a man pinned against a wall with his hands up and fear in his eyes without a gun pressed to his forehead.”
“She was damn near naked. Where was I supposed to put my hands?” he grumbled.
The prostitute wasn’t damn near naked, she was fully clothed—although her ginormous, surgically enhanced tits were on full display.
“You’re the one who suggested we hit up De Wallen,” I reminded him. “We were game because we thought you were finally lookin’ to get laid. Hell, she even offered you a discount.”
“Go ahead and talk shit.” Carter grinned. “She did have me pinned down, but if memory serves, you’re the one who left that night with tears in his eyes.”
“Bitch tried to twist my balls off.”
In my haste, I’d forgotten that part, or maybe I’d blocked the painful memory of a sex worker literally trying to drag me down a hallway by my balls. By the time I’d freed my bruised testicles, tears had indeed sprung. Carter was being generous leaving out the part where I’d limped the two blocks to our hotel, then proceeded to ice my swollen balls.
“You know, the only good part about being at a bar with you, Trey, was that I didn’t have to worry. No one paid me any mind once they caught sight of you.”
Carter was full of shit; he’d had women falling over themselves to get a shot at him.
“The only good part?”
“Well, it sure as shit wasn’t your witty comebacks. And your personality leaves much to be desired. And if it wasn’t for Luke taking the top spot for being the most standoffish asshole on the team, the honor would’ve been yours. And Logan being the most cynical worked in your favor. But, yeah, you taking all the attention worked for me in a big way.”
A year ago, I would’ve asked Carter if he regretted not tasting all that life had to offer. His answer would’ve been a resounding “fuck no” but I still would’ve asked. A year ago, I couldn’t imagine not living my life the way I had. Now, I understood why Carter didn’t regret it, why he’d held out. Why he’d stayed true to a commitment he’d made to himself, even when he was denying Delaney the relationship she’d wanted.
The second my eyes had landed on Addy, all other women ceased to exist. And if I’d met her earlier in life, the same would’ve happened. Carter was correct, Logan was cynical. He didn’t believe in love, and being as his childhood was so fucked up, I didn’t blame him. And there was a time I’d subscribed to his way of thinking—but Addy had changed my mind.
I shifted my weight to my good leg. Carter, not one to miss anything, narrowed his eyes.
“When was the last time you went to PT and actually did the work?”
Fucking hell. I didn’t want to get into it with him about physical therapy.
“Carter—”
“She’s my baby cousin so you gotta know I’m gaggin’ as I say this, but now that things have changed between the two of you, I bet you let her work you out, she’ll do it in a way that seriously works for you.”
I felt my mouth form a smile and muttered, “’Preciate you taking that hit. Think maybe it’s time I schedule an appointment with my Addy, see if she can pencil me in for floor exercises tonight.”
“That was a fucked way to show your gratitude, friend.”
And without another word, Carter left the shoot house. A few minutes later, I grabbed my gear and went in search of my woman.
19
“You both have jobs.” I stood in Triple Canopy’s gym and looked from Quinn to Hadley.
“Yup,” Hadley agreed. “And I’m done for the day.”
Awesome. Not.
“I’m at work.” Quinn shrugged.
“Um. I think there’s a difference between being at work and actually working,” I noted. “I’m sure you have plenty of…” Crap, I didn’t know exactly what my sister did. “Stuff to do,” I lamely finished.
“Totally. Next month’s training schedule is due to Nick by the end of the day and Carter wants the proposals for the new handgun range color-coded before he looks at them. I’m not sure why he needs them color-coded, or what that even means.”
“Maybe you should go find him and ask,” I supplied, then turned to Hadley. “And I saw Brady earlier. He looked forlorn and lonely, he could probably use some attention. You should go find him.”
“No way, sister. Spill.” Hadley grabbed a big exercise ball and sat. I watched it wobble and