Page 86 of Phantom

“I’m sorry, Rand. That was a long time ago.” My heart twists when I see the disappointment in his eyes, but I’m still thankful when he lets go of me. “Things are different now.”

A frustrated huff blows out of his nose and the look of pity on his face makes my skin crawl.

“Be careful with him, Little Lettie. The Phantom of the French Quarter not only looks like a monster with his mask off. Heisone. When he hurts you, call me, okay? I’ll be there for you… Just as I always have.”

Before I can argue with him, he yanks me close to him. I have to stop from folding into him by thrusting my hand into his chest. The scent of stale gardenias tickles my nose, so different than the warm, cozy sugar, whiskey, and leather I already crave. He gives me a kiss on the forehead and murmurs against my sun-heated skin.

“I’ve always cared for you, Little Lettie. My family took care of yours when they needed to. I’ll take care of you again. If you choose me, I can give you everything you’ve always wanted, you only need to say the words. You loved me once. I know you can love me again.”

“Rand, I—”

“Shh… someone’s coming. I don’t want him to hurt you. He will if he finds out you’ve been with me. Stay safe, Scarlett. I’m only a text message away.”

He lets go of me then and disappears behind a house-sized tomb.

“Scarlett? Did you get lost?” Maggie’s kind voice is stunted by the concrete, stone, and greenery and I spin to find her emerging with her daughter from behind another obelisk. “Sol sent me to get you. We’re taking Valérie back to the house to rest.”

“Right, yes… Um, sorry. I got… caught up. Let’s go.” I straighten my dress, trying to see if anything is out of place when I realize Maggie is watching me warily.

“Are you okay? I thought I heard you talking to someone.”

“Nope,” I answer too quickly and point in the direction she came from. “Lead the way through this maze, will you please?”

“Right, so you don’t get lost again.” She glances behind me before turning to navigate the way through the tombs and I laugh awkwardly.

“Exactly.”

When we finally get to the hidden gate, I hear Ben and Sol’s heated discussion before I see them.

“You know she’s not one of us, Sol. She can’t be trusted and you just served our weakness on a silver platter! You can’t let this obsession ruin us—”

“Our mother isn’t aweakness.And Scarlett is more than that, Ben—” My chest lightens at Sol’s gravelly confession until he continues. “She’s the key to everything.”

I stop in my tracks and Maggie looks at me with a wince. “Listen, don’t mind them, honey.” She slides the gate Sol and I entered through to the side and glances back at me. “It was so good to see you.”

Her voice breaks the men apart and Ben makes eye contact with me for a moment before darting down to the ground. Sol oozes fury, whether at his brother or me, I don’t know.

A black BMW and Sol’s Aston Martin wait at the curb. Maggie gives me a sweaty side hug and barely prevents Marie from leaving with a chunk of my hair. I laugh as I watch them head to the BMW, where Mrs. Bordeaux sits in the front seat. Ben opens the back door for Maggie to slide in and put Marie in her car seat.

“Thank you for coming, Scarlett.” Ben waves as he lies through his teeth.

A brief smile is all I can muster.

The shadow who drove Sol’s car is nowhere to be found as Sol opens the passenger door for me.

“Come. Let’s go.”

I glance up at him. There’s a scratch on his neck, but his mask looks intact again. Defeat sags the left side of his face, and despite all my questions, my heart aches for him. I reach for his hand. It clutches mine like a lifeline, but it’s the only thing that changes in his demeanor.

“Is your mother okay?”

“She’ll be fine. This reaction isn’t… unusual. They’re going home so she can settle down in familiar surroundings.”

I nod and just before I slide into the passenger seat, Sol wraps his arm around my waist and brings me flush to his chest. My body curls into his, but I don’t miss his long inhale as he kisses the crown of my head. He pulls away and looks at me, curious.

“You smell different. Like… a garden.”

Fuck.