I release her hand and step forward. In hushed tones, I explain our situation to the clerk. She doesn’t look surprised at all.
My head still throbs, mouth dry.
“Names?” she asks, not looking up.
“Scarlett Fuller,” Scarlett says quickly. Too quickly like everything about the way she’s acting today.
But it doesn’t make sense. If this isn’t even her name, why’s she using it? And why would we need an annulment in the first place?
The woman’s pen pauses. Just for a second. Then she looks up, eyes narrowing in Scarlett’s direction.
“Have we met before?” she asks.
Scarlett’s fingers tighten at her sides. “No,” she says.
The clerk tilts her head. “You just look?—”
“We haven’t,” Scarlett cuts in.
The clerk hesitates. Then shrugs it off, looking back down at the paperwork.
“Alright,” she mutters. “Here’s your paperwork. Once I have everything and all your documents, we can move forward.”
I don’t move. I’m watching Scarlett. The way her shoulders are locked and how her breathing has changed from controlled to shallow and nervous.
“Scarlett,” I say quietly.
“Don’t,” she whispers. But it’s like she’s talking to the moment that just happened. This thing with the clerk, not me.
Her hands shake just enough that I catch it. Then she steps back, clutching the stack of papers to her chest. “Let’s go,” she says without hesitation or explanation. Just that same edge I heard before. Only sharper now.
I don’t argue, though too many words hang on the tip of my tongue to count. Instead, I follow the woman with long, burgundy hair.
Because I don’t know what just happened.
But I know one thing for damn sure.
That wasn’t nothing.
Chapter
Eight
SCARLETT
The second we step out of the building, I start to breathe again. Still half-measured, but enough to stop my lungs from burning.
“Scarlett.”
I don’t stop.
The Nevada heat hits like a wall, dry and sharp, sunlight bouncing off glass and chrome and everything that makes this city impossible to hide in.
Everywhere I look there are too many people, too many eyes, too much exposure.What was I thinking coming here?
But the truth is, anyone could recognize me. Newspapers and online outlets generously spread my image, especially after I agreed to testify. It was a bigger case than I ever could’ve imagined because it involved connections, scandal, money… lots of it. That’s why I needed official protection in the first place.
“Scarlett.”
