Page 44 of Carter's #Undoing

Sixteen

CARTER

After an entire day of traveling to get to New York as discreetly as possible, I was wiped and I knew Serenity was probably even more exhausted. She wasn’t used to this kind of life, and our emotions had been high since the start of this.

Before we left the cabin, she clung to Colt, not ready to say good-bye. I felt like that every time I had to leave him behind, but I trained him to be able to live without me for a while—he was the eyes and ears I needed securing the property.

“Why are we in this ritzy ass hotel?” Scotch asked as we all made our way up the elevator.

“I was about to ask the same shit,” Cap said.

“Because my brother has a sick sense of humor,” I replied with a laugh, realizing it had been way too long since I joked about Crayson.

“This is definitely his style,” Serenity remarked, looking at the glass elevators.

I shook my head at how delicate she seemed in an elevator with five men who looked larger than life standing with her.

We stepped off the elevator, Scotch and the others heading into one of the suites while Serenity and I headed to the suite right next door. Crazy as Crayson was, it actually made sense to be in a place that was the complete opposite of where we’d stake out.

“We should probably get some sleep,” I suggested as I placed the key into the lock. I felt something was wrong immediately, slightly cracking the door and whistling to Scotch who was by my side in seconds, while Cap pulled Serenity behind him.

I waited for Hennessey and Jackie-D to get on my right before we pulled out our pistols as I counted down in my head.

Three.

Two.

One.

I pushed open the door, ready to pull the trigger on the first person I saw. Until I noticed that person was Micah.

“And this is why the family nominated me be the first one you saw.”

“What the hell are you doing here?” I asked. I had my answer moments later as my entire family came into view, twelve sets of eyes staring at me.

“Good thing you got the executive suite,” Scotch said, clapping me on my shoulder and motioning for Cap to let Serenity come inside. “Sorry to disturb you, Madden family. Please be easy on our friend.”

“Who the fuck is that?” Crayson asked Malakai as Scotch and the others left me and Serenity to gape at my family.

Damn.I felt like I was having an out-of-body experience as I stared into so many eyes that matched mine … yet, some belonged to sisters-in-law I’d never met.Mom.Cynthia Madden had gotten me through so many rough days, and it pained me to see her hands placed over her heart as she sobbed. My dad pinned me with a look of disappointment that hit me to my core, while my brothers shared a look of disappointment.

Yet, it was my triplet brothers whose eyes were haunted with abandonment issues that I’d helped foster since I was the first person in their lives to ever abandon them. I didn’t know what to say. How to act. I couldn’t explain that we couldn’t involve the police in this mess because then I’d have to confess to my own sins. Own up to my own crimes. A part of me figured one of my brothers must have helped my parents realize it since they were here with me instead of the cops.

I didn’t recognize my breathing was labored until Serenity linked her hand with mine and kissed the back of my palm. My mom was the first to approach me, and I was grateful for it.

“What did they do to my baby?” she asked, her hand going directly to the scar on my face.

“It’s nothing, Mom.”

“Yes it is,” she said. “You could have told us what was going on with you. Mason and I raised you boys to always do the right thing. The courageous thing. Of all our boys, we thought you would have the easiest life. We thought you’d get everything handed to you on a silver platter because you were always so charming and considerate of others. As a boy, you didn’t hide who you were, and being one of the youngest didn’t hinder you in this family. You were our glue, the piece that made us whole. And then you left for sixteen years for reasons your father and I, and your brothers, are only now beginning to understand.”

I squinted my eyes at my brother, questioning if loyal Caden had broken my loyalty by telling our family some of the contents in my letter.

“Just your reason,” he said, reading my mind. “That’s all. Ma and Pops needed to know.”

“He did the right thing by telling us, son,” my dad said. “And maybe I didn’t do right by you boys by not being completely honest.” My dad glanced at my mom before continuing. “I’m not proud of some of the decisions I made in the past, and I won’t go into details tonight, but I want to sit down with each of you and explain how I had to right my wrongs.”

“And he had a lot of wrongs to right,” my mom added.

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