead of us. “Some woman named Petra wanted to use me as her teddy bear.”

“Oh, ouch.” He made a face. “Did she have all of her teeth at least?”

“Not even close.” I fought back a smile. “And she drooled.”

He winced. “Oh, God. I’m sorry. Next time will be different.”

I shook my head. “There won’t be a next time, Gabe. I can’t do this anymore.”

“But you said yourself that the paintings were authentic.”

I leaned my head back against the headrest. “I’m just an art dealer. No, I’m a contemporary art dealer. This is way over my head. What if I’m wrong?”

“You’re not wrong. You can do this, Scarlett. I believe in you. If we can just confirm they are real, then I’m sure—”

“I wish I had your confidence. I’m not sure about anything anymore.” I was so exhausted, I could no longer think. All night, Bridget’s words kept rattling around in my head.

They were fakes, at least according to her. Unless we got some expert in, it was going to be her word against mine. I knew Bridget long enough to know that you never went directly head-to-head against someone like her publicly. She would eat you alive.

Gabe pressed his lips together as he pulled up to the sidewalk in front of my hotel. “I can’t do this without you, Scarlett.”

“You’re going to have to. Thanks to you, my reputation is shot and my business is on the verge of collapsing. I really can’t take any more bad press.” I opened the car door and stepped out onto the sidewalk.

“Scarlett.” Instead of driving away, like I hoped he’d do, Gabe tossed the keys to the valet and followed me into the hotel. “Scarlett, wait.”

“I’m done being used, Gabe.” I hit the button for the elevator.

“I’m not using you.”

“You just said that you need me to close a case.”

“Yes, but admit it. You want to find this murderer, too.”

“We don’t know that the thief and the murderer are the same person.”

“It’s not a coincidence that the people who are dying are all part of the art world.”

The elevator doors opened and I stepped inside. “They are all part of the escort world, too.”

Gabe followed me inside, and the doors closed before I could shove him off. He hit the elevator button for my floor and turned to face me.

“If we catch this killer, then it will be good for your business.”

“No, it will be good for your business.” I crossed my arms. “Face it, Gabe. You are trying to manipulate me into doing what you want, just like everyone else.”

“How many times do I have to say this? I’m not manipulating you, Scarlett. I never was.”

The elevator doors opened, and I stepped out and into the hall. “I know manipulation when I see it. Believe me. Everyone in my life has used me for their personal gain. Well, I’m sick and tired of it. I’m done, Gabe. We’re through.” I turned and marched down the hall to my room. Gabe followed, close on my heels.

“I’d never use you for personal gain.”

“Oh yeah?” I stopped in front of my door and turned to face him. “If we catch this killer, you’ll probably get a promotion or something.”

“If we catch this killer, we’ll make this city safer.” He stopped inches away from me. “We’ll make you safer.”

He had a point, but I didn’t want to give in just yet. “How do I know that this won’t end like it did in high school?”

We walked into my room and he closed the door behind him. “Back in high school, I was forced to separate myself from you to focus on the wish of a dying man.”

“You didn’t have to break up with me to join the police academy.”

“No, I didn’t.” He stepped closer, forcing me to step back. “But I had seen what undercover work did to him, Scarlett. He had three failed marriages and a history of disappointing those he loved.” He took another step forward. I backed up, pressing against the wall behind me. “I didn’t want to disappoint you, Scarlett, so instead I pushed you away.”

“Well, you did disappoint me.”

“At the time, I thought I was doing what was best for both of us.”

I met his gaze and could feel the tears sting my eyes. “And now?”

“Now . . .” He shifted his gaze to my lips. “Now, not a day goes by that I don’t regret what I did to you. To us.” He leaned closer. “Give me another chance, Scarlett,” he whispered as he tilted his head to the side. “Give me another chance to make things right.”

“I don’t know if you can make things right, Gabe. It’s not just high school. You lied to me about who you really were. You used me to gain access to places you had no right to be.”

“I did it to protect you.”

“You did it to close the case.”

“As soon as I realized that the killer was after you, your protection became more important.”

“And that’s why we had to break in to Rocco’s mansion and why you left me—”

He twisted his lips into a half smile. “You’re afraid.”

“What? Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Yes, you’re afraid of what might happen if you open your heart to me. That’s why you’re stalling.” He inched closer. “There’s no need to be scared, Scarlett. I need you. You need me. That’s enough for now.”

“But—”

“No more excuses, Scarlett. Either you will forgive me or you won’t. I want to start over again, don’t you?” When I didn’t answer right away, he dipped his head toward my lips. “Don’t make me beg.”

He pressed his lips against mine, and I closed my eyes as his warmth surrounded me. He felt so good against me, so right. As he slowly backed away from the kiss, I had an idea of how we could move past this and start over.

I smiled sweetly as I pressed down on his shoulders. “Oh yes, Gabe. That’s exactly what I’m going to make you do. I’m going to make you beg.”