Nothing penetrated his senses as he swung another satisfying punch in his face. Just pure hot rage that Nathan would dare to lay a hand on her.
A loud thunk echoed as Nathan slumped to the floor. Red colored his vision, determined to beat in the understanding that he would never touch Rose again. Carter started to bend down and grab him by the shirt when a strong arm pulled him back.
“Any more punches and you’re looking at a suspension,” Jade whispered tightly in his ear.
“He touched …” Carter still couldn’t see clearly.
All he saw as he looked at the floor was murder. He wanted to pound that man into the ground. Over and over until the picture of him grabbing Rose disappeared from his thoughts.
Would it ever disappear?
“Yeah, I know. We walked into the room together. You saved her from him groping her further, but if you keep punching him, you’re the one assaulting someone, not defending her.” Jade’s grip on his arm strengthened, as if she instinctively knew he wasn’t close to finding an ounce of calm. “Deep breaths, Carter. You need to calm down for Rose. She looks terrified right now.”
That snapped some of the fury gushing through his veins. Only a fraction. Enough to tear his gaze off Nathan and to look at Rose.
Her eyes were round with alarm, her gaze darting from Nathan and back to him. She finally settled her eyes on him when it appeared Nathan wasn’t going to be standing up any time soon, and his groans of pain filled the room.
“Rose …”
She took a step back as he whispered her name.
A sharp pang hit him directly in the chest at her retreat. She was scared of him. But why? He was only protecting her. Nathan tried to … he attacked her.
“Are you okay, Rose?” Carter shook off Jade’s hand holding his arm. Although he knew she only let go because she trusted him to keep his cool from this point forward, not because he was stronger than her. Jade could hold her own if need be.
Rose’s frightened gaze went to Nathan then back to Carter. Yet, she didn’t answer him.
Nathan groaned, then sat up slowly.
Rose jumped, backing up another step.
The rage from moments before smacked Carter deep in the gut. He wanted to reach down and start pummeling him once again.
Before he could do anything, Jade stepped in front of him and grabbed Nathan to stand up. She jerked his hands behind his back.
“You just had to add another thing to your rap sheet, didn’t you? You’re under arrest for sexual assault.” Jade barely struggled when Nathan tried to jerk his hand out of her grasp. “Let’s not add resisting arrest.”
“She asked for it. She begged me to kiss her!” Nathan shouted as he glared daggers at Rose.
Carter itched to step forward and lay another punch, but Jade’s stern gaze held him in place. She was right. One more hit would land him in hot water at work. That was the last thing he needed.
“Well, considering two detectives saw otherwise, your case isn’t looking too good. Let’s go.” Jade gave Carter one more severe glare before hauling Nathan out of the room.
Breathing in a deep breath, then releasing it slowly, he met Rose’s uncertain gaze.
“You should file a restraining order against him. We can charge him for this assault, but we don’t have any evidence to arrest him for murder yet.”
Carter didn’t know what else to say. Sorry sat on the tip of his tongue, but he wasn’t sorry for hitting Nathan, for protecting her. He would never apologize for protecting her.
But he could apologize for scaring her.
“Rose, I’m—”
“You should leave.”
Carter slowly turned toward the entrance to the room. Rage, once again, filled him up. Lincoln Tallont stared at him, unsmiling, unamused, and ready to defend Rose. As if he would harm Rose.
He wanted to shout vile, hateful things at the one man that could tear his already tentative relationship apart. Lincoln was close to Rose. Closer than he liked. But he couldn’t make her stop being friends with Lincoln just because he was jealous.
Carter couldn’t make Rose do anything.
He couldn’t even make her happy, apparently.
His rage slowly disintegrated into regret.
Maybe he should leave. Maybe he should just give up and let Rose live her life how she wanted. Maybe he was the wrong man for her.
Only one way to find out.
He turned his gaze back to Rose.
“Do you want me to leave?”
This was too much.
She couldn’t deal with this now.
This was supposed to be her best friend’s funeral; this day was supposed to be about Evie, and yet, she had Nathan trying to force himself on her and Carter attacking him.
Rose needed all of them to leave.
Now.
She just wanted to focus on her friend and saying goodbye.
“I think maybe you should leave,” she answered Carter’s question.
“What?” he looked at her, clearly shocked.
She wanted to give in, say he could stay, say it didn't matter, say he could do whatever he wanted.
But she didn't.
Because she was tired, and she just couldn’t deal with this today.
Besides being physically tired from no sleep in over forty-eight hours, she was emotionally drained. Her friend’s death and everything that had happened since—including the ups and downs of her and Carter’s relationship—was exhausting.
Still, she knew Carter was only trying to do the right thing, and he had helped her with Nathan’s unwanted advances. Who knew how far her ex-foster brother would have tried to take things if Carter and his partner hadn't shown up? So, she tried to soften her tone, and gave Carter a small smile. “This is Evie’s funeral. I don’t want to think about anything else other than that right now. Besides, you have to take Nathan down to the station, right?”
“I suppose,” Carter muttered, clearly unhappy with her answer. “Or Jade can take him, and I can stay.”
After the way Carter had just attacked Nathan, Rose wasn't completely sure that she felt comfortable being around him.
It wasn't that he didn't have a good reason for going after Nathan; he’d been trying to assault her when Carter had come in. It was just the look on his face while he beat Nathan up. It was almost like he had become possessed. His golden brown eyes had seemed to actually darken, and the corners of his mouth had turned down into this vicious snarl.
It had scared her a little.
She knew that Carter wasn't a violent guy, that it was Nathan’s behavior that had set him off, but she had to wonder what else would set him off.
Would he ever do that to her if they were to have an argument? Or what if they did get together and they had kids. Would he do that to them?
Rose didn't want to live like that.
She knew what it was like to live in constant fear for your life, and she didn't want to do that again.
“Or I come back later, after the funeral,” Carter continued, “and take you home.”
He was like a dog with a bone; he just couldn’t let it go. Not that that was necessarily a bad thing, but right now, she just wanted everyone to go so they could start the service.
“Lincoln will take me home,” she said, nodding at the door where her friend was hovering.
Carter frowned like he was going to disagree.
Rose could feel the tension growing inside her.
She didn't lose control very often, but if Carter didn't do as she asked she could see it happening.
Deliberately, she turned away from Carter. “I’m going to go and get the reverend,” she said to Lincoln. “Why don’t you go and see who’s here, have them come in.” It was going to be a large gathering—a couple of Evie’s exes who she was still close with, friends from the bar, and a couple of their foster sisters. She had wanted everyone who loved Evie to have a chance to come together and remember her, to mourn together, and to encourag
e one another to take a page out of Evie’s book and live life to the fullest no matter what it threw at you.
“Rose,” Carter started.
“Please,” she said—begged might have been a more appropriate word. “Not now.”
She heard Carter mutter under his breath, but thankfully, he did as she asked and stalked out of the room.
When he was gone and it was peaceful and quiet once again, Rose felt herself start to relax. For now, she had to just block out everything that had happened with Nathan and Carter. If she didn't, she was going to lose it. Maybe tonight when she was home alone in bed she would let herself think about it—maybe even shed a few tears—but for now, she was focusing only on her friend.
After hauling Nathan to the station, processing him—or more like Jade processed him because he didn’t trust his self-control not to hit the guy again—he left.
He drove around town trying to figure out where he went wrong, how to fix the problems between Rose and him.
Eventually, he found himself sitting in the parking lot at the lake where seven bodies had been pulled from the inky, black depths. Six women they had yet to identify, and one woman who had meant the world to Rose.
Her friend Evelyn.
Squeezing the steering wheel tight, he groaned, leaning his forehead against the wheel.
Tonight was supposed to be about remembering her friend. Honoring her life and laying her to rest.
And he caused a scene. Not intentionally, of course. He had only been defending her. Getting Nathan’s grimy paws off her.
His hands tightened even more around the wheel, squeezing as hard as he could, as he held back a roar of pain. He wanted to scream until all the pain brewing inside him rushed out in a frenzy.
I think maybe you should leave.
He never expected her to agree with Lincoln. He never expected her to want him to leave. Sure, they didn’t part ways the day before on good terms. How could they have? He stormed out of her house without a word.
Leaning back, resting his head against the headrest, his hands loosened around the steering wheel.
Of course, she wanted him to leave. She didn’t want him around her anymore. At all. Not after his behavior yesterday, ignoring her and leaving without talking about the issue like a rational adult.
But if she asked him to leave because he punched Nathan, he couldn’t understand that. He saved her from further assault. No matter what she thought about him regarding the other issue, she shouldn’t be mad at him for that. He would always save her, regardless of her reaction.
Lincoln will take me home.
He blew out a deep breath before more anger and frustration could consume him. He’d break the steering wheel if he kept strengthening his hold every time the rage rushed through his veins. And just thinking about that guy had his anger rising to the surface.
He should’ve been the one comforting her in this difficult time. He should’ve been the one to take her home.
Not Lincoln.
Not the one man who made this intense jealousy instantly swarm his senses like a hive of bees attacking him until he couldn’t breathe any longer.
Was Lincoln the kind of guy she really wanted? A businessman. A man who kept his cool. Polished, yet …
Carter couldn’t put his finger on it, but something about Lincoln bothered him.
Slamming his hands on the wheel, a sharp sting traveling up his arms, he almost let loose that scream he wanted to unleash.
He knew exactly what bothered him.
Rose wanted Lincoln over him. How didn’t he see it earlier?
And Lincoln certainly wanted her. He wasn’t an idiot. The look Lincoln had in his eyes when he glanced at Rose was obvious. The man probably loved her.
Who could blame him?
His eyes darted to the path that led to the lake. He didn’t know the time, having wandered around town for a long time, then sitting in his car forever, he never stopped to check. But by the glowing moonlight illuminating the trail with ease, he knew it was well into the evening.
The funeral would be over.
Rose should be at home. Maybe even in bed.
With Lincoln?
For a brief second, he thought about getting out of the car and walking down to the lake. Face his fears. Confront them head on.
He started the car instead.
He wasn’t quite ready for that.
But he was ready to face Rose and deal with the consequences. If she wanted to end things between them, he preferred to know right now. Deal with the blow of losing her rather than ruminating on it all night.
If she wanted Lincoln over him, then fine. He wouldn’t fight her. He only wanted her to be happy.
Because he loved her.
He could freely admit that now. She didn’t just take a piece of his heart. She took the whole thing with ease. It happened so fast, like being zapped by lightning.
Taking his time, he made it to Rose’s place a lot quicker than he anticipated.
Showtime. He inhaled deeply, then let it out slowly.
He would lay his heart on the line and find out where they truly stood. She’d either tell him to get lost or let him in. Not just inside the apartment, but inside her heart.
Before he lost his nerve, he opened the car door and walked quickly to her door. With two quick taps to the door, he then lowered his hands to his sides and tried to relax. With all the tension and stress from earlier still sucking the life out of his body, it was near impossible to relax.
The door swung open.
The surprise and anguish on Rose’s face didn’t look promising.
He could interrogate the worst of the worst of suspects. He could chase down criminals without breaking a sweat. He could enter a situation knowing he might get shot.
But right now, right here, he had no idea what to say or do. He was scared beyond words.
“Carter …”
A tiny breath escaped. “I’m so sorry.” He tried to offer a smile, failing miserably. “Can I come in? Only for a moment. Just to … apologize.”
He should’ve said grovel, but he figured, by the look of sorrow on her face, he’d only be able to apologize before she shut the door in his face.
Nodding slightly, she opened the door some more and stepped away. He walked inside, closed the door behind him, and met her gaze.
Then it hit him.
He should’ve brought flowers or something. Maybe something pink. She loved pink. How could he be so dumb to come empty-handed?
Nothing he could do now but forge on.
“I don’t want to rehash about the lake, but I do understand where you’re coming from.” A wince crossed over his features, hating the fact she wouldn’t stay away from water. “It doesn’t mean I like it. But it’s your life, and I was wrong to get upset the way I did. I should’ve never walked away yesterday. I’m sorry.”
Her hands, tucked tightly into a ball in front of her, twisted and turned, her bottom lip slightly trembling. “Thank you. I should’ve been more under—”
“No, Rose. I acted like an idiot. I don’t want you to apologize to me. Maybe we can talk about it more … later. Maybe we can come to some sort of compromise.”
He wasn’t sure what kind of compromise, considering he didn’t want to go near the water. Ever. He didn’t want her near the water either. But they could deal with that later. If there even was a later.
His hand popped up when it looked like she was about to say something. He wasn’t finished. He had to say everything before he lost his nerve.
“Let me finish, please.” He lowered his hand, a small grin appearing, hoping to appease the ache on her beautiful features. “I want to apologize for the incident at Evie’s funeral. I’m sorry it upset you.” His grin disappeared. “But I’m not sorry for hitting Nathan. I’ll never be sorry for protecting you. I can’t be sorry for that.”
Gazing into her crystal blue eyes, almost the color of a shimmering beautiful body of water, he couldn’t de
cipher what she was thinking. She hadn’t kicked him out yet. He found that a good sign.
“I …” Should he admit he loved her? Was it odd to fall in love so fast? Would she ask him to leave immediately once the words left his mouth? “I don’t know what’s between you and Lincoln, but I …” His heart started to pound, his hands tightening into fists, a deep pain sucking him dry that his words were caught in his throat. “I just want you to be happy. If that’s not with me, then that’s fine. As long as you’re happy.”
Her eyes twinkled at him with, dare he hope for, longing. “Lincoln’s just my friend.”
“That’s not how he looks at you. He looks at you like a man in love.” A heavy groan slipped out. “Like how I look at you.”
Rose inhaled sharply, her eyes widening in surprise.
He shook his head and laughed, averting his gaze. “I know. It’s crazy to think, but it’s true. I love you, Rose. I care so much about you.” He forced himself to meet her gaze once again. “And I only want you to be happy. Even if it’s not with me.” He took a step forward, aching to pull her into his arms. “Although, I want it to be with me.”
“I …” She looked away.
“No relationship is ever easy, Rose. I know I have some things to work on. Mostly my … temper. But I swear I would never hurt you. I would never lay a hand on you. I can’t promise I’ll always talk things out. Clearly, I’m terrible at communicating.”
Her beautiful blue eyes connected with his, a small smile on her face. “You are terrible at it.” A light blush coated her cheeks. “I’m not so good at it myself. There are things … I don’t like to talk about.”
He held out his hand. “How about we work on this communication thing together? What do you say, Rose? Will you forgive me?”
11
His blood was boiling.
He saw red.
He had never been this angry in his entire life.
Someone had to die to satisfy the raging fury that continued to grow inside him, and he knew exactly who that someone was.
The man who had hurt Rose.
He deserved to die a long, slow, painful death. No one hurt his Rose and got away with it. She was special to him. She was just plain special, and she deserved to be treated like the queen she was.
Sweetest Obsessions - Anthology Page 200
