by Leila James
Xander takes my hand in his. “You don’t have to—”
“No. I do.” I open my eyes, looking between Sebastian and Xander. “He went on and on about how he’ll never be good enough, never be like you, Xander. Joseph told him things about me. He let Justin do what he wanted to mess with me. He knew.”
Sebastian shakes his head and looks down.
“I was so stunned I couldn’t move. And I couldn’t understand why Justin was telling me all this, but I see now he was stalling. Probably waiting for whatever he gave me to kick in so he could take me without a struggle.” I take a deep breath. “I started feeling funny, but not like I was drunk. It was different.” The dam of emotions finally breaks and I burst into tears as the awful memory plays like a film reel in my head.
Xander squeezes my hand. “Seriously. We don’t have to do this right now if you don’t want to.”
“No, I need to.” I shake my head. “Once he’d seen in my eyes that I understood he’d done something to me, he dragged me off behind some bushes. I was powerless to stop him, I couldn’t speak and tried to struggle, but it was futile. My body wouldn’t cooperate with what my mind was screaming.” Fight, Scarlett! Get away from him! More brutal memories slash through my mind. “It hit me that he’d be able to do whatever he wanted to me, take me anywhere, and I was terrified. He held me down with his hand over my mouth until he was satisfied that whatever he gave me had taken full effect and I wasn’t going to be able to call for help.”
My head whips toward Xander. “That scent. His cologne. It was on the note. I don’t know how I didn’t put two and two together. I remember now how much I didn’t like his cologne that night at Beau’s party.” I take a deep breath. “From there, it’s all lights, movement, sound, and a blur of faces. I don’t really remember much. And then I woke up here.”
Chapter 34
Xander
I struggle to swallow past the lump in my throat. The pain in her eyes over this whole incident is like getting knifed in the heart over and over again. It’s fucking killing me. I’m not ready to go into details with her about what we heard before we made ourselves known to Justin and my father or what was said among us while she was blacked out. For now, it’s enough to explain what we’ve pieced together the motive behind everything. “So first, we have more to tell you about this, but Justin is sick in the head. He’s disturbed and latched onto you. Unfortunately, my dad took full advantage of that. Our best guess is exactly what you thought—Joseph has been using that motherfucker Justin to get to you—thereby hoping to hurt Sebastian.”
Sebastian eyes me for a second, then takes over, as I’m having difficulties. “He found out you’re my daughter. The day I put the money into the scholarship fund for you with the bookkeeper at the school, Joseph was also there. He shouldn’t have overheard what I was doing, but he did. He must have figured it out from there. We may never know everything.” He clears his throat. “I believe he was hoping that by bringing your existence to light it would destroy my marriage with Isabella. I think somewhere in his twisted brain, she’s still his, and Joseph wanted to make me pay for taking her from him. I wasn’t supposed to know what he was doing, either, but I guess Justin has a bit of a drug problem. He was caught with his stash on campus more than once. Apparently, Joseph was paying the school off so that Justin could stay.” He expels a harsh breath. “I was concerned when I heard this, so I put a private investigator on it. Frankly, anything concerning Joseph makes me nervous because it has the potential to adversely affect multiple members of my family.”
Scarlett pales. “Oh, no. What did he find out? Am I allowed to ask?”
He lets out a deep sigh. “We found out this wasn’t the first time Joseph has paid someone off to keep things quiet. Scarlett, I’m sorry to tell you this, but six months ago Justin raped another girl, and it got swept under the rug. Joseph paid big bucks to make it go away.”
“June knew about the findings, didn’t she? She told me to be careful. I had no idea why.” Her hands shake, brow furrowing.
“She overheard me on the phone with the investigator.”
Scarlett nods as her teeth sink into her lip. Her gaze meets each of ours in turn. “So, if it’s really true that a Rose can get away with anything …”
Sebastian locks eyes with her. “They won’t be so lucky this time. I’ll make sure of it.”
I wonder if Scarlett’s realized that, technically, her connection to Sebastian makes her one of us now. There’s no way he’s going to let them get away with this.
“My aunt and uncle …” She swallows hard. “Do they know what’s happened?”
I eye her with worry. “Yeah, I’m sorry. I called and filled them in while you were sleeping so you wouldn’t have to do it later. I hope that was the right thing to do.”
Scarlett gives me a soft smile, and my whole world rights itself again with the curve of her plump lips and the shine of love in her eyes. “Thank you. It would have been hard for me to explain—especially since I haven’t been forthright with anything lately. I feel awful. I didn’t want to be a burden, and instead, I ended up in the hospital, worrying the hell out of them.” Her eyes fly to Sebastian’s, and I can tell from the flush in her face that her emotions have swung wildly in another direction. “Do they … do they know?”
“About me? Yeah. I spoke with them, too. Your aunt is pissed off at me, and rightfully so. I’m hoping we can have a frank conversation when they get home.”
For the first time ever, the identity of Scarlett’s father is fully out in the open. I can’t imagine how it feels to go from never knowing who he was and thinking she was alone in this world to having her father at her side.
She takes a few seconds, then inhales deeply before she asks, “What time is it?”
“Eleven.”
“At night?” She frowns, and if she wasn’t lying in a hospital bed, I’d tell her she’s fucking adorable. Her head turns to the window where we’d drawn the blinds to keep the bright sunlight from waking her.
“No, Red. It’s Saturday morning. You passed out after they brought you in here around ten last night.”
“Oh. Wow. And you’ve both been here the entire time?” She seems to be taking it all in. “Am I going to be able to go home today?”
I nod. “The doctors said as soon as you were feeling up to it, yes, you could leave.” I feel like she’s doing better than expected, all things considered. My girl is fucking strong.
Sebastian’s phone rings, and after a quick glance at the screen, he stands. “I’ve got to take this. It’s your mom, Xander.” He hurries out the door, more flustered than I’ve probably ever seen the man.
“Has he told her yet?”
I groan. “Yeah. Last night. She’d been calling, panicked because of the way he tore out of the house to meet me, and he didn’t want to leave you once you were here, so he had to tell her.”
She worries her lower lip with her teeth. “How’d she take it? Is she okay?”
I hate that I haven’t seen my mom face-to-face yet to really get a good read on how she’s doing with the news. “Well, she has a new stepdaughter she didn’t know existed, which means Janie has a half sister. Who also happens to be her son’s girlfriend. Her husband kept a massive secret from her. It’s been a lot for her to take in.” I lift my hands in a classic I don’t know gesture. “The two of you already get along, so hopefully she’ll be okay. Sebastian should have told her before this. She has every right to be upset.”
She nods. “I get that. For sure.”
I squeeze her hand briefly and press a kiss to the back of it. “Scarlett, I’m sorry to bring this up but you should know. They examined you when you were brought in because there was some concern about what had happened before we got to you—we were relieved to be told there was no evidence of any sexual assault.” I swallow past the lump in my throat that forms every time I imagine Justin’s hands on her, or worse, my father’s. “It doesn’t appear you were harmed in any way
beyond the drugs.”
She pales and is quiet for a few moments, emotion snaking swiftly through her, plain as day on her face. Finally, she looks me right in the eye. “Well, I guess they’re lucky they didn’t touch me like that.”
I cock my head to the side, waiting for her to continue.
“I’d hate to think what you’d have done to them.” She lifts her shoulders to her ears before dropping them. “I know you well enough to know you wouldn’t have stopped until they were unable to ever hurt me again.”
I lean in, catching her lips with mine. Gentle at first, then more urgent. Yeah. She’s going to be fine. Rose or Thorn, it doesn’t matter, so long as she’s mine.
Chapter 35
Scarlett
“I’ll see you soon. I’m really okay.” I edge closer to Xander in his bed where I’d been napping until my aunt and uncle had called a few minutes ago.
“Promise me, Scarlett. Oh my God, your mother would never have forgiven me if something happened to you.” I can imagine Aunt Liz pacing on the other end of the phone, hand to her forehead.
“Aunt Liz. Seriously. I’m okay. And Isabella and Sebastian say I can stay with them until you get back.”
Her breath stutters out. “I’m so relieved that they found you and put a stop to all of this.”
“I know. Believe me. I’d kind of like to stop talking about it for right now, if that’s okay.” My hands grip Xander’s T-shirt, and he wraps his arms more tightly around me.
Xander leans down near the phone. “She’s okay, Mrs. Baker. I’ve got her. I won’t let anything happen to her.”
A warm, happy feeling swirls through me. “Did you hear Xander?”
“Yes, and I know we’ve been hard on him, but we owe him big. We won’t forget that.”
“And Sebastian?” I grit my teeth and squint an eye, nervous.
“I’m still plenty pissed off about whatever went down between him and my sister. But he gave you to us, so he can’t be all bad.”
“And he and Xander came to my rescue together.” I don’t want her to hang on to the hard feelings she’s always harbored towards my absentee father now that we finally know who he is.
“I know. I know.”
“Everything’s going to be okay, Aunt Liz. Tell Uncle David I can’t wait to see him when you guys get back.”
“Okay, sweetie. Take care. Be safe. We love you.”
“Love you, too.” I sigh deeply, snuggling further into Xander’s chest as I hang up. “That was hard. They feel terrible that they can’t get a flight until tomorrow.”
He kisses the top of my head. “It’s all good. I’m going to take such good care of you.” He eases back so he can look into my eyes. He looks serious at first, but then wriggles his brows at me, showing me that his naughty tendencies haven’t gone anywhere, they’ve just been held in check for a bit.
I slap playfully at his chest, unable to contain my laughter. “You’re terrible. But don’t ever change, Xander.”
He chuckles. “Never. I’m never going to stop wanting you. Needing you.” He clears his throat. “I checked in with Beau and Micah and let them know you’re okay.”
“Yeah. I texted Daphne and Max. They were freaking out, especially since they weren’t at the party but started hearing things through the grapevine from people who were.”
Xander blows out a breath. “So, I guess the last thing to do is to go down and listen to what Sebastian has to say. While you were sleeping, he got pretty worked up, knowing he was going to have to explain what happened between himself and your mom.”
“There’s no sense in anyone keeping secrets now. Everything needs to be out in the open.”
“I know. And I think he expects that you’ll question him until you’re satisfied with his answers. I know I really want to hear what he has to say about all of it, too.” His hands cup the back of my head, threading his fingers through my hair. He lowers his mouth to mine, and I immediately get sucked into the kiss. His tongue sweeps inside my mouth, sending sparks skittering all over my body.
He smiles against my lips. “We’ve got time for this later.”
I smirk. “You realize your mom set up the guest bedroom for me, right?”
“If they think you are staying in there without me, they’re fucking insane.” He barks with laughter, then presses his lips to mine. “I’m not letting you out of my sight.”
Downstairs, we gather around the kitchen table—me, Xander, Sebastian, Isabella, and June. The only one not present is Janie, who’s in bed for the night. We won’t be telling her just yet that she’s my sister. We should ask for advice from a professional before we do. She’ll understand, eventually, I guess. It would be a lot for a five-year-old brain to comprehend. I’m excited to work toward it, though.
Xander holds my hand on the tabletop. June has seen to it that we each have something to drink—Isabella and I have peppermint tea and the guys have ice water.
Sebastian clears his throat after taking a long swallow of his drink. His gaze lands on me and doesn’t waver. “Scarlett, I want you to know that I never saw the letter your mother wrote to me. Xander showed it to me while you were asleep. I swear I never saw it.” He shakes his head. “Your mother mentioned it that summer after we’d graduated, and I had no idea what she was talking about.” He sighs. “And I guess Christina Warrington is devious enough to have found it and hidden it from me. I’d been in a vulnerable spot when she came to me, suggesting we go to prom together. Your mom was acting weird and distant. I had no idea it was because she thought I was blowing her off after reading the note. I didn’t know she was pregnant.”
I nod. “So, what happened after that? We know she was pregnant and scared and thought you were abandoning her. And then you took another girl to the prom.” I take a sip of my tea. “Which seems kind of like small potatoes compared to what else was happening with her at the time, but I’m sure it all kept stacking up until …”
“She exploded. Like I said, I saw her over the summer—she came to see me at my home.” He glances to the side where June is standing quietly. “June was there.”
“I overheard a few things that I shouldn’t have.” She gives me an apologetic smile.
My head swivels back to Sebastian. “But what I don’t understand is why did you turn her away then?”
“Your mother was so upset with me when she mentioned the note, and I told her I didn’t know what she was talking about. There she was at my home, screaming at me, where my family might hear her. I shut her down. I accused her of lying. I’m embarrassed to say I also told her I thought she’d been sleeping around. That maybe you weren’t mine.” He drops his gaze, and his face flushes. When he continues, his voice is barely more than a whisper. “I’m afraid I was so panicked that I threatened her. I didn’t want her to start talking about it. Swore I’d make her life hell if she told anyone I was the father.”
Xander squeezes my hand, and I squeeze right back. Thank goodness he’s here with me. “My mother was no liar. By all accounts, she was a sweet, shy girl who thought she was in love.” I swallow, afraid the rising bile in my throat will make it impossible to finish. “Sebastian, a lot of time has passed, and I can’t ask my mother for the truth … so I’m asking it of you right now.” My eyes flicker to Isabella’s. “I’m really sorry if this is painful for you.”
She waves her hand. “This happened well before my time. You have a right to know anything you want, honey. I’m pretty sure I already know what you want to ask him.”
I inhale, then blow the air out through pursed lips. “How did you really feel about my mother? What really happened between you? Why was your relationship such a secret?”
Boom. It’s like an explosive has gone off in the room. The aftermath is a deafening silence.
Isabella reaches out to Sebastian and grabs his hand, nodding at him that he should answer. He lets out a shaky breath. “I’m embarrassed to say that it was a status thing. I fell for a girl who was not a Rose. Back
then it was a huge deal. But I was head over heels crazy in love with her.” He chuckles softly. “She agreed to see me in secret. She didn’t want to be on display any more than I did. And I couldn’t believe she’d have me. She was so smart. So gorgeous. Such a sweet soul. And, yep, we did things that teenagers are bound to eventually do. I think she was scared when she found out about you. And she probably thought I was a jerk for not coming and talking to her when she left me the note. I had no idea why she was pushing me away. I know now she was protecting her heart. Worried that I didn’t feel for her what she felt for me. Everything got really messed up.” He shakes his head harshly. “Scarlett, I’m so sorry for how things happened … but I can’t take it back, can’t change things. I can only try to make it up to her by doing right by you now.” He pauses to swallow. “If you’ll allow me to.”
“You loved her.”
“I did. So much.” He lets out a long sigh, scrubbing both hands through his hair. “By the time you were born, everything had gone so wrong between us, there was no going back. But she wanted me to know you were definitely mine.” He hesitates, looking into my eyes. “The honest truth is that I knew she wouldn’t lie. She sent me the photo Xander found about a week after you were born.”
“What did you think when you saw it?”
“That I’d been stupid.” He stops to take a long swallow of his water. “I went to see her … and you. I held you.” He rubs a hand over his jaw. “We decided that day that we were better off apart. There was too much between us and every time I tried to apologize it came out wrong.”
