Finding Scarlet

by Holly C. Webb

  Oliver continued his journey down my body and with each kiss my heart raced faster. I knew where this was going and, although I have never wanted anything more, I was terrified of the unknown.

  His mouth finally found its goal, and it was unlike anything I had experienced before. As his tongue flicked across and teased my swollen clit, I grabbed hold of his hair and pulled him closer to me. I circled my hips and tried to find some relief from this slow, beautiful torture.

  As Oliver sucked harder, I released his hair and grabbed hold of the rug beneath me.

  “OH GOD!” I cried out as he licked and sucked my clit even harder. “OLIVER, PLEASE….”

  I had no idea what I was pleading for. Was it for it to stop or to never end? My mind had a million thoughts at once. Finally, the familiar feeling in the pit of my stomach took hold and I knew I was coming undone.

  I tried to breathe, but my breath was too ragged, I felt like my head was spinning. I tried to focus on his mouth, but suddenly I could feel him slip fingers through my soft, wet folds and invade my body.

  That was all it took. I cried out almost incoherently as my body shook and came apart beneath him.

  “I need to be inside you,” I could hear him say breathlessly through the fog of my sheer pleasure. I could feel him move, then cover me once again.

  “Scarlet,” he said as he slipped between my legs. “Look at me, Scarlet.”

  I blinked open my eyes and quickly found Oliver’s.

  “Good girl,” he said as he instantly moved and filled me. I cried out from the sudden fullness, but Oliver claimed my mouth and my cries were silenced.

  He held me so close, as slowly but steadily he rocked into me again and again. There was something in the way he made love to me that almost broke my heart. Like he was trying to tell me something with his entire body, but I had no idea what.

  I could feel my body react to his once more as gradually the build up inside me began to spread out and take over my entire being once again.

  Oliver never missed a beat, over and over his body met mine, until he suddenly cried out as his whole body shook and he erupted deep inside me. His cries of pleasure pushed me to the edge and I too came, holding on to Oliver like my life depended on it.

  Little by little, as our ragged breathing began to slow. Oliver lifted his head and looked down into my eyes.

  “I love you Scarlet Doe,” he said breathlessly. “And someday I will make you my wife. You have my word on that.”

  Chapter 30

  Oliver

  I glanced over at a sleeping Scarlet as I drove the car and smiled. The last two days had quite possibly been the best of my life. Being at the lake house had done Scarlet the world of good. She had relaxed and come out of her shell more than she had the whole time I had known her. I didn’t think it was possible, but I loved her all the more.

  Other than the butterfly picture on the first day, her memory still hadn’t come back. However, I was fairly certain that it was just a matter of time before it did.

  We had spent the second day out and about. The morning time was spent on the boat and as I thought we might, we ended up back at the butterfly field. I knew Scarlet was hoping it would spark another memory, but it didn’t. She tried to hide her disappointment, but I could see she was upset because she still couldn’t remember anything else.

  In the afternoon, we took a drive down to the small town near the lake house. First, we had some lunch, then we did a little shopping and picked the ingredients to make a Thai green curry, one of my specialties. I had promised Scarlet that I would teach her to cook it, which she was very excited about.

  We spent the evening wrapped in each other’s arms once again in front of a blazing fire. I wished we never had to leave.

  Scarlet seemed quieter as we packed up the car to head back to my folk’s house. I didn’t need to ask her what was wrong, I knew she was worried about going back.

  Part of me didn’t want to go back either, but I had promised my mom we would be back for Thanksgiving, and I knew better than to disappoint my mother. Besides, in our rush to get out of the house, I forgot to bring a charger for my cell phone, and the battery died that morning, so I knew the safest thing to do was go back.

  She suddenly bolted up straight in the car and quickly rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She looked around and I knew she was trying to figure out where we were.

  “Hey, Sleepy head,” I said, trying to keep the mood light. “We are nearly home. We are about twenty minutes out.”

  My heart sank when I saw her whole body tense with fear. I knew she was afraid to come back and I knew she was right to be afraid. I struggled to find the right words to say to her to reassure her everything was going to be okay.

  “Scarlet,” I began nervously. “I know you don’t want to go back there. I know you are scared. It’s okay to be scared. I promise, once we do this, the whole thanksgiving thing, we will head straight back to the lake house and I promise we will stay there till we have Harris locked up behind bars. Maybe they have caught him already and they just couldn’t contact me.”

  “Do you really think so?” She asked me, giving me a hopeful look. I wished I could have said yes, but I didn’t want to give her false hope.

  “I don’t know,” I replied honestly. “I will call the lieutenant when we reach the house. I will get an update on the case and hopefully there will be good news, something to be thankful for today.”

  “Okay,” she nodded but she couldn’t hide the disappointment in her face. We drove the rest of the way in silence.

  Twenty minutes later, we pulled into my parent’s driveway. I barely had the engine switched off, when my mom and dad appeared at the front door. Dad took his time stepping down from the porch, but mom was at the car before I reached Scarlet’s door. She threw her arms around my neck and held me so tight, I could barely breathe.

  “Mom,” I laughed. “You’re cutting off my air supply.”

  “Sorry,” she said, finally releasing me so I could open the car door for Scarlet. Mom barely waited for her to step out of the car before she was hugging her too. “I was so worried about you both. I called and called today, but there was no answer.”

  “I texted Dad to tell him my phone was about to die,” I said looking from her to Dad in confusion. “I said I would be home.”

  “I told her,” Dad said as he reached the car. “But you know what your mother is like.”

  “Hey, Dad,” I said as I shook my dad’s hand. Our eyes met and I knew immediately something was wrong and it was definitely not good news.

  “Good to have you home, Son,” he said before he turned to Scarlet and gave her a hug. “You too, sweetheart. But we should get you inside.”

  When we walked into the house, Caitlin, Ella and Harrison were standing in the hallway waiting on us. The minute I stepped through the door, Caitlin hurried to me and threw her arms around my neck.

  “I’m so glad you’re home,” Caitlin said, hugging me tightly. “I am so relieved you’re safe.”

  “Has something happened?” Scarlet asked before I could get the words out.

  “Yes,” Mom said, quickly taking Scarlet’s hand. “But nothing you need to worry about right now.”

  “Mom, what’s going on?” I demanded before turning to my dad. “What’s happened?”

  “There were three girls found shot and killed in a service station just outside of town last night,” Dad said with a sigh. “A witness said he saw a man fitting Dean Harris’s description leaving the station just moments after the shooting.”

  “Okay,” I said knowing that wasn’t everything.

  “The witness said he saw the car heading in the direction of the Lake house,” Dad continued then quickly added. “Which was probably just a coincidence, but we were just worried is all.”

  “I should ring the lieutenant,” I said glancing at Scarlet. Her eyes were full of fear and it was killing me there was nothing I could do to help. “I promise, I won’t be lon
g.”

  She nodded and tried her best to smile.

  “She’ll be okay with us,” Caitlin said taking hold of Scarlet’s hand. “We have a surprise for her anyway.”

  I stood and watched as Caitlin led Scarlet up the stairs followed closely by Ella.

  “How is she?” Mom asked once they were out of earshot.

  “Honestly, Mom,” I sighed. “I don’t know. At the lake house she was like a different person. She was relaxed, happy even. She remembered something from her childhood. Nothing really that important, but she remembered because she was relaxed. However, today it’s like she had completely shut everything, including me out. I don’t know what to do to help.”

  “You’re doing all you can, Son,” Dad reassured me. “But I think you better call the station. There has been another break in the case. A big one.”

  “What was it?” I asked nervously.

  “They know who Scarlet is,” my dad replied. “Her father has been in touch.”

  “Her father?” I asked unable to hide my anger. “And where the hell has, he been for two months?”

  “I think you should call the station,” Dad replied. “They can answer your questions better than I can.”

  I turned and hurried into my dad’s study and grabbed the phone. It rang twice before I heard the gruff voice of my lieutenant on the other end.”

  “Parker,” he grunted in his usual version of hello.

  “Lieutenant, it’s me,” I said as I tried to remain calm, despite the fact my heart was hammering rapidly in my chest. “What’s going on?”

  “Olly!” He exclaimed and seemed genuinely relieved to hear my voice. “Good to hear from you, I take it you are back at your folks place.”

  “Yes,” I replied sharply, not really in the mood for niceties. “Dad has caught me up about the shootings.”

  “This is a Goddamn nightmare,” he sighed. “Once again he seems to have vanished off the face of the earth. Though I don’t think it will remain like that. From the number of bullets, he used on those girls in the service station, he has completely unravelled. We have check points all over the city. Also, I am going to up the protection detail on Scarlet. That means, no more midnight flits. Is that clear?”

  “Yes, Sir,” I replied. “What about this guy who claims to be her father? What’s his story?”

  “We have confirmed his story, Oliver,” the lieutenant replied. I could sense the reluctance in his voice, and I knew that this was a bad sign. “His name is Sabastian Wells. He is a British businessman. He has spent the last three months in the Far East on business. When he returned home and discovered no one had heard from Beth…”

  “Beth?” I repeated.

  “Her real name is Beth Wells,” the lieutenant explained. “She is a freelance photographer, a very successful one it would seem. She was here in the US to travel and work. It wasn’t uncommon for her to go a couple of weeks without contacting home. Scarlet was her mother’s name. That’s who the locket belonged to.”

  “So,” I said trying to process everything I was just told. “She is British? She doesn’t have an accent. Are you sure she is his daughter?”

  “She is American, actually,” he replied. “They lived here till she was sixteen. Her mother died in a car accident and they returned to the UK where her father was originally from.”

  “I see,” I said feeling the hope drain from my entire body.

  “Oliver, there is one other thing…” the lieutenant said but before he could continue, there was a commotion from the hallway. Then Mom appeared at the door of the study and said I should come.

  “Lieutenant, I need to go. I’ll call you back,” I said before I hung up without waiting for a reply.

  “What’s going on?” I asked as I reached the hallway and found two men standing there with my father. “Who is this?”

  “Oliver, this is…” my dad began to explain but before he could finish, the older man of the two, stepped forward and introduced himself.

  “I’m Sebastian Wells,” he said as he offered me his hand. “I believe you have my daughter, Beth staying here.”

  “Oliver Caldwell,” I replied as I shook his hand. “Yes, Scar…I mean Beth is here, but you have no business just turning up here like this. She has no idea who she is, much less who you are. We need time to sit her down and tell her. You can’t just drop this on her.”

  “With all due respect Mr Caldwell…” he replied but I quickly corrected him.

  “It’s Detective Caldwell,” I said, trying my best to keep my emotions in check.

  “My apologies, Detective,” he continued. “But my daughter has been through a horrendous ordeal. She needs her family around her at a time like this.”

  “I agree,” I said unable to hold back my annoyance any longer. “And for the last two months, we were the only family she knew. I respect the fact that you are her father, but surely you can see that just turning up here and dropping all this on her could have such a profound effect on her health. Beth is already under so much stress as it is.”

  He looked at me for a moment as if he was considering what I had said. Then suddenly a look of realisation filled his face and I knew he could see my true feelings for Scarlet.

  “I just want to see my daughter,” he said, and his demeanour had changed to one of desperation. “I just need to see she is okay. I need to know she is okay.”

  As much as I hated to admit it, I actually felt for him and for the first time I was not looking at him purely as the man who left Scarlet lying in a hospital alone.

  “Look…” I began but Scarlet’s voice behind me stopped me mid-sentence.

  “Daddy,” she said, and I could hear the shock in her voice.

  I turned and found her standing in the middle of the staircase, wearing the most beautiful grey chiffon dress. Her hair was swept up and she looked like a vision standing there.

  Then it struck me, she knew him. She remembered.

  “Beth,” he said as he stepped closer to the bottom of the stairs. Without saying another word, she hurried down the rest of the way and into her father’s embrace. “Oh, my sweet girl. I have been so worried about you.”

  “I’m okay,” she replied and just hugged him tighter.

  As much as I hated this whole situation, I was happy for Scarlet. She was no longer alone in the world.

  Then the other guy who, until now, had been still standing next to the door, stepped forward.

  “Beth,” he said cautiously.

  She stepped back from her father and looked up at this guy.

  “Allister,” she said and stepped towards him. He wrapped her in his arms and drew her closer to him.

  “I have missed you so much,” he said holding her close to him. “I have been out of my mind with worry about you.”

  “I’m okay,” she said again, and I knew she was just giving him the same old answer she gave when she was lost for words. She glanced at me and gave me a look that said she was not coping.

  “Look, I think we need to give…Beth some time and a little space to get her head clear,” I said still struggling to get my head around everything.

  “I agree,” Sebastian Wells said, matter-of-factly. “I have booked into a hotel close by. I think maybe Allister and I should go settle in. Give Beth a chance to get her things together. We can come by and collect her later.”

  “Collect me?” Scarlet said and once again she gave me a pleading look.

  “I think being back with your father and your fiancé is where you belong, Beth” Sebastian said a little dismissively to his daughter. My heart dropped at his words. Did he really just say, her fiancé?

  “Yes, but…” she said struggling to reply.

  “Mr. Wells,” Dad finally said, stepping forward. “I understand you are eager to have your daughter back with you, but I know you also don’t want to rush her or put any unnecessary pressure on her. I think we both agree that for tonight, it might be best if Beth stayed here and took her time pack
ing her belongings. Then tomorrow, if she feels ready, we can arrange to have Beth moved safely to your hotel, along with the detail that is posted outside protecting her.”

  Sebastian looked at my father for a moment, then slowly nodded in agreement. He turned his attention back to Scarlet.

  “I will see you tomorrow, Darling,” he said giving her another hug.

  “See you then, Daddy,” she replied in a small voice.

  Allister kissed her on the cheek and gave her a look of confusion, then said goodbye. Before he left, her father gave her the name of the hotel and what room he was staying in, should she need him for anything.

  Then she stood and watched as her father and this Allister guy walked out the door.

  When they were gone, she stood there and looked around, but avoided making eye contact with me.

  “I think I need some time alone,” she said with a nervous smile.

  “Certainly,” Mom said.

  She glanced at me briefly before she turned and headed back upstairs. That’s when it really hit me. She had someone else after all. Someone who loved her just like I did.

  I tried to tell myself everything would be okay, I just wished I could convince my heart.

  Chapter 31

  Scarlet

  I sat on my bed and tried to steady my breathing. I remembered. I remembered it all. I remembered my sixth birthday party. I remembered how I cried the day we left our house in New York for the last time after Mom died. I remembered the night I left London to come back to the US.

  It was all there, every single memory, every single detail. I remembered the day I stopped for something to eat in a roadside diner. The day that I met Dean Harris. He seemed so nice and friendly. Normally I wouldn’t have talked to some random stranger, but I was feeling lonely. Allister had called me the night before and we had another row.

  The fact that he was a police officer made me feel somewhat easier also. I pushed the memories out of my head. It all felt like someone else’s life. In my heart, I was Scarlet now. I belonged here with Oliver. This was who I was now.