S.C.O.T.T.

Snooping

Eventually my tears stopped, and I hesitantly pulled away from Scott. I sniffled one more time before taking a deep breath. "Kevin deserves to know."

I wasn't surprised when Scott shook his head. "No. I already accidentally dragged you into this. I can't bring him into it too."

I wanted to protest, but I contained myself. "I thought Ryland wanted to kill you."

"We compromised," he stated simply before running his fingers through his hair.

I swallowed nervously, watching as he walked away from me. Now was my time to get an answer to the question that I'd wanted the answer to this entire time.

"Why did he want you dead?"

Scott glanced at me for a moment before looking away. "We're not talking about it."

I sighed in frustration, "Scott—"

"Hey, you've been throwing that excuse in my face all week. Now it's my turn," he retorted in a challenging tone.

Fair enough.

"Getting back together was enough of a compromise. Why did I get dragged into it? Why did he pretend to be some stranger named Aiden?" I demanded.

Scott sighed, looking at me again. "The other night when you were with Braden. I was locked in the car, so I didn't go over there, and he got pissed. It was his way of...'punishing' me."

I scoffed, annoyed with the conversation. I didn't like the idea of being used as leverage to keep Scott in line.

I exhaled slowly before crossing my arms. "So, now what?"

He sighed again, "I'm gonna keep it up just like I have been. I'm gonna go over there every night, keep him satisfied. And as for your situation..." he trailed off, picking up my cracked phone.

I shook my head, "What if one night he decides that fucking isn't enough anymore? What if he finally just kills you?" I challenged, suddenly horrified at the thought.

"Whatever happens happens. But as long as you're safe then—"

"You can't keep using that. I care about you too and I don't know how I feel about the idea of you going out every night with someone who tried to kill you once already," I argued.

"Listen, I understand your concern, but no matter what, I have to protect you, whether you agree with my methods or not," he explained firmly.

I wanted to argue more, but it seemed futile at this point. I grabbed my phone out of his hand. "You wanna keep up your façade? I told him I'd be there soon."

Scott shook his head, "Absolutely not. That's playing right into his hands."

"Exactly. He's a control freak. We boost his ego. The second he does something illegal, we get him arrested," I hypothesized.

I wasn't surprised he looked at me like I was crazy. "If you think I'm gonna sit around and wait for Ryland to do something illegal to you, you clearly missed everything I've said in the last few minutes."

I rolled my eyes, "Yeah, I get that. That's why you'll stay close. I have the microchip. You'll know if something's wrong. Unless you have proof that he was the one who tried to kill you the first time..."

Scott turned around, pondering the situation. "Not for too long, and you can't sleep with him again."

I shook my head, "I wasn't planning on it," I assured him, before approaching him. I reached up, placing my hands against the side of his face delicately. "It'll all be over soon and then..."