Page 125 of Theirs to Take

“You can’t honestly believe that,” he said.

“I can and I do. I just need some time, Evan,” she said.

“So, what about us? You just told me that you’re falling for me and now, you want to end it all and move back to your apartment?” he asked. That wasn’t what she wanted at all, but she had dug herself quite a hole and now, she didn’t see a way out of it. This was what she did. Her mouth got her into trouble, and she ended up having to deal with the consequences.

“I just need some time to think about things, Evan,” she said again. “This is a good thing. Do you really want me to stay with you if I’m not sure about why I’m there?” she asked.

“No,” he breathed. God, he looked so sad, she just wanted to take it all back. She was a fool for falling into Alex’s trap. He was trying to get her to storm off in a huff, and she played right into his hands. He loved to prove that she was just a child and now, she was acting like one, proving him right. She was an idiot.

“I’d really like to say that I understand this and that it didn’t hurt like hell to know that you’re leaving, but I don’t get it and it hurts like hell,” Evan whispered. She hated making him feel that way.

“I’m sorry, Evan,” she said. “I’m not doing this to hurt you. I just need to know that Alex isn’t right. I don’t want to need or want you just to take care of me. I need to make it on my own before I can be with you or anyone else.” She didn’t want to bewith anyone, but Evan. Carrie meant it when she told him that she was falling in love with him, but what if it was just a case of needing him to keep her safe? She felt safe around him and what if when this thing with Alastair was over, she realized that she was just using Evan, as Alex accused? She couldn’t live with herself if that was true.

“This is for the best,” she said more to herself than to him. She grabbed her things and headed for the elevator. Luckily, she didn’t have too many personal effects at her desk, so she could make a quick escape. Carrie refused to look back at Evan. She knew that she would only find disappointment staring back at her and she couldn’t stand that. Her heart already felt as though it was breaking, she didn’t need to add to it.

Evan

He watched Carrie get in the elevator and the doors close before he stormed back into Alex’s office. “What the fuck, man?” Evan shouted at his partner. “Why did you say all of those hateful things to her?”

“Because it’s true. She just got here and now she’s all of a sudden fallen in love with you?” Alex asked. He wasn’t about to let his self-doubts creep back into how he felt about Carrie.

“That’s none of your business,” Evan insisted, “how Carrie and I feel about each other isn’t your concern. Not that any of that matters now that she’s left. She’s going back to her apartment, and we all know that’s not safe with Alastair hanging around still.”

“I’ve sent two guards after her,” Alex said. He sat down in his chair and sighed. “I let my temper get the better of me and I shouldn’t have let that happen. It’s just that Carrie is like the little sister that we never had. I didn’t mean to let things escalate as they did.”

Rod rolled his eyes, “You knew that she’d give as good as she got, Alex. Our cousin has never taken your shit. Carrie has always given as good as she got.”

“Yeah, well, she’s no match for Alastair,” her father warned.

“No, she isn’t. And she’s pregnant. What if he hurts or worse, hurts the baby?” Evan asked. “You might have already decided that she is only with me out of convenience, but I’ve fallen in love with her. I don’t care that we’ve only just met or that she’s my employee, it’s how I feel. She said that she feels the same way until you convinced her otherwise.”

“Wait—you don’t care if she’s pregnant with another man’s baby?” her father asked. He didn’t care about any of that shit. The first time he saw the sonogram picture of Carrie’s baby, he was hooked. He didn’t care who the father was. Evan just knew that he wanted to be a part of the baby’s life. And when Carrie agreed to share his bed, and see where their relationship ended up, he hoped that she’d agree to let him be a part of the baby’s life. He just never imagined that the relationship was going to end up with Carrie running back to her apartment to “think” about what she was doing with him.

“No, I don’t,” Evan admitted. “I want your daughter—the whole package. I want to take care of her, even if that scares the shit out of her. I won’t let her go without a fight. And she’s not quitting, even if she said she is. She’s my employee, but she’s so much more than that too.”

“She is your employee and if she wants to come back, I won’t stand in her way. But give her some time to figure out what she wants. I don’t want to see you get hurt in all of this, Evan,” Alex said.

“I’ll give her time, but I won’t give her space. I’m going to camp outside of her apartment door. I won’t let her ex anywhere near her,” Evan insisted.

“Let my security team do their job, Evan. I put two men on her and if her ex shows up, they’ll let me know,” Alex said.

“That’s not good enough,” Evan said, “I’m the one who should be protecting her, not your hired guards. If Carrie givesme another chance, you all will need to back down and let me take it. I want to be the one taking care of her and if any of you have a problem with that, tell me now.”

“No problem at all,” Rod agreed. He was the easier one to convince. Alex looked like he didn’t believe a word Evan was saying and Carrie’s father looked amused by the whole scene.

“Great, if you all need me, I can be reached on my cell phone. I’m going over to Carrie’s place,” he said. Evan walked out of Alex’s office and back to his own, gathering his things to leave. He wasn’t going to give Carrie the time or distance that she wanted because she was wrong—she wasn’t using her. In fact, it was probably the other way around. He needed her and losing her scared the hell out of him.

He never saw what hit him but woke up with a headache that felt more like a hangover. Evan moaned and ran his hand over the back of his head, holding his bloody hand in front of his face, trying to figure out where the blood had come from.

The last thing he remembered was running back to his place to change and grab some food to take over to Carrie’s place. He was going to sit outside of her door until she either let him in or had him arrested. He could remember walking into the house through his garage and distinctly thinking that he had locked his garage door when he and Carrie left that morning, but it wasn’t locked. That was when he was hit in the back of the head by something that felt very much like a baseball bat and his whole world went dark.

“Where am I?” he whispered to himself. He squinted his eyes open against the light that was filtering in through the back of what looked like his basement window. If he had to guess,whoever knocked him out had dragged him down the steps to his basement. He could feel every bruise where his body had hit a step on the way down. He groaned trying to sit up from the cold cement floor.

“I’d really love some aspirin,” he moaned. He looked around again and realized that he was alone. “Hello,” he hoarsely shouted. “Is anyone there?” He sat against the wall and listened for footsteps above. When he heard someone open the basement door, he almost breathed a sigh of relief. Sure, he was about to come face to face with the person who probably hit him, but at least someone was still around.

“Well, look who’s awake,” the man said, walking down the basement stairs. “You’ve been out for hours. I thought that maybe I hit you a little bit too hard.” He was Scottish and Evan wondered if he had just met Carrie’s ex.

“You knocked me out?” Evan asked.

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