“He comes at eight,” Joan whispered. “Always at eight. If I’m not there, he’ll be angry, and he won’t give Mom the money she wants. It’s a lot of money.”
“Never mind about that,” Scarlet soothed. “You aren’t going to think about that anymore. You’re going to have a good time with Alison while your mom and Luke are away. I want you to repeat that to me.”
“I’m going to have a good time with Alison while Mom and Luke are away,” Joan said softly, with a little more confidence.
The door to the library opened again, and Scarlet flicked a glance toward it. To her utter relief, Alison hurried in and came straight toward the table. Joan nearly flung herself into Alison’s arms, her face lighting up, although she was crying at the same time. Scarlet stood up as well.
“Joan’s mother is out of town and she would like to spend a couple of weeks with you, Alison,” Scarlet said. “I’m certain that would be all right with you.” She pitched her voice low, but immediately she could see she hadn’t connected with a path to Alison.
Joan had already scooted around both women and rushed to get her backpack and coat from the front desk where she’d left both items, leaving Scarlet and Alison for just a few precious moments. Alison shook her head in protest.
“I can’t take her. If I do, Brenda will have me arrested.”
“She can’t stay there alone,” Scarlet said hastily. “Please, take her. I’ll make certain her mother won’t do that. I swear to you. She’s in danger staying by herself. I believe she’ll harm herself if she’s alone.”
Immediately Alison’s expression changed. She glanced at Joan, and Scarlet could see the indecision on her face. “I’ve been afraid for her,” she admitted. Abruptly, she nodded her head. “Brenda will come after me,” she warned.
“I won’t let you down,” Scarlet promised, looking the woman in the eye. It was the only way she could give her word and hope Alison took her at it. “Take her out of here before she changes her mind.”
Alison nodded a second time, caught her hand, squeezed it and hurried to intercept Joan before she reached Scarlet. She put her arm around the teen’s shoulders, and they hastened out of the library together. Scarlet was grateful to see that Joan was smiling. She glanced down at her watch. There was still an hour until closing time. She had quite a few things to set into motion. She hastily sent out a text of her own. She needed a car and an alibi. An unbreakable one. Only then did she feel she could actually take a breath and look around the library.
The gorgeous woman was still there, and she wasn’t alone. Aleksei was standing face-to-face with her, shaking his head. They looked almost as if they were arguing, but if they were, they weren’t speaking aloud. She looked at their hands to see if they were using sign language. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that they knew each other, and he wasn’t the least bit happy to see the beautiful woman.
As if he was connected to her, Aleksei looked up and instantly smiled at Scarlet. The moment he did, everything feminine in her reacted to that smile. She felt her insides melt. He was standing very close to a gorgeous woman and it was very clear they knew each other—not only knew each other, but had some sort of relationship—and Scarlet still wanted to just fall at his feet and worship him. It was pathetic.
The fact that he would look at her, his face lighting up the way it did, those eyes of his so completely focusing on her as if he didn’t see anyone else, thrilled her. And there was that smile, one she knew was rare because she’d watched him, studied him for over six weeks now, and he just didn’t give those smiles to everyone, making her feel like the only woman in his sight, even though he was standing beside the most stunning woman she’d ever seen.
She found herself smiling back. He took that as an invitation and came right to her, even though she did her brisk librarian walk that usually discouraged men from approaching her. She was ramrod straight, her glasses on her nose, as she strode toward her destination. Aleksei fell into step beside her.
“Is everything all right, Scarlet? It looked very intense with that young lady, so I waited