Scarlett pulled back, swallowing before she tucked me away. Then she settled herself on me, her arm around me as her head burrowed against my chest. I covered her with the blanket, not wanting to tell her off for the way she was draped over me. My hand went to her hair, stroking her as I leant back against the headrest.
I closed my eyes, feeling content with her there. The motion of the car, Scarlett’s soft breathing and her lithe body on mine lulled me to sleep. And I realised before I dropped off, it had been a very long time since my mind was empty enough to allow me to rest without any worries crowding my head.
Ten
Francis
I was too fucking tired for words by the time we got back to Fortuity. The stress of the past week and the lack of sleep had left me needing to hibernate in bed. The relief we all felt having Scarlett back with us was palpable. There was no stone we’d left unturned in our search for her. We weren’t going to allow her to be taken from us again. Not after the past ten years without her. Not when we were in love with the girl we’d grown up with. If anything, that made it even more imperative we got her back.
Drake pulled the Jeep up under Fortuity in the carpark. I looked over at the car next to us, finding Penn leaning against it with a smirk on his face. That tattooed bastard was useful, even if he was a headcase. We all got out and West went over to greet him. Prescott took Scarlett’s hand and pulled her towards the lifts. Drake had told him to take her up to bed whilst we dealt with Penn.
“Am I not allowed to say hello to your little lady?” Penn asked West.
“Don’t fucking flirt with her.”
Penn gave West a wink before he took a few steps towards the lift where Scarlett was clutching Prescott’s hand and looking dead on her feet.
“I hear you’ve had quite the adventure.”
“You could say that,” she replied.
“Did you meet my friend?”
She raised an eyebrow.
“The one who grunts more than actually talks?”
“Yeah, that’s him.”
We’d stopped on the way to deal with Mason, so we didn’t have to drive all the way back here with a dead body in Prescott’s Jeep. Well, for the most part, anyway. Penn’s “friend” took Mason’s body out of the back of the Jeep and returned half an hour later with one of those freezer bags containing ice packs and a decapitated head. Drake had asked him for that and to dispose of the rest.
“We did, though he didn’t say much. I liked his house. I wouldn’t want to be tucked away surrounded by the woods. This is my home.” She waved around at the place. “But if you wanted peace and quiet, it’d be perfect.”
Penn gave her a nod.
“Haven’t been there myself. He lived down here for a few years. That’s how I met him. He’s a useful sort.”
“You seem to know a lot of those.”
“Part of my job… say, did West talk to you about getting tattooed yet?”
Scarlett’s eyebrows shot up. Her eyes went to West, who merely shrugged. Drake was busy getting the freezer bag out of the back, but I could see him listening to what was being said.
“No, he didn’t.”
The lift arrived, the doors sliding open.
“Well, just so you know, the offer is there if you ever need my services.”
Penn gave her a wink as Prescott pulled her into the lift. She didn’t respond, just gave him a little wave before the doors closed.
“If you’re quite done flirting with our girlfriend,” Drake said, giving Penn a hard stare.
Penn merely smiled at Drake and walked back over to us.
“If you think that was flirting, I clearly need to give you some lessons.”
West barked with laughter. Drake scowled. I put my hand over my mouth. Drake and flirting did not go hand in hand.
“I’d love to see you try,” West said when he settled down. “Drake’s not a very good student.”
Drake merely shoved the bag at Penn, who took it with a graceful smile.
“You can shut the fuck up, West. And you… look after this for us,” Drake ground out, pointing at the bag. “We haven’t decided what we’re going to do with it yet, but we will be sure to let you know when we do.”
Drake didn’t wait for an answer. He stalked away to the lift, hitting the button to wait for it to come back down.
“Someone clearly got out on the wrong side of bed this morning,” Penn said with a grin before he opened the boot of his car and stuffed the bag containing Mason’s head inside it.