Page 25 of Carte

“Please tell me you won’t kidnap her,” Max begged in my ear.

“The fuck?” I asked straightening in my chair.

“Don’t lie. Not to me. From what Chace has told me, she’s under your skin.”

“She’s not under my skin,” I denied a fact that was becoming more obvious by day. But that just couldn’t happen. I couldn’t let it happen. “She’s just a job.”

“Have you not learned anything from your siblings?” His words sounded tired. Like he was resigning himself for another merry-go-round run. I didn’t blame him. All my siblings met their significant others in an unusual way.

Rory met Jason, the star quarterback of Denver Thunders, when she came to work as his physical therapist. Their relationship was a whirlwind, something my brothers and I contributed to, if I did say so myself. But it almost came crashing down when an obsessed coworker assaulted Rory in Jason’s apartment. She pushed Jason away then, thinking she was not good enough for him anymore. No matter how many times we talked to her, she wouldn’t listen. It was thanks to Jason not giving up, and one small mistake regarding his health during a very important game, she got angry enough with him and went to see him, and Jason took his chance and didn’t let her go.

Max’s situation was a little different. He met Skylar years before he even laid eyes on her. She was sending text to her dead boyfriend as a coping mechanism that somehow got delivered to Max’s phone. It took Skylar to say her final goodbye to her high school sweetheart for Max to take action and find her. It’s still a little unclear how he managed to be in front of the exact church Sky was in, but I had a sneaking suspicion that Chace was behind that one. Instead of them riding into their sunset, it turned out that Sky was actually having mafia infiltrating her life without her even knowing. It all came to a head, and Sky almost got hurt in the process of extracting her from their clutches, but Max was there at the last second.

And Chace’s story was even more fucked up. He met Alina, the Mafia princess, while he was working undercover trying to bring them down. I couldn’t even think about what they went through and how it all could’ve ended without my gut clenching so hard I was in danger of spilling the contents of my stomach.

The fact I was nowhere near to help my siblings still grated over my nerve endings.

I should’ve been there. I should’ve helped them. I should’ve kept them safe.

Instead I was flying all over the world, keeping stars, celebrities, and politicians safe while my family was facing danger.

“Carter, listen to me,” Max’s demand tore me from the not so fun memory lane and brought me to the present. Cassie just got off the elevator and was heading my way. A mix of determination and relief was warring on her face. “Don’t fight it. Just claim that girl, and be done with it. Let go of any reservations you have, and give yourself over to it. It will save us all. But, most of all, you.”

“What are you now, a love guru?”

“Hey, don’t be a dickhead,” Max scoffed. “I just want my baby brother to be happy.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” I growled. “There’s nothing going on between Dynamo and me.”

“Dynamo?” Max chuckled.

Fuck.

“Shut up,” I muttered.

“Sure,” Max laughed this time but he quickly sobered, his tone taking on a serious note. “Listen to me, you deserve this.”

I closed my eyes for a brief second.

He always took this route when he was trying to convince me of something.

One night, I got drunk and talked to him about the guilt that was swirling inside me every time I looked at my siblings because I wasn’t there. I left them alone. That, coupled with how our mother was after we lost our dad, I decided to close down doors on any possibility of a normal life. There was no sunset, or happy endings for me. No newlywed energy. No happiness.

Only shadows from which I could observe and watch out for people.

Those I cared most for, and those who paid me.

“You need to stop with this bullshit. You and I both know what I do, and what I don't deserve. I failed you all, I will not put myself into a position where I will fail another person that I care about,” I growled, pissed that he would go there.

“Mr. Ryan,” Cassie came to stand before me and chose to ignore the fact I had a phone pressed to my ear, “Would you please reconsider and stay?”

“What about the tour?” I asked, not moving from my seat.

“Um,” she looked sideways, before she took a big breath and looked back at me. “Can’t we work something out? Can’t you find more people that would help you with Harley’s security? It is vital for this tour to continue. Her next album is set to drop in the middle of it, and is planned for the tour to boost its sales and streaming time. Not to mention, she’s clearly writing new songs. Songs she can present to the fan base organically.” She stopped and waited. When I didn’t say a thing, she continued. “It really is important that the tour continue.”

I stood up then, “Max I gotta go.” Hanging up, I looked at Cassie, and asked one simple question. An answer to which could either get me to watch Harley walk further in danger, or to get her somewhere safe. “Important to who?”

Cassie’s brows furrowed, “For everybody.”