Scarlett

~Chapter Eight~

Chapter Song

Shake it Out – Florence + The Machine

_______________✏

Watching Diesel install a new door had been absolutely confusing.
Confusing because they had barely spoken the entire time. He had arrived back at her home with his truck replacing his Harley, hauled out a new door, setup his toolbox on her porch, put his head down and got straight to work. Similar to a paid trade, but free!
It had also been confusing because a biker, combined with tools was one of her biggest weaknesses. She was a sucker for that vision and he unknowingly provided it for her. It was a shame his personality was not one she cared for however.

Scarlett didn't particularly enjoy other people helping her, it was her greatest flaw. She wanted to be left completely alone, she didn't want or need his pity and she knew if he really knew the hell she was living, he would really pity her!

Now as she stood alone staring down at the duffle bag on her couch, she wanted to curse and shout all over again. She knew exactly what was in the bag and hated that it was once again in her home.
She was trapped by her ex-husband. Completely at his mercy and Hunter was well aware!
It was ironic really, a duffle bag loaded with cash was something anyone would dream of, a true wish come true! But for Scarlett it constantly brought nothing but bad news.

Receiving the bar Scarlett and Hunter had as their joint business through the divorce, had proven to be one of the biggest burdens imposed on her life. She went from being Hunters old lady, to partner in crime. However instead of a 50/50 partnership she had become sole owner of the premises and along with it forced to continue Hunters dirty work.

Scarlett longed to live in a perfect world right now. One where she was the victim and Hunter was the sole perpetrator, and although he certainly was, it would be a lie to say he became this way overnight. The truth was that Hunter had always been on the wrong side of the law, constantly scheming and dragging Scarlett further down the dirty rabbit hole with him.
Scarlett's issue was that she had never tried to leave.
She was drawn to him, like a biker to a vintage Harley, enthralled into everything he stood for. She thrived on the power he omitted and at a young age found herself shadowing his every move.
She could have left him at any point, or at least attempted it way before they had taken the plunge into marriage. Maybe his possessiveness would never have reached the level it currently was today? She thought about it sometimes, wondered if even subconsciously she had ever considered leaving him? Or, if she had simply blinded herself their entire relationship?

Throwing the duffle bag to the ground aggressively she groaned in protest not wanting to deal with anymore today. It was far too early to pile yet another thing to her plate, yet she was very aware when a bag of money was dropped off by Hunter, it required immediate action if she didn't want to suffer the consequences.
Being forced to clean dirty money for him couldn't happen instantly, it was a process, just like any delicate situation. So there was no way she could let it linger for a few days to ponder the morality of her situation. The money needed to be taken to the bar, distributed amongst the strippers and various businesses around the town towards investments to prepare the dirty drug and weapons money to legitimize. At a later date, over time, the money would be pulled and converted to clean cash for Hunter and his charter to utilise how they saw fit.

It was a vicious circle. One Scarlett had no idea how to get out of without incriminating herself in the process.

While she walked around aimlessly, pondering her daily movements, the sound of her cell screeching some inappropriate lyrics from the coffee table sounded. With a heavy sigh full of burden, she moved towards it glancing at the caller identity on screen before deciding to quickly answer not wanting to pass up a job opportunity.