“Julie!” Peyton said, standing up.
“Sit down, boy,” Ace said. “Julie, if you want to be disrespectful, you may leave.”
“Fine,” she huffed before shoving a bite of food in her mouth. Peyton took his seat once more.
I pushed my food around my plate, listening to all the conversations going on. Every once in a while, Dominic’s foot would brush mine under the table, reminding me that he was there. Zevon would stiffen up when a topic he didn’t care for reached his ears. Collin even deflected most of the questions anyone asked away from me before I had the chance to answer.
Hannah tried to ask me a few things, all of which I gave the smallest answer possible to. Same with Caesar. When lunch was cleared from the table, dessert was brought out.
“No thanks,” I said when Zevon offered me some apple pie. The smell alone twisted my stomach.
“You okay?” he leaned over and asked me where I could only hear him.
I gave him a small nod. I was as okay as I could be, given the circumstances.
“What wrong, Scarlett?” Julie asked too sweetly. “Having boy trouble already?”
If she only knew.
“Would you shut the hell up?” Dominic said, staring her down.
“Wow, you do talk,” she huffed. “Daddy, would you do something about him?”
“Daddy ain’t gonna save you, sweetheart,” Collin laughed. “He is, after all, on babysitting duty.”
“There is no baby here. All I see is a grown woman who can’t even eat her own food when it’s placed in front of her,” Julie said, throwing her napkin on the table.
“I’ll take care of the baby,” a man named Blake said. “If you know what I mean.” He waggled his bushy eyebrows.
“Over my dead body,” Zevon said, standing up at the same time Caesar did.
“You touch one hair on my daughter’s head, and you’ll get a bullet in your head.”
“Geez, chill,” Blake said, not seeming one bit afraid. Although his words were normal, his look was predatory. And it was pinned to me. I could see the hell he belonged to in the depths of his eyes.
I gulped.
“I mean it, Blake. If you have a death wish, then go for it. Many of us here will not think twice about ending you,” Caesar said coldly.
When Blake’s eyes left mine, I looked down at my lap, trying to keep my breathing as normal as possible when all I wanted to do was run and hide.
“Got it, man,” he said. “I won’t touch her.”
“He’s really itching to use his new gun, Blake. I’d watch your back,” Ace said.
“I’m not worried,” he said, leaning back in chair. “I’ve lived this long.”
“Don’t count on him staying alive much longer,” Zevon whispered. “Five more minutes and I’ll get you out of here, okay?”
I gave out a small nod. He squeezed my hand under the table before moving it back to his own lap. The touch helped to ground me and I took in a big breath. I could handle this.
“So, Scarlett, can I call you Scar?” another man asked, one I hadn’t caught the name of.
“No,” Ace answered before I could even comprehend the question.
“You don’t have a nickname? I’m sure you must.”
I shook my head, still keeping my head down.
