Page 89 of Last Man Standing

Scarlett watches me with wary eyes as I bring the phone to my ear and listen to the dial tone once… twice…

“Hey.” Mav’s voice comes low, barely more than a whisper, then he’s on the move. “What’s up, Knievel? You done tempting Death yet?”

I’d laugh at his words, if not for how fucking true they are. “Where’s Mom?”

He steps outside, so the constant beep-beep-beep of a hospital monitor confirms what I already suspected.

“Sitting with Uncle Bas. Why?”

I switch my call to speaker and toss the device onto my bed, all so I can drag my shirt over my head and capture Scarlett’s hand before she picks up her suitcase and leaves me. Again. “She been there long?”

“Bout an hour. Why? What are you thinking?”

“Trying to convince Scarlett to step outside my room. La Bruja’s got her terrified, but if she’s with Uncle Bas and plans to stay a little while, then that means we’ve got a clear shot.”

Scarlett’s eyes glisten with a bone-deep panic, a fear not even my promise of protection will soothe.

I bring her hand higher and nibble on the pulse in her wrist.

“I expect she’ll be here another hour or two,” Mav rumbles. “I’m watching her today, so I can text you when we’re moving again.”

“Good. Thank you.” I scoop up my phone and take our call off speaker. “She really pissed at me?”

He chokes out a laugh only a fraction of the volume I know he’d rather release. His location makes it impossible. “Which one of you is afraid, Bas? That itty bitty little thing who cries when people look at her wrong, or you? Cause you shouted at your own fuckin’ mother. That was a big deal.”

Me. Scarlett. Both of us. “Shut up.”

He snorts.

“She doing okay?”

“Mmm. Processing this new reality where her first-born son is a prick, mostly. Mourning Uncle Bas, even though he’s still technically here. Feeling guilty, cause she scared Koda when he was just being Koda. Loving on me, cause I’m her most perfect child.”

I roll my eyes and drag Scarlett toward the door. She resists, digging her heels into the carpet and whimpering under her breath. But we have a window to use, and every minute wasted in this room makes that window smaller. “Where’s Koda now?”

“He was here a few minutes ago, but death is boring, so he headed out for the rec room. I told him you were busy and might not make it, but⁠—”

“I promised.” I hold the phone between my ear and shoulder, tug the door open, then I mercilessly yank Scarlett across the threshold. “I’m taking Scarlett to the kitchen now so she can eat, then we’ll head toward the rec room. Give me a heads-up before La Bruja moves so we don’t butt heads and make bad shit worse.”

“Mm.” He grunts in the back of his throat. “Will do. Kinda mad I don’t get to be in on the Jameson Bro rec room with Scarlett party, though. I wanna be her friend, too.”

“She doesn’t wanna be friends with any of us.” I lead her toward the kitchen and peek back at her terrified eyes. “Not even me.”

“Especially not you,” Mav teases. “You’re a prick, after all. I’ll come find you later, maybe. Is she, uh…” He hesitates for a beat. “Is Scarlett okay? I know I joke about her crying, but that was kinda brutal.”

“She’s surviving. Barely.” I lead her into the kitchen and sigh when she merely skids to a stop and abuses her thumbnail. “I’ll see you later.” Lowering my phone and ending our call, I slip the device into my pocket and come around to face her. Toe to toe. Nose to… chest. I fold a little lower and search her fearful eyes. “My mother is busy on the other side of the property right now. Mav is watching her and doesn’t expect her to head this way for a long time.” I cup her jaw and pull her bottom lip free of her nibbling teeth. “Eat something, Scarlett. You already weigh too little, and you’ve been living in a state of stress for weeks.”

She shakes her head and drops her eyes. “I’m not hungry.”

Yeah. Cause anxiety kills your appetite! “So I’ll make you a protein shake instead.” I turn and pull a massive tub of protein powder from the cupboard, then a gallon of milk from the fridge. I move to a different cupboard and grab out a mixing cup. And all along, I keep her in my peripherals. She’s apt to run. “Putting all the crazy drama of letter writers and bitchy moms to the side, I kinda wanna show you around my home. This is where I grew up.” I make fast work of mixing a tall cup of protein, shake the shit out of it, then I open the lid and pour the contents into two smaller glass tumblers. “Here you go.” I bring both across and force her to take hers. If she won’t, she’ll have to drop it onto the floor, and if she makes a mess like that, she’ll have to explain to Mom why. Sucker. “Come on.” I wrap my hand around hers, partly because I kinda fucking want to, though I’ve never walked on my property with a woman’s hand in mine in the past. But also because if I don’t, I’m convinced she wouldn’t walk.

I need her to walk.

“Sebastion.” She digs her heels in as I pull her into the hall and past my bedroom door. “I don’t want to.”

“The only person you don’t want to see, won’t see you. I’ve got eyes on her now and an alarm system in place that’ll keep you out of her crosshairs. In the meantime,” I lead her to the end of the hall and around to the right, then instead of taking her to the massive grassy area out back, I drag her through an opulent set of reinforced glass French doors and feel the wings of pride and smugness when she stumbles to a stop. But this time, it’s with wonder and awe. It’s with stunned approval as she stares down the barrel of an Olympic-sized swimming pool. “This is basically the main hub of the property. When we’re not working or holed up in our rooms, we’re out here. Pool’s for anyone to swim in. It’s warmed in the winter, but even then, it’s still pretty fuckin’ cold, so I don’t bother until March.”

“Wow, it’s…” She glances around, too distracted to notice the arm I drape over her shoulders. “This is not what I was expecting.”