Page 5 of House of Scarlett
“I don’t know exactly what happened here, but I can guess. The club didn’t have a fucking thing to do with it. Any of it.”
I turn my head slowly to study his face. “Then what the hell was that?”
My voice wavers on the last word, and I know my time is ticking down. The tears will come whether I’m out of here or not. For some reason, though, I wait for a reply.I have a right to know why Legend would do this.
Q’s lips press together in a flat line. “It’s better this way. Trust me.”
If I were a different kind of woman, I would have slapped him across the face.
“I don’t trust any of you.” With what little pride I have left, I lift my chin and march out of Legend for the last time.
Screw all of you.
As soon as I slide into the car waiting for me at the curb, I dissolve into tears.
Three
Legend
“Where the hell is she?”
I turn away from the column I was standing behind. Yes, I fucking watched her walk out like a princess who faced the villain, lost her crown, and regretted every moment of it. And yes, I’m still standing here, even though she’s been gone for twenty minutes. No one notices me, until the shorter black-haired woman who came with Scarlett jabs me in the shoulder with a pissed-off finger.
Kelsey.The hair and makeup artist. The one who Scarlett said is one of her closest, most loyal friends.
I should have gone back inside. I should have gone anywhere but here.
I stare down at Kelsey, wondering what the fuck I’m supposed to say.
She doesn’t wait. She jabs me again and repeats the question. “Where the hell is she, Legend? She left with you and now I can’t find her, but Q said you were out here and I should ask you.”
Fucking Q.Isn’t it enough that I followed his advice? I’m keeping my circle small. Not taking any chances.
And yet you still managed to fuck everything up.The voice in my head is savage tonight.Is it any wonder she got into that SUV and didn’t look back? Because you’re not worth fucking looking back for.
My jaw tenses, and I grit my teeth against the truth. The voice is right.
If my own mother didn’t turn around to see what happened to me, why the hell would Scarlett Priest? Especially after I all but kicked her out of the club. I’m a piece of shit, and the woman in front of me is next in line to make sure I’m aware of it.
“She’s gone,” I bite back. The words come out of my throat with a sharp edge, like they were clawed out.
Kelsey’s hands go to her hips, and her expression turns militant. “What do you mean, she’s gone? She wouldn’t just leave without telling—” She cuts herself off as her face blooms into a violent shade of red. “Oh no. No, you fucking didn’t.”
Yeah. Yeah, I fucking did,I answer silently. But she doesn’t wait for an answer from me before diving in to threaten me.
“If you hurt a single hair on her precious fucking head, I swear to Christ ...”
“What’s going on, Kels?” The brunette who Bump had his eye on joins us, with a tall, built guy next to her. I recognize him instantly as a major league baseball player. “Did you find Scarlett?” Her gaze flicks to me, and her eyes narrow.
“Scarlett left,” Kelsey says through clenched teeth. “Something happened between them, and sheleft.”
“Nate, I know your hands are super important, but can you please punch him in the face for me? Because if he fucked my girl and then tossed her ass out of the club like she was yesterday’s trash instead of the queen she fucking is, he needs his ass beat, and now.”
Monroe Grafton. That’s who the brunette is. Married to Nate Grafton, who is eying me like he knows I deserve it, but he won’t take a swing without backup. Smart man. I’d hate to take the team out of playoff contention by having to break something. I might fucking deserve it, but there’s no way I’ll offer him a free shot. He’s not Scarlett’s protector.
Yeah, and who is? Because you sure as fuck aren’t.
I tell the voice to shut up as I grasp for something to say. But my mind is blank. I have no excuses. These people aren’t the ones who deserve an explanation, anyway.
