Page 81 of Triple the Secrets
“They’re doing the protecting-the-helpless-women-routine,” Wren sneered. “The less we know the better, and all that. It’s bullshit.”
Scarlett knew she should scold her language, but she agreed. Sighing, she stood. “It’s going to end one of two ways. Lewis and Marc are going to feel that Rogue can protect us and try and help from afar somehow, or they’ll be on the next flight and we can watch it all play out in person.”
“I’m almost hoping they decide to come,” Win said with a smug smile. “Not only because I miss them, but it would be funny to see them go up against Rogue. They may be old, but they’re still spry and can kick some serious ass.”
Wren pouted. “I do miss them, but I really don’t want more men around here acting like they can tell us what to do. I mean, what are we going to do tomorrow? We were supposed to go to camp, and now we’re stuck here.”
“Why don’t you get started on the reading you need to do before school starts?” Scarlett suggested.
Wren glared at her. “I was planning on doing that when camp was over at the end of the week. I don’t want to think about going back to school early.”
“Better than sitting around bored out of your mind,” Scarlett said drily, standing. “If you really don’t want to stick around, I’ll see if we can figure out a way to get Rogue to let you come to work with me tomorrow. But, if you do, you need to make sure you’re following the rules. I don’t want to be worrying about you two while I’m working. Or hearing that you two are giving whoever is sent with us a hard time.”
“We can protect ourselves,” Wren protested. “We don’t need people to guard us.”
“Wren,” Scarlett warned, giving her a hard look. “Any other time, I would agree with you, but we both know that it isn’t safe for you girls to be on your own. There’s three of them, and if there are three, then the chances of there being more that haven’t been spotted yet are pretty damn high. I promised you both I would protect you no matter what, and I meant it. So you need to work with me here.”
Wren sat sullenly for a moment and then sighed. “Fine. We’ll talk to Rogue when he comes back in and tell him we want to go with you.”
“And we’ll promise to behave,” Win added.
“Good. Now, I’m going to shower and head to bed. I’m tired, and my cramps are really bad this month.”
“At least we don’t have to worry about you giving us a sibling yet,” Win joked.
“That won’t be happening for a long time,” Scarlett assured her.
“I still think that tampon ask was a genius idea,” Wren said with a wicked grin at Win.
Scarlett looked at Win. “That was your doing, huh?”
“Yep,” Win said proudly.
Scarlett held up her hand and high-fived her. “That’s my girl,” she said proudly. “But you both know he’s going to get you back for that, right?”
Wren and Win grinned widely. “We’re counting on it,” Wren beamed. “I mean, if he’s serious about sticking around, we only have a couple more years until we head off to college, and we want to make sure that we get it all in before then.”
Scarlett laughed as she headed for the ensuite. Rogue was going to have an interesting time over the next couple of years. And she’d be lying if she didn’t admit she was hoping he would stick around.
Grabbing clothes, she headed into the bathroom and shut the door. When she got into the shower, she stood there and let the water pour over her. She had been pissed at Rogue earlier, and she still was a little, but the other women had reminded her of what it meant to be with a biker. It meant understanding she needed to adjust her expectations. They reminded her that Rogue not telling her things kept her safe, not only from the people after her, but from the cops if anything went wrong.
Still, it bothered her to be kept out of the loop. She had the right to know what was going to happen to her captors. They had been the ones to kidnap, drug, assault, and rape her. To treat her as something less than human. Not to mention what they had done to the girls. She wanted them dead for that alone.
She sighed and pressed her head against the shower wall. Her emotions were all over the place, and she knew part of that was worry, and the other was hormones. She hated her period for making her so overly emotional when she normally prided herself on being able to think calmly and rationally. Would she be more understanding if her uterus wasn’t trying to purge itself?
She’d like to think so.
“What’s wrong?” Rogue’s voice suddenly asked gruffly, startling her and making her turn to watch him climb in the shower behind her, his face pulled down into a frown of concern.
She took a moment to admire him, taking in the hard muscles of his chest, shoulders and arms, and then the perfectly honed six pack that made her mouth water. She didn’t miss the fact that his cock was hard, and she once again cursed her uterus, because right now, sex would be the perfect way for her to forget all about her stupid fluctuating emotions. “Nothing,” she finally answered. “So are Lewis and Marc on their way here?”
“No. I might be new to relationships, but I know you sayingnothingis bullshit,” he said, reaching out and pulling her back against him, his erection pressing against her ass. “So tell me what’s wrong.”
Scarlett was quiet as she debated answering him. Finally she said, “I’m having a hard time adjusting to the fact that you won’t tell me things, even if they pertain to me. Or the girls. Being independent is second nature to me, especially since my parents didn’t exactly care about me growing up. Even when I was taken, I got us out of there. It took a lot for me to trust Lewis and Marc, and when we were finally out on our own again, and on the run, I took care of everything. Now, it’s completely flipped. I have you coming in, taking over, and taking that away from me. Part of me knows, deep down, it’s better this way, and it’s kind of nice to have someone who wants to help us. But the other part of me is screaming that me giving up control and allowing someone to dictate what happens will ultimately end in me being a helpless victim.Again…”
Rogue was silent for a moment, and Scarlett worried she said too much. Finally he said, “I don’t want to control you, Scarlett. In bed, definitely, but that’s not what I mean here. The club operates this way to protect you…”
“The other women explained that,” she interrupted. “But it’s not easy. And I mean, this isn’t a normal situation. You and I aren’t exactly a typical couple, and we’ve only been seeing each other for a short time. Now, we have this whole trafficker drama coming down on us, and when it comes to the girls, I can’t let the reins go and hand them off to you. They are my whole world, Rogue. I promisedIwould protect them, and I feel like letting you take over is breaking that promise.”
