by Heidi McVay
Zarek glanced at her for a moment, his face finally betraying something other than that brooding darkness. He arched a brow at her, his eyes flicking back to the road. “Yeah. Why?”
“Maybe we could play tonight after we put Evie to bed.” Scarlett had no idea where the suggestion had come from or why she felt the need to get him talking about whatever was bothering him. She should maintain her distance. Three days and things would go back to the way they were. The last thing she needed now was to upset the delicate equilibrium between them.
She felt his eyes on her for a moment once more before he refocused his attention on the road again. “Sure.” His answer came with slight hesitation, but fortunately, he didn’t question why she’d brought it up.
A soft ring came from the cupholder where he’d placed his phone. Scarlett returned her attention to the road as the lights of the Las Vegas strip became sharper, more brilliant.
Zarek answered the phone curtly. “Hi, Kurt.”
The voice was that of an older man, one she didn’t recognize. “You bring Evie?” He asked without preamble.
From the corner of her eyes, Scarlett saw Zarek’s large body stiffen. “Yes, of course. Why?”
“Miranda wants to see her. Stop by on your way to the lake.” The voice was cold and formal.
She saw the hesitation in Zarek, and instantly the pieces fell into place.
Kurt was Kurt Landais, Tatiana’s father. Scarlett watched as Zarek drew in a breath. “Kurt, it’s been a long day. Tomorrow might be-”
“Miranda ordered dinner from the restaurant. That steak you like. We’re eating at eight.” There was no arguing with this man. It was as if he hadn’t even registered that Zarek had been objecting. “Use the VIP entrance. Marco will take care of everything so no one sees you.” There was a soft series of short beeps as the call disconnected.
Zarek moved unexpectedly, long strands of black hair flying as he gave a growl and slammed his first against the steering wheel several times in a surprising display of annoyance. “I hate that guy.” He hit the gas and flicked on the blinker.
Behind them, Scarlett heard someone lay on the horn as Zarek swerved for the exit. She squeaked and gripped at the leather seat for lack of anything else to hold on to. “Zarek, chill! I get that you’re annoyed, but there’s no reason to try to kill us.”
His only response was to bare his teeth at her as he growled again and slowed down to take the exit, flicking the blinker on the other way. A moment later, he spoke again, his voice a deep rumble of frustration. “I’m sorry. Kurt just has a way of getting under my skin. He always has. He’s hated me since the moment he met me.”
Scarlett stared at Zarek for a moment. The line of his jaw was tight, and for a moment, she read defeat in the lines of his handsome face. Before she even realized she was moving, she reached out and covered the fisted hand that rested on the center console with her own, squeezing gently. When she began to pull her hand away, she found his own uncurling, his fingers tightening around her own. Scarlett glanced down toward their joined hands and forced her body to relax, allowing him to lace his fingers through hers. “I’ll stay in the car while you go up. They won’t make you stay for dinner, I’m sure.”
“No, but they’ll try. They’re a pair of bulldozers, both of them. You’re coming with me.” Zarek’s tone brooked no argument as he guided the car down the strip.
From the back seat, Evie released a delighted sound at the bright, flashing lights. “Oooooooooh! Dadadada!” The sounds came as a sweet string of squeals.
Zarek’s tone and bearing shifted instantly as he glanced in the rearview mirror toward his daughter, answering her with a sudden smile. “I know, Squirt! It’s so pretty!”
“Peeeeeeee.” Evie chortled. Scarlett turned around in her seat to see the little girl’s eyes wide on the lights, head moving as she tried to see everything all at once. Her tiny legs were bouncing as she waved her hands, pointing toward the window and screaming the word in delight once more. “Dadadadada!”
Despite her swearing to herself that she wouldn’t get attached to the little girl Sylvia had been sending her pictures of since the day she’d been more, Scarlett felt her chest warm at the girl’s love of neon. She laughed softly only to feel Zarek’s fingers tighten on hers for a moment.
When she shifted her eyes back to him, he was smiling at her. “Don’t you want to be a part of that, Scar?”
The question sent a zing of unexpected arousal and fear through her. Only then did she notice that his thumb had begun to idly trace along the back of her hand as if he had every right to do so. Quietly, she pulled her hand from his, remembering suddenly just why she had kept her guard up.
She heard the soft sigh from the driver’s seat as Zarek straightened. He was silent for a moment before she heard the turn signal once more. His voice was strong but gentle as he spoke, the last words she ever expected to hear. “I promised to disappear if you wanted me to after the funeral. But Scar, you’d better damn well believe I’m going to do everything in my power to convince you not to do that to us.”
“Us?” Those words drew her eyes despite her better judgment. “Evie barely knows me. She won’t miss me.”
“You and me, us.” He clarified firmly as he turned into the parking garage. Scarlett opened her mouth to naysay him, but he shook his head as he glanced at her for a moment. “And don’t say there isn’t an us. There’s always been an us, and there will always be an us. You may decide you don’t want me around, but that won’t change a damn thing about the ‘us’ factor.”
Scarlett was saved from having to respond as a car pulled out in front of them, and Zarek slammed on the brakes, hand raising to flip off the drive of the offending sports car as he cursed. The man never changed in any of the ways that counted. The problem was that at that moment, Scarlett wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
****
Zarek held Evie securely against him as she craned her head back to stare at the flashing lights inside the Desert Pony’s casino floor. Scarlett remained close to him but didn’t speak as Evie babbled happily.
“Over here.” He heard the familiar voice coming from behind him. Zarek spun to see Marco, the head of security for the facility, weaving his way through the crowd.
Even at the edge of the floor, near the discreet entrance that was reserved for VIPs, Zarek knew he didn’t exactly blend in. He’d tucked his hair up beneath a baseball cap before leaving the car, and for the first time that day, was glad he hadn’t bothered with his contacts, instead opting for the glasses he usually hated.
Marco extended a hand in greeting. Zarek shook it as Evie gave a happy squeal at the sight of the man. “Good to see you. I’m… uh… not quite sure whether to offer you my condolences or my congratulations.”
“Don’t let Kurt hear you say that.” Zarek offered a brief, polite smile, releasing Marco’s hand to gesture to Scarlett. “Marco, this is Scarlett Landry. Scar, this is Marco. He’s the head of security here.”
Marco offered Scarlett his hand, and she accepted it. It didn’t escape Zarek’s notice that the other man flashed her his most charming smile. “Scarlett, it’s nice to meet you. Maybe later, I can show you around.” Unexpected jealousy flared inside Zarek, and he found himself staring pointedly toward Marco. When the older man’s eyes met his, the understanding flared instantly. “But then again, it’s a casino. Seen one, seen them all.” Marco took a step back and fixed a smile on his face once more. “Kurt and Miranda are waiting.”
Zarek nodded and waited for Scarlett to fall into step. She still wore a vaguely confused expression, but as they wove their way past the slot machines and the tables heading for the elevators, her face began to betray apprehension instead.
Zarek steeled himself for an awkward exchange, even as Marco ushered them into the elevator and used his keycard to access the penthouse on the touch screen menu. A moment later, there was the sensation of the bottom dropping out as the elevator began t
o rise. When the elevator finally dinged their arrival on the 42nd floor, Marco offered him another smile of encouragement. Evie shrieked happily as they stepped from the elevator and into the small lobby of the apartment where Kurt and Miranda made their home.
Beside them, Scarlett took in the heinously decorated lobby, which painted a brutally beige color, intended to mimic the desert landscape but missing entirely. A large marble statue of a wild pony stood opposite the elevator. It would have been a nice piece had it not been flanked on either side by wooden totem poles that Kurt swore were real. Scarlett’s face was carefully schooled into a polite expression until he saw the instant she registered the presence of the painting. Ah, the painting.
“What the fuck?”
Zarek bit back a rueful grin as he came to stand beside Scarlet at the life-size painting of a man on his hands and knees, face forever twisted in the beautifully rendered expression of bliss while being mounted by a horse, in the most literal sense of the word. Everything in the painting was visible, and no one who laid eyes on the depiction of bestiality at its most brutally realistic came away unscarred. “Yeah. When they ask you what you think about it, and they will, just lie and say it’s great. Kurt bought it from the artist’s estate after the guy died a few years ago. He’s very proud of it.”
Scarlett glanced at him, disbelief entering her beautiful green her eyes. “He paid money for this? Real money?” She reached out to point to one of the figures. “This guy is being fucked up the ass by a horse, Zarek.”
“Yep.” Zarek had always done his best not to look at the damn thing, but it was just so damn big. Eight feet tall by some thirteen feet wide. The man, and the horse both were life-sized. “Kurt paid the guy’s estate over a hundred grand for it.”
“A hundred thousand dollars for this… this….” She swept a hand toward it and seemed to be fighting for a descriptor, but coming up short. All too soon, Zarek heard the sound of a click behind him, and as he glanced to Scarlett, he was sure that it was going to end before it began, and he was about to be thrown out of the building for having to defend her from Kurt’s wrath, perhaps even physically. Scarlett’s next words sounded utterly and completely sincere, though. “This masterpiece? It’s magnificent. Only a hundred grand? He got a bargain.”
“I certainly think so.” Kurt’s voice came from behind them, and Zarek exhaled in relief before he turned to face his father-in-law. Kurt was staring, not at Zarek, but at Scarlett with a flicker of curiosity in his cold blue eyes. “You know the artist?”
Scarlett glanced back toward the painting, further stunning Zarek when she nodded. “Deacon Kessler? I do. Not personally, of course, but I am familiar with his work.”
Kurt narrowed his eyes on Scarlett, and Zarek opened his mouth to distract the man, but Kurt Landais was nothing if not imperious and accustomed to challenging those he instantly considered beneath him.
He’d done the same to Zarek the first time they’d met. “What’s your favorite piece?”
“I’d have to say the Raw series probably. One, two, and four. I didn’t care for three, it was too contrived. It felt like his emphasis on negative space was a bit overblown for what he claimed he was trying to express. But that’s just a personal opinion. He’s always been more skilled in using light and shadow as opposed to forcing negative space to enhance the conceptual presentation … sorry… I get carried away.” Scarlett offered Kurt a smile, and her eyes fucking twinkled. They actually twinkled. Zarek knew it was the lighting, but he watched as she stepped forward, offering Kurt her hand. “I’m Scarlett Landry.”
Zarek watched in shock as Kurt broke into a rare, genuine smile and took Scarlett’s hand in both of his. “I remember you. We met at the rehearsal, didn’t we? You were going to be in the wedding, but you came down with something the night before. Right?”
Scarlett gave a sheepish smile. “You’re right. I wanted to be there, but I was so sick. My mother warned me that I needed to stop eating the gas station sushi, but I didn’t listen. It just hit me out of nowhere, and I didn’t get out of bed for nearly a week. It was awful. I’m so sorry I missed the wedding. My mother told me it was gorgeous and that Tatiana made such a beautiful bride.”
At the mention of his daughter, Zarek watched the man’s smile fade. He cleared his throat and pushed his hands into his pockets. “Yes. She did. Well, come in, both of you. At that point, Kurt finally nodded. “Zarek.”
Zarek gave the older man an equally polite nod. “Kurt.”
As they followed Kurt into the penthouse, Evie began to wiggle. She knew exactly where they were when Miranda called out. “Dear, is that Zarek?”
“Yes, Darling.” Kurt’s reply was dutiful, with all the passion of a man who was about to attend his execution.
Whereas Kurt was cold and disdainful of every person he seemed to meet, save the bizarrely unexpected warmth he’d greeted Scarlett with, Miranda was a whole different ball of wax. On the surface, his mother-in-law was as vapid and vain as her daughter had been, but beneath it, she had compassion in spades. More than once, she’d apologized to Zarek for the hell her daughter had put him through. Once, she’d even tried to intervene and talk sense into Tatiana when she’d filed her spousal support request for an amount that was not less than everything Zarek was
worth. Tatiana had even had the gall to demand Buttercup and full custody of Evie.
“Zarek, Kurt said you were coming tonight. I’m so glad. And there’s my sweet girl! Come see Nana, Precious!” Miranda stood in the middle of the living room, dressed in a pair of black slacks and a flawless white silk blouse. Her blonde hair was perfectly arranged in a tasteful twist at the back of her head. The only difference from usual was that her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes, which were red-rimmed and swollen. She’d been crying, and Zarek couldn’t blame her. His wife had been a wreck of a person, but she’d also been their only child.
“Naaaaaa!” Evie began to twist in his arms, her hands fluttering as she screeched happily toward her grandmother. “Nanananana!” Zarek leaned down, lowering her to the ground and gripping her chubby hands until she steadied herself. When he released her, she took off at top speed, teetering unsteadily toward Miranda.
Zarek allowed the woman a moment to coo over the baby, as she always did. She scooped up Evie and grinned. It was a genuine expression as she kissed the baby on the cheek and hugged her tightly to her chest.
Zarek saw the moment the woman’s heart broke into a thousand pieces. A choked sob emitted from her, and in the next moment, she coughed, clearing her throat as she lifted her head. Miranda glanced at Kurt, who was staring at his wife with narrowed eyes. A moment later, Miranda’s gaze shifted to Scarlett, noticing her for the first time. “Oh. Hello.”
“Darling, this is Scarlett. You remember her. Zarek’s friend. She was going to be in the wedding, but came down with something at the last minute.” Kurt’s voice was entirely neutral as he relayed the lie that Zarek had told him the morning of his wedding. Kurt knew it was a lie as much as Zarek did, and God bless Scarlett for picking up on the lie and going along with it at the front door. Kurt had understood, in a rare moment of insight, that the wedding was already on the brink of being a disaster. He’d loved his daughter to distraction, but Kurt Landais was not a man who liked being defied or ignored.
Miranda stared at Scarlett for a moment, as if she didn’t recognize her, her expression completely blank. It took a second for that warm smile to emerge as she stepped forward. “Yes, of course. Scarlett, hello.”
Scarlett, ever the perfect guest, accepted Miranda’s outstretched hand briefly. “I’m so sorry for your loss, Mrs. Landais. Tatiana was a woman of strong convictions.”
There was a flicker in her eyes, and Zarek saw the sheen of tears as they began to rise once more. But then she blinked, and they were gone.
“Thank you, dear. Please, come in and sit down. We’ll have a drink before dinner.”
“We can’t stay long.” Zarek interjected quietly.
“Gotta get Squirt to bed pretty soon, and it’s a long drive to the lake.”
“Ah, it’s fine.” Kurt interrupted before he could say more. “Let’s go to my study, Zarek. There are some things we should discuss.”
Separate and conquer. Circle and close in, like a predator hunting its prey. He had no doubt that Miranda would be kind to Scarlett, but he still didn’t want to leave her alone, not here.
Miranda seemed to pick up on his hesitation. She smiled at him lightly. “Oh, stop being such a worrywart. Go talk about man stuff. Scarlett and I are more than capable of discussing shoes and handbags by ourselves.”
Zarek glanced toward Scarlett, frowning faintly, but she merely gave him a smile that seemed to match Miranda’s in confidence. “Oh, just go. I’ll be fine. Evie will protect me, won’t you, Cricket?”
Evie gave another of those toothy, drool-draped grins toward Scarlett as she pointed to Miranda as if showing off her grandmother. “Nana!”
Defeated, Zarek turned to regard Kurt, lifting a hand to gesture that he should lead the way. They were both silent as Zarek fell into step beside him. Kurt didn’t speak until he’d closed the door to his study behind him. He headed straight for the wet bar on the other side of the large office, nodding toward the large pair of chairs across from a slick leather sofa. “Have a seat, Zarek. Scotch?”
Zarek shook his head, lowering himself into one of the chairs. “No, thanks. I’m driving.”
Kurt gave a distracted nod and reached for the crystal decanter and a highball glass. “So that’s her, then?”
Startled, Zarek’s head shot up from where he had been staring at his folded hands, to find Kurt approaching with two glasses. He held one out to Zarek, and rather than refuse a second time, Zarek took it. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Cut the bullshit.” Kurt’s voice was icy as he took a seat on the sofa across from Zarek, tossing one ankle over the opposite knee. “You think my daughter didn’t tell me what you did the night before the wedding?” Zarek could only stare at Kurt as the man continued. “She told me what that girl said about her. How you defended her. And she also told me how you came back with your tail tucked between your legs.”
