It's too dangerous to follow her.

“You’re too much for me to handle right now,” you tell Scarlet as you push her back. Your raging boner protests your control along with Scarlet, who narrows her gaze at you. “I really can’t afford to be caught with you right now, Scarlet. I’m sorry.”

Scarlet rolls her eyes and places her hands on her hips. “You risk your life every day with your line of work, you know? So, how exactly is this ANY different?”

Flora came to mind, but that only made you feel even more embarrassed. If Flora found out you were fooling around with Scarlet while you both were technically steady…you aren’t sure what her reaction would be. “We just have to find a better time to be together.”

Another dramatic eye roll from Scarlet. She pushes you aside to access her gear. “Whatever, Warren. If you need me to dye my hair brown and cut it shorter so I look more like Flora, you can just tell me.”

“It isn’t like that,” you try, glad she isn’t looking at you to notice how red your cheek has become. You facepalm and internally groan. You were too old to be acting this young!

“We’ll leave in the morning, probably closer to noon. So, get ready and consider packing some stuff up tonight,” Scarlet grabs something off the table and tinkers with it. She looks back at you and sighs. “Sorry if I’m coming off as annoying or clingy, by the way.”

“You don’t need to be,” you tell her, somewhat surprised by her change of attitude.

Scarlet shakes her head, returning to the table. “I’m just…I’ve got a lot on my mind right now, and I really wanted a 20-minute vacation.”

“Only 20 minutes?” You scoff slightly as you address her comment. “You’re kidding me.”

“Fine,” Scarlet reluctantly says. “I really meant to say a 5-minute vacation, but since you want the truth that badly…”

“You’re such a tease,” you remark, looking at her ass; she (probably) shakes it on purpose to distract you too. “But you have to understand my direction too.”

She grunts. “At this point, I suspected you to understand where I was coming from. I’ve got a lot on my plate to consider and even more on the way. To forget about all of that without the use of nicotine or drugs would have been fabulous, but here you are, torturing me with a hard cock and a belittling attitude.”

“Don’t be like that,” you say, detecting the sarcasm in her voice. “I’m just not much into redheads. Go back to your blonde roots, and maybe I’ll risk a bit more for you.”

Scarlet turns around. Her face is plastered with a smile that is neither drunk nor aggressive. She giggles as she runs her tongue over her lips, making them glossy and wet. “So, I should copycat Flora then? Is that what you’re into? Brunette with rich backgrounds and bad parent relations?”

“Not exactly,” you say, wandering away from the subject slightly. “From what I know about you, it seems like you’re the complete opposite of our hutch rabbit Flora. Not to say that’s a bad thing or anything, but just a general observation of the situation.”

“You would be correct,” Scarlet tells you.

“I mean this in the best way possible,” you begin, now stepping closer. “But, it seems like the situation you had with your parents was better—”

“Ah,” Scarlet cuts the distance and shakes her head at you. “I’d rather be intimate with you than personal, yeah?”

Her blue eyes sharpen, but the tone of her voice isn’t harsh. You stare back at her firmly and nod, shooting your hands out apologetically. “I know I didn’t mean anything offensive there, right?”

Scarlet smiles tightly. “I’d rather keep them out of this. Don’t compare me to that hutch rabbit. We’re nothing alike. You’re right about that.”

You didn’t have the energy to spend any more time with Scarlet. Now it felt like you were treading thin ice with her, so you decided to take this moment to get out of there before you did anything else to offend her.

When you exited, you spot Flora standing on the other end. She blinks and tries to look like she is doing anything besides eavesdropping. She clears her throat and shifts her legs while curving the corners of her lips into a loose smile.

“Hi there,” Flora says, her cheeks going flush.

You study Flora for a moment, finding it a little cute the way she tried to hide her spying. Her bright eyes fluttered while her eyes bounced from you and Scarlet’s door. Her fingers became locked in front of her. Her hair was fashioned up with hair ties and pins, which exposed her face, which you gladly admired, even it became pink.

“Hey, there,” you smile at her, which makes her blush travel further down her shirt. “Dare I ask what you are doing outside Scarlet’s room?”

Flora stammers and then inhales deeply before replying. “I’m just walking around. You might not believe me, but I have better things to do than just listen to your conversations with the others.”

Her voice comes out so confidently you almost believe her, but then you remember how you caught her. “Issthatso?”

Flora crosses her arms and sticks out her chin. She nods to your comment but then relaxes. She smiles at you sheepishly and then shakes her head slightly as if she knows there’s no point in lying to you. Honestly speaking, there wasn’t a reason to lie to you, so she just rolled her eyes and drew closer to you instead. “I didn’t hear anything, but you’d tell me if there was something to worry about, right?”

“You know I would,” you confirm with her. “And fortunately, it sounds like I’ll be working with Scarlet for a little bit. So, I won’t be seeing you much.”

The pink color of her cheeks leaves, and now a plain look of worry takes over her expression. “I’m sorry to hear that’s the case for us for now.”

“I’m sorry,” you tell her, grabbing her hand and pulling her away further from Scarlet’s room.

Flora follows you without question. “At least I don’t have anything to worry about on my end. I doubt Amara will put me anywhere dangerous.”

“You trust her to take care of you, then?” You ask Flora, and she hums in response.

“Yes,” she says. “I honestly don’t think she’d ever put me in a position that would leave me uncomfortable.”

You stop near your room. You wonder if it would be OK for you to take her inside with you. You didn’t intend to do anything naughty with Flora, but if the others found out…

“I shouldn’t go in there,” Flora says, unknowingly answering your inside questions. “There’s no telling what Amara would do if she found me in the same room as you. I still don’t think she trusts you as much as I wish she would.”

“I’m working on it,” you try to promise Flora, but figure it’s pointless. She knew that the position you’ve placed yourself in with her isn’t a good one, and there was no amount of acting that could grace you in an ideal spot for you to get Flora back with her family. This was the long haul you were dreading. “I would like to spend some time with you, though.”

Flora gave a charming grin. “Warren?”

Now it was your turn to blush. “Not like…THAT. I mean, just to sit down and talk to you. You deserve a good conversation again. Perhaps we should arrange a date of some kind that wouldn’t draw too much attention?”

Flora nods, giving a careful glance at where you had just been. “I would love nothing more.”

Scarlet left your mind briefly, and the only girl you knew was Flora. “I think you owe some answers to some questions anyway, don’t you?”

Flora giggles. “I do, don’t I? You better hurry up and get me out of this house so we converse with those questions.”

You try to explain to Flora that you are working on the matter. However, when you see her smiling, you realize she’s more teasing than anything else, so you drop the subject rather quickly and smile too. Flora looks around and then sighs, letting all the air out in her lungs in one breath. “I’d love to talk more about us, but is it safe for us to be caught like this?”

You spy around. Despite not seeing anyone around you, it always felt like there were eyes on you. A slight tingle in the back of your neck makes you shiver. “I’m sure it is, but I understand your worries.”

She rolls her eyes, her lips puckering again as she falls into thought. “Seriously though, are you going to find a way to get us some actual privacy?”

“Well,” you begin, recalling the conversation you had this morning with Scarlet and Amara. “Could be complicated now that I’m partnering with Scarlet officially.”

Flora’s expression becomes darker, her eyes becoming less lively as they become distant. Almost as though she recalls her own thoughts. She then looks at you and bites down on her lips, but it isn’t done seductively. Instead, it’s as though she’s struggling to find the words to tell you. And then it comes out. “She’ll end up getting one of you killed.”

That wasn’t what you were expecting her to come out with. In fact, you were almost suspecting Flora to work up a speech of some kind to boost your belief that you weren’t walking into a certain death. Even Kenji seemed more optimistic this morning when you spoke to him in private. Flora, on the other hand, has forgone all hope. Flora sees your reaction, or lack thereof, and quickly apologizes. “I didn’t– I mean– I was there the last time Scarlet and Kenji worked together, and I swore one of them had a close call every time they went out to do their contracts together.”

You furrow your brows at her, almost taking offense for some reason. “So, you’re telling me you think Kenji is more capable in contract work than I am? Is that what this about?”

Flora looks like you’ve just smacked her, and she shakes her head. She stammers at first but then takes a deep breath in. “I am NOT saying that at all, Warren, I am just stating the fact that they had close calls before. Not to say Kenji isn’t capable of handling himself in a fight or anything, but I’m just saying…”

She has her hands out in front of her and grabs her fingers. She narrows her gaze at you while tilting her head to one side. “Listen. I’m not trying to offend you. I am worried.”

You relax. “Yeah, fine. I got it. Thanks for the heads up. Do you know any of the gritty details about these contracts I’m about to run with this girl?”

Flora looks around, binding her time to make it seem like there was something new she could offer, but you figured there really wasn’t. When your eyes met each other, her cheeks flushed a little bit. “No, I can’t. But I know that even Kenji didn’t like it. He offered to refer to her as reckless. That can’t be good if that’s coming from him, right?”

“Kenji said that?” You ask, and Flora nods. “Yeah, that really can’t be a good sign. God damnit, how did I get roped up with Scarlet?”

You hear Flora swallow. You know are close to getting Alexandra involved in the conversation, so you quickly just posture by looking around the room and stepping away from her. She follows you, of course, and the mood changes. You walk back to the kitchen and see it is now empty. Neither Kenji nor Amara are present. “Well, Flora. I hope you don’t mind waiting to get out again, but I’ll probably have to run a few contracts with Scarlet before I try to cure you of your cabin fever.”

Flora deflates, not at all liking your conclusion. She knows better than to complain, however. “No, I understand.”

“I’m sorry,” you unsure her, meaning it.

“I get it,” she tells you. “Just be extra careful for me, would you?”

You study her. She doesn’t look awkward, but you do pity her. “I can do that for you.”

Flora steps side-to-side. You have the urge to hug her to give some kind of comfort but don’t risk it. “Stay safe, too, would you?”

“I’ll make sure to mention you every moment I get and to ask Scarlet all the details of your contracts every time I see her.”

You smirk. “Thatta girl.”