I gave her a watery smile, not sure if I was feeling amazed or lost. It was somewhere between the two.
“Hey,” Sean said, setting down another round of drinks for the three of us. His eyes met mine for a moment before he lowered his voice. “I believe an Ace Vicci was calling me about a threat made to my establishment. I’m not to let you three leave until someone shows up to take care of a problem. I’m sorry I didn’t know, Scarlett. If I had, I’d have kept a closer eye on who came and went today.”
His voice was low, but he felt like he was sorry. “I have a back door I can get you out of. But only you, Scarlett. I can’t sneak the three of you together. It’d draw attention.”
“Oh,” I said, eyes wide as my mind went blank for a moment.
“Go to the bathroom, and I’ll meet you back there.”
“I’ll go with her,” Sawyer said, not leaving room for Sean to argue against that idea..
“Fine. Miles?”
“He has a therapy session. He’ll meet us back at the apartment later,” she said for him.
“Okay. Give me a minute, then go.” Sean then walked away, acting as if nothing was amiss.
Exactly a minute later, I followed Sawyer to the bathroom. I felt a pair of eyes on me, but when I turned around, no one was looking. As I shook it off, we found Sean leaning against the door that led to the kitchen. He motioned us to follow him. I went first, my legs feeling like jelly.
“Through here. I believe someone is already waiting for you.”
“Thank you,” I said.
“I didn’t have a choice, not when a Vicci calls.”
Opening the door, the sun streaked in as Sawyer and I squeezed out. There, standing against a black SUV, was none other than Wyatt. He looked around the place, a worry clouding his features. When his eyes landed on me, he relaxed for a moment before hardening as he noticed who I was stood with. His black hair was covering the tops of his eyes, and he tried to move the pieces over. They didn’t cooperate well.
“Shit!” Sawyer hissed. Louder, she said, “It’s not what it looks like! I swear!”
“I’ll deal with you later,” Wyatt hissed. “You,” he pointed at me when he was at the table, “are to come with me.”
“No,” I said. “You can’t talk to my friend like that and just demand me to leave with you. I’d rather deal with whatever Alan has planned than go with you anywhere.” I folded my arms across my chest, daring him to do something.
“He’s my brother,” she said, not too happy about that fact, either. “But he’ll deal with me later. Let’s just go.”
The Wyatt I remembered had been understanding, though. This one was anything but. The way Sawyer had talked about her brother, I wouldn’t have guessed that it was this man she adored. I had met him when I was with Zevon and Collin. He had popped up to help put a stop to a new drug dealer in town.
But, after knowing the little bit about Wyatt that I did know, his reaction made sense. He worried about his sister, and I was a huge complication. Danger followed me.
“I’m sorry, Sawyer,” I whispered as Wyatt opened the back door for us. I crawled in first, then Sawyer.
“Don’t you dare,” she whispered back as the door was shut on us. I glanced around, seeing the alleyway through dark tinted windows.
“Then you need to understand that Alan will not stop at anything to get to me. That includes going through either of you.”
“He won’t stand a chance. Not with the way you talk about how your family cares about you. I can see what you’re thinking. You think you can push us away. But listen here, girly. You cannot push me away, and I’m sure that Miles feels the same way. You are stuck with us.”
I dropped my head to my chest and closed my eyes. I didn’t want to put anyone at risk of dying, but they were able to decide that for themselves.
“I hope you don’t regret it.”
“Oh, they won’t,” Wyatt said as he got into the driver’s seat “When my sister gets an idea in her head, she sticks to it. There is nothing you can say to sway her. Believe me, I’ve tried for years.” He started the car and slowly drove down the alleyway as if it were just a normal day.
“Not my fault I’m so hard headed,” Sawyer said. “See, this is what I always have to deal with.”
“I’ll not comment on that,” Wyatt said.
Not much else was said as he drove down the street, making a few more turns than were necessary. I figured he was making sure we weren’t being followed. Every so often, his eyes would look in the review mirror.
