He swallowed his mouthful of food and licked his lips. “So, you’re staying over tonight, right?”
He usually didn’t ask—letting Kat decide when she stayed with him—but, weirdly, tonight he needed to hear her say she wasn’t leaving.
He never wanted her to leave.
The thought made him sit up a little straighter. Startled, his mind tried to wrap itself around what that would mean.
What, forever?
Like, move in?
He kinda liked the idea—a lot. It definitely had its appeal. He glanced at her naked legs stretched down his bed. But it was more than that. He’d want her to move in because he loved her.
His brain kicked into overdrive. Shit, they’d been together only a short time. Yet they’d been through so much. Maybe it was a bad move to lay that on her. He didn’t want her to feel pressured, and maybe she wouldn’t want to live with him yet. He was anal about cleanliness and he was a grumpy motherfucker in the morning, not that she didn’t already know that—
“… because I’m meeting Beth for coffee, if that’s okay with you?”
He slowly blinked back into the room to see Kat looking at him expectantly.
“I’m sorry, what?” he asked, dazed.
Kat laughed and cupped his cheek. “Are you okay? Where were you?”
“Nowhere.” He put his food down and fisted his hands in his lap.
Kat noticed and her face turned serious. “You wanna talk about it?”
Did he want to talk about it? He gazed at her. “Um … I was just thinking.”
Kat squirmed at his side. He noticed, in her nervousness, she’d pulled the sheets up to cover her nakedness. Carter clenched his jaw and little by little pulled it back down. She’d never been shy about her body. He wasn’t about to let her start. He bent to her bare chest and kissed her lovingly between her breasts.
“It’s nothing bad,” he promised her, then laughed with uncertainty. “Well, I sure as shit hope not.”
Kat’s hands clasped his. “Whatever it is,” she soothed, “you can tell me.”
He rubbed his hands across his hair. Well, shit, this was a first. After a moment, he said, “So, I was thinking that, maybe—you know, if you want to. Because I do,” he waffled. “I don’t want you to feel obligated. But I think it’d be— What I mean is, I wondered if you’d—”
His cell phone vibrated on the side table, and he cursed. Max.
Shit.
“Hold that thought,” he fumed before he picked up his phone. “Dude, what’s up?”
“Carter, I need a favor.”
Carter’s eyes darted to Kat. “Little busy now, man. Can it wait?”
“No, it can’t,” Max snapped. “Fuck’s sake, man, you can’t blow me off for your woman again!”
Carter’s hackles went up. Something smelled off. “What is it? What’s going on?”
“I’ll explain when you get here,” Max answered. “I need you at the shop in twenty, okay?”
Carter rubbed his forehead. This wasn’t good. “Sure,” he replied and hung up. He stood to retrieve his boxer briefs and jeans from the floor.
Kat’s mouth pressed into a hard line. “You’re going out?”
“Yeah.” He began to fasten his belt. “I shouldn’t be long, though. Max needs me for something.”
Apprehension crossed Kat’s face. “Something,” she repeated quietly. “Something … illegal?”
“No,” he said, going over to her. “I’ll be right back.”
She wrapped her hand around his wrist. “Please … He’s not— What’re you … You know what? It doesn’t matter.” Kat tried to smile. “You’ll be careful, though, right?”
Since Carter had finally admitted to Kat about his doing time at Kill for his best friend, and Max’s ever-worsening drug addiction, she was always anxious when Max’s name was mentioned or when he called. She would never admit it, but he knew she worried that Max would land his ass back in jail. Truthfully, he worried about the same thing.
Occasionally, Kat would drop subtle hints about Carter working at a different body shop, or stopping working altogether now that his name was firmly back on the WCS shareholders list, so that he was away from any threat to his parole. At first, her concern had riled him and caused many a heated debate. Now? He understood where her fear came from. She was petrified of losing him, just as he was of losing her. She loved him and wanted to protect him and keep him safe.
Carter tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “I would never jeopardize what we have, baby.” He kissed her. “I’ll text you when I’m there, okay?” He kissed her again, his mouth lingering on hers.
“Okay.”
* * *
Carter left Kala standing by the shop door, texted Kat, and then lit a smoke. He surveyed his surroundings instinctively, watching for anyone who appeared suspect. Once he was sure there was no one near, he disappeared inside the shop.
With every step, his palms got sweatier, and his conscience spoke louder. Bad idea, it said. Yeah. No shit.
He found Max in his office, looking disheveled and sleep-deprived. His clothes were creased, his face unshaven, and his dark eyes were encircled by even darker lines. He, too, was smoking. The cigarette dangled from his lips while he cut a line of coke on the desk with a credit card that was no doubt maxed out. Despairing, Carter pushed his hands into his jacket pockets while Max snorted the line through a rolled-up twenty. He sat back, coughed, and rubbed his nostrils before standing and holding his fist for Carter to bump.
“Thanks for coming, man,” he sniped when their knuckles finally touched. “I wondered whether I could pull you away from banging your precious tutor.”
Same shit, different day.
“I’ve told you before,” Carter replied sharply. “We’re not ‘banging.’ ”
Max gave a derisive laugh. “Ah yes. You love each other. That shit’s a thing for you now.”
Carter ignored his goading and the bitterness in his words. “What the hell am I doing here?”
“I got a tip from a guy I know,” Max explained. “The fuckers who jumped me at the club: they’re doing a deal tonight.”
Carter lifted his shoulders. “So?”
Max’s eyes flashed furiously. “The deal should have gone to me. Thirty thousand cash. That shit will clear my debts. I’ve called Paul; he’s going to meet us there.”
“Meet us where?”
“At the deal.” Max’s face turned malicious. “We’re gonna show them not to fuck with me.”
Carter’s blood ran cold. “And how are ‘we’ gonna do that?”
Max gave a chilling smile. “I won’t be pushed to the side. I used to run this fucking bitch. I either want in on their deals, or they need to learn some respect.”
Carter blanched. “The hell are you thinking? Fuck, Max. This is the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard! And what if they say no to your proposal, huh? What are you gonna do, make them?”
Max scoffed. “Don’t get all fucking virtuous on me, Carter. I’m barely keeping the shop afloat. I owe too much! I can’t do anything else, man.”
“I’ve told you,” Carter replied in exasperation. “Let me help you. I’ll give you the money.”
Max shook his head. “No.”
“There’s gotta be a better way than this,” Carter pleaded. “Who’s this tip from, anyway? How do you know this guy isn’t gonna snitch? We could turn up at the meet and be faced with fifteen motherfuckers baying for blood. Look at what happened last time you fucked with these assholes.”
“The dude’s cool. He won’t rat,” Max placated him. “It’s fine. Trust me.”
Carter opened his mouth to argue, but realized there was little point. His trust in his friend was at an all-time low, and Max was as stubborn as he was. Add in the coke, and the bastard was impossible to dissuade. There was no reasoning, no coercing. He’d made his decision, and damn the consequences.