“Calling an Uber.”
Strangling back a loaded curse behind my teeth, I stomped her way and plucked the phone from her hands. “Unless you plan to Uber all the way to Virginia, you won’t be making that call.”
A whirl of crimson rounded on me fast, heat sparking in the wind she created. Scarlett curved her slight neck back to meet my eye, nailing me from a good foot below with a narrowed look of disbelief.
“Why the fuck would you ever think it was okay to touch something of mine?”
Rolling my fingers around the shape of her phone, I worked through gnashed teeth, “I’ll give it back once you get in the car.”
That seemed to rile her even more. “You think I care enough about my phone to get in the car with a stranger who just shows up because Daddy told him to? You might be whipped for him, but that’s your character flaw. Not mine.”
God-fucking-dammit.
I hated that she had a point.
I hated that I was here. I hated my job. I hated and hated and was so bloated of nothing but hate, all that dirty emotion I’d learned to thrive off of expanded across my chest in a heatwave. It was bitter acid slicing up my throat, hoping to shrivel the red-hot flame in front of me.
She was too fucking stubborn, and I was too fucking tired.
“The only reason I’m here is to do a job and do it fast.” I gained a step on her, towering a head taller and narrowing my stare. “Because someone decided to get trigger-happy with a box of matches, I’m here fielding attitude from a fucking teenager instead of on vacation. The sooner I get you to Quantico, the sooner my schedule gets unfucked. So even if I have to take you kicking and screaming, you’re coming with me.”
Much to my chagrin, she didn’t flinch. The breeze didn’t move a strand of her beet-red hair. She didn’t even blink. Scarlett Avery jutted her chin up at me.
“You’ve got a mouth of roses there, Agent.”
“Go get in the goddamn car, Scarlett.”
A visible cringe found her shoulders touching her ears as her button-nose twitched. “You’re gonna have to fucking kidnap me if you want to get me inside that car.”
“If you think I’m above throwing you over my shoulder to get the job done, I can assure you I’m not.”
“Oh, I don’t think men like you are above anything,” she replied with ease. Disgusting ease.
My jaw rolled tight. “Just get your ass in the car.”
Instead of listening, she bristled beneath me and bared her teeth.
“Give me back my phone, asshole.”