by Tijan
He gestured to the table. “Sure. Leave them, but don’t you guys always take them with?”
Theresa opened her mouth to keep arguing, but I clutched mine and headed towards the nearest exit door. Amanda followed behind. Theresa remained at the table. Her arms went up in the air—all the signs of another Noah/Theresa fight about to happen.
Amanda snickered. “You know they’re going to find a room pretty soon.”
“Yeah.” I shook my head. Their sexual chemistry fizzled at times, but was combustible at others. It was nearing the explosion mark now. “Wish they’d get together once and for all.”
“Yeah,” Amanda sighed beside me as we went through into the hallway. It was empty except for a few drunken employees.
“Emma!” someone called out.
Oh god. It was Tamra. She had a fake smile as she gripped her drink. A purse was stuck underneath her arm and her free hand held up the front of her silver dress. Even in high heels, she hurried to us and didn’t seem to break stride. I would’ve been impressed if I hadn’t been so irritated. She was keeping me from finding Carter.
“Hi, Tamra.”
“Hi!” Her red lipstick was smeared to the side and a few strands of her beautiful sleek hair slipped from the fancy bun. “Did you hear about my promotion?”
I shrugged. “Yeah. Congratulations.”
“I know. I’m going to be heading up an entire hotel. I think Mr. Tomlinson wants me to prove what I can do. Once I do that, I’ll be back and higher than ever. This is a great opportunity.”
“I’m sure it is.”
“Yeah. I know it is.” Her smile never wavered, I had to give her that, and she even smoothed back the frayed hair strands. “So,” now her eyes snapped to attention. She was going in for the kill. “I didn’t believe it when I was told, but tonight I saw it for own eyes. You and Carter Reed. Imagine that.”
“Yeah,” my tone chilled. “Imagine that.”
“That’s great. Well, if the reports are right. You know, if he got out of the mob and everything. But damn, Emma. I’m so proud of you.”
My smile was stretched thin. Did I have time to hurt this girl? “Proud of me?”
“Yes. He’s gorgeous. I mean, I know what he looks like, but he’s so much more in person. I can’t believe it.” Then a look twitched in her eye. Revenge? Anger? “And I heard that your brother was his best friend. That’s so nice of him to reach out to you, you know, to honor your brother’s memory. The media should really report how generous he must be.”
Nope. I caught it now. A smug pretentious look, that’s what it was.
“Really?” My eyebrow went up. My hand turned into a fist.
Amanda moved first. Damn her. She pushed me back. “I’m really sorry, but we have to get going. I’ll make sure to tell him your message.”
Tamra blinked. Her mouth opened a fraction.
Amanda finished, “I’m sure he’ll see it that way, that’s he’s being generous by being with his best friend’s sister. I’m sure he won’t take offense to that at all, but that’s my opinion. All I know is that he really loves Emma so I’m sure he won’t take it in the degrading way you actually mean it to be.”
A small growl came from me.
Amanda turned and pushed me back. “We’re going to the bathroom, remember?”
Yes. I had things to do. I’d never been friends with Tamra before, but now I wanted to yank her hair and slam her against the hallway. We were that type of friends now. And I knew there were so many others girls just like her.
“Let’s go.”
“Fine.” My teeth ground against each other. As we went further down the hallway, we came to another one and paused. I glanced over. “You know we’re not going to the bathroom.”
“Do we know where we’re going?”
“Nope” I answered.
“Okay.” She nodded. “Do we know what we’re doing?”
“Nope.”
“Is he doing mob stuff?”
“Yes.” I didn’t falter. She deserved to know what she was walking into.
“Glad we’re on the same page.”
I caught the disapproval in her tone and pulled her to a stop. Then I faced my now oldest friend besides Carter and hoped she saw how much this meant to me. “I love him.”
“I know.” But she faltered.
She didn’t. Or she didn’t believe it. I touched her arm again. “I grew up with him. He was family to me.”
“He abandoned you.”
Now the truth was out.
“No.” I shook my head.
“Yes, he did.” Her eyes grew hard. “I defended you just now, but he left you. And I know that he’s not with you because of your brother, but it still pisses me off that he left you in the first place. You told me stories about the foster homes, Emma. You’ve never mentioned Carter Reed at all, not until,” her voice lowered and she moved closer, “you know. So no, I don’t think he’s family and I don’t think he loves you.”
My mouth fell open. How could she think any of this? Thoughts and betrayal raced through me when she continued, “I think he wants you. Yes. I think that. But he wouldn’t love you because he wouldn’t have let you grow up alone. You were alone when I met you.”
“I had Mallory.”
“Who you took care of, all the time. You were alone.”
My eyes got big. I couldn’t believe Amanda said that.
She wasn’t finished. “I loved Mallory. I did. And I loved the group we had, all four of us, but you were my friend. I took care of her when you left. I did it for you. Mallory’s never taken care of you back. It’s always been one-sided, and I think you were just grateful she allowed that. So yes, Emma, you were alone until we became friends.”
I opened my mouth.
“And I haven’t left you now either. I know I’m roommates with Theresa. I know she’s taken me under her wing and I’ll always be grateful, but you are my best friend. You are my sister. That’s how it is, so even though I don’t approve of whatever you’re about to do, I’m still with you. I’m here. I’m with you.”
She ended it with a dramatic nod.
“Okay.” I didn’t know what else to say.
Her eyebrow arched up.
“Let’s go find Carter then.”
And she gestured for me to take the lead.
So I did.
A large group stumbled past the hallway to one end. I went the other.
Amanda and I looked all over the hotel. They could’ve been anywhere, but just as we began to head back in defeat, I saw some big muscle-bound guys at the end of one hallway. It was where the larger suites were located. I touched Amanda’s arm. “Let’s go to my office quick. I have a master key that’ll let us in.”
An eyebrow went up. “You think we’ll have to break into a room?”
“No. That’s why I’m getting the master.”
“Oh.” She nodded. “You go. I’ll stay in case they leave.”
“Okay.” I hurried off, but when I returned there was no Amanda. The guys were still there. Their hands were inside their suit jackets and a bulge was underneath, as if they were holding their guns close. I started forward. I could go into the suite beside that one. It was empty and I knew the patio was right next door. If I couldn’t hear through the walls, I would have to try the patio. As I started forward, my heart pounding in my ears, a hand wrapped around my arm and I was lifted backwards.
Before I could scream, a hand muffled it. My eyes got big. I couldn’t fight back. It happened so quick, but I was shuffled into a different room. There were guys everywhere. Mike. Thomas. These were Carter’s guys. Sagging in whoever had a firm grip on me, I didn’t fight as I was carried into another adjourning room and then dumped on a bed. Amanda gave me a shaky grin from the bed beside it. She was rubbing her head, but her eyes flitted up and locked on whoever had been holding me. Color warmed her cheeks before she jerked her gaze away.
Frowning, I looked up and froze. It was the guy from Carter�
�s photograph. The scary one. The one with the scar that ran horizontally over his forehead. He was glaring down at me, even more intimidating in person than over the image. If I didn’t know he worked for Carter, I would’ve been sure my life was done.
I rasped out, “Where’s Carter?”
“Where do you think?” he grunted back, going back to the other room.
As he left us alone, I asked Amanda, “Are you okay?”
She nodded, rubbing the back of her neck this time. “He grabbed you too, huh?”
“Yeah.”
She grimaced. “It was more shocking than anything. Who is he?”
“He works for Carter.”
“I work with Carter.” He had returned, his hostility barely in check. Raking me from head to toe, I felt as if he could read my thoughts and felt all the nerves inside of me. It was disconcerting. Carter did that as well, but it was more from him. This guy made me feel violated. I crossed my arms over my chest and glared back.
A small smile flitted over his face. It was gone as quick as it appeared and I wondered if I’d even seen it in the first place. Maybe I was searching for a sign of friendliness? Either way, his silent stare wasn’t helping Carter at all. I demanded, “Where is he?”
“He is in a meeting.”
“I know. Where?”
The guy went to the window and peered out.
“It’s none of your bus-”
“Gene.” A guy poked his head in the room. Grim. “It started.”
This was Gene?
Grabbing a gun that’d been on a table, he held a radio in his other hand and rushed from the room. All the guys except Mike followed after him. When he stopped in our room and gave me a tentative grin, I sighed. He didn’t know it, but I wasn’t going to let him baby-sit me.
He caught the defiant look from me, but took his post by the door.
“What’s going on?” Amanda sat on my bed. She kept wringing her hands together in her lap. “What if Theresa comes and looks for us? You don’t think she’s going to walk into that, do you?”
Theresa was the least of my worries at that moment. Standing up, I went to press my ear against the wall behind us.
“What are you doing?”
I waved her off. I couldn’t hear if she talked. But it didn’t matter. I still couldn’t hear much. So I grabbed a glass from the coffee station and pressed it against the wall. I heard a little bit more. Shouting. Cursing. The sound of someone getting hit. Then I heard someone say, “You’re going to die, Carter Reed.”
That was all I needed.
I ran from the room into the middle one and darted for the patio. They were close enough so I could climb over, but as soon as I stepped foot outside, a guy from the adjourning patio barked, “Hey!”
I wavered. My heart was pounding. The blood was rushing to my head, but I couldn’t get that voice out of my head. Carter was in danger.
“Emma,” Mike hissed from the room. He jerked his hand inside. “Get back here.”
I couldn’t. The guy already saw me and had his gun drawn. I had no other choice except to climb the patio. If I darted back inside, he’d follow. Mike and Amanda would be in danger, so with my chest tight, I started to climb over. The other guy grabbed me around the waist and carried me inside.
My heart stopped when we got there.
Carter was on the floor. Blood was all over him and as he raised his head, he paled when he saw me. His skin was already sickly white and one of his eyes was swollen shut. His nose looked broken, but when he started to rise, a guy delivered a swift kick to his side. He fell back down, holding his arms over his ribs for protection. It was minimal. The guy kicked him some more and a third clipped Carter underneath his chin. His head reared back and his entire body flipped over from that last hit.
He was unconscious.
A shrill laugh came from the corner of the room.
I sucked in my breath and turned. This guy, whoever he was, was going to die. He wore a tuxedo, with his belly extending over his pants. With thin graying hair, he narrowed his eyes at me, but he looked back to Carter. Sick enjoyment was in his gaze as he reached inside his breast pocket. A phone came out and he dialed a number.
No one moved.
My gaze skirted between the sick bastard and Carter. This guy was a guest of the Christmas event. I saw the invitation sticking out of his coat when he had pulled the phone out. He was Noah’s guest, Carter’s guest, and he did this to him?
I jerked forward, but my captor held me close. He scooted back.
NO!
This wasn’t going to happen. Not to Carter. Not to me. This was not happening.
A surge of adrenalin came over me. I couldn’t wiggle out. I couldn’t kick or hit so I sunk my teeth into the guy’s meaty arm. I went as far and as deep as I could. The guy yelled out and dropped me. Cursing, he scooted back and I was free. Rolling to my feet, I felt a second guy reach for me and I spun away. They were all shouting now.
“Get her!”
One reached for my arm, but I slammed my foot on his and then brought my knee up into his groin. He groaned and fell away. A fourth guy came next. I brought my elbow up, but he only chuckled and ducked. I twisted to the side. It didn’t matter. He dodged all my hits and wrapped his arms around me. I was held in another paralyzing hold again with a book shoved between my teeth and his arm now. “We’re not all stupid, honey.”
I seethed and fought back. Nothing. My heart was pumping. My blood was racing. I had to get free. I had to protect Carter.
“Oh, she’s a fighter, huh?” The leader chuckled some more but turned his back to me. He was completely disinterested with me as he spoke into the phone, “We’ve got him. And her too. We got them both.” He paused before nodding. “Yeah, sounds good. Be there in ten.” He turned back and waved a hand to the room. “Pick him up. He wants them both.”
It was then that I looked around the suite. It was filled with men, all in black suits and the same bulges underneath. I knew it was his men that were in the hallway. As two guys moved forward to pick up Carter, the guy laughed to himself. “He’s a fucking idiot, showing up alone to this meeting. Carter Reed, thinks he can take on anyone. Not me, you punk kid. Not me.”
As the guys reached down and one touched under his arm, Carter moved like lightning. He grabbed the guy’s hand, stuck something in his chest, and threw his body into the second man. Jumping to his feet, he pulled out a gun and shot at the three men in the room with me. The leader’s eyes got big, a strangled chortling sound came from him, but he backed against the walls with his hands in the air. At the same time, doors were kicked open. More men flooded into the room with guns already drawn. Mike and Thomas came in from the patio. A hand chopped at the neck of the guy who was holding me. I was released as he fell to the ground, but Mike caught me. He carried me from the room, back out onto the patio and over to the other room.
“Emma,” Amanda cried out and rushed towards me. Mike released me as soon as we were in the room and it was then that everything clicked in me.
Oh my god.
My knees buckled and I slipped to the couch beside me.
“Emma.” Amanda caught me and helped me sit down. She took my hands in hers. “What happened? What were you thinking?”
“I…” I couldn’t even answer that. What had I been thinking? “I wasn’t.” Carter was hurt. I went for him. That’s all I had thought, but I blinked as I realized there was more. I would’ve traded my life for his. My chest swelled and my heart tried to burst from its place. I would’ve given my life for his.
The image of Carter being kicked flashed before my eyes again. I flinched and reeled backwards.
Mike stepped forward, his hand to his ear. “We’re supposed to move you back to the house. Emma, would you please come with me?”
I stood without thinking. Carter had been beaten senseless and he got up. All his movements were precise, as if he knew what he