Page 18 of Triple the Secrets
He turned his head and pinned her with his dark stare. “I’m tired of waiting for you to come to your damn senses and tell me what the hell you’re running from,” he said shortly.
“We’re not running from anything,” she lied through clenched teeth. “How many times do I have to say that before you get the hint? You need to stop stalking me, and go back to your clubhouse before I call the cops and have you arrested. And apparently I have video proof,” she added with a pointed look at Wren. They would definitely be talking about this later. When did they get cameras? Or the money for them?
Rogue snorted. “You really think the cops scare me?” he sneered lightly. “I belong to a one percenter club, honey. Cops ain’t nothin’ to us.”
“And that’s supposed to make me want to trust you?” she laughed bitterly. “God, you really are crazy. How the hell can you think this is okay? Stalking me and standing outside my house every damn night.”
“If you would just tell me shit then I wouldn’t have to,” he retorted.
“Oh my God,” she hissed. “What the hell is wrong with you? You don’t know me. You’ve had two conversations with me in the past week and a half, and you somehow think that entitles you to pry into my life? To spy on me?” He opened his mouth to respond but she silenced him with a glare. “Just stop, Rogue. We are fine, and I’m no danger to you or your club.”
“Maybe he has a crush on you and this is his way of showing you he cares,” Win snickered from behind her, coming out to join the show. “It’s kind of romantic if you think about it that way.”
Rogue glared at her.
“Or he’s trying to figure out the best way to kidnap her away and drag her off to his cave,” Wren chimed in. “I mean, he is acting like an overgrown caveman.”
Rogue turned his glare on her too. “How about you two comedians go to your rooms or something so I can talk to Scarlett alone?” he suggested tightly.
“You can’t tell us what to do,” Wren pointed out smugly. “Besides, what kind of children would we be to leave her alone with her stalker?”
“They make movies and Dateline episodes about this stuff,” Win added helpfully.
Scarlett could tell he was losing his patience, but instead of yelling at them, he said through gritted teeth, “If I promise not to haul her off like a damn caveman or kidnap her, will you both go to your rooms so I can talk to her in peace? Please?”
Scarlett snorted, because that last word sounded like it hurt him to say. He turned those eyes on her, and if he was hoping to intimidate her, he was going to be sorely disappointed. She had faced down bigger foes than him.
Wren and Winter shared a look before turning to her. She nodded at them. “I’ll be fine. Just give us a minute and then Mr. Rogue will be leaving.”
“I told you to drop the Mr.,” he bit out.
“And I don’t give a shit,” she replied sweetly.
Both girls snickered. “Good luck, Mr. Rogue,” they said in unison before heading down the hall, shutting their door most of the way. She knew perfectly well they were waiting, listening for any signs she needed them.
Rogue crossed his arms over his chest and asked bluntly, “If you knew I was out there, why didn’t you come out and say anything?”
“And encourage your delusional behavior?” she asked drily.
“How about we cut out all this bullshit and you tell me what you’re running from?”
“How about we cut this shit and you tell me why you care so damn much?” she returned. “Or do you do this to every woman in town you suspect is running from something or someone? Some new kind of Neighborhood Watch Program your club is offering?”
“That sassy mouth of yours is going to get you in trouble, Ms. Roarke,” he said tightly, eyes glittering dangerously.
Strangely enough, she wasn’t scared of him or his threat. Some kind of sick pleasure stirred in her gut at the realization of how much she enjoyed pushing him. Something told her it didn’t happen often. “Then it’s a good thing you won’t be staying long,” she replied. “Because it’s only going to get worse the longer you stand here and piss me off without answering my questions.”
A rumble echoed in his chest, much like a pissed off bear, and he dropped his arms and stalked towards her. It took everything in her to hold her ground and not step back. To hold his gaze. “Do not test me, Scarlett,” he warned her, voice low.
“Then stop acting like an overbearing asshole and tell me why you won’t leave me the hell alone,” she replied in a low voice of her own.
“Because I might not have many rules I live my life by, but I don’t let women stay in harm's way. Especially not when I have the resources to help. I know that up until three years ago, the girls never existed.” She stiffened at his words, everything in her body going ice cold. His gaze never left hers, probing. “And you constantly look over your shoulder, like you expect someone to grab you at any moment. If you were really that scared of me, you would have called the cops the minute you saw me leaning against your car the other day.
“Whether you believe it or not, I’m of no threat to you, or the girls. I’m the one that can help you when the shit hits the fan. Because whatever you’re running from, whatever you’re so afraid of, will turn tail and run real quick when they realize who you have at your back.” He pulled away, straightening, and stepping back.
Scarlett couldn’t look away from him. There was so much information in those words that she had to work to get her head around them. He knew enough about the girls to know that they weren’t hers, and that their identities were fake. The fact that he had been able to figure that out on his own, meant that anyone else could, too. Lewis and Marc were going to lose their minds.
Now the question was, how much did she reveal to the man in front of her? The one who could have her carefully constructed little world crumbling around them if he took this information to the wrong people?
