Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Wednesday, January 1
Thursday, January 2
Friday, January 3
Saturday, January 4
Sunday, January 5
Author's Note
More Books by Scarlett
Find Scarlett Online
Crazy
The Zara Chronicles #11
Scarlett Haven
Copyright © 2019 Scarlett Haven
http://scarletthaven.net
All rights reserved.
Cover by Pixie Covers
Edited by Janet at Dragonfly Editing
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, places, events, or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are products of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.
Wednesday, January 1
Separated.
This isn’t how I thought I would spend my New Year’s Day—riding in the passenger side of the black SUV, driving as far away from New Orleans as we possibly can.
Tristan is in the driver’s seat, and I can’t help but notice just how quiet the car is. So, so quiet.
I’m used to all my guys being around. I am used to Dylan and Tristan joking around, debating which superhero is better. I’m used to Cam’s sarcastic comments. I’m used to all the guys bickering, usually lightheartedly.
But now... It’s just Tristan and me.
It’s three in the morning, and we’ve been in this car since around midnight last night. I’m starting to get tired. When we first left the city, I was running on pure adrenaline, but it’s starting to wear off now. If I’m going to stay awake, I’m going to need an energy drink. And I need to pee, but Tristan refuses to stop. I think he’s scared. And I get it. I’m scared, too.
We don’t know where we’re going, yet. I keep asking Tristan, but I don’t think he has a clue yet of what he wants to do. And I don’t want to keep asking and stress him out even more, but we also can’t keep driving around aimlessly forever. We have to decide where to go. We need a plan. We need to figure out how to find the guys.
“Tristan,” I say softly, breaking the silence that has been there for well over an hour now.
His knuckles loosen a little on the steering wheel. I hadn’t even realized he was gripping it so hard. “What is it?”
“You know everything is going to work out, right?” I reach over, putting my hand on his thigh. “We’re safe now. There is nobody following us.”
His shoulders do relax a little bit. “I know, Zara.”
“I think we should take a minute,” I say. “Let’s find a gas station and stop to use the restroom. Let’s get an energy drink.”
He doesn’t say anything.
“I’ll drive for a bit,” I offer.
He laughs, taking one hand off the steering wheel to grab onto mine. “We will stop so you can go to the bathroom. I need to go, too.”
I let out a sigh of relief.
Thank. God.
I really do need to pee, badly.
“I’m sorry.” He squeezes my hand. “I just am freaking out. I don’t lead the team. That’s Cam’s job. Now that I have to take over, I’m afraid I’m not very good at it.”
“Then let me lead us,” I suggest. “I actually feel like I am clearheaded when under pressure.”
He nods. “Okay.”
“But I need your help. You’re better at all this Spy School stuff than I am.” I bite the corner of my lip. “What would you do if you were on a mission and you got separated from the rest of them?”
“I would track their location,” he answers. “I would hack whatever I had to, and I would find them.”
“But you can’t track them.”
“Exactly.”
I sigh. “We need to go somewhere that we think the guys would look for us.”
He nods. “But where?”
“The guys know you better than they do me,” I say. “You’ve been with them longer. So, I think you need to decide where we will go.”
“I don’t know where to go.” Tristan’s face turns white as he admits it.
He’s so, so scared.
I squeeze his hand, trying to offer him some comfort. “Tristan, take me out of the equation. If you were in this situation without me, and you were separated from the guys, where would you go?”
He shakes his head back and forth a couple of times, but immediately stops. He glances from the road to me, then back at the road. “I would go home.”
“Home?” I ask.
“Georgetown,” he clarifies. “South Carolina.” His jaw drops open. “I’ve been driving that way this whole time, and I didn’t even realize it.”
I grin.
Of course, he has.
Tristan might not think he’s good under pressure, but he’s better than he gives himself credit for. He just needed me to calm him down a little bit.
There is an exit with a gas station, so he pulls off on the exit.
I am so relieved that we know where we’re going now. I didn’t even realize how heavy my chest was until we decided what we were going to do.
I really hate uncertainties.
When we get to the gas station, Tristan pulls up to the pump to fill up the car. Before I can reach for the handle to get out, he puts a hand on my shoulder to stop me.
“I’m really sorry about freaking out like that. I just... panicked.” He shakes his head. “I’ve trained for this my whole life, and I didn’t expect that I would react like that.”
“It’s okay. You never know how you’re going to react until you’re in that kind of situation.” I smile at him. “I know that next time, you will react better. You’ve learned.”
He smirks. “There’d better not be a next time. I am never going to get us separated from the guys, again.”
“It wasn’t your fault, anyway.”
Tristan leans forward and gives me the softest kiss. “Go to the bathroom. I’ll be right in, after I fill up the car.”
I nod, getting out of the car.
I now know where the road is taking us, and I’m so ready to get there. I just... I wish the rest of the guys were here. I wish...
We have to find them. Or they have to find us. Being separated from them is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to go through.
When I get into the bathroom, I shed a few tears. I’ve been holding them in. I didn’t want Tristan to see. I don’t want him to know how upset I am—how hurt I am. Being away from them sucks. But I have faith that they will find us. I just have to trust them. And I do. I trust them with all of my heart.
At least I have Tristan. He will protect me when it comes down to it. I know he will.
Home sweet home.
We arrive in Georgetown around one o’clock that afternoon. I’m exhausted from having stayed up all night long, but even so, I am able to appreciate how beautiful the town is. It’s a very old town, right on the harbor, and it is beautiful. It’s small. For some reason, I just assumed it would be a city.
“This town is beautiful,” I tell Tristan, unable to take my eyes off the scenery around me.
All of South Carolina has been beautiful, if I’m being honest.
I’m a West Coast girl. That is where I was born and raised. But I get the feeling it wouldn’t take much to convince me to become an East Coast girl. It’s so nice here.
“It’s home.” I can hear the pride in Tristan’s voice. “I always hoped that someday I’d be able to convince the guys to move here, but considering Austin is from Dallas, Dylan from Tennessee, Stefan from New Zealand, and Cam from the UK, I doubt it.” He grins at me. “Well, and now you from California. I have the feeling you’re going to be the deciding factor.”
“I don�
�t want to decide.” I shake my head. “No, that’s not fair. You guys should choose. The only thing I care about is that we live somewhere there is a lot of sunshine, and that it doesn’t get too cold in the winter.”
“The guys and I would follow you anywhere.” Tristan reaches over and grabs my hand.
He’s sweet—all my guys are.
But when I think about them, my heart clenches. I miss them so much I can hardly stand it. Being separated is so hard.
“They’ll find us.” He squeezes my hand. “I promise, Zara. I wouldn’t be surprised if they showed up a few hours after us.”
I really hope he’s right. The truth is, we don’t even know if they’re okay. I assume they are. I mean, my guys are smart. They can take care of themselves. But there are a lot of what ifs, and I will breathe so much easier when I can see with my own eyes that they’re okay.
I’m excited when we pull up to Tristan’s house. I’m so sick of being in this car, and it’s also awesome to see where Tristan grew up—though, his parents are Spy School, so I bet he grew up a lot of places, but this was ‘home.’ Or is home, technically.
“Is this where you’ve always lived?” I ask, as he pulls the car into the garage.
“Yep.”
A lot of the homes in Georgetown that we passed on the way here were older—colonial style, and there were even some 1970’s ranch style homes. The home Tristan lives in is more modern. There is a huge, privacy fence around the entire house... like the kind you see at celebrity homes. The house I grew up in didn’t need one—we lived in a gated community. But I get the feeling this fence is definitely more to hide what they’re doing here. I mean, his parents are Spy School agents. I’m sure they do a lot of secretive stuff.
“Are your parents’ home?” My heart is racing as I ask. There are definitely other cars in the garage, and that makes me nervous.
“No.” He shakes his head. “They haven’t been here in a few years. They’re on a long-term assignment.”
I don’t know if I should feel relieved or disappointed. I would love to meet the people who raised him, but I’m also nervous to be introduced as his girlfriend. Then another thought hits me—what are the guys going to say to their parents about me? Are they going to tell them that they share their girlfriend with four other guys? That just sounds weird... and sexual. And our relationship is about so much more than ‘sex.’
I push those thoughts to the back of my head for now, and try to focus on something a little more positive. We will cross that bridge when we come to it. Hopefully their parents will be as understanding as mine are, though I wonder if my parents really get the extent of our relationship. Maybe they don’t understand just how committed to my guys I am.
Tristan gives me a quick tour of the house when we walk inside.
The kitchen is... clean. That’s the best way I can think to describe it. It’s all white with stainless steel appliances. Even at my house, where we have a maid, there are usually tiny fingerprints at the bottom of the fridge, because Charlotte and Chloe like to touch everything. But not here. I guess maybe because it’s not lived in.
The kitchen, dining, and living room are all open, and it’s a huge space. I actually love how open it is. There are windows at the back of the house. On the other side of the fence is the bay, but it’s blocked. I bet this house had an amazing view before they put up the tall fence.
The tour doesn’t last long once we head upstairs, because I’m exhausted. As soon as he shows me his room, I fall into his bed, kicking my shoes off.
I’m not surprised that Tristan has a lot of computers in his room. Other than that, there isn’t a whole lot to his room. The whole thing is white, even his comforter.
“Are you glad to be home?” I snuggle into Tristan’s side.
He puts his arm around me, pulling me closer. “Yeah. I’m especially glad since you’re here with me. But I wish the guys were here, too.”
“You get me all to yourself for a little while.” My eyes are heavy, so I close them.
Tristan says something bad, but before he can even complete a sentence, I fall into a blissful sleep.
Thursday, January 2
It’s home.
I wake up in a large bed, alone.
I feel disoriented.
Where am I?
It takes a few moments to remember the previous day. New Orleans. Getting separated from the rest of the guys. Coming to Georgetown. I’m in Tristan’s room. When I realize, I relax back on the bed.
I am safe.
The sun is peeking through the curtains, and I wonder just how long I slept. When I went to sleep, it was still light outside. Either I didn’t sleep very long, or I slept the rest of the day and night. I feel like I slept for a very long time.
I get up from the bed and look around the large room. It’s very white, and clean... very empty. There is a Star Wars poster on the wall, which doesn’t surprise me at all. I didn’t notice that when I came in. One of the computers in his room is illuminated, though. This one computer has four screens, and I can’t help but wonder what a person does with four screens. I mean, a second screen in my hacking class is always helpful, but four? Four seems excessive.
The time on the computer screen reveals that it’s just after seven in the morning, meaning that I did sleep all night long. I must’ve been exhausted.
The door to Tristan’s room opens, and I look over as he walks into the space. His hair is wet and he has on fresh clothes. I frown, realizing I don’t have any clothes. None. The clothes that I had in New Orleans are... no telling where they are. And now I’m back to having nothing.
“I slept so good. Your bed is so comfy.” I walk closer to him, grinning.
“You want a shower?”
I nod. “I don’t have any clothes. Do you have a shirt I can borrow or something?”
He smirks. “You mean steal? Because we both know you never give my shirts back.”
I stick out my tongue at him, but he’s right. I won’t give it back. “It’s not my fault guys’ clothes are way comfier than girls’ clothes.”
He walks over to his dresser and pulls a shirt out. “You like Venom?”
I tilt my head to the side. “Who?”
“You know... the superhero. Or villain, depending on the story.”
I shrug. “I don’t know.”
Tristan frowns, shaking his head. “Okay, we’re going shopping today. And after we go shopping, you have to see Venom. It’ll change your life.”
Change my life?
I doubt that.
He hands me the shirt. “I think my mom might have something that might fit you. She’s a lot taller than you, so I don’t know about jeans, but maybe I can get some shorts or something.”
“Anything. Thank you.”
Tristan points me to the bathroom that’s attached to his room and I go in there.
It feels so good to take a shower. I haven’t gotten to shower since New Year’s Eve, in New Orleans. I showered before we spent the day walking around. I got all sweaty and gross, so it feels amazing to wash all the nasty off. I can’t believe I could even fall asleep last night. Usually, I have to be clean to fall asleep.
When I get out of the shower, there are a pair of leggings lying on the counter, next to the shirt. I quickly put them on. I have to roll the leggings up a bit, because they are too long, but they mostly fit. They’re a little loose, but they’ll do. The shirt, however, fits more like a dress. After brushing my teeth and hair, I walk back into Tristan’s room. He’s doing something on his computer, but when he hears the door open, he turns around to look at me.
He laughs. “You need clothes that fit.”
I shrug. “Meh, your shirt is much comfier than mine.”
But I could use some underwear and a bra. I opted to go without for the day, and I would feel better once we buy some. I’ll just buy a couple, knowing it would be a waste to buy too many. It seems like we keep having to leave at a moment’s notice.
Maybe I should carry around a backpack with some spare clothes in it at all times. That’s actually not a bad idea.
“Are you hungry?” he asks.
I nod. “Starving.”
I don’t think we had an actual meal yesterday—we only ate snacks that we could pick up from gas stations, and there was pretty much zero nutritional value in anything I ate.
Tristan grabs my hand and leads me towards the garage. I love that I’ve gotten to see where he’s grown up, but I also wonder how long we will be here before we are caught. The guys haven’t even come yet. I assumed they would be here when we woke up. I hope we came to the right place. I don’t know how else to get ahold of the guys, and Tristan doesn’t either. Unless they can figure out our plan, then we are going to be separated from them for a while.
I notice Tristan seems like he’s in a better mood today. He’s happier and more confident. He was freaking out when we were driving here and questioning everything. Seeing him so sure about the decision we made definitely makes me feel better about it. The guys are coming. And I’m going to enjoy this time with Tristan until they get here, because who knows when I’ll get time like this with Tristan again.
He pulls the SUV into a parking spot in front of a small coffee shop. It must be a local shop, because it’s not anything I’ve ever heard of before. There are a lot of cars parked outside, so I know it must be good.
Tristan holds onto my hand as we walk inside, and he has a huge smile on his face. He’s so happy to be home. I don’t blame him. I was so happy when we got to visit Malibu over Christmas. I was so happy to introduce the guys to my family.
“Tristan, it’s so good to see you.” The older lady behind the counter beams at Tristan.
“Hey, Mrs. Turner, long time no see,” he greets her. “How have you been? How’s the grandkids?”
Her smile widens. “My Luna got married last summer and she’s expecting.” Mrs. Turner shakes her head. “I’m going to be a great-grandmother, can you believe it?”
Crazy Page 1