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I ignore the low thrumming in my veins. “Did you get her?”
Carter gives a sharp shake of his head. “She got away, but I’ve got Ernesto and Lorenzo out looking for her. Tristan and Paul are posted nearby. She’s not going to get away with this, dove. I promise.”
I look away from him and link my fingers together. “I don’t want you to make that promise, Carter. I don’t want more violence.”
“Excuse me?”
I swing my gaze back to his, and the tight feeling in my chest only grows. “The answer to violence is not more violence.”
Carter barks out a laugh. “Are you fucking kidding me? We’ve been here for eight days, and I’ve done everything I can to make sure there’s very little violence, and you want to bust me for that?”
I sit up straighter. “I’m not busting you for it. I’m just saying that there is another way to do things. Sam and I were talking, and—”
“Oh, here we go again,” Carter mutters darkly. “I’m starting to think this relationship is between three people.”
I frown. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
Carter makes a vague hand gesture, his hair in tufts on top of his head by now. “You’ve barely been able to look at me since you’ve been admitted. You don’t want me to touch you, and you won’t tell me what happened with Rich.”
“And?”
Carter stands at the foot of the bed, his expression tight. “But when it comes to Sam, you can’t shut up. The only time you act human is when she’s around, and I want to know why.”
I blink. “That’s not fair. That’s not the only time I act human…”
But Carter and I both know I’m lying.
It isn’t his fault I can’t look at him without seeing Rich’s last moments or that I can’t bring myself to tell him. Instead, I’ve let it fester between us, growing to twice its size and sucking up all the oxygen in the room.
Carter’s voice is low when he speaks. “You and I both know that isn’t true. I’ve tried to be patient, dove. I know you’ve been through a lot of shit, and the last thing I want is to add to that, but fucking hell… what more do you want from me?”
“This is you being patient? You’ve been hovering the entire time!”
Carter comes to stand next to me, and I can see the amount of effort it’s taking for him to hold himself still. “Because I love you, Isabella. Because I’m supposed to protect you. Because it’s what a fucking fiancé does. I’m not some fucking stranger who lied to you and manipulated you—”
I jump out of bed and point a finger at him. “You just can’t let that go, can you? You hate that I confided in Rich and that he and I became friends. Why can’t you accept that I’m going to confide in other people? You can’t be everything to me, Carter.”
Nor will I let him. I’m already too dependent and reliant on him, and the last thing I need is not to have a support system at all. Especially given the nature of my life with Carter.
Carter takes a step forward, and I drop my hand. “Why can’t you accept that I know better than you? I know when people want to use you or take advantage of you, and I can tell when they’re fucking lying.”
“I’m not as naïve as you think I am,” I snap, pausing to tilt my head back. “I can handle myself.”
“You shouldn’t have to,” Carter says before closing the distance between us. He grips my shoulders and looks into my eyes. “I am not going to apologize for who I am or what I do to protect this family.”
I squirm and try to push Carter away. “Let me go.”
Carter’s hands dug further into my arms.
Abruptly, he releases me and takes a step back. “People like Rich prey on your insecurities and your fears, and they know how to exploit them.”
“Sam isn’t one of those people,” I tell him with a frown. “You can’t put her in the same category as them, and you know it.”
“I can if she’s poisoning you against me, dove.”
I throw my hands up in the air and scowl. “Sam supports me, but you don’t care about that. You won’t even give her a chance, and we both know why. You’re threatened by her.”
Carter takes me into his arms and kisses me. I’m so shocked that both of my eyes remain open. Until he cups the back of my neck and massages my scalp.
