Page 2 of Clap Back (Carter Brothers)

I fucking hated Scott.

I hated even more that he dismissed us like children for a meeting that was exactly the same as last week.

“Carters,” Scott called as we stood with the rest of the group. “A minute.”

I groaned, my eyes catching my brother’s.

He shook his head, forcing me to keep my mouth shut.

Atlas was the more even-tempered of the Carter clan.

He didn’t get mad easily, tried to keep the peace, and was ultimately my mom’s favorite child because he was so giving.

Meanwhile, the rest of us were heathens, myself included.

I had a temper that ran hot, and the only reason I hadn’t fucking quit SWAT was because my brother loved it.

Personally, SWAT was the bane of my existence.

I loved the challenge that SWAT offered me, but no challenge in the world was worth having to deal with Scott, and Scott’s cronies, who all felt like the only reason we were on the team was because we had the last name Carter.

See, the name Carter was pretty famous among the Dallas police community.

My great-great-great grandfather was the police chief way back in the day.

My great-great grandfather was assistant chief. My great grandfather was assistant chief. My grandfather was chief. And now my dad was assistant chief.

And all those assistant positions were only because they didn’t want to deal with the bullshit of having to be the actual chief.

Then again, maybe if my dad was willing to be the actual chief, we wouldn’t have to deal with Chief Austin’s bullshit, too.

Chief Austin was fair and just, but he also had a temper. He had a hard-on for all things Carter, too.

At one point in time, I’d learned that he had a thing for my mom. Way back in the day, when Chief Austin and my dad, Germaine, had first started with DPD, they’d met my mom, who was also a brand-new recruit. Mom, of course, only had eyes for my dad, and I think Chief Austin always resented my dad for that.

And, of course, Chief Austin’s step-son, Scott, had to hate me, too.

“What’s up, Scott?” Atlas asked with his usual politeness.

Don’t let my brother fool you, though.

He may appear polite, centered, and well-rounded. However, inside him lay dormant a sleeping dragon. Piss him off enough, and he’d explode.

Right now, Atlas’s dragon had one eye open and he had it aimed at Scott.

I didn’t bother to hide my annoyance at being here.

“You were late,” he accused the two of us.

“We were working,” I pointed out. “We both got off shift at seven. You held the meeting at seven-fifteen. We were still doing turnover with day shift.”

Which he fucking knew, he was just being an asshole and didn’t care.

Scott’s eyes sliced to me. “That’s not an excuse. Next time, get them to come in early.”

I gritted my teeth and was about to retort when Atlas kicked my foot with his, silencing me.

“Unfortunately, that would not have worked this time because we were covering for a few officers who were sick. The stomach bug is running rampant through the department, which you know. However, we’ll work on that next time if you give us enough notice to prepare,” Atlas said succinctly.

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