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Wife, she wasn’t my wife yet but she would be soon.
“I…”
Turning the gun sideways, Carter spoke one last time, tapping his gloved finger on the table next to the phone. Jace’s eyes lowered to the device before his hand shook more when Carter stated calmly but with annoyance, “Last chance. Pull the trigger or this will be a very long night for you and by the time I’m done, you’ll wish…”
Carter never finished the sentence before Jace’s body slumped and blood was draining down his body and spilling onto the floor. He lifted the syringe, knife, and phone, shoving all three items into his jacket pocket. He removed another phone from the opposite one, flipped it open, and made a call.
She spoke first. “Is it done?”
“Yeah, it’s done.”
“Did he do it or did you?”
“He did.”
“Coward. I told you he would.”
“I made a pretty compelling argument.”
Alvin’s screams and the bloody mess Carter made of his body while slicing him open was a pretty solid argument.
“He’s still a coward,” she whispered harshly. She’d wanted him to suffer. From the videos Carter had seen of the things Jace had done, he understood why. “What now?”
“You come home, discover his body, and call the cops.”
“That’s it?”
“Yes, I’ll handle the rest.”
“I’ll check out first thing in the morning and call the cops as soon as I get there.”
She’d stayed overnight at a hotel to give them time to cool off. He’d confessed to doing some terrible things that would be leaking to the media soon and wanted her to hear it from him first. She left, needing space to process what was happening to him, with their marriage. That was the plan…all fabricated but believable.
“Thank you. For everything.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I won’t tell anyone about this.”
Carter exhaled a sigh at the thought of her thinking she was earning his trust. The only woman he trusted was at his apartment, in his bed.
“There’s nothing to tell,” was all he said before he closed the phone, stepped around the puddle of blood, and cut Jace’s wrist that was tied to the chair free. Carter briefly examined his wrist to see if there was any bruising from Jace yanking against the zip tie. Not that it mattered. No one would be able to make sense of how the bruising got there.
He left through the garage, the same way he entered. With one thing, or rather, person, on his mind…
McKenna.
The first thing Carter noticed when he walked into his apartment was McKenna’s presence. Her fuzzy ass slippers that looked like miniature poodles were left beside the sofa. One of his hoodies she had claimed was tossed over the arm of the sofa and her purse was dumped on the console table behind the sofa. All of which felt right. She was everywhere. The most relevant was the soft scent of coconut that lingered in the air, replacing his, claiming his place as her own.
She belonged here and there wasn’t a chance in hell he could see his life existing any other way than with her presence as profoundly obvious as it currently was. So many things had shifted in his life and Carter knew there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about most of them. Not that he wanted to, but the fear of knowing that he loved a woman who could bring him the worst pain ever? The devastation of losing her?
Never had he imagined being in the position of having anyone or anything become a weakness but that was exactly what she was. His heart in human form. A living, breathing replica of the very thing that kept him alive. She was his lifeline, his life source, and knowing this only made him understand just how fucking lethal he had the potential to be. If anyone ever attempted to take his lifeline, Carter would tear the fucking city, and everyone in it, up. He would give his life for hers. He would risk it all with no regrets.
Having someone who truly accepted you with no judgment or selfish expectations was a feeling Carter hadn’t understood since he lost his parents. He could give her anything her heart desired, and would, but all she wanted was him. Even if he didn’t deserve her, he would selfishly keep McKenna in his life and do everything in his power to keep her safe and make sure she was loved.
Loved.
I fucking love this woman.
