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“In our early twenties, we went to college together and a girl that went into his room wound up dead in the bathtub. He claimed she killed herself and of course, the evidence pointed to that.” Carter could see Kaitlyn shiver and wondered if she was thinking about how she could have been the next girl in Devon's bathtub if he hadn't come for her.
“In our mid-twenties we went into business together. We went in half and half and he ripped me off to the tune of half a million dollars. He scammed me. I also found out he was harassing female employees and getting constant sexual harassment claims that we wound up having to settle.” Carter wondered if he should include the next part or just skip it. He was aware he'd been very closed mouth with her when it came to this kind of personal information. Carter wasn't one to trust easy; he'd been burned before by people he had misjudged.
“When I was thirty, I got engaged to a girl I'd thought I'd fallen in love with. Turns out he'd offered her over a million dollars to get me to fall in love with her and humiliate me. Thankfully she didn't do the humiliate me part because she decided she could squeeze me for more money than he was offering. And she was right.” That loss still stung.
Before Carter could continue speaking, Kaitlyn pulled him into a hug. “She was an idiot and couldn't see how lucky she was to be in your life,” she whispered, before pressing her lips to his.
Carter cupped her cheek before running a hand through her silken hair. She let out a warm, excited sound and he kissed her deeper, swirling his tongue around hers.
She leaned back on the couch, pulling him with her until he was half laying on top of her and their bodies moved into one another in a primal dance that helped him forget everything else... but her.
He wanted her more than anything, but he knew that he shouldn’t be pulled in until he knew the truth.
Carter pulled back, drawing in several deep, ragged breaths and shoved a hand through his hair. Staring at the floor as she shifted beside him, sitting upright, he struggled to regain control of his desperate body.
“I need to know what you were doing out with Devon.”
She stiffened up at his words.
“Really? Right now? I’m trying to comfort you and kiss you and you’re talking about Devon. Unbelievable.” She stood up and he mirrored her motions.
“What's unbelievable is you dodging the question as much as you have. I told you I have a problem with Devon. Now I'd like you to tell me why you were out with him. Is he plotting against me again? Are you part of that plot?”
Her eyes narrowed, like she couldn't believe what he just said. “Wow. I can't believe you just asked me that.”
Carter crossed his arms, feeling fury surging through his being. “Neither could my ex-fiancée, but it is what it is. Now, are you going to answer the question or am I going to have to ask you to leave?”
Chapter13
Kaitlyn
His accusations stung,but she could understand why he'd feel that way about her, given the stories that he'd shared about Devon's previous bad behavior.
She had no idea Carter was previously engaged to be married and didn't know how to feel about that particular detail.
Still, knowing that information made her understand a little bit more how he could be so suspicious of her and her spending time with Devon. She had noticed he'd been a lot more withholding when it came to information about his life. Most men seemed to find her easy to talk to and spilled dangerous secrets to her, but Carter was different.
If she was being honest with herself, Kaitlyn would also be suspicious. The thought of Fawn finally getting free and then hanging out with her kidnappers made her feel suspicious and she’d wonder if her friend was taking advantage of her if that happened, so she could understand where Carter was coming from.
“Okay, I think it's time to tell you the truth. One of the girls I work with, a friend of mine, was kidnapped and they've been extorting me for money ever since.” She couldn't bring herself to look him in the eyes. Would he think she was stupid? Kaitlyn certainly thought she was stupid, she just didn't know what else to do to save her friend. “That was part of my reason behind doing the charity auction. It was a lot of cash, really fast that I could put toward getting her out and building my nest egg back up.”
She inhaled deeply and let it out in a shaky, uneven exhale. She couldn't look at him. She was sure he was judging her. “I have paid them about thirty thousand and they still haven't let her go, even though they've promised they will every time. They also tell me they'll kill her if I don't pay. She doesn't have any money or family or anyone that cares about her that will help. And when I went to the cops, they just told me that she is a hooker who ran away and that I can’t report her missing because I’m not family.”
Kaitlyn could feel tears stinging in her eyes. Finally telling him the story was a relief, like a burden off her shoulders before that burden came crashing back down with ten times the weight.
“And why should I believe you?”
Kaitlyn felt certain she deserved that, so she pulled up her banking app and showed the large withdrawals. “You know I don't do drugs. You know I don't own anything that would be this expensive. So, what else could these payments honestly be going to?”
Carter studied her phone and then glanced into her eyes as if seeking the truth. “And you've tried telling the cops?”
Kaitlyn nodded, feeling helpless. Of course, he wouldn't believe her. Why should he? She hadn't been completely honest with him to this point and she wouldn't even trust someone telling her the same story.
She likely sounded batshit crazy and she’d think this story from anyone else was a red flag, a lie, a hoax. And he thought all of those things because she’d been hanging out with the man who’d already scammed him more than once. “I'm sorry I snuck around behind your back. Fawn had mentioned on the phone that maybe I could leverage the rich guy that she knew came into my work for more money. I hated the idea, but I'm getting desperate because my savings are almost gone and they said they'd kill her if I don't keep paying.”
Carter's lips twisted as he studied her, and she wondered why he was being so quiet. “So, she knew that you had a rich guy stalking you?”
Kaitlyn nodded, not really sure how that was relevant. “She calls me usually to tell me that they need more money and I can hear her crying and sometimes screaming and sometimes being hit in the background. It's really disturbing.” Kaitlyn squeezed her eyes closed, as if she could squeeze out the memories with the motion. All she did was allow tears to escape her eyes to trickle toward her chin.
