The moment the coast was clear, Mason lifted his head and gave them the thumbs up. He and Rhys didn’t waste any time disappearing out the back way.
Ally turned back around in her seat. It took her a moment for her heart to stop hammering in her chest and for her to loosen her grip on her wine glass. Her hand was still shaking a little but she managed not to spill a drop as she put it on the tabletop.
She sucked in one steadying breath, and then another, before looking up. She found Carter gazing at her, the warmth back in his eyes.
He picked up his wine glass and took a sip. “So, where were we?”
Oh, hells no.
“You have to be kidding me,” Ally said, when she recovered from the shock. “What the hell was that?”
“A simple recon mission,” he said, cocking a brow. “Why, what did it look like?”
What? Did this guy have a charm switch that he could turn on and off at will?
Ally leaned forward. She dropped her voice down to a harsh whisper. “You lied to me.”
Carter bit into his lower lip as he slowly shook his head. If Ally didn’t know better she would have sworn that he almost looked hurt. As if he had any right to be.
“No, I didn’t,” he said.
“You lied about everything. Why we’re still in Sacramento. Why we’re staying at this hotel. Why we’re here for dinner. Everything.”
“That’s not true.” Hard determination shone in his eyes as he leaned forward. “I never lied. I just didn’t explain everything to you. There’s a difference.”
Ally’s lip curled up in frustration. “Like hell there is.” She picked up her napkin and crumpled it in her hand, twisting it tighter and tighter.
“This part of the mission was delicate, Ally. You didn’t need to know.”
“Dear God, do you even hear yourself? Mission. Need to know.” She tossed down the napkin. “This isn’t the damned Special Forces, Carter. This is my life, and I am not one of your little soldiers.”
He crossed his arms and leaned back. “Trust me, I know.”
“I’m not your pawn either,” she said. Maybe it was the wine, but she figured that it was best to get all of this out there now. While she still had the courage burning hot in her blood. Because when it cooled, she had the feeling the depth of his glower was going to go right back to scaring the shit out of her.
His brows pulled together. “My pawn? I never said—”
“You didn’t have to. Today you got rid of me because I was inconvenient. Then tonight you dressed me up in doll clothes because you needed a cover. And trust me, I get everything that you’ve done so far, but I haven’t gotten a chance to agree with any of it. So, I’m going to make myself perfectly clear.”
Ally picked up her wine glass and took one last slug. One more taste of courage. She could practically feel Carter’s eyes burning into her as she drained the glass dry.
“There will be no more need to know for the rest of this mission of yours. No more secrets. No more keeping things from me for my own good,” she said, looking him straight in the eyes. “We are either partners in this, or we are nothing.”
For a moment, Carter didn’t say a word. He just kept his eyes on her. A tick worked in his hard jawline. It took everything Ally had just to stay steady in her chair and meet his gaze.
Finally, he folded his hands and propped them up on the table. “It’s not an arrangement that I’m used to.”
“Well, join the club,” Ally said, with a dark laugh. “Because let me tell you, between the gunshots and the running for my life, the past couple days have been a master class in being outside my comfort zone.”
The corners of Carter’s mouth quirked up for a fraction of a second. “And you’ve done great.”
“So do we have a deal?” she asked, feeling hopeful for the first time since she sat down at the table. “Can we stop acting like angry fourth-graders and treat each other like adults?”
The corners of his eyes tilted up. “Well, when you put it like that…”
“Oh no,” Ally said, shaking her head. She crossed her arms in front of her chest. “I know your style too well. I want an explicit answer. No wiggle room. No, I never said.”
“Yes,” Carter said without hesitation. “I agree to involve you in all the decision making that goes on in regards to bringing Fuller to justice from here on out. Is that explicit enough?”
“That ought to do it,” Ally said. She felt some of the weight melt away from her shoulders. See, he could be reasoned with. She hadn’t been completely wrong.
“Good,” he said, pulling his napkin down on his lap as the waiter walked toward them with their dinner plates in hand.
Oh, no. Ally felt some of the blood drain from her face.
“Your filet mignon, Miss.”
Steam rose from her bacon-wrapped steak. The sauce smelled divine and potatoes looked amazing. The plating was gorgeous. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had a meal that looked and smelled this good.
The waiter put a bowl down in front of Carter.
“And your salad, sir.” The waiter’s voice faltered a little at the end. Ally couldn’t blame him.
“You can go,” she said to the poor man, before he felt obliged to ask if everything was all right. Obviously, she’d made the right choice, because he strode away without another peep.
Carter looked down at the bowl of crisp greens, Parmesan strips and small pink tentacles that radiated out from the center.
“What is this?” he asked, lifting his gaze to Ally’s face.
“Your dinner.”
He looked down at it for another long second, his brows furrowing. “And what was that you were just saying about not acting like petty fourth graders?”
Ally shrugged. “To be fair, I did order it before our agreement.” She tried not to laugh. “Do you want me to call the waiter back and get you something else?”
“Are you kidding me?” he asked, picking up his fork and plunging it into the mound of salad. He looked up at her with a smile. “I love calamari.”
Chapter Ten
Carter had eaten worse dinners in his life. A man didn’t spend years in the Army without learning how to survive on questionable rations.
It was the thick slice of Humble Pie that he was having a hard time swallowing down.
He looked across the table at Ally as she finished off the last of her dessert of berries and cream. She’d even shared a bite, passing her spoon across the table for him. He’d almost waved it off, but instead he’d wrapped his hand around her wrist, steadying her hand as he drew the sweet strawberry into his mouth.
She’d been right. He’d been treating her like a pawn, but not for the reasons that she thought. It was because that was the only way he knew how to keep people safe. If he could coordinate their movements, if he could fit them into a bigger plan, if he could just control them, he could keep them alive.
It was everything that he’d been trained to do. And he knew how effective it could be. He’d never put his safety above his men’s, and their loyalty and brotherhood had been his reward.
But as Ally had made it clear, she wasn’t one of his men.
Hell, she wasn’t like anyone he’d ever met before. And she was right. She deserved everything she’d demanded.
Even if she had stuck him with a bowl of spare squid parts for dinner.
Her spoon rattled against the bottom of the porcelain dessert cup as she went in for another swipe.
“You know, you can order another one of those if you like,” he said, putting his napkin down on the table.
“No I can’t.” She looked up at him like he was crazy. “Nobody orders two desserts.”
“I could order it for you,” he offered.
She shook her head and plopped the spoon down in the dish. “No, I’m good.”
“Then, shall we?” he asked, pushing back his chair to stand.
He watched as Ally gave one last sneaky glance to the empty bottle
of wine that was sitting on the table. Between the two of them, that poor soldier had fallen long ago.
He put his arm out for her. “I can have them send up another bottle to our room if you’d like.”
She shook her head before slipping her arm slowly into the crook of his. Her side grazed against his as she stood. The slight touch was enough to send a shockwave of heat clear through him.
Ally tilted her chin up to look him in the eye. “That might not be the best idea.” Her voice was low, raspy…and it wasn’t doing anything to cool the fire inside him.
He wasn’t so sure. It might be the best idea he’d had all night. Something told him her lips still tasted like strawberries and her body…well, that promised to be a hell of a lot sweeter. Carter could only imagine what she would sound like when he wrapped his lips around her—
His phone chimed from his jacket pocket.
He pulled it out and looked down at the screen. The message was from Charlie.
Cracked the drive. Finally. We need to talk. Meet in ten?
Carter let out a long breath. She’d had the thing for over twenty-four hours and she had to break the code now? Not in two hours?
Carter looked into Ally’s wide amber eyes.
Make that three. Three hours would have been good.
First level of the garage. By the stairwell. He texted the directions to meet outside.
“Who’s that?” she asked.
He was about to tuck the phone back in his pocket before she could see out of habit, but he stopped himself.
“Charlie,” he said, turning the screen so she could see.
She quirked a smile. “I would have believed you, you know.”
“Before or after I stomached another horrendous dinner?”
She shrugged. “You said you loved calamari.”
“And you said you didn’t want another dessert,” he said, slowly walking her toward the front of the restaurant. “Seems like we’re both fond of our little white lies.”
“So Charlie’s found something,” Ally said as they stepped into the bar area. She almost sounded nervous.
“Sounds like it.” Carter put his free hand over hers. “I told you she was good.”
Carter’s gaze was drawn to her face as she smiled. “At least you were telling the truth about that.”
A second later, the smile disappeared. Her eyes went round, and her step faltered. Carter followed her line of sight…to Lucas Addams walking down the hallway into the restaurant.
He was with a group of three other people—a business group coming in to have dinner, probably. And he and Ally were directly in their path.
Lucas hadn’t noticed them yet. He was deep in conversation with a woman wearing a dark blue suit. Lobbyists, no doubt.
Carter looked around. There weren’t many escape routes to choose from. They could turn around and walk back into the bar, but that would only buy them a couple of seconds at most. There was a small alcove right outside the restaurant door, but it was too shallow to hide in. Besides the lights in the hallway were too bright to make the corners dark enough to disappear into.
He had to do something. Any second, Lucas was going to lift his head and spot them.
Screw it. They’d go back through the restaurant. Maybe he could sneak Ally through the kitchen doors before Lucas noticed. There had to be a staff exit through there, and they could follow it out through the street.
Even if Lucas did recognize them, he wouldn’t follow, not surrounded by lobbyists. He’d be forced to play it cool. And maybe, just maybe, that would mean Carter would have time enough to get Ally out of there.
Carter tightened his grip on Ally’s arm He was about to turn when she tugged on him hard, pulling them into the alcove. Before he could wrench her back out, she turned her back to the hallway and threw her arms around his neck. Then she lifted herself up on tiptoes and pressed her lips against his.
***
She must have lost her mind. That was the only explanation Ally could come up with as she clung tight to Carter’s body.
Not because she was kissing him. That wasn’t the crazy part. Disappointing, maybe, seeing that it wasn’t a real kiss at all. It was all an act so that Lucas Addams wouldn’t recognize them.
Ally was too busy trembling in fear, to be excited. Her mouth was shut tight, her breathing sharp. She listened hard to the fall of steps behind them waiting for them to pass, praying they wouldn’t pause.
The insane part was that her life had turned so upside down that this was the only plan she could come up with to save their skin. Hell, that she needed a plan to save it in the first place.
So, this is what her mother had been talking about years ago when she’d begged Ally to change her major to something safe like accounting or business administration. For the first time, Ally understood her mother’s argument. Not only would those have been more stable and lucrative, but chances were they also came with a much lower rate of politically-motivated death threats.
Live and learn.
Ally could only hope that Carter would understand when she apologized to him for pulling him in here and locking lips. He had to understand that it was the only way.
At least he was playing along.
His hands came up to cradle her face. His head tilted. His lips parted.
Ally’s breath hitched as Carter pulled her against him and began to kiss her in earnest. Her jaw dropped open in surprise, and he took advantage of the opportunity to draw her lower lip into his mouth.
Her fingers dug into his shoulders at the sensation.
This wasn’t playacting. She could feel the desire pouring out of him. His mouth moved across hers, again and again, with a relentless passion that made her mind swim.
He turned her around so that her back was against the wall. One hand swept around to hold the nape of her neck. He tilted her face up as he pressed his body flush against hers.
That was the moment Ally realized that she was kissing him back—hard and fast and with just as much intensity…maybe more.
She let go of his shoulders and laid one palm flat against his chest. Damn, he was solid. But more than that, she could feel his heart pounding an insistent beat. She wished she could pull open his shirt and touch more of him, let her fingers roam all over his gorgeous body. Let her lips follow in their wake.
Half a second later, he slowed the kiss, eventually pulling away.
Ally stared up at Carter’s face. She blinked once. Twice.
“H-has Lucas gone by?” she asked.
“Thirty seconds ago.” Carter didn’t look away from her face. Ally tried to read his expression, but the truth was, her own emotions were so out of control that she could barely make heads or tails out of what she was feeling, let alone how Carter felt.
“Did he see us?” she asked.
“Oh, I’m sure everyone saw us.” Carter let out a dark breathy laugh. “But I have no idea if Lucas recognized us. It just depends on how much he’s into watching strangers make out in public.”
Ally nodded. She slid her back across the wall toward the opening and away from Carter. She figured a little distance might go a long way in clearing her head.
“We should probably get downstairs and meet Charlie,” she said. “Right?”
Carter kept his eyes on her but he didn’t move. “We should.”
Ally stepped out into the hallway and didn’t dare turn back to see if Lucas Addams was in the bar area watching for them, or even if Carter was following behind…no matter how badly she wanted to.
It was best to keep walking. To find out what Charlie discovered on the drive and go from there. The answers she’d been looking for were waiting for her. Just an elevator ride away.
It was easier to think about that, rather than obsess on what had just happened between her and Carter.
She’d done what she had to do. That was all.
And if a little extra pent up emotion had seeped its way in, well that didn’t bear dwelling on.
“We’ll take the stairs,” he said, opening the door.
“So we can’t be cornered?” Ally asked.
The hint of a smile played around his lips. “Now you’re getting it.”
They walked down the stairs at a reasonable pace, which threw Ally for a loop. She was so used to being whipped around by him at the slightest sign of danger. She was starting to fear that his change in demeanor might have something to do with her little act back there.
“You know I only kissed you to avoid Lucas, right?”
He glanced over his shoulder at her, his expression skeptical. “Really?”
“Really.” She couldn’t blame him for doubting her. With the way her voice was shaking, Ally wasn’t even doing a good job of convincing herself.
“It wasn’t a bad plan.” His voice was tinged with laughter.
“What?” she asked.
He shook his head. “Nothing.”
“It’s not nothing.” Ally tugged on his hand. “Tell me.”
Carter turned his head toward her as they reached the exit that led into the underground parking garage.
“I was right,” he said, swinging the door open and holding it for her. “You did taste like strawberries.”
Ally shot him a glare.
She should have known better than to open her mouth and try to explain herself. Of course, he was going to poke fun at her. Hadn’t she learned anything being around him the past couple of days?
She should have just dropped the subject and played it cool. Like she’d ever been able to do that before. Her and cool never really had a working relationship.
Ally walked past Carter into the garage. The overhead fluorescent bulbs sputtered out yellow-tinted light, making the shadows that pooled in the concrete corners flicker and move.
Or maybe her nerves just had her on edge.
Carter: The Sinner Saints #1 Page 10