Page 9 of Carter's Battle

“I—I?—”

“Whoever the fuck you are, you need to leave,” Bobby demanded.

Carter shot him a look. “I’m Mia’s boyfriend and I think you need to leave.” He moved further into the room and got ready for a fight.

“You all need to leave,” Mia said flatly. She tried to pull her arms from the two giants in the kitchen and they started to resist, but Bobby shook his head.

“Fine,” Bobby said, “but this isn’t over. Keep your mouth shut until we can talk some more. You feel me? Akela and Kai’s lives depend on it.” He cocked his head back in a way that made Carter want to cock his arm and throat-punch the asshole.

Mia said nothing but she remained still as Bobby and the two jacked-up bros with him moved slowly out of the little house.

Once the door was closed and locked behind them, she turned to Carter. “What in the hell are you doing here?”

Carter gave her the once over. “I saw the way you were manhandled into that van. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” She stared at him. “Did you follow us here?”

“Yeah. Like I said, I saw you get into the van and had a bad feeling about it.” He let his eyes roam over her. There were no outward signs of physical harm other than two red splotches on her cheeks where Bobby had held her face. That was enough to make him want to put the man six feet under. No one should treat a woman that way. Not ever. “Who were those guys?”

“It doesn’t matter who they were. You can go, too.” Mia started back toward the front door.

“Mia, you’re obviously in trouble. Let me help you.”

She turned and met Carter’s gaze. “Look, I owe you one, okay? You saved my butt, but I have to deal with this stuff on my own. I don’t need you sticking your nose in. It will just complicate things and they’re complicated enough.”

“Mia, I think I can help?—"

“Carter, is it?” she asked as she frowned at him. “I barely know you. Now I appreciate you coming to my rescue, but things are way more complicated than they seem. And I do not need you in the middle of it, making it worse. So…” She walked over and unlocked the door, opening it wide. “Please leave.”

Carter stood there and stared at the petite woman in front of him. He wanted to argue. To explain that it went against his nature to leave if she was in trouble. But he’d seen that look on his sister and mother’s faces enough to know he was not going to win this argument. He was going to lose this battle. The important thing was to figure out how to win the war.

“Okay, but reach out if I can do anything to help. I didn’t like the way those men manhandled you.” He started passed her and then stopped. “I mean it. I’m tougher than you think. I can handle a whole lot. Let me help you.”

She just stared at him, so he dropped a quick kiss on her hair and went out the door. She closed it after him and he waited on her front porch until he heard the snick of the lock engaging. Then he headed back to his SUV. The van was gone, but Carter knew whatever trouble Mia was in, it wasn’t likely to go away.

He just had to figure out a way to get her to let him help her. He had a feeling that if she didn’t get some kind of help, things would go very badly for her. A likelihood he wanted to avoid at all costs. Mia had captured his attention, and he wasn’t about to let anything happen to her. Not if he could help it.

CHAPTER 6

Mia pausedat the entryway into Kehola’s gym and scanned the crowd. The great thing about growing up around here was she knew who to ask when she wanted to locate Akela. Her assistant from the café said she’d be at the gym watching Kai’s session with his physical therapist. There was only one place on the island that Kai would go, so it was a no-brainer.

Akela was in the far corner, sitting on a yoga ball, watching her brother stretch. As Mia made her way across the floor, she took several deep cleansing breaths and tried to remind herself to be calm. Screaming at Akela wouldn’t help keep the situation under wraps. The last thing she needed was for anyone to find out what the hell had been going on at the café. She’d been calling Akela since seven a.m., but the other woman wouldn’t pick up. Since Akela was maintaining radio silence, Mia had been forced to track her down. A fact that soured an already pissed-off mood.

“Akela.” Mia’s voice held a bit of a bark as she came to a stop in front of the other woman.

“What the hell?” Akela looked up, her large eyes startled. “You scared me.”

Mia dropped her voice. “I’m about to do a lot more than scare you. We need to talk.”

“Hey, Mia,” a voice called from behind her.

She turned. “Hey, Kai. Looking good,” she offered him a smile. Kai was a nice kid and he didn’t deserve what happened to him. So few people did. Turning back to Akela, Mia said, “You’ve been avoiding my calls all morning. We’re gonna talk now. Do you want to do it here in front of your brother and the rest of the world, or are you going to get up and come with me?”

Akela paled slightly and then glanced around. She stood up. “Fine.” Turning to Kai, she waved. “I’m going to get a coffee with Mia. Back in a bit.”

“Yeah, no worries. I’ll be here.” Kai went back to stretching.

The two women crossed the workout space toward the little coffee shop that was in the corner of the gym. After they both ordered, they took their Americanos to a table in the back.

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