by Samantha Bee
It takes a while to fully describe the scale of our operations and his shock is palpable in the air. It’s clear he knew there was more than we were telling him and had figured some things out for himself but it’s hard for even me to believe all that Scar has accomplished and I was there for every step.
He exhales a long breath as he shakes his head, “So let me get this straight,” he huffs, “someone wants Scar dead, which by the way, I’m now guessing isn't short for Scarlett?”
She chuckles and smirks, “It is now.”
He rolls his eyes at her nonanswer, but he won’t get more out of her. She never admits her real name, even just her first name, on the off chance someone recalls the news about the incident. It was a huge scandal that was covered nationwide for months.
“Right,” he sighs, “so someone wants you dead, Romano is hunting you while growing suspicious of Luca’s intentions as a what?” he hesitates. “A fucking crime lord? This is some Netflix binge worthy bull shit,” he half mutters, half laughs as he rubs his temples. The rest of us stay silent as he tries to sort out all the information we gave him. He starts ticking items off his fingers, “Mysterious past, criminal empire, legitimate empire including founding one of the largest foundations in American history and more than one set of people hunting you. Did I get it all?”
“You forgot my serious hacking and killing capabilities,” Scar interjects, causing Kade to snort.
“Right, of course,” he taunts, “the hacking assassin. Can hack your most private information or your head off. How could I possibly forget?”
Scar grins manically, “I like that, we should put that on my calling cards.”
“You have a fucking calling card?” Ryder stammers.
“Dammit, Scar! We already talked about this,” I remind her at the same time as I rub my own temples. I know she’s saying it just to push my buttons but fuck. I can’t help that it’s working. She can just be so goddamn cavalier about this shit.
Kade’s laughter echoes through the kitchen as he finally calms down, he explains, “You got credit for Scar’s kills during the raid and now she wants to leave a calling card with her bodies.”
She just shrugs as Ryder looks at her questioningly. I recognize that look in his eyes though, he’s exasperated by her but there’s a thread of amusement there too. I slap my hand on his back, “Welcome to the Scar show, Ryder,” I chuckle. “We spend ninety percent of our time with that exact look on our faces being around her.”
He shakes his head as he tries to get us back on topic, “So what is our next step?” We spend the next half hour explaining how we plan to get Rowan situated, I notice he relaxes hearing she will be staying with us for a little longer. We make arrangements to get him fully situated here, including putting him on my official payroll and figuring out where he can fit into the business.
Scar and Ryder decide to focus on training and getting him on par with the level she expects of her team. She’s also going to have to start training with the other three and have them doing runs through the tunnels to get them familiar with the paths and access points. Poor fuckers have no idea what they have in store for them.
There’s a lot of work to do and Scar reminds me she also wants to train some of the girls we’ve saved after that one girl asked her during this last raid. I have a feeling life is about to get a hell of a lot more complicated for us and it hasn’t actually been a walk in the park before this.
Hopefully, we have enough time to prepare before chaos ensues.
Chapter Twenty-Two
The last few days have been a whirlwind of activity. Scar was able to create documents for Rowan as soon as we brought all her equipment here. We set her up in one of the extra bedrooms and she’s been spending a lot of time in there.
She was able to confirm that Rowan has no family looking for her. She was found alone in her home as a toddler after her dad had overdosed. A neighbor called the police after hearing her crying without stopping for an extended period of time. It’s suspected her father killed her mother a few months prior to his own death.
Scar has already planned a trip to meet the social worker that took over Rowan’s case. After digging deeper, she was able to discover that this woman uses her position to sell children that have no one into trafficking. She was ready to go a rampage when she uncovered the truth of how Rowan ended up where we found her. She has enough evidence to put the woman and several of her accomplices away but that's just not enough for her.
It’s not enough for me either, if I’m being honest. I plan on accompanying Scar to annihilate every single one of the bastards involved in hurting my butterfly. I have a feeling it will be a whole family trip once Luca and Ryder hear about her plans. She’s been keeping it pretty under wraps so far, but we both know that won’t last.
The only good thing about it is that we should have no problem inserting Roe into our lives legally. Scar has all of the paperwork to give Joe and Charlene legal custody of her through the foster system. She had to call in a few favors, but Scar has friends everywhere that helped make it possible so quickly. She has a brand-new identity that shouldn’t ever cause any problems.
I smile as I think about the name Scar gave her. We had a lot of debate about what her full name should be. We all got to put in our input and even included Roe in the conversation, which she absolutely loved. She still isn’t talking but she’s starting to interact with all of us more, especially Scar of course.
Scar didn’t even hesitate to give Roe her last name which made the rest of us smile. None of us made a big deal about it or even thought to argue with her about it but I don't even think she realized what a statement she was making with that.
The two of them are sitting in the kitchen practicing writing her full name out like they have been doing every morning before breakfast, It's a sweet routine. Almost as sweet as her name, Rowan Jane Rose Everhart. Probably a little cheesy to give her Rose as a middle name but Luca and I both insisted and the smile she gave us made it worth it. She’s our little rose. A brilliant light in our world of darkness.
Ryder walks into the kitchen and Scar moves to start making breakfast for all of us. We’ve fallen into a simple routine, but we try to stay consistent with it. Scar read that it’s the best thing to help kids adjust. Ryder settles in next to Roe like he does every morning and compliments her on how well she’s writing her name.
He’s starting to look a lot better now that his bruises are starting to fade and he’s moving a bit easier as well. Scar put off the start of his training until he has some time to heal. He was disgruntled at first but Luca and I both backed her up and he eventually agreed it was for the best.
Scar grabs the aprons I bought for her and Roe, “You gonna help me today, Roe baby?” She puts her crayons down and eagerly nods as she jumps down from the island and moves over to Scar for her to tie the butterfly apron around her. As she moves, I notice the pile of blue stuffed animals she left behind.
A feeling of pride surges through me every time I see her carrying them around. It’s hilarious to me that we all had not only the same thought but that we bought animals almost the exact same shade of blue. They are rarely ever far from her since we gifted them to her.
The unicorn is almost the same size as her and she sometimes has to make two trips but that never stops her from always having them close to her. It’s probably one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen, and Scar had to forbid me from buying her any more stuff. I have a sneaking suspicion she already had the same conversation with Luca and Ryder as well. Her room is overflowing with bags and it’s not even been a week yet.
Luca walks in and sits at the island with Ryder and watches the girls as Scar helps Roe mix the waffle batter. It amazes me how well we all fit so well together. I check the time and realize Joe and his wife should be here any minute now.
I move out of the doorway and start setting the table, so Scar doesn’t have to. She throws me a smile when she notices as she pours the batter
into the waffle iron. Roe has a cute little smile on her face, and I can see just the tip of her tongue poking out of her mouth as she concentrates. Scar lightly laughs at the little girl’s intensity. I pull out my phone and snap a quick picture of the moment.
It’s one of the sweetest pictures I have ever seen. If I only knew Scar and had never met Letty, I don't think I would even recognize her in this picture. She looks like a mom. I want that.
It surprises me how badly I want that, it shouldn’t but it does. I want to keep this moment forever. I set the picture as the background on my phone so I can see it every time I open it up. I love every side of Scar but the way she is with Rowan is just something… something more. I don't think I can even put it in words.
Joe and his wife, Charlene, show up soon after that and we all settle in around the table as we talk about our plans for the day. Charlene has been amazing with Rowan and she’s warmed up to her immensely. Today will be the first time Scar leaves her during the day because we have our meeting with Rachel in a few hours.
Luca scheduled it so that Roe will most likely be napping while we are gone but we have been prepping her that she’s going to be spending some time with Charlene without the rest of us. Charlene promised her yesterday that they could bake cinnamon rolls and watch Frozen today which won her over immediately.
I never thought I would know all the words to a kid’s movie, but Rowan is obsessed with Elsa. Sometimes I find myself humming Let It Go in the shower or while I’m working out. The other guys would probably obliterate me, but I’ve caught Ryder singing it to himself while he’s doing the dishes and Luca answered the door yesterday humming Do You Wanna Build a Snowman.
Scar, on the other hand, has absolutely eviscerated each of us with her jokes when she catches us. I’ll give it to her, she’s had some truly brutal one liners. I hope we all get it under control before we start training back at the gym. We do have a reputation to keep up and Scar calling us all queens definitely won’t help with that.
After breakfast, Ryder helps me clean the kitchen up while Charlene and Scar take Roe to change her bandages. Her injuries are healing but the bandages still need to be changed every day. When they finish, I hear Charlene take Roe into the living room to start their movie. When Scar walks back in, she looks concerned, I feel my guard go up immediately.
“What’s wrong, Ladybug?”
She shakes her head and sits next to Luca, “Some of her cuts and burns aren’t healing as fast.”
He tilts his head as he studies her expression. We all know Scar is not one to panic over nothing but with Rowan she has been maybe just a little bit neurotic. Not that she’s the only one.
“Could they just be more recent ones?” More often than not Joe is the voice of reason with us. I can’t believe he and Charlene never had their own kids. They’re so good with Rowan and talking us off the edge of insanity when we start to overreact.
She just shrugs, “It’s possible but I don’t know,” she hesitates, “I just have a bad feeling about them I guess.”
Joe squeezes her shoulder, “Don’t go borrowing trouble, girlie. Just keep an eye on them. You’re doing right by that girl.” She looks up to him with more innocence in her eyes than I’ve seen there since she was sixteen. I realize why seeing her with Rowan tugs on my heartstrings so much. It’s the only time she looks naive and unsure of herself. It’s the most gentle and loving version of herself.
She agrees and we switch to planning out the meeting. Scar prepares the files we have for Rachel, as well as some additional intel we have on Romano. Scar still hasn’t been able to discover any connection between the two of them, good or otherwise.
Scar confirmed that she’s never even participated in any auctions that she can find. Rachel’s name has never even come close to trafficking so what could she possibly have wanted to meet with Romano about? And if that isn’t the reason she was there, what other reason could there be?
“There’s not a shred of evidence that points to us not being able to trust her,” she sighs, “but there’s nothing to give us answers either.” She blows a piece of hair out of her face and I can feel her frustration radiating off of her. She rarely ever can’t find answers so I know this must be killing her.
“We will just hear her out today,” Luca interrupts her sulking. “You’re the best at reading people. I trust your gut.”
“My gut won’t give us answers,” she mutters, still put out that she couldn't find them on her own. The rest of us ignore her as Luca focuses on Ryder.
“How do you feel about everything?” Luca asks him. We debated about having him present, but we want to make it known that we are expanding, showing a larger force is the best way to do that.
There are a few risks, but it would seem that Ciar has gone underground to evade his father, so we aren’t worried about Ryder being recognized. The other concern was Rachel or her men being able to read him too well. Scar and I have been working with him the last few days to make sure he’s able to mask his thoughts. He was surprisingly good at it without our help, but we were able to give him a few extra tips. I have a feeling there is a story there, but he wasn’t forthcoming with it and neither Scar nor I pried.
Overall, I think we are in good shape for this meeting. “I’m ready,” Ryder nods. In the last few days, he’s absorbed everything we’ve said but he’s withdrawn more into himself. I think his grief is starting to weigh more heavily on him. He needs the physical training to burn his mind out. I think we’ve waited long enough for him to have the chance to heal his body, now we have to work on his mind.
“I think we should start training tomorrow.” Scar throws me a look before assessing Ryder and looking back to me. We have a silent conversation, and I can tell she’s worried about him too. We both nod in agreement that his body can take the beating for the sake of finding some type of peace from his grief.
“That works,” she agrees. “You can catch the guys up today before the meeting and then we can start all of their training tomorrow.”
“You’re making me catch them up?” I grumble. Why the fuck do I have to do it? It’s so much damn talking.
“It’s boring,” she smirks.
Ryder chuckles, “You don’t like to hear about all that you’ve accomplished?”
She shrugs, “It’s boring.”
Luca takes his turn to tease her, “You think everything that isn’t stabbing someone is boring.” It’s rare for Luca to really joke with her and I think half of her response is because it’s true and the other half is just surprise that he’s the one who said it, but the girl starts cackling. Throws her head back and absolutely loses it. It makes the rest of us all join her. Ryder looks a little more at ease as he focuses on her.
A little while later, I’m ready to head out. I go into the living room and find Rowan cuddled into Scar’s chest and holding Charlene’s hand. Her stuffed animals are laying all around her, as she focuses on the movie, she pets the unicorn’s head like a dog. I wonder if she wants a dog. Maybe a cat? Aren’t animals used in behavioral therapy sometimes?
I file the thought away to bring up the everyone later. Scar would probably castrate me if I just showed up with an animal. Luca may not be too thrilled about it either since it is his house. But it’s her threat to Ryder that rings in my ears anytime I consider pissing her off. I shudder but avoid cupping my junk in front of the ladies, definitely not including Scar in that though.
I say bye to Roe, and she lets me give her a quick kiss to the top of her head before snuggling back up to Scar and focuses on her movie. I turn to look and smile at the scene of the two girls snuggling up to their mom as she sings them a lullaby. They must have just started the second Frozen movie. I catch the quick look Roe throws at Scar before her eyes move back to the screen.
I smile as I drop a kiss on Scar’s head as well without thinking about it. I hesitate after doing it waiting for her to hit me or throw me a dirty look but all she does is look up at me and smile, “I’
ll see you in a bit.”
I turn away before she can notice the faint blush creeping up my cheeks. I do not blush but fuck if I can’t feel it right now. I’m just in a little bit of shock that I didn’t just have my balls served to me on a platter. Scar used to get annoyed by me just putting an arm around her. She’s become so much more affectionate, I even noticed it with Noah the other night.
Joe chuckles, “She’s come a long fucking way,” as he slaps me on the back. My chest puffs up because this is basically like getting the approval from your girl’s dad. Scar has turned me into such a bitch for her, but I don’t even care. I can’t help the goofy ass grin I know is spreading across my face.
Joe heads out with me as we go to meet the guys at the club. We can just use Luca’s office since it’s secure to give them the background. Luca and Scar already spoke to them earlier this week about bringing them fully on board and what it means. Today is just about actually filling them in which is why both of those assholes left it to me.
It doesn't take as long as I expected to get them caught up with just how widespread our organization really is. It went a lot quicker than telling Ryder since they are already familiar with a good chunk of how Luca runs his portion of the empire they’ve built. The shock on Ian and Holden’s faces is priceless and something I plan on taunting them with for years to come. Most of their surprise comes from just how involved Scar is.
Tyler on the other hand is a much more easy-going guy and doesn’t seem phased by the new information at all. When Holden looks to him, he just shrugs, “Scar is a vicious little thing.”
Ian laughs in agreement, “You should have seen her last night with the waitress that touched Luca.”
I shake my head smiling as I recall how she broke her hand with barely any effort. I shift uncomfortably, thinking about Scar’s possessive side is making me hard. “Well now you know just how vicious of a thing she can be. And good luck because you start training with her tomorrow.”
