Page 17 of Carter's Battle

“She’s busy.” Carter kept the opening small and looked beyond Bobby to the two henchmen standing behind him.

“Well get her un-busy.”

“No can do. You want to leave a message?”

“Yeah,” Bobby said and then pushed forward expecting the door to open wider when he banged on it. The surprisedexpression on his face was nearly comical when he realized it didn’t move because Carter’s foot was blocking it and Bobby ended up crashing into the solid wood.

“Fuck,” he snarled. “God damn get her for me now!”

“You’re attracting attention,” Carter pointed out as a woman who was walking her dog paused out in front of the house to watch them. “Unless you want the cops to come, I suggest you leave. Quietly. I’ll tell Mia you were here and ask her to call you.”

Bobby turned to glare at the woman, who then hurried away, tugging her dog along. Bobby swore again as a car rolled slowly passed. “Fine. Tell her to call me ASAP. And if you fuck with me again, you’ll regret it.” He stomped down the steps with his two bruisers in tow.

Carter watched them go and when their van left the curb, he closed the door and locked it.

Mia came out of the hallway with her arms wrapped around her waist.

“Let me help you,” he offered again.

She cocked her head and Carter knew she was considering his offer.Say yes. Say yes, he willed her.

“How can you think you can help me when you have no idea what I’m involved in.”

Now we’re getting somewhere.She was considering his offer. He could work with that. “You’re right, but I’m a Navy SEAL. I’m pretty sure I can handle a few assholes who like to prey on women.”

“What if it’s more than that?”

Carter shrugged. “If I can’t deal with it on my own, I have three other guys who will jump in to help me. We’re part of a team. We stick together no matter what.”

She swallowed and rubbed her face and then she chewed on her bottom lip. Carter had a hard time concentrating. His gaze zeroed in on her lips.Focus, he reminded himself, but shecocked her head, and her hair, which had been pinned up, fell down her back, and he immediately pictured tangling his hands in it. The urge to kiss Mia was so intense he missed her next words. “Sorry?” he mumbled.

“I said, I would have to pay you.”

“Pay me?” The thought was insulting. “I don’t want your money.”

“You don’t accept payment then we don’t do this.” She folded her arms across her chest.

Damn. He hadn’t seen that coming. He gritted his teeth. “Fine, you can pay me.” An idea came to him. “We can work it out in trade. You teach me how to surf and I will help you with your problem.” He wasn’t sure she was going to buy it. How much could surfing lessons cost?

She narrowed her eyes at him. “I’ll tell you what’s going on and you can decide if you truly want to get involved in this mess. If you don’t, that’s fine but you can’t tell anyone, especially the cops. You do that and I’m dead. So are my friends.”

It was a no-brainer. “Agreed.”

Mia went over and sat down on the couch.No sudden movements. He took the matching chair on her right. “Tell me what’s going on.” He spied a hundred dollar bill sticking partially out from under the cushion. Carter said nothing but he knew whatever was coming was going to be much more interesting than he’d anticipated.

Mia spent a solid thirty minutes telling Carter her story. She was succinct and met his eyes. Two good signs. When people meandered in telling their tales, he often felt they were making it up as they went along.

“Bobby sounds like a real piece of work,” he finally commented.

“At this point, I don’t have much of a choice.”

Carter agreed. “Why don’t you go to the cops?” He thought it was a bad idea, but he needed to hear her reasons.

She glared at him. “Are you going to tell them? I already told you bringing in the police would get me killed.”

“I’m not going to tell them, and I agree it might not be the best idea, but I wanted to hear your logic behind the choice.”

She leaned back deeper into the couch and tucked her legs beneath her. “Because I think they, the cops, will make me keep going regardless. It would give them someone on the inside. And then, I lose control. Not that I have that much but if they are involved, I have to do whatever they say. I don’t like that option. Also, Akela would definitely end up in prison and who knows what would happen to Kai. It’s better to keep the cops out of it and deal with it myself. I make the money, pay Bobby off, and then we all go our separate ways.”

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