Carter Reed

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.”
    She’ll have to or she’ll die.
    Carter kept that thought to himself.

“I don’t understand.” Ben wrung his hand through his hair. It stuck up in the air. “You’re leaving now? It’s the first night she slept through. She didn’t scream once. Mallory needs you here.”
    I looked over to the couch where she was huddling. She sniffled and wiped a tear away from her eye, but she didn’t say anything. She hadn’t said a word since I told her that we were protected. She didn’t ask me how I knew or what I meant, but she nodded. She never said a word, not even when I told her that I had to go somewhere else. But she looked away and a tear slid down. I pulled her in for a hug and tried to reassure her again.
    It was so hard. I couldn’t explain. Carter didn’t want them to know about him and I didn’t want them to know either. Carter’s connection to me had to be kept a secret. I didn’t know why, but I felt it in my gut. But how did I explain things to them when I couldn’t explain anything?
    Mallory had hugged me back. She’d been on the couch since.
    Amanda looked confused as she sat beside Ben, who paced in the kitchen, but she remained quiet as well.
    My phone vibrated. It was a text from Carter. A car is outside for you. Take your time with your goodbyes.
    “Who was that?” Ben asked. His eyes were wild as he grabbed fistfuls of his hair again. “I don’t understand this, Emma. I really don’t. You need to be here for Mallory. She needs you.”
    “Ben,” Amanda spoke up, calm and sad. “Read between the lines. She’s done something for us. Emma would never leave unless she had to. Now she’s saying we’re safe and we don’t need to worry anymore. You’re not stupid. Think about it.”
    “But—” He stopped with his hands still in his air. His eyes went to the living room and didn’t move. “Mallory needs her. That’s all I can think about.”
    “I’ll be fine.” The words were whispered and all of us whipped around. Mallory pulled the blanket tighter around her. Her eyes were wide and full of fear, and her lip trembled as she cleared her throat. It was like she was fighting for her voice. “I’ll be fine. I will.”
    Ben started forward. Mallory held a hand up to stop him. He skidded to a halt.
    Then Amanda coughed. “Well.” She blinked rapidly with shock on her face. “That’s that, then.”
    I couldn’t look away from my roommate. She tried to summon a small smile. It was so tiny, but it was there. She whispered now, “I’ll be fine, Ems. Don’t worry. Do whatever you have to do. I know you helped us somehow.”
    “That’s