I'm done for now...

You leave the cliff side with your fox companions, crossing paths with Scarlet on the way down. She smirked at you knowingly and arched an eyebrow. You dispatched Arabella and Mikko as you noticed Scarlet standing close by with her arms crossed.

You closed the distance and waved at her. “Good morning.”

Scarlet chuckled. “Yes. It would seem you’re having a good morning if nothing else…”

There was no heat of embarrassment, only a tiny pinch of pride behind your smile. “Having a haram has its benefits,” you recalled Gwendolion the night before.

She rolls her eyes. “Cross me out of it.”

“You weren’t invited,” you say, grinning. “What’s going on?”

She strides over with a yawn to hand over a sheet of paper. It's already signed with her signature, but there is ample space for more. “Contract in the next town requesting additional contractors for security detail.”

You read the details highlighted on the sheet. It’s for a carnival— a traveling circus, it seems. You glanced up at Scarlet, biting the corners of her nails. “Any reason in particular you’re recruiting me to tag along?”

“Carnivals attract odd faces, so having at least one dependable person with me wouldn’t be horrible. My record probably took a dip after my fuck up and beating, so I have to do this.”

“Your beating?”

Scarlet spits whatever fragment she bit off and glares at you. “I tried to draw my gun on one of those fuckers, and he knocked out my lights. Underestimated those guys… probably ugly as hell now. I haven’t examined myself since you rescued me. I just have to assume since you declined the invitation to sleep with me last night.”

You eye-balled her. The unnaturally black hair was slightly less cared for the first you saw her. However, she’s made a remarkable recovery, considering everything that has happened since coming to terms with her. “You’re absolutely right. You’re hideous to look at now.”

She grinned, knowing a lie when she heard one. “So, you’re interested or not, Warren? I’m leaving tomorrow when their office is open. It won’t take longer than an hour to get there.”