His eyes clasped shut and a soft curse slipped from him. Then he sighed again, “I forgot how much fight you have in you.” A crooked grin appeared. “I love you for it.”

“Really?”

He nodded, tugging me against him again. He bent down and teased me with a soft kiss. “We didn’t know who else was supporting Franco, even on my side, so I kept most everyone in the dark.”

“Your men knew.”

“Not until the last minute. Their calls were being monitored to see if they would send an alarm to Franco.”

I bit my lip. “Did they?”

“No. Everyone was loyal. They could’ve taken you, another reason why I didn’t want you to know. You were supposed to stay at your table.” He groaned and swept me tighter against him. I could feel every inch. The water slid over us, increasing the arousal in me, but I held back. He was too damaged for that. He needed to heal.

He continued, hugging me so tight, “The plan was for the Elder to think I was almost dead. Once he made the call, we had him. We could locate Franco from the number.”

“Did you?”

“Yeah. He had no idea. It’s over. Franco is dead.”

I frowned but didn’t move away. His arms clenched me tight, making his biceps bulge from the movement. I hadn’t known Franco wasn’t dead. “But the guards? You only put two on me.”

He shook his head. “No, they were always there. They just followed you from behind in case Franco tried to snatch you. I didn’t want to alarm you.”

“Carter.” I was so pissed at him.

“What?”

“You should’ve told me all of this.” He drew back, capturing my gaze and holding it. I couldn’t look away. I didn’t want to. He needed to see how I was affected. “I thought I was losing you. Do you know what that did to me?”

He grinned. “Yeah, it made you act crazy.”

Rolling my eyes, I almost punched him in the chest, but pulled back at the last second. His grin widened at that. I shook my head. “You can’t keep me in the dark anymore.”

“I won’t.”

My eyes caught his again and I searched inside of him. When he saw my suffering, he softened. He whispered, “I promise.”

I nodded. “Okay.”

Then he kissed me and he put all of his love into it.

I stood on my tiptoes and hugged him as much as I could. He didn’t seem to mind his wounds, but I did. After showering, we dressed again and left to see the doctor.

When he was being prodded, Amanda came over and stood beside me. She had put on a fresh pot of coffee since it was the middle of the night. She yawned as she flashed me an apologetic grin. “I am sorry again. You deserve to be happy and he’s the guy for you, no matter what anyone says. This is right. The two of you. You’re right together.”

Warmth rushed up in me and I swallowed thickly. I was choked up with so much emotion, and all I could murmur was, “Thank you.”

She patted my hand and kissed my cheek before whispering, “You deserve your happily ever after. He’s it. This is it.”

I grinned, blinking back more tears. “Even with the mob connections?”

“Even with.” She pulled me in for another hug.

I was too touched to respond. The cynical side would’ve joked when had she turned into a hallmark card, but the sentimental side was too moved to even speak. It meant a lot, especially through all we’d been together. This was a friendship I didn’t want to lose.

“Okay.” She pressed her hand against my arm again. “Do you think I could get a ride home?”

My hand took hold of her arm before she could venture far. I pulled her back and shook my head. “You’re better off staying here.”

“Why?”

“I am pretty sure Theresa’s not home alone.”

“Oh. You’re right.” She sighed. “They can get loud. Alright. Can I sleep in a room this time?”

Laughing, I showed her to a guest bedroom on the second floor before returning back to the kitchen. The doctor was finishing up his assessment. He lectured as I drew clearer, “You need rest, lots of it. That means no nothing, Carter. No sex. No fighting. No nothing. If you can work from home, I’d recommend it. And I mean it about the sex. Don’t think I didn’t see that cute honey standing looking all concerned before. No sex.”

Carter pushed him back a little. “Don’t start, Doc.”

“Don’t start,” he sniffed. “Don’t start he says. He only woke me up, had his men come and transport me here, and now he says ‘don’t start.’ I’ll start all I want. You have a broken rib. It needs to heal!”

“Yeah. And it will.”

I turned the last corner. The doctor saw me and graced me with a smile. He lifted his notepad in my direction. “Make sure he rests and don’t have sex with him. Even if you’re doing all the work, it’ll still strain his ribs.” He clapped Carter on the shoulder, giving both of us a polite salute of the hand before he picked up his bag again. “And now I’m hoping that same transport will take me home?”

Carter waved his guys to do his bidding.

Later, as I helped Carter into bed and curled up next to him, I asked over a yawn, “Is everything done now?”

He pulled me closer to him, tucking his head into the crook of my shoulder and neck. His hand went to breast and simply held it. “Yeah. I think so.”