He waved them over. “Get in the car. Matthew, get her inside NOW!”
The grip on my arm doubled and I was lifted in the air. As I watched, Noah and Theresa started to cross towards us, but then I saw something else. Horror rose in my throat and my eyes bulged out. I couldn’t stop it. I couldn’t do anything.
Carter was covering the distance at a breakneck speed, but someone stepped out of another doorway. He was too far away for the guards to grab him, and not close enough for Carter to tackle him.
Scott Graham lifted the gun in his hand. It was small, but he lifted it with ease. He had done it many times before. Instead of the flashy Casanova impression he had given me before, a cold mask gripped his features. He was like Carter, a killer. Then he turned the gun towards me.
Everything stopped.
My heart stopped beating. I stopped breathing.
“EMMA!” Theresa yelled. A bloodcurdling scream ripped from her throat next.
He saw me, aimed, and his eyes narrowed. It was coming. It was a matter of seconds.
I readied myself. I stared at him, dead in the eyes, and waited. I was going to die. I knew it in that moment, and I couldn’t do anything to stop it.
The guard whirled around in that moment, but Scott could still see me. He moved his gun to the side and steadied his hand once more.
All the sudden, Carter was there. He snaked a hand around his neck. Scott stiffened, but it was too late. Carter grabbed a hold of the back of his neck and twisted. It was a clean movement, lethal. His neck snapped and he let go of the body. It dropped at his feet. Carter didn’t pause. He sprinted over it and was next to me seconds later. He took me from the guard. Before I was shoved inside, I looked over again. Two guards had followed Carter. They swooped down and each grabbed one end of the body. Scott was thrown in a car before us, and it raced off.
Theresa and Noah were already inside the car, waiting for us.
“Where’s your sister?” My heart was pounding in my eardrums.
“Employee exit. She’s safe.”
As we had talked, Carter slammed his door shut and our car took off again. The sister wouldn’t have mattered anyway. Carter wasn’t waiting. From the sudden speed of the car, I was thrown backwards. He still held me around my waist and pulled me to his lap. I sat there, huddled over him, as I couldn’t close my eyes anymore. I almost died. I should’ve felt something, fear, shock, something, but I felt nothing.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
I assumed we would take Theresa home, but was surprised when we stopped outside a remote cabin-like home. It was huge. When I climbed out of the car, I glanced over and saw two large wrought iron gates closing behind us. It locked and a bolt of electricity sounded. No one was getting in.
“Where are we?”
Noah answered Theresa’s question, “We’re somewhere safe. Don’t worry. We’re only here for the night.” He frowned at Carter. “Right?”
There was no answer. Carter took my hand and led the way. When we stepped inside a spacious foyer, he pulled me into a back room and closed the door. “I need you to do me a favor.”
“Why are we here? Why aren’t we home?”
He stepped close and dropped his voice, “That’s part of the favor I need from you. I don’t trust your friend. I can’t let her go on her own and I couldn’t bring them to our home, so this was the next best choice. Everyone’s on lockdown for the next twenty-four hours. There’s no cell phone or internet connection here. I have one television, but that’s it.” He turned my shoulders so that I faced him squarely. “Emma, I need you to watch your friend for me.”
“Theresa?” Alarm rose in me. “Why?”
“I killed a man. She was already in the car, but she could’ve seen. I need to know what she saw and what she’s thinking about it.”
“You mean if she’ll report you?” No, she wouldn’t. I frowned. She couldn’t, this was Carter. My Carter. “She knows you’re friends with Noah and she knows about us.”
“You said yourself that she’s never approved of my connections and she doesn’t like my friendship with Noah.” He frowned a little and touched my hip to pull me closer. His head dropped to my neck, his favorite spot. His lips brushed against my skin as he murmured, “I killed a man in front of her. I know she considered him a friend. I’d kill him again.”
Shivers coursed through me, but they weren’t the bad kind. They should’ve been, but they weren’t. I held my breath, closing my eyes as his hand explored under my shirt. It traveled up, nearing my br**sts. It stopped underneath my br**sts. His fingers slid under my bra and rested there. My chest rose as I wanted him to continue touching me.
He grinned against my neck and moved back to meet my gaze. His eyes were lidded, heavy with desire. “I would do it again in a heartbeat. He was sent to kill you, Emma.”
The image of him holding his gun flashed in my mind. A heavy feeling rested over my chest. “Why? He worked for you, didn’t he?”
He hesitated, removing his hand and stepped back.
I was cold without his touch. “Carter.”
He grimaced. “I forgot he was friends with Noah and Theresa. I had hoped to keep him away from you.” He paused for a beat. “He was selling information to Franco.”
“What? Why would you—how long have you known that?”
“It’s why he was working for me. We were watching him and Octave was the best place for him to work. All of my businesses are legit, but he didn’t know that.”
“Wait. You stuck him at Octave so that he could give information to Franco?”
He chuckled, shaking his head. “No, we stuck him there because there was no information to give. Anywhere else and he would’ve been suspicious, but Octave doesn’t strike people as being vanilla. That’s what it is, though.” His grin fell flat. “He’s the one who told Franco where you were. He’s why we were attacked the first time.”
“But…” That meant that they had been looking for me…not Jeremy’s body anymore…
“Yeah,” he sighed. “They knew, Emma. They knew it was you.”
Ben gave me enough money.
Ice ran through my veins. My mouth fell open as my breathing slowed.
He looked happy last week. He thought he was hot stuff.
I stopped breathing. It couldn’t be, but it had to be. No way. I felt gutted. Someone had taken a knife and slid it across my throat before they reared back for one deep thrust. A sick sensation started to fill me and I began to tremble.
The grip on my arm doubled and I was lifted in the air. As I watched, Noah and Theresa started to cross towards us, but then I saw something else. Horror rose in my throat and my eyes bulged out. I couldn’t stop it. I couldn’t do anything.
Carter was covering the distance at a breakneck speed, but someone stepped out of another doorway. He was too far away for the guards to grab him, and not close enough for Carter to tackle him.
Scott Graham lifted the gun in his hand. It was small, but he lifted it with ease. He had done it many times before. Instead of the flashy Casanova impression he had given me before, a cold mask gripped his features. He was like Carter, a killer. Then he turned the gun towards me.
Everything stopped.
My heart stopped beating. I stopped breathing.
“EMMA!” Theresa yelled. A bloodcurdling scream ripped from her throat next.
He saw me, aimed, and his eyes narrowed. It was coming. It was a matter of seconds.
I readied myself. I stared at him, dead in the eyes, and waited. I was going to die. I knew it in that moment, and I couldn’t do anything to stop it.
The guard whirled around in that moment, but Scott could still see me. He moved his gun to the side and steadied his hand once more.
All the sudden, Carter was there. He snaked a hand around his neck. Scott stiffened, but it was too late. Carter grabbed a hold of the back of his neck and twisted. It was a clean movement, lethal. His neck snapped and he let go of the body. It dropped at his feet. Carter didn’t pause. He sprinted over it and was next to me seconds later. He took me from the guard. Before I was shoved inside, I looked over again. Two guards had followed Carter. They swooped down and each grabbed one end of the body. Scott was thrown in a car before us, and it raced off.
Theresa and Noah were already inside the car, waiting for us.
“Where’s your sister?” My heart was pounding in my eardrums.
“Employee exit. She’s safe.”
As we had talked, Carter slammed his door shut and our car took off again. The sister wouldn’t have mattered anyway. Carter wasn’t waiting. From the sudden speed of the car, I was thrown backwards. He still held me around my waist and pulled me to his lap. I sat there, huddled over him, as I couldn’t close my eyes anymore. I almost died. I should’ve felt something, fear, shock, something, but I felt nothing.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
I assumed we would take Theresa home, but was surprised when we stopped outside a remote cabin-like home. It was huge. When I climbed out of the car, I glanced over and saw two large wrought iron gates closing behind us. It locked and a bolt of electricity sounded. No one was getting in.
“Where are we?”
Noah answered Theresa’s question, “We’re somewhere safe. Don’t worry. We’re only here for the night.” He frowned at Carter. “Right?”
There was no answer. Carter took my hand and led the way. When we stepped inside a spacious foyer, he pulled me into a back room and closed the door. “I need you to do me a favor.”
“Why are we here? Why aren’t we home?”
He stepped close and dropped his voice, “That’s part of the favor I need from you. I don’t trust your friend. I can’t let her go on her own and I couldn’t bring them to our home, so this was the next best choice. Everyone’s on lockdown for the next twenty-four hours. There’s no cell phone or internet connection here. I have one television, but that’s it.” He turned my shoulders so that I faced him squarely. “Emma, I need you to watch your friend for me.”
“Theresa?” Alarm rose in me. “Why?”
“I killed a man. She was already in the car, but she could’ve seen. I need to know what she saw and what she’s thinking about it.”
“You mean if she’ll report you?” No, she wouldn’t. I frowned. She couldn’t, this was Carter. My Carter. “She knows you’re friends with Noah and she knows about us.”
“You said yourself that she’s never approved of my connections and she doesn’t like my friendship with Noah.” He frowned a little and touched my hip to pull me closer. His head dropped to my neck, his favorite spot. His lips brushed against my skin as he murmured, “I killed a man in front of her. I know she considered him a friend. I’d kill him again.”
Shivers coursed through me, but they weren’t the bad kind. They should’ve been, but they weren’t. I held my breath, closing my eyes as his hand explored under my shirt. It traveled up, nearing my br**sts. It stopped underneath my br**sts. His fingers slid under my bra and rested there. My chest rose as I wanted him to continue touching me.
He grinned against my neck and moved back to meet my gaze. His eyes were lidded, heavy with desire. “I would do it again in a heartbeat. He was sent to kill you, Emma.”
The image of him holding his gun flashed in my mind. A heavy feeling rested over my chest. “Why? He worked for you, didn’t he?”
He hesitated, removing his hand and stepped back.
I was cold without his touch. “Carter.”
He grimaced. “I forgot he was friends with Noah and Theresa. I had hoped to keep him away from you.” He paused for a beat. “He was selling information to Franco.”
“What? Why would you—how long have you known that?”
“It’s why he was working for me. We were watching him and Octave was the best place for him to work. All of my businesses are legit, but he didn’t know that.”
“Wait. You stuck him at Octave so that he could give information to Franco?”
He chuckled, shaking his head. “No, we stuck him there because there was no information to give. Anywhere else and he would’ve been suspicious, but Octave doesn’t strike people as being vanilla. That’s what it is, though.” His grin fell flat. “He’s the one who told Franco where you were. He’s why we were attacked the first time.”
“But…” That meant that they had been looking for me…not Jeremy’s body anymore…
“Yeah,” he sighed. “They knew, Emma. They knew it was you.”
Ben gave me enough money.
Ice ran through my veins. My mouth fell open as my breathing slowed.
He looked happy last week. He thought he was hot stuff.
I stopped breathing. It couldn’t be, but it had to be. No way. I felt gutted. Someone had taken a knife and slid it across my throat before they reared back for one deep thrust. A sick sensation started to fill me and I began to tremble.
