Everything in me grinds to a halt at the mention of a ring.Not that kind, dipshit,I try to reason with myself, but it’s too late. I’m already picturing her sassy, sexy self in white walking down the aisle.
Get a fucking grip. You’re certainly not marrying Scarlet fucking Armstrong.
“This is my mother’s fault,” I mutter under my breath, but of course, Silas hears me.
“What is?”
I shove my fingers through my hair. “Nothing. Let’s do a necklace.” After all, it worked for Atlas…
Silas studies me for a minute before turning back to the display case. “We have a few options…”
I finger through the various choices before settling on a simple gold chain with a pink butterfly pendant. “This one.”
“Good choice. It has a built-in panic button feature.” He secures the necklace in a small bag and passes it my way. “Now, let’s talk about what I need from you today.”
“Yes, please.” I rub my hands together, ready to finally dig into my new job.
“Don’t get too excited. This week’s going to be a lot of grunt work. Not to mention, your hands are pretty full with your—Scarlet.”
Grunt work or not, I’m so damn ready to be a part of something again... to help people. “Whatever it is, man. Bring it on.”
Silas laughs. “Famous last words.”
Me: How’s your day going, Princess? Check in when you can.
I fireoff a quick text to Scarlet while Allison, the young mother I’m chaperoning for a custody exchange with her violent ex, buckles her wiggly toddler into his car seat.
“Thank you so much for doing this,” she says in a small voice. “Our last pick up was… rough.”
“Happy to,” I tell her, meaning it. “It’s fucked up he still gets visitation though.” I remember her ex all too well from my days behind the badge.
“Yeah,” she whispers, her eyes misting with tears. “Perks of coming from money, I suppose. He had a good lawyer and I… did not.”
“Your boy’s safe with him?” I ask, flicking my eyes toward her ex’s retreating Bentley in my rearview mirror.
She nods and then shrugs. “He only likes to hurt women, so.”
“Fu—dge,” I correct myself, and a ghost of a smile passes over her tired features. “How often does he see him?”
She slides into the backseat next to her son and fastens her own seatbelt. “It’s supposed to be every other weekend, but here lately, it’s been a lot less. Like a weekend a month.”
I hum under my breath. “With any luck, he’ll lose interest.” The sentiment applies to Scarlet’s stalker, too, but something tells me he’s only getting started.
Fucking hell, I wish she’d text me back.Some way, somehow, I’m going to make her understand she’s not an inconvenience—that Iwantto hear from her.
Sure, she could just be busy at work, but it grates on me that I haven’t heard from her all day.
“Maybe.” She reaches over and takes her son’s hand in hers, pressing kisses to his small fingers.
I throw my truck into reverse and head for the Guardians building. For safety reasons, we never take our clients in dangerous situations directly back to their houses. Instead we do a debrief and a handoff at the office, where another member takes them home.
The rest of my day is much of the same, with a few background checks thrown in between drop offs. All in all, it’s been easy but rewarding. And it’s only the beginning. I know I can make a real difference here, and I’m fucking excited about it.
“Can you do one last thing for me before you head out?” Silas asks.
“Name it, man.”
“This one’s personal. I need you to swing by my—” He abruptly trails off, shaking his head and swallowing roughly before continuing. “I need you to grab my kids and bring them here.”
