Hold Close (Biker Daddy Bodyguards #2) - Sue Brown Page 0,53
the work to achieve his success.
“My parents worked hard but the club didn’t survive,” Carter spat.
“Why blame me?”
“Because you could have helped him.”
They were going around in circles. Louis had tried to help Green-Wright, but the man had been too proud to accept the help he offered. Louis had employed Carter and thought he’d had the potential to follow the path Trey Linden had, and eventually open his own club.
Ironic that Carter believed Louis had failed his father and set a chain of events in motion that led to him being reconnected with Craig. This kid had nearly killed Louis and in doing so, brought back the love of his life. He had to convince Carter to change his mind before he did any more damage.
“Put the gun down,” Louis coaxed. “You’re too young to be jailed for murder.”
Carter shook his head. “I get rid of you, and my parents can start again.”
“And what about the other clubs? Peacock and Berties? Reef and Marco’s. Are you planning to kill the owners of those clubs too?”
Louis saw anger flash in Carter’s eyes.
“If I have to. You don’t get it, do you? I’ll do anything to make my parents happy again.”
Louis sought for a way to explain to the boy that you couldn’t always get what you wanted. “Sometimes you have to accept that you’ve failed, and move on.”
Carter glowered at him. “You’ve never failed at anything.”
Louis had to restrain an eyeroll because seriously? “How long have you known me? Nine months? A year? I’ve failed at plenty of things. You just didn’t know me then. I lost my first club because I didn’t know what I was doing. So I worked and saved and trained so I could try again. I was lucky. I was a bartender in a club owned by a couple who knew what they were doing. I watched and learned and started a second, smaller bar which expanded into a club. That one survived, but it took time. The club I worked in is still there. You might know it. Peacock.”
Carter’s eyes opened wide. “You worked for Peacock?”
“Twenty years ago. I worked for the parents of the previous owners. There’s a reason they’ve survived so long. You could have done the same with me.”
He saw the anguish in Carter’s eyes when he finally understood how badly he’d fucked up. But the gun didn’t waver.
“Dan, please. Put the gun down and let’s talk about it.”
Louis wasn’t sure what happened next. One minute he was begging Carter to rethink and the next his unconscious bodyguard was exploding into action, laying Carter on the floor with one punch.
The room was suddenly full of CDR men, and Carter was cuffed and hauled out of the office, screaming about betrayal at Louis. It all happened so quick. Craig shut the door on the noise and the silence was almost as shocking as what came before.
Louis stared at him. “But you were out cold.”
Craig’s lips twitched. “For a few minutes. I woke and decided to listen.”
“But you were unconscious. You didn’t move.”
“Practice,” Craig said.
“I—”
He stopped abruptly as Craig took him into his arms.
“You were handling him so well it was better to listen than spook him. I alerted the team there was an issue and waited for the right moment to act.”
“And when was that?”
“About ninety seconds ago.”
Louis thunked his forehead on Craig’s shoulder. “You could have given me some indication you were awake.”
“I could have,” Craig agreed.
“I hate you.” He’d been so fucking scared.
“No, you don’t.”
“Don’t push it,” Louis muttered, but he didn’t move away from Craig’s arms. The man had just saved him again, after all.
Craig
Lying on the floor, just waiting for the right moment, had felt like an eternity. He’d managed to sound the alert on his watch before he was hit and passed out. He knew the CDR team could see and hear everything that was going on in the office. All he could hope was that Louis could calm Carter long enough for him to come round again.
He’d regained consciousness to the feel of Louis’s hand on his cheek and Louis telling Carter what he’d tried to do for his father. His boy was far too soft for his own good. He listened, but experience told him Carter was too far gone in his hatred to back down. It didn’t surprise him that Louis had gone above and beyond what most businessmen would do for a rival. That’s just the way he was.
“Dan, please. Put the gun down