“I liked doing protection at fight night.” Straight to the point. The good thing with Carter and his absence of social cues is that he never loses time with bullshit small talk.
“You did?” I narrow my eyes on him.
“It felt as good as when I’m in the basement.” So he really liked it then. Alright, I think I see where this is going. Carter never asks for anything; we bring him guys, and he deals with them. That’s how we always did this.
“I would like to try to do this more.” His voice is blank, with no emotion, no possible way to read him.
“I’ve been wanting to get Shadow back on the field since that Nero shit started. Think you could put up with Ash?” Our youngest member, fucking great fighter, especially with knives, hence why I’ve chosen him to keep Mia, and also because he’s a cheerful guy and I knew my little tornado would have a blast with him. But by adding Carter to the mix… I would need to get another enforcer, which isn’t ideal…
“We can give it a shot this weekend, Saturday night. Mia’s got an exhibition at my sister’s gallery. I won’t be there until late. I’ll need you and Ash to keep her safe. Think you’re up for this?”
“Yes, boss,” he states with no hesitation.
“Mia’s the most precious thing I have in this fucking world, so-” The words slip from me before I can keep them in.
“I’ll protect her with my life,” he assures me.
Good. That’s what I wanted to hear.
Damn it, Ash and Carter. I did not see this duet coming.
“If this works for her, we’ll make it permanent. In the meantime, you’ll have to find me a replacement for you if that’s really what you want.”
Carter nods. “Understood.” His voice flinches lightly.
The fuck?
“What’s that about?” I ask.
He tilts his head, his eyes scanning my face.
“The sudden change, where does it come from?” I repeat.
Carter opens his mouth and then closes it as if he knew what he was about to say wasn’t morally acceptable. I mean, I know from the amount of shit he told us in the past that Carter has a special way of seeing things. Hence why, Vox and I had been gobsmacked many times at his tales and attempts to court girls. We talked him out of sending feet and hands to a bunch of them. I swear, never a dull moment with Carter.
He’s better now, I mean, I think he is since we sent him to therapy for three fucking years. Thankfully, we had found ashrink to blackmail and not go straight to the cops after what Carter told him, but yeah, it really did some good to him to talk it out. The poor shrink was pissing himself each time he had to start a session with Carter in the basement, but still, he managed to get him out of his head and into the real world, talking again to us and getting out of the club more, having a life, a real one.
“Is this about a woman?” I rub my chin.
He nods, looking down.
“Should I be concerned?” Because I’m not really in the mood to look for pieces of dead bodies in the woods like one of his treasure hunts he once did, but well, whatever he says, I’ll help him.
“She…she got a kid, and I know I suck at human stuff and shit but don’t think I stand a chance if I keep doing what I’m currently doing. Don’t know if I make sense, but yeah…”
Carter likes to stalk; he’s been doing this for years, but it never got serious. Most of our brothers have girlfriends or old ladies but we never saw him bring a girl to the club, never. I’ve made mistakes with Vox and Rose in the past, not acknowledging their relationship sooner and creating a fucking mess because of it, so I want to do better now. Hence why I’m in my office talking about my enforcer’s love life at ten in the morning.
“Yeah, I understand. It’s a good move. Talked to her yet?”
“Not yet.”
Aw, Carter, always observing, taking mental notes of habits, tastes. Makes him ruthless in our world but out of his depth once he’s in the real world, the one where MC clubs and gangs remain in the shadows, where people don’t even realize the darkness living at night in the city they think is so safe.
“How long?” He knows I know him well enough to ask about how long he’s been stalking her. No judgment here, ‘causeI know in my bones, Carter would never lay a finger on a kid nor a woman. Kind of the whole reason he became who he is.
“Two months.”
“Does she know you’ve been watching her?”
