Page 27 of Carter's Battle

“Mia,” he said through gritted teeth. She knew he was on the verge of coming but so was she. She ground her clit over his pubic bone and keened as sensation roared through her. She arched, her hips bucking as she came. A few long, deep strokes later, he careened over the edge with her.

Exhausted, sated, but still wanting more, she flopped down onto his chest. Her body trembled from the intense, earth-shattering orgasm. But a hollow feeling was already building in her chest.

Her world was a mess and she was dragging this man down. She couldn’t let him drown along with her. She wouldn’t be responsible for him getting hurt, and with her uncle on the scene, the odds of someone not making it out alive were almost one hundred percent.

CHAPTER 15

Carter glancedover at Mia as he made the turn into the industrial area. She hadn’t said much since he picked her up. He’d left her place early on Monday morning without waking her. She’d been up most of the night gambling and then they spent the last few hours before dawn having amazing sex. He’d crashed for two hours and then slid out quietly to go to work. More equipment testing which was a complete waste of time, but he couldn’t let his team down. Their orders were to test equipment so that’s what they did. They had to run some night tests, so he didn’t make it back to her until today.

“I’m sorry about Monday and Tuesday. We had to run night tests, and I needed to catch up on my reports.” He smiled at her. “Not to mention my sleep. I did keep up with the cameras, though, and if Bobby or anyone had shown up, I would have been there ASAP.”

She just nodded. “It’s fine. The gaming doesn’t run on Mondays and Tuesdays anyway. It usually doesn’t run on Wednesdays either, but tonight’s game is special. Peter called and invited me. It’s a high-roller evening. Only the very good can play.” She shrugged. “I guess I should celebrate that I’veachieved high roller status, right? Woo hoo! Yay me.” She turned and looked out the side window.

The guys had razzed him about Mia but he hadn’t volunteered anything. Telling them her story felt like betraying her without getting her permission first, but he was determined to get it tonight. Her uncle and his apparent friend, Mark Bascom, had spun his world on its axis. Carter didn’t want to have to take on those two men and their minions without his teammates.

“Mia, you’re quiet. Are you okay?”

“Sorry. Just worried about my uncle. I don’t want to run into him again.” She played with the belt on her dress. This one was a deep purple sweater dress that clung to every curve. Carter couldn’t wait to pull that belt free and watch it hit the floor. He’d been fantasizing about that very thing since he picked her up.

“Do you want to skip tonight?”

She sighed. “I don’t think I can and still make the money for Bobby.”

Carter made a left and steered toward the end of a parking lot. He pulled into a space in front of an auto body shop that was closed for the night.

“What are you doing?” Mia asked.

“Honey,” Carter said as he turned towards her, “I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to go in there when you’re like this. You need to concentrate to win.”

Mia’s shoulders drooped. “I know. I know. This whole situation is just so… I haven’t really slept in the last couple of nights thinking about it.”

Guilt hit him like a gut punch. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t be there with you. I wanted to be.”Desperately. The intensity of his desire shocked him, but he knew it to be true. There was just something about Mia that made him want to be with her all the time. To protect her with everything he had.

She gave him a shy smile. “I missed you. Not just because you make me feel safe, either. Although you do. I didn’t realize how alone I felt until you started coming around with all those meals. You’ve made a big difference in my life. Thanks for that.” She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss. He held the back of her head and deepened it but then reluctantly broke it off a moment later.

“I’m sorry I’m not…focused. I just don’t know what to do. If I keep going, then I am working for Bobby against my uncle. Not a huge deal in terms of him being family, but I have no idea what he would do if he found out. I’m so screwed. If I stop working for Bobby, he’ll hurt Akela and Kai. If I go to my uncle and tell him about Bobby, then there’s a solid chance he would have Bobby killed.” She juggled her hands up and down, as if trying to weigh something out.

Carter sensed she was holding something back and his stomach tightened. “What is it, Mia?”

She stared at him for a moment then reached out and put her hand on his thigh. “I didn’t tell you this not because I wanted to keep you in the dark but because I didn’t think you’d believe me. No one believes me, not even my friends.”

What did that mean?“Try me,” he said trying to keep his voice even. Sweat broke out between his shoulder blades. Any more surprises from Mia and he’d have to rethink things, and he wasn’t sure he could do that. He braced for whatever she was about to say.

Mia licked her lips. “I’ve always thought that Bobby killed my parents.”

Of all the things he thought she might say, that hadn’t even crossed his mind. He covered her hand with his. “Why?”

“My parents were killed instantly when their car went off the road and crashed into the trees. The evening was clear. There were no other cars on the road. They’d been out to dinner, butmy father was driving, and he didn’t drink. The police could find no reason for them to have gone off the road, so they told me that my father likely swerved to avoid an animal and then lost control. The car was completely totaled, and they claimed there was too much damage for them to determine if anything had gone wrong mechanically, although I was told that was very unlikely.”

Carter’s heart ached for Mia. He couldn’t imagine losing his parents that way. He wanted to pull her into his arms and hold her tight. Instead, he let her continue to tell her story.

“You’re wondering why I think it had to do with Bobby.” She sighed. “He’d gone to prison for selling drugs but there was a rumor someone had ratted him out. He thought it was me for some reason and he’d threatened me. He’d just gotten out of prison a week before my parents were killed. I thought the timing was suspicious, so I asked a friend who’s a cop to look into it. Emery came back with the same answers that the original investigating officers had.

“The thing is, I was supposed to be with them that night but I had a bad headache, so I stayed home. She glanced out the window before meeting his gaze again. “I know it sounds crazy, but my gut says that Bobby killed them. I think he was trying to kill me, and my parents just got in the way.”

God, the guilt that must have caused her. Still haunted her. Carter gave up fighting the pull and hauled her into his arms then. “Mia, it’s not your fault. Even if Bobby killed them, it’s not on you. It’s on him. Please don’t blame yourself. The police were probably right, honey. Your dad swerved to avoid hitting an animal. It’s instinct. But even if they were wrong, whatever happened, it’s not on you.”

Mia leaned into him. “Thanks. That’s nice to hear and kind of you to say but the guilt still torments me, you know?”

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