||You're Mine|| {Scrutinized: Tanner x Reader}

Chapter 54

A/N: 

This delay was my fault, but I managed to post!! Wattpad deleted my draft twice so I eventually got frustrated and this chapter is short.

(Y/N)

"Um... (Y/N)?" I heard Oscar's unsure tone from next to me.

Taking another drink of my water, I lazily turn to the boy and lift an eyebrow. "What?"

He licked his lips after setting his glass of wine down. I had noticed his eyes flicker over his shoulder once or twice before he could speak, so it only made me more curious. After what seemed like forever, he finally muttered, "Isn't that the guy you were with earlier?"

I scrunched my face in utter confusion, causing Oscar to point at the place he was glancing at moments before. I followed his gaze, and then my heart practically stopped.

Tanner and Clint were currently wrestling on the floor, and then I caught sight of the large crowd around them as well. Through the pounding music, I could faintly make out the voices of random people gossiping amongst themselves.

Adam was standing in the far corner, smirking down at the two men, obviously amused. I let out a deep sigh, not even wanting to know why Tanner was holding Clint in a headlock. Turning back to Oscar, I shrugged and said, "Yeah, but don't worry about them. Clint probably provoked Tanner and now he's about to become breakfast."

"Do what?"

"...Nothing."

I pressed my forehead against my palms, trying to come up with ways to have this boy warm up to me. I had to find some form of weakness, and then get him on our side.

After a long, dragged out silence, I turned to Oscar and forced a small smile. "So... why is a fifteen year old spending this fine morning inside a club? Something happen between your parents or something?"

He flinched at my mention of parents, and I could feel a spark of hope from within me. His mother was obviously being used as blackmail for the boy, so I needed to find a way to resonate with him.

After another awkward sip of his drink, he gave me a half shrug. "Life's just hard right now. Sometimes things just happen out of our control... and now we have to put up with it."

That simple sentence made my throat burn, and a swarm of emotions overwhelmed me. I clenched my hands into fists, gritting my teeth as I thought about my family, my brother, and also my friends.

I chose my words carefully, making sure to keep my voice gentle, but also confident. Drowning out the background noise of the people chattering and the pounding music, I turned to Oscar and said, "I know how you feel. First off, my whole family has been taken away from me, even though I didn't do anything wrong... and now I'm basically all alone."

Oscar's lip quivered, and as I took a closer look at him, I noticed how much smaller and helpless he looked. My head throbbed, knowing that this killer was using him for a specific reason.

When he didn't respond to my heartfelt sentence, I decided to continue, "Don't you just wish that life could be perfect? Just enjoy life without some sicko fucking it up for you?" I leaned closer and nudged Oscar, seeing that the boy was about to break.

"So please... what did you want to tell me about my pictures being on the Shadow Web?"

Oscar sighed, and I caught sight of tears brimming his eyes. Guilt was written everywhere in his expression as he nodded to the back of the club. I slowly followed his gaze, noticing the sets of doors that led into private VIP rooms.

"Like I said before... we should talk about this privately."

When I turned to glance at where Tanner, Adam and Clint were standing, seeing that they had stopped fighting and were now acting like nothing happened, I sighed and then decided to follow Oscar's request.

With a brisk nod, I mumbled the word, "Okay."

Then, the two of us stood and made our way to one of the rooms, my heart practically pounding out of my chest.

------------------

Clint

"Uhhhh... guys?

Adam and Tanner turned their heads to face me as I hastily pointed at the sight in front of me. "It looks like that kid and (Y/N) are heading to the VIP rooms..."

Adam's expression hardened, Tanner now looking desperate and concerned as he watched our friend anxiously stand behind the young boy as he showed a bulky man a pass.

"What the heck?" Tanner took a step forward, eyes darting back and forth. "Should we be letting her go into that room alone with him?"

I clenched my teeth together, turning to look at Adam, who was the boss after all.

But to my surprise, he looked exceptionally calm and collected, arms crossed and face still serious. "Relax. He's just a kid. What is the absolute worst that could happen? (Y/N) is an emotional character, so he will be on our side in no time."

But, sooner as Adam expressed his own opinion with confidence, my blood ran cold as the bulky man who was presumably a guard, pulled a small walkie talkie from his waistband and whispered something into it.

Tanner noticed this immediately, and even though we couldn't hear what he said, we all saw him nod vaguely at the other man standing close by next to him.

Shit.

A/N: I got angry for Wattpad deleting my drafts, so I broke this chapter down into two parts... I sowwy T^T

Thank you all for waiting, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Things are going to get interesting again soon! I can't wait to finish this!!