“People are dying tonight?”

He nodded. “Only Franco’s business associates. The Bertal family is cleaning up. Franco’s death is their gift to me. They’re doing the rest because they have to cover their backs too.”

All of this was for me. All of that bloodshed was because of me. I didn’t know how I felt about that, but I hadn’t started this for me. I did it for Mallory. “Carter,” I rasped out. “Do you know where Mallory is?”

He shook his head. “No, but if she’s alive, they’ll find her. The new Head of the Bertal family in this city knows about her. They know why you shot Jeremy. They’ll contact me when she’s found.”

I nodded. That was all that mattered, right? All of this was for her.

“Emma.”

“What?”

He seemed unsure now. “You need to know something else.”

“What is it?” My heart started to pound again.

“Jeremy Dunvan was known for breaking in whores for their sex slaves.” He paused, still unsure.

“Tell me.”

The hesitation slid away to reveal a deep resignation in him. “My inside guy told me that they thought Jeremy was breaking in your roommate the night you shot him. He wasn’t going to kill her. He was going to use her as a sex slave.”

His words hit me. They were cold and stabbing.

He was going to turn her into a sex slave… He was going to turn her into a sex slave… Carter’s words were on repeat in my mind. I kept hearing them over and over. Suddenly, I didn’t care that those people were being killed. I wished I had done more than just shooting Jeremy Dunvan. He deserved worse. He should’ve died painful and slow.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

“Are you okay?”

Carter had told me hours ago what they had been planning to do with Mallory. I asked him for some time alone, and he gave it to me. I’d been sitting on the bed ever since, just sitting there and thinking. As I processed through everything and realized what Carter had done for me, I was grateful. He bought my freedom while he himself wasn’t completely free. He said that he’d have to pay them for five years, but was that long enough? I didn’t think they would leave him alone after that. Then again, I wasn’t a part of this life. This was his life, his world. Judging by the power and wealth that he seemed to have, it was a world that he had thrived in.

I waited until he closed the door behind him. He gave me a glass of water and a plate of food. My stomach grumbled as I saw the sandwich on it, but I left it untouched. My stomach said otherwise, but I couldn’t eat. Thinking of Mallory as a sex slave had taken care of that.

“Emma?” He sat beside me.

“How will we know if everyone’s been taken care of?”

“It doesn’t matter. Franco is the one with the vendetta. When he’s dead, no one will be paid for your hit. You’ll be safe.”

“But not you.” The words wrung from me. He wasn’t free of them.

“Emma?”

“You won’t be safe. You’re still tied to them.”

He pulled me against his side and ran his hand up and down my arm. “You don’t have to worry about me. As long as I continue to do what I do, I’ll be fine.”

“And if you don’t? If you stop making money for them?” It was my worst nightmare happening in front of my eyes as I imagined what they’d do to him. An image of his body flashed in my mind. It was like Jeremy Dunvan’s body, slumped over with blood coming from him, except it had Carter’s blue eyes. It had Carter’s chiseled cheekbones, his sculpted body, but it was lifeless and cold. I shook my head. That couldn’t happen.

His hand fell away from my shoulders and slipped between us to find my hand. His fingers laced with mine. “That won’t happen. I’m not new to this, Emma. I’ve been working with the Mauricio family for years. My word holds weight with both families now. I will be fine.” Then he grinned. “But it feels nice to have someone worry about me. I’m the one people are scared of, not scared for.”

I looked up, torn on the inside. “They don’t know you like I do.” They don’t love you like I do.

His gaze fell to my lips and he whispered, “No, they don’t. No one knows me like you do.”

When his head moved closer, I closed my eyes and felt his lips touch mine. There was a soft insistence from him and I opened for him. As his tongue swept inside and took command over me, it wasn’t long before I was lifted over him.

I gasped as he lifted my shirt off, “Carter.”

His lips found mine again. The need for him rose, threatening to take control of me. I shuddered as his hand slid up my side. My skin burned in its wake, sizzling for more. As he continued to explore my body, all the sensations and love I felt for him took over.

I needed this. I needed him.

I was blind with hunger as he switched our positions. He laid me down, poised above me, and his continued to taste every inch of me. Along with my shirt went my bra. Then my pants were next. As his fingers slipped underneath the straps of my panties, he slid them down with his thumbs brushing against the insides of my thighs as he went.

I pulled him down to me and I wanted his shirt gone. When it was, when I felt the deliciousness of his skin under my hands, I tugged at his jeans. Carter reared back, long enough to kick them off and then he was back. He was between my legs, kissing me, touching me. He loved me with every touch and caress from him.

When he slid inside of me, I held still, helpless against how my body trembled for him. Then he started to move and I came alive in his arms. As the rhythm grew and his thrusts went deeper and deeper, I wrapped my legs around him. I joined with him, in every manner. My body was his. He could do as he pleased, and as I skimmed a hand down his back, he trembled underneath my touch. His body was mine as well.

We belonged to each other.

As I felt the edge nearing, I held onto him as he continued to move inside of me. His hand curved around my leg and lifted it higher. I opened even more and he went deeper from the different angle.

“Carter,” I whispered against his skin. My hand clung to him, holding onto him. I met him move for move. He thrust in, my hips went with him. We rode together.

His eyes were open, bearing into mine. I felt myself stripped open to him, my soul bared, as his hips upped the tempo. Then it was time. I felt him tensing at the same time my climax ripped through me. Waves of pleasure slammed into me and I rode out each of them. As I finished, he let himself go.