Discovering Scarlett

23 | Spark

ＥＬＩＡＳ

***IF YOU LIKE TO READ THE MATURE VERSION OF THIS CHAPTER, PLEASE HEAD TO MY BOOK TITLED "MATURE CHAPTERS"

The long ride home was much needed. It gave me time to piece things together. I ran through every possibility, angle and scenario.

Scarlett put herself at risk. If it got out that she leaked this, we would have a bigger problem than Thomas or his father. It could potentially expose her to a new set of wolves.

Silent corporate partners that had a lot to lose if Anderson Corporation came crumbling down. I always heard the rumors of what these unknown partners were capable of. From the looks of it, these people had no boundaries. They would go to any lengths to discredit her.

I did what I could to make sure this leak wouldn't come back to her. But even with that, there were some things out of my control. There was no way to tell if someone got ahold of it before we could erase her involvement. It was now a waiting game to see how this played out in the media.

Whatever the scenario, I made sure we were prepared. Well, as prepared as we could be in this type of situation.

I gripped the handlebars, revving the engine faster than I should. I felt a gamut of emotions course through my system.

Anger, for Thomas slapping Scarlett. Guilt, for not hearing her out. Rage, because I couldn't kick his face in. Although the latter would make me feel so damn good, getting home to Scarlett was more important. She was now more a target than ever.

It doesn't help she hadn't answered my calls. I tried not to worry. Maybe she had fallen asleep. Regardless, I sped through the city. Stopping at the red light, a street from my penthouse, I checked my phone.

Nothing.

My nerves heightened as I came nearer and nearer. For the life of me, I could not shake the feeling I had. I was on edge. I knew it wouldn't go away until I saw her.

As I drove into my garage, I heard my house alarm sounding off. My blood went cold. I haphazardly put my bike in park and rushed to the door.

Time slowed as it swung open.

It's just your past, Elias.

I took a deep breath.

Scarlett's eyes widened, giving me a placating smile.

"I'm sorry. I got bored and wanted to watch something to kill time, "She shouted over the loud sirens. Biting her lip, she looked around. "And yeah I didn't know this was like a super mega universal remote that controlled everything." We both peered slowly at the blinds that were going up and down.

I exhaled.

Scarlett, you almost killed me.

My heart returned to a normal pace as I forced a relaxed demeanor. She slowly walked forward and handed me the control remote.

After five minutes of dealing with the operator from the alarm company, my penthouse returned to silence. I took off my gear and placed it in the entrance closet as she sat on the couch. She rubbed her lips together. "I'm so sorry."

I walked over to the couch and kneeled in front of her. My thumb ran across the edge of her bottom lip. "Tesoro, you have nothing to be sorry about."

She stared at me, inspecting the meaning of my words. I matched her intensity, even though looking at her felt like an arrow to the heart. The guilt weighed heavy on my chest. Thomas had slapped her, the secrets she held, and I just added on to her problems.