Page 20 of Carter's Battle

Mia clicked off the call and stared at the phone. Damn. She was so fucking lucky that she’d met this guy right when she needed him. Maybe the universe was taking care of her, or maybe, as she preferred to believe, her parents had put him in her path. Either way, she wasn’t looking a gift horse in the mouth. She made sure to send up a prayer of thanks to both the universe and her parents and got back in her car. It was only going to get uglier from here, and she didn’t want to piss any of the gods off.

She was going to need all the help she could get.

CHAPTER 12

Carter glancedat Mia before he started pulling out the surveillance equipment he’d brought. Color was slowly returning to her cheeks and her hands seemed steadier than they’d been an hour earlier when she’d walked in the door.

He’d waited outside until it started to rain and then he’d picked the lock on her front door, mostly to see if it was as unsecure as he thought it was. He’d been right and was glad he’d stopped at a hardware store to purchase a new one. He’d fully expected her to yell at him for doing it when she’d arrived but instead, she just came in and collapsed on the stool at the kitchen counter. Clue number one about how badly shaken she was. The fact that her hands quivered like leaves in the wind, and her face was chalk white had been the giveaway. Whatever had happened, it had been unexpected and explosive.

And that pissed him off like nothing else.

“Mia,” he called softly.

She opened her eyes. She’d been dozing on the couch. “Sorry. Just super tired. I need to take a shower and then get in bed. I was up all last night, and I actually worked today, so I’m running on fumes.”

Carter nodded. “Go take your shower. I’m going to install some outdoor cameras after I finish changing your locks. I’ll try to keep the noise down.”

“Thanks.” She didn’t move.

“Mia?” He was concerned about her. She looked better but she wasn’t bouncing back the way he’d thought she should.

“Sorry,” she said again. “I’m just a bit…”

“Scared?” he offered.

She turned to look at him and nodded. “Yes. I guess that’s the word. Donny Nakamura freaks me out. I wasn’t expecting him. He’s…a creep in all the worst sense of the word. The way he looked at me earlier made my skin crawl. Now, I just want to vomit. The idea of taking a shower…”

“You don’t want to be vulnerable. You’re afraid to relax just in case something bad happens.”

“Yes,” she agreed. “How do you do it? How do you learn to relax after…”

He blew out a breath as he tightened the last screw on the new lock. “You’re asking the hard questions.” He straightened. “It takes training, honestly. Trusting my instincts to tell me if there’s a problem. Trusting the people around me to have my back.” That had been in shorter supply lately and he’d been suffering for it. He hadn’t been sleeping well for weeks, so it seemed kind of hypocritical to be telling Mia she needed to relax. Gotta practice what he preached. “Look, it’s not easy, but you will learn to adapt. My hope is this won’t go on long enough that you’ll have to learn all that. For right now, I’m here, asking you to trust that I will keep you safe. Donny will not get you while you’re in the shower. I promise.”

She bit her lip but nodded and then slowly got off the couch. “Thanks,” she mumbled, then trudged down the hallway like she had lead weights wrapped around her ankles.

Carter watched her go and then lined up his equipment to install the cameras.

He gave her five minutes, then he walked down the hallway to the bathroom.

She was just coming out of her room to go in. “Oh sorry, do you need it?”

He shook his head. “No, I’m just checking it for you.” He glanced in. It had been decorated in white and grey, sleek white tiles with streaks of gray in them. The shower stall was glass and there was nowhere else to hide. “It’s all clear.”

Was it necessary to announce the fact? Not at all, but he thought it might make her feel better. He walked down to the end of the bath and examined the window there. It was about two feet wide and maybe two and a half feet tall, but the window would only open to about eighteen inches. It was an odd size window, and the lock on it was crap, but he was certain no one was going to be able to climb through it without her being aware.

He turned towards her. “No one is coming in there without you seeing them, okay?” He pointed to the frame. “I can put up a stopper if you want so the window can’t open more than a couple inches. It’ll only take me a couple of minutes. Would you like that?”

Mia glanced at the window and then back at him. “But then I can’t get out if there’s a problem.”

“That’s the downside,” he agreed.

“Just leave it. I’m sure I will notice if anyone tries to get in that way.” She paused, then asked, “Can you install a better lock on it, or an alarm so we’ll hear if anyone tries to come in that way?”

“Sure. Not a problem.” Carter closed the thick gray curtains. “You should be fine in the shower. If you want to leave the door open so I can hear you better, go for it. I promise not to look.” He offered her a grin.

She laughed. “It’s fine but thanks.”

He nodded and left the bathroom. She was coming around, but it was going to be a long couple of weeks if she was this freaked out already. The reality of the situation was sinking in, and he didn’t like the effect it was having. Mia was buckling under the weight. Hopefully, a good night’s sleep, and having him there, would help her rally. All of this made him want to snap Bobby’s neck. He hated the fact that Bobby and his cohorts were terrorizing Mia and her friend. There had to be more that he could do, but first, he needed to get the lay of the land. No, first he needed to secure Mia’s house. Everything else would take time and planning.

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