Page 47 of Saving Scarlett
My heart twisted in my chest as I stared at Joshua’s lifeless body. A storm of emotions raged within me—relief, grief, and an unsettling sense of liberation. For so long, I’d been trapped under his thumb, afraid of what he might do to me if I ever tried to escape. But now... now he was gone, and the chains binding me for years were finally broken. Victor’s gun, however, was once again aimed at my father, so we weren’t out of the woods yet.
I nodded, still trying to process everything that had just happened, my limbs paralyzed by shock. A cold, triumphant smirk appeared on Victor’s face as he stood over my father. It was clear we needed to act quickly, but my legs felt like lead, weighted down by my internal turmoil.
“Victor!” Bane’s voice cut through the chaos. “Let her father go!”
“Or what?” Victor sneered, pressing the barrel of his gun against my father’s temple. “You’ll kill me? I can shoot him before your bullet hits flesh.”
The rage in Bane’s eyes remained steady even as he replied, “Maybe, but I can still take you with me.”
Keeping his gaze locked on Bane, Victor said, “Go ahead, try it.”
In that moment of confusion, as everyone focused on Bane and Victor’s standoff, something changed. It was almost imperceptible, but I felt a ripple of tension in the air, a sudden shift in power.
Then, without warning, Bane lunged at Victor. Without his support, I fell to my knees, trying to make sense of the scene in front of me. I flinched as the sound of gunfire split the air, praying that Bane hadn’t been hit, but when the dust settled, it was Victor who lay motionless on the floor, a bullet hole between his eyes. Standing over him, Bane stared at the man who had held me hostage, his chest heaving.
His focus shifting, Bane darted across the room, reaching his hand out to help me off the ground. “Scarlett, it’s time to get out of here.”
Chapter 40
The Survivor
Bane led the way, his hand gripping mine tightly as we weaved through the maze of corridors, our steps echoing off the walls. My father and his injured bodyguard followed closely behind but took a different exit. The flickering of flashlights cast eerie shadows that seemed to dance around us, as if mocking our desperate escape.
“Stay close to me,” Bane whispered, his grip on my hand tightening. His palm was warm against mine, and it provided a small comfort amidst the chaos.
A moment later, we burst out of the compound together, the cold night air stinging my cheeks as we sprinted toward his car. Across the courtyard, I caught a glimpse of my father and his injured bodyguard also making their escape. I flashed a sad smile at him as he and his bodyguard climbed into their vehicle.
Bane held my hand tightly and we ran through the dark alley, our breaths coming in ragged gasps. My heart was pounding so hard I thought it might burst from my chest, but I kept going despite my fading energy.
“Are you okay?” Bane called out over the sound of our footsteps and rain.
I nodded, my throat too tight to speak. The adrenaline was still pumping through my veins, making it difficult to focus on anything else. We had reached the outside unseen, the night sky like an inky cloak above us. The air held the faint tang of the nearby river and smells of the city, and never had freedom felt so sweet. I was okay.
As we rounded a corner, Bane suddenly pulled me into another alleyway and his black sedan came into view, parked behind a dumpster.
“Get in.” Bane said, unlocking the car doors. I fumbled with the handle, finally managing to pull it open and slide inside. My heart pounded in my ears, my fight or flight instinct telling me to keep running, but Bane didn’t get into the car with me. Instead, he opened the trunk, shutting it after a few moments.
“Bane! What are you doing?” Tremors wracked my body, my teeth chattering more from anxiety than from the cold air. “We need to get out of here!”
A second later, he popped his head into the car, pressing his lips to mine for a kiss that wasn’t nearly long enough. “Stay here and lock the doors, Little Red. I’m going to set this bitch on fire. I’ll be right back. Then, when the ashes settle, you can come back and blow them away.”
Before I had a chance to argue—to tell him to get in the car and drive before we got caught—he took off again.
I locked the car’s doors, sliding back in my seat and trying to make myself as invisible as I could. The moments between when he left and when he returned felt like hours, but I knew it had only been minutes—minutes where my head was on a swivel, watching all angles of the car to make sure no one had found us.
I jolted when he returned and knocked on the window, the intrusion catching me by surprise and taking me a heartbeat to unlock the door.
A moment later, the engine roared to life as Bane floored the gas pedal, tires screeching against the pavement as we sped away down the dark alley.
As the distillery went up in flames in the rearview mirror, I glanced over at Bane, his jaw clenched, and eyes focused on the road ahead. His tattoos seemed to come alive in the dim glow of the dashboard lights, a constant reminder of the darkness that surrounded him. Reaching out, he interlaced his fingers with mine, reminding me that everything about him was perfect for me.
“Thank you,” I whispered, my voice barely audible above the hum of the engine. “For everything.”
He glanced at me, his eyes softening for a moment before returning to the road. “We’re in this together, Little Red. Forever. I’ll always be there for you.”
My heart fluttered as I leaned across the center console to kiss him on the cheek. “I love you, too, Ethan. I just wanted you to know that. And you are good enough for me.”
Glancing at me again, his clear blue eyes shone with his grin. He lifted my hand to his mouth and kissed my knuckles. “And I love you, too, mon joli petit amant. very much.” My pretty little lover. Cajun French was a dying language, so to hear those words out of him took me completely by surprise. Thanks to my great grandmother, I knew many of the words—mostly the swear ones.