Page 116 of Theirs to Take

“Not at first,” she admitted, “but he agreed to come over. Alex and Rod will be here within the hour.”

“That gives me just enough time to shower and shave,” Evan said. She looked up to find that he had a day’s worth of scruffcovering his chiseled chin and God, she wanted to run her tongue over it. Carrie tried not to stare but was failing miserably.

“Um, yeah, that sounds great,” she said, not sure what she was agreeing to. She couldn’t really remember what he had just said.

Evan’s deep baritone chuckle filled the air as he gently grabbed her hands into his own. “I’m going to go take a quick shower before your cousins get here.” Carrie felt foolish for being caught gawking at her boss, but she wasn’t expecting him to be so perfect. He was hiding his well-chiseled body underneath his business suits and the gym shorts he wore now left nothing to the imagination. He looked like an Adonis.

“Ok,” she whispered. “I’ll make a fresh pot of coffee.” Yeah, keeping herself busy was going to be just what she needed to forget the mental images of her sexy boss and what he was hiding under his dress shirts at work.

Alex and Rod arrived just before eight in the morning, looking fresh and ready to conquer the world, making her feel like a slug. They both kissed her cheek as they filed past her and bid her good morning as if they weren’t dying to find out why they had been called over to Evan’s house. She knew them both enough to know that they were more than curious about her mysterious call to Alex. Her cousins had grown up just down the road from her before their father moved them to America. She knew them better than most, but it had been some time since they were all together, so reading them now was proving difficult.

“Would either of you like coffee?” she asked.

“I’d love some,” Rod agreed.

“Not for me,” Alex said, “I’ve already had three cups and I promised to try to cut down.” She poured Rod his coffee, knowing that he liked it black, and handed it to him. “Will Evan be joining us?” he asked.

“I’m here,” Evan said, “sorry, I grabbed a quick shower after my workout.” Alex looked him over and she could tell that he was still trying to figure out if Evan and she had slept together.

“What’s going on here, Carrie?” Rod asked as if picking up on the tension in the room.

“I didn’t come to America because I needed a change,” she started. “My father told you both that to get me out of Scotland. I came here because I found out that the man that I was dating, Alastair McInroy is a drug dealer.”

“Shit,” Alex cursed, “I know him. He’s bad news, cousin.” She held up her hand, effectively stopping his next words. She knew exactly who Alastair was.

“I’m aware,” she assured. “I was foolish enough to believe that I could change him but gave up on that prospect when I found out that I was pregnant.”

“You’re pregnant?” Rod asked.

“Yes, I found out about two days before I came here. I told my father, and he insisted that I leave town. He told me that you two would help me if I just gave up on my foolish notion to stay with Alastair. I knew that I had no future with him, and I wanted better for my baby, so I agreed. He called you, and here I am.” Carrie held her arms wide as if proving her point to them both.

“Why tell us now?” Alex asked. “I mean, you were keeping this a secret from us from the start, so what changed?”

“Alastair didn’t take long to find me,” she admitted. “He showed up at my apartment complex last night, and I hid out at my neighbor’s place as she called the police. She reported him for disturbing the peace, but we all know that they won’t keep him in jail for long. He’s probably already out.”

“Most likely,” Rod agreed. “How did you get mixed up in all of this?” he asked Evan.

“I had a gut feeling that something was wrong. When I left work last night, Carrie had gotten a threatening text from her ex, and even though she came up with a cover story, I knew that something wasn’t right. So, I stopped by her apartment to check on her. That’s when she filled me in on what she just told the both of you. I told her that it wasn’t safe to stay at her friend’s apartment across the hall and convinced her to come home with me.”

“You should have called me,” Alex insisted. “I asked you to keep an eye on her and report back to me.”

“I asked him not to,” Carrie said. “Evan insisted that I should involve you both, but I was so worried that I’d put your families in even more danger than I already have, so I asked him to give me some time.”

“Well, at least it didn’t take you too long to come to your senses,” Rod said.

“I realized that I can’t hide this from you. My last name is the same as yours and your name is all over your building. Alastair is smart enough to figure it out and come for me at work. I’ll have to alert security, and I knew that Luke would end up telling you both about my ex. I had no choice.”

“So, the only reason that you’re telling us now is that you feel trapped and have no other choice than to come clean with us. Do I have that right?” Alex asked.

“Yes,” she answered truthfully. She wouldn’t sugarcoat things for them. It wasn’t her way. “I’m so sorry that I got both of you involved in my mess.”

“I’m not,” Rod said, setting his empty coffee mug on the kitchen table. “I’m just sorry that you didn’t feel that you could come to us sooner. I wish you would have trusted us with your secret.”

“I didn’t want to put you at risk,” she insisted.

“You need to let us worry about the risk and danger that Alastair presents to us and our families. You’re a part of our family, Carrie and we’ll help to keep you safe too. We can protect you. If you don’t want to stay in your apartment, come stay with me,” Alex offered.

“You have a houseful already,” she said, “plus, I’m not bringing danger to your doorstep. Your kids don’t need to live with that kind of fear.”

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