Oh god. He hadn’t left me. I thought he had. I thought he abandoned me, but he hadn’t. The relief of that weakened me. I felt myself crumbling, but Carter held me up. His hand shifted as he slid one around my back. It moved underneath my shirt and slipped inside my pant’s waistband. He kept me anchored to him with that hand.

I wanted it to move. I wanted his hands all over me.

I wanted him.

I needed to stop thinking like that. I couldn’t forget my situation. My head was pressed against his chest and I opened my mouth. My own lips brushed against his sweatshirt. He shuddered from the touch as I murmured, “They’ll hurt Mallory. He was hurting her, Carter. I killed him to save her. She didn’t turn me over. They’ll know that and they’ll come for her.”

He shook his head. His other hand wrapped around me. “They won’t. They won’t know, but you have to come with me.”

“But Mallory?”

“My men have already taken care of it.”

Wait, what did that mean? I tried to pull away. He wouldn’t let go of me. “Carter.”

He tightened his hold. His muscles twitched against me from the movement. “I have men watching your roommate. Your apartment has been cleaned. Your friend can go on with her life. Franco Dunvan won’t connect his son’s disappearance with her.”

“So I’m free too?” My voice hitched on a sob. Hope flared inside of me.

He stopped talking. His chest moved up and down against me. His hands tightened their hold. “You need to stay with me—”

I shoved back to force a few inches of breathing space as I looked up. “You just said—”

His cold eyes glittered in the dark. They narrowed, and a shiver went over me, but I couldn’t look away from his intensity. I was starting to crave it. His mouth was flat as he spoke, “I can’t protect you if you’re not with me. You can live your life, but I want you to live with me.”

“With you?”

“Until it’s over.”

“Until what’s over? You just said it was over.”

“We don’t know for sure. My men will watch over your roommate and your boyfriend, but not you. I want you near me.”

“But—”

Then he clipped out, “I won’t protect them unless you come with me.”

“You won’t?” Panic stirred inside of me again. He had said, but we needed his protection. They needed his protection. His hand reached up to cup the side of my face. I flinched. It was so tender, so gentle, but his words had been so harsh. I needed Mallory to live.

Then he whispered, “You’re AJ’s sister. I have to protect you, Emma.”

Guilt speared me. He was right. AJ would’ve wanted that. But Mallory—I looked up. “You’ll watch over my friends? Mallory will be safe?”

He nodded.

“Your men will watch her? I won’t go with you unless you promise to protect her. That’s my final word.”

He nodded again. He was so tense. “My men will watch with her, but as long as you’re with me.”

I knew what I had to do. “Okay, Carter. I’ll come with you.”

Carter jogged back to the car and slipped into the backseat. He didn’t look over, but felt his associate’s disapproval. He didn’t care. When he didn’t say anything, the older associate asked, “What did you tell her?”

His reply was short. “She’ll live with me.”

“You’re a fool.”

Carter had the man against the door in a flash. His hand was at his throat and he held him paralyzed within his grip. The older man didn’t fight. He knew better. Neither said a word. It was a standoff between the two and Carter waited until he sensed the acceptance in his associate. “You will express your judgment when and only when I ask for it. But with her, I will never ask for it.”

He held him for another few beats before he released him. Two other guards sat in the car with them, but no one made a move or sound.

After the car traveled a few more blocks, the associate remarked as he rubbed at his throat, “I’ve known you a long time. I’ve never seen you like this.”

“She’s different.”

“She must be.”

Carter didn’t respond.

The associate waited another few blocks. “What did you tell her about the others?”

“That I’ll have men watching them and protect them as much as I can.”

“So you lied to her.” He started to scoff his disapproval again but caught himself. He straightened abruptly, his hand still at his tender throat. “You know you can’t protect her friends, even if you have men watching them. The second a Bertal shows up, our men have to scatter. They can’t know about our involvement. It’s too soon.”

“I don’t care about her friends. I care about her, and she’ll be safe.”

“What happens when she realizes you’ve lied to her?”

“She’ll accept it. She’ll have to. The second Dunvan entered their lives, no one was safe. And when she pulled that trigger, she became the hunted. Not them.”

“You sure she can handle all of this? You know how ugly it’s going to get.”

Carter sighed and remembered the look on her face when he saw her sleeping in the penthouse. She’d been exhausted and starving, but she’d been at peace in that moment. He hadn’t the heart to wake her so when he returned and found her awake, he was a coward. He remained in the shadows as he interrogated her as he would one of his enemies. He had to know and he did. He told his associate now, “I pushed her, Gene. She has fight, more than I did when I started. She’ll handle it.”