Page 67 of Poisoned Pawn
“They could have been the same person. That would make Carter the second Shadow,” Zak accuses.
“And you’d be right, except I don’t work for the Shadow Guard anymore.”
We all turn at the sound of Carter’s voice near the hallway we entered by. He’s leaning against the door frame and pushes off, entering the room further as Frankie comes into view behind him.
“Your little background check wasn’t as thorough as you thought.” Carter stops at the dining table, leaning his backside against a chair and facing me, his arms folded. “The same client can’t hire two Shadows to do the same job. Lennox is very strict about that. If your first hire fails, then you can hire a second, but it’s a new deal, which means paying again too.”
“Hence why you think it’s a rogue Shadow,” Roxy says. “But that doesn’t explain your part in this.”
Carter’s eyes find mine. “I was hired to kill Star and is why I was at her house the night the Shadow broke in.” His eyes remain on mine the whole time. “I never had any intention of killing her.”
“How very fucking noble of you,” Maddox scoffs.
Carter ignores him and continues, “The person that hired me isn’t the same person who hired the Shadow Guard, and I don’t think they are connected to the bounty on Star either.”
“Well, there’s only one way to find out how true that is,” Zak says, getting to his feet. “Time is up for your friend. He should have an address by now.”
I wait for Carter to tell them that he has an address for the guy who posted the bounty, but he remains silent. I tilt my head, narrowing my eyes as he continues to watch me. His lips don’t make any move to speak, and his face gives nothing away.
I see Frankie pull his phone from his pocket out of the corner of my eye. Carter finally breaks eye contact with me and shares a look with Frankie before stepping away from the table. He strides toward me and leans down, cupping my face with his hand.
“I need you to stay here with Frankie,” he whispers in my ear.
The hand at my face tightens with his words because he knew the kind of reaction he would get, and this was his way of making sure I didn’t alert the others.
I’m pissed at him. Turning my face into his a little more, I say, “What the fuck are you playing at?”
“Protecting what’s fucking mine.” And before I can say another word, his lips land on mine. His lips are like a drug, a shot of smack that rushes through my veins and clouds my brain.
“There’s a bed upstairs for that.” I hear Frankie say as Carter pulls back.
I’m lucid enough to get a nip at his bottom lip before he can withdraw completely. I make sure it’s hard enough he knows how annoyed I am.
“Shut the fuck up, man,” Maddox snarls at Frankie as Carter steps back, and I hear Frankie laugh.
While I’m not happy to be left here with a man I don’t know, I’ll be glad for a break from the testosterone overload going on right now.
When Carter moves toward the hallway and I remain where I am, Roxy looks to me.
“Oh hell fucking no. She is not staying here with this fucking guy.”
“It’s not up for discussion. Let’s go,” Carter commands and continues his path down the hall without so much as a backward glance.
It should sting that he can just walk away from me so easily, but I find myself thinking about his words.
“Protecting what’s fucking mine.”
It’s all the incentive I need to keep my arse in the chair and stay out of the row that is coming as Roxy and the guys follow him out of the church.
CHAPTERTWENTY-THREE
CARTER
I’ve just reached my car and opened the boot when Roxanne calls out to me.
“What the hell are you doing, Carter? You can’t leave Star here with someone none of us know or trust.”
“Wrong. I know him and I trust him. That’s all you need to know. She’ll be safe here,” I tell her, digging around in the bag of weapons I took from the barn.