a pothole in its exit.
“Are you okay?” Carter ran a finger over his lip, blood smearing, and he frowned.
“I’m fine. He wouldn’t have … he wouldn’t have done anything.” Vic’s temper had flared a hundred times. The worst he’d ever done was throw things at me. Things that could be ducked, his fist hitting the wall beside my head something that scared but didn’t hurt. “I had it covered,” I said the words for myself as much as I did for Carter.
“You shouldn’t have met him alone like that. I told you not to.” His tone was low and judgmental, and I bristled.
“It wasn’t supposed to be alone. I didn’t realize he’d clear the bar. Why were you there?”
He laughed. “Is this what this is gonna be? You’re pissed at me for showing up?”
“I’ve been followed before. Checked up on. I don’t like it.” I looked out the window.
“I didn’t follow you because I didn’t trust you. You told me where you’d be—”
“And I was there,” I said, cutting him off.
“I was waiting for you in the entrance. Just in case. I heard a shout; I came in. Don’t make it into anything else.”
I didn’t know what to think. Didn’t know if I was sensitive from my time with Vic, time where I was constantly monitored, his paranoia trumped only by his jealousy. Carter had never acted that way, had been more than cool with all of Vic’s bullshit, including the set up of this meeting to begin with. I felt the knot in my back begin to relax, and I turned to look at him, reaching out my hand. “The only reason I met him was because you asked me to.”
“I know, and maybe I shouldn’t have insisted. I’m sorry I didn’t knock him out.” He grimaced.
I thought about how he’d looked, his muscles tense, the blur of his movement, the protective rush to my aid … it had been, in the whirlwind of it all, pretty hot. I smiled. “You didn’t do so bad. That’s probably the closest Vic’s ever come to a beating. He’s normally got his guys close by. But I hate that he sucker-punched you.”
Carter shrugged. “Hey, I got the girl. It was worth it.” He leaned over, burrowing his head into my shoulder and inhaled deeply, relaxing into me. “A kiss would help,” he whispered.
I obliged. It was the least I could do, the soft brush of my lips against his split lip, his bruised jaw.
It wasn’t until later that I realized the problem. After our shower, after his gentle towel dry of my hair, after a long and sweet session in between the sheets, after I flipped off the bedroom light, and reached down into my purse for my phone to plug it in.
My hand skated over a compact, lip-gloss, and my wallet. Fumbled behind a half-eaten Snickers bar and my earbuds. My heart started beating and I turned on the bedside light, looking again, more frantic this time.
My phone. It was gone.
75. Five-Fingered Prick
My missing phone wasn’t an accident and it wasn’t my fault. I knew that instinctively, my stomach twisting as I slowly shut the purse and set it down. This was Vic.
I heard the screech of his stool and looked over, seeing him push my purse aside, his hand on my drink and he met my eyes, lifting it to his lips.
Shit. I imagined him, sitting at home, his fingers across my screen, flipping through my photos, reading my texts … I had the insane urge to get dressed and run back to his bar, or his penthouse, or wherever the damn man was. Find him and rip my phone back from his freshly manicured fingers.
I punched on the bed with a hard fist, Carter sitting up, his hand touching my elbow, asking if everything was okay. “It’s fine.” I tried to smile, turned and crawled under the covers, my body sliding alongside his. I kissed his neck and burrowed into his side.
Right then, I should have told him about my missing phone. Full disclosure, open communication, and all that good-for-relationship stuff. But with his lip freshly split from Vic’s punch, our minds finally off the night’s events, I just couldn’t. Instead, I laid my head against his chest and stewed. Pretended to be asleep while, inside, my mind went crazy.
I never wanted to see Vic again. Not even for my phone. But then, I thought of everything on it, the personal invasion of him pawing through it…
As soon as