“Carter, that’s exactly what Kill, and I felt for years. We wanted so badly to take the anguish you felt from you. I know it was terrible to go through, but watching you deal with theaftermath was excruciating for us. We can be there for her while she moves through things, but we can’t take it away. I fucking wish we could.”
Killian releases her, and she turns to us and walks over while wiping the tears from her eyes.
“Are you okay?” Carter asks before I get a chance.
She places her hands behind her back and nods.
“I’m okay. We talked a lot last night about everything, including my past, and I think my emotions are still raw. When I saw the donuts-”
Heather laughs, but it’s not sincere, it's filled with shame I wish she didn’t have.
“I know. It’s the stupidest thing to send someone into a spiral.”
Carter leans down, kisses her softly, and reassures her.
“No, it’s not. Running water used to trigger me. How crazy is that? I’m guessing donuts are part of your past, like water torture was for me.”
Killian looks at me in shock, and I feel the same, but I try to hide it away. This is the first time Carter has ever said anything in front of us about what he went through. I know Killian sees what I do. She is so fucking good for him. I think Heather is good for all of us, but her bond with Carter, the way she makes him feel safe in a way we never have been able to, is not a small thing.
“Can we eat? I’m starving.” Heather blurts out impatiently. I’m tempted to tease her and ask if she worked up an appetite, but decide against it. I don’t want her to feel ashamed when she did nothing wrong.
I motion to the table, and we all walk over and sit down. Carter hands her a cup of coffee, and she takes it with an appreciative smile on her face. I watch Killian make a plate with fresh fruit, a bagel and bacon, but no eggs. I’m surprised because normally, especially with a fight coming up, he’d only eat eggs.He hands the plate to Heather and I allow my smile to come through. This is how I know he has feelings for her because he was obviously paying close attention to her to know what she would want and what she wouldn’t touch.
“I trust you had a good night, Tesoro?” I ask as I pile food onto my plate.
The blush on her cheeks is immediate.
“Yes, we talked a lot.”
I don’t point out that we know they didn’t just talk, considering we heard her cry out in pleasure more than once. It wasn’t a problem, but we did wish it was us. There is a camera in his room, but we turned it off to respect their privacy. Well, I turned it off even though Carter wanted to watch. He is a little more like Killian in that regard.
Heather eats her fruit, and Kill gets her more strawberries, her favorite.
“Butch called.” I say, and both Heather and Killian stare at me, waiting for me to say more.
“Your opponent has been chosen. I’ve never heard of him, but his name is Gabriel, but goes by the name Grave.”
Heather trembles as she speaks low to Kill.
“I know him. You can’t go through with this fight. Please, Killian. Don’t do this.”
He shrugs his shoulders and shoots her a stern look.
“I have to. I’m sorry, Killer.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
CARTER
“Little Heathen, what do you know about this man? Are you related to him?”
Her eyes are wide with fear, and I can see her panicking for Killian.
“I’m not related to him.”
She takes a deep breath before releasing it slowly.
“He’s in a gang, and the Prophet has an arrangement with him. Grave sells drugs for the Prophet and gives him the money in exchange for whatever girl he wants. I’ve never seen a more vicious man in my life. If he fights Killian he will win because he’ll have tricks planned. Hidden weapons. I promise you, whatever rules there are, he will not follow them. Fighting him in a death match is suicide.”
