The Bad Boy Calls Me Kitten

Chapter Twenty

Something hard supported my head. I felt like cardboard, stiff and unmoved. My eyes blinked open, squinting against the harsh light. I sat up from my fetal position on the couch. The blanket slipped to the ground. I had no memory of putting it on me. 

In fact, I had no memory of last night. No matter how hard I tried to think of what I did last night, nothing would come to mind. How did I get to Sebastian's office? And where was Scar? Why couldn't I remember anything?

My head started throbbing. I let out a low groan that didn'tn sound human and rolled off the couch. The movement caused a sharp pain in the crook of my neck. I quickly clamped a hand on it. A thousand stinging needles pierced the small area. 

I was in Sebastian's office. It looked much more cheery in the bright morning sun. The floor was glinting from the light. I noticed a couple of blood-soaked tissues next to the metal trashcan. It made no sense.

Something was definitely off. 

Footsteps sounded outside the hall. I froze and listened to it come closer. They sounded far too heavy for someone as swift as Scar, but I still felt a small glimmer of hope rise up. I needed to see him, and ask what had happened. The doorknob turned. The hope died. It wasn't Scar but Sebastian.

"Oh, he didn't!" Sebastian's accent was thick. He sounded frustrated for some reason. I stared cluelessly, still trying hard to remember what had happened. The last thing I could bring to mind was an image of colors, mostly red. It was too blurred and too watery for me to exactly place what had happened.

"Sebastian? What's going on?" I stood up, craning my neck. It hurt to move. I couldn't make sense of what had happened, or why it was hurting. A shiver of paranoia went down my back, but I ignored it. "Where's Scar?"

"He's gone." Sebastian sighed, and rubbed his forehead tiredly. He looked handsome as always, dressed impeccably in a charcoal suit. His beard was graying, almost in comparison to the slicked-back salt and pepper hair. He walked to me and towered over.

"What do you mean gone?"

"He's gone after the Sevskaya Bratva, to give them the money! Idiot boy, he'll get himself killed. They don't let things go so easily." he swore under his breath and looked at the expensive watch on his wrist.

"I still don't understand! What happened last night? Where did you go?" The questions slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them. Biting hard on my tongue, I followed after Sebastian. He walked down the hallway with me at his heels.

"Scar is a clever boy. He must have injected some sedatives to knock you out. He guessed you would have gone after him. Don't look so angry, darling. Scar is impulsive, but he cares about you. Unfortunately, that is what might get him killed."

"He drugged me? Again?"

"Like I said, Genevieve, it was only because he cares."

We got to the elevators. Sebastian pushed the button and the doors opened up. I was about to follow after him but he put his hands up for me to stop. 

"I'm sorry, darling. He would kill me if I bought you along." Sebastian apologized.

Anger flared into my stomach. "Don't even try, Sebastian. I'm coming with you. There is no way I'll let you and Scar do this alone. Please, I have to go. I don't care how hard Scar tried to stop this very thing from happening. I can take care of myself. Sebastian, I can help!"

He sighed, nervously tapping his foot on the ground. The doors binged and slowly began closing. Finally, he muttered, "Come on then."

I grinned and jumped inside. The doors closed. Sebastian was nervously fixing his tie and staring at his watch. I rubbed my neck. The pain was just as sharp, and made me wince. Scar must have done it while I was sleeping. It was why I had no memory of last night.

"Where did you go last night? I remember meeting you and then you just disappeared. What happened? I know there was someone chasing Scar and I, but nothing else."

"That man, he was with the Bratva. He was sent to....how should I say it, eliminate Scar. Scar sent you to meet me, which I'm sure you remember. I went after the idiot boy. They were in an alleyway, fighting like dogs. The Russian was winning. I jumped in and sent Scar away, and I assume he came back to my company, correct? To make it short, the Russian is dead, Scar is missing, and I'm pretty sure I am leading you into a death trap."

"Yeah well, life's rough." I muttered bitterly. The conversation could continue no further as the doors opened. The morning had started, and people were piling in to work. They stared in awe at Sebastian and I. He ignored them and walked towards the door. I was jealous at the strong power that wafted off him. If only I had confidence like that.

"Come on, love." Sebastian called. He strode towards a sleek black Jeep that was waiting in front of the gate. I quickly followed after him. Thoughts and images of Scar being tortured danced into my mind, but I brushed them away before the sick horror could continue. Scar was going to be okay. He had to be.

I climbed into the car and took a seat beside Sebastian. The car drove off, at a quicker speed that I guessed was breaking the law. The atmosphere was quiet and filled with tension. I stared out the tinted windows, wishing that Scar hadn't gotten mixed in with the mafia business. Life would have been so much simpler. But then again, if it wasn't for the Bratva, I wouldn't have been in Chicago in the first place.

"I hope he's okay." My voice didn't even sound like my own. Beside me, Sebastian didn't make a move.

"Hope." he emphasized. "Truth be told, I doubt he's even alive right now. With a mind like his, impulsiveness actually quite dangerous. Revenge is a sensitive thing, darling. Nothing could make up for his family's death. The tension between Scar and the Bratva is like a stick of dynamite. All it takes for the macabre horror to begin is a single spark." Sebastian loosened his red tie.

The Bratva seemed so much more real now. I suppose, in my self-conscience, I had wanted to imagine that they weren't such a big deal. That it wouldn't affect me, and Scar would pull a magical solution out of the air that solved all of our problems. But now that we were actually going head-to-head with the most dangerous gang in the country, the gang who sold women, did drugs, and killed innocent people, it all terrified me. 

"It was my fault." I muttered. The full force of what Scar had done crashed into me. "If I wasn't so stupid, maybe none of this would have happened. We could have come up with another solution. I should have known he would do something like this! God, I should have tried harder to stop h-''

"Blaming yourself will not help." Sebastian's voice was a warning to calm my hysterical yelling.

"But it's my fault! Scar is dead because of me!-"

"That is enough, Genevieve!" Sebastian's angry tone silenced me. 

I stared out the window miserably. Scar would hate me for interfering, but I didn't care. As long as he was alive and breathing, I wouldn't care about anything. Thick trees flashed past. The big city of Chicago had long since disappeared. It was only right that the Sevskaya Bratva would make their location hard to find.

The car jolted to a stop. I gripped the seat to avoid being launched forward. More and more woods surrounded us, but no building in sight. Maybe it was just well-hidden.

"We're here." Sebastian said quietly.