“I just don’t want anyone to get hurt because of me,” I argued.
“Carter.” It was just one word, but it sucked all the fight out of me. I knew Austin would never agree, and that his stubborn butt would follow me wherever I went.
I tugged on the end of my ponytail in frustration. “Fine.”
Detective Massey cleared his throat. “For what it’s worth, it would be best for our investigation if you stayed within LAPD’s jurisdiction. If you can hole up at Austin’s house for a week or so, give us some time to investigate, that will help. I know it’s not fun to feel confined, but it might be safest.”
I nodded, resigned. “I’ll do whatever you think is best.”
“I do think you should let your parents know what’s going on and any other close friends and family that you haven’t informed yet. They need to be aware in case the stalker reaches out to them in search of information. You can give them my phone number, and I’ll answer any questions they might have.”
“I appreciate that.” I had stiffened at the idea of calling my parents, who were going to freak, but I knew it was time. As it was, my mom might murder me for not telling her sooner.
Austin took my hand in his, squeezing it in reassurance. “It’s time, baby.”
“I know.” I let my head drop to his shoulder. “My dad is going to flip.”
“It’ll be okay.”
The next hour passed in a blur of answering the same questions all over again to different police officers. Austin and I were now in the back of John’s SUV, heading home with a police tail. I was trying to wrap up a phone call with my parents who, as I had suspected, freaked the frick out. I thought I had finally convinced them that it was best for me to stay in LA and that they should not fly out here to be with me, when my dad barked, “I want to talk to Austin.”
I took a deep breath and turned toward Austin, covering the bottom of my cell with one hand. “He wants to talk to you.”
Austin plucked the phone from my hand. “Hello, Mr. McCarthy.” I couldn’t hear what my dad was saying, and Austin’s face stayed a stony mask, only muttering a few, “mm-hmm”s and “I understand”s. Finally, after a few more moments of silence, Austin said, “Sir, I’ll protect her with my life. I promise you.” Then, he hung up. My body was at war with itself. My stomach wanted to heave at the thought of Austin hurt in any way. My heart, on the other hand, was doing cartwheels at the knowledge that Austin loved me so deeply.
Austin handed me back my phone, and I shoved myself under his arm. “I love you, but don’t you dare do anything stupid that would result in you dying on me.”
Austin kissed the top of my head. “Not going anywhere, Firecracker.” I let the warmth of his kiss seep into me and closing my eyes, I fell asleep.
39
Austin
Rage like I had never known before pulsed through my veins as the SUV wound its way through the canyon roads of the Hollywood Hills. I pulled Carter tighter against me, taking a deep breath to inhale that familiar flowery scent I loved so much. I hoped feeling her body safely tucked next to mine and breathing her in would calm me. No such luck.
Nothing could ease the burning sensation in my chest. Carter could have died today. Could have been wiped from this Earth. She would have left me with a very bleak and empty existence. My body pulsed with the need to end whoever had threatened my Firecracker. But I didn’t know where to direct that anger. There were too many suspects. Nothing was in my control, and I fucking hated it.
John slowed the SUV as we approached the gate. He paused while one of the security guards plugged in the code, and the doors swung open. “You’re gonna have to have a talk with your guys,” I said in a low voice, not wanting to wake Carter.
John’s hold on the wheel tightened. “I will. They’re all carrying, but they’ll be extra vigilant and start wearing vests.”
“Good. I don’t want anyone getting hurt.”
“Not on my watch.” John brought the car to a stop in front of the house. “Want me to lift her out?”
I couldn’t handle having anyone else’s hands on my girl at this moment, so I shook my head. “I got her.” I carefully opened my car door and slipped an arm under Carter’s legs.
She jolted. “What?”
Shit. She was jumpy, and with good reason. I brushed the hair away from her face. “It’s okay. We’re home. You fell asleep in the car. I was just going to carry you inside.”
Carter’s face softened. “It’s okay. I’m awake. I can walk.”
I sent a small smirk her way. “You sure about that?” My firecracker was a great many wonderful things, but coordinated was not one of them.
She slapped my shoulder. “Yes, you big jerk. Now, out of my way.”
I retreated from the car, allowing her to exit. As soon as her feet touched the ground, I pulled her to my side. She collided against me with an “oof.”
“Gonna need you close for a while. Need you to be okay with that.”
Carter looked up at me with those big doe eyes, eyelashes fluttering. “Okay, Austin.”
I relaxed a little at her easy acquiescence. I was going to keep her locked away and under my constant supervision until this psycho was caught. My phone buzzed as we entered the house, and I slipped it from my pocket. When I read the name, I scowled at the screen. Fuck, this day just kept getting better.
I glanced at Carter, who had taken Blue’s leash from John and was unhooking it. This was not going to go well, but I had learned my lesson, I was going the route of upfront honesty. “Baby.” Carter rose. “Lexi’s calling right now. Do you want me to answer?”
The look on her face cut me to the core—suspicion, doubt, betrayal. “Why does she have your number? Or if she had it from months ago, why haven’t you blocked her? Unless you weren’t sure if you might want to call her up again?”
I fought the desire to snap. Would this forever be an issue? “Carter, I sometimes had to talk to her for work. You know that.” I ran a hand roughly over my head. “I thought we were past this. At some point, you have to trust me.”
Carter blew out a long breath, deflating as tears misted her eyes. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I said that. I do trust you.” She collapsed against my chest, and my arms automatically encircled her lean frame. She was so delicate. Yet so tough at times, that I forgot just how delicate she really was. She tipped her face up towards mine. “I really do. She just brings out the worst in me.”
I brushed my lips against hers. “It’s okay. Everything will be okay.”
“I love you, Austin.”
“Love you, too.” My phone buzzed to life again in my hand. Glancing at the screen, I grimaced.
Carter stiffened in my arms but said, “Go ahead, answer it.”
I nodded, teeth clenched. Hitting accept and then the speakerphone button, I greeted, “What do you want, Lexi?”
“YOU RAT BASTARD! YOU CALLED THE FUCKING COPS ON ME?!”
Great. Lexi was in full drama queen-mode. “I didn’t call the cops on you. The cops are interested in you as a person of interest because of your shady-ass behavior over the past year. It’s no one’s fault but your own.”
“You’ll regret this,” she seethed. “You and that goody-two-shoes bitch of yours!” The line went dead as my stomach dropped.
“She’s crazy,” Carter whispered.
“We need to call Massey and let him know what happened.” Carter nodded, lifting a hand to cover a yawn. “I’ll do that. Why don’t you go lay down for a bit? I’ll order us some dinner after I get off the phone with Massey.”
“Okay.” Carter stretched to her tiptoes, giving me the briefest of kisses. “Thanks for taking such good care of me.”
“Always.”
Carter shuffled off towards my room, Blue following close behind while I placed a call to Detective Massey. Thirty minutes later, I had given Massey the rundown and ordered Thai food for Carter and myself. Grabbing a bottle of water, I went to check on my girl. Easing the be
droom door open, I found her curled in a ball in the center of the bed, Blue right by her side.
My heart seized. I never wanted this woman to leave me. A tremor wracked my body as I thought about how much I loved her. I was terrified by it. But I wasn’t going to let that fear keep me away from her. She was my everything.
40
Carter
I sat at the kitchen table, willing my coffee to do its job and wake me up. The night before, I had slept like the dead, and ten hours later, I was still having trouble waking up. I took another sip, and Austin chuckled. “Still not quite awake yet?” The sexy jerk had already done a two-hour workout this morning. I grunted in response, and he chuckled again.
The vibrations my phone sent across the table as it started to ring caused me to jump. I snatched it up, and then my eyes went to Austin. “It’s Detective Massey.”
Austin was instantly on alert. “Answer and put him on speaker.”
I punched a couple of buttons on my phone’s screen and then greeted, “Hi, Detective Massey, you’re on speaker with me and Austin.”
“Good morning, Carter, Austin. I have some good news for you.”
I perked up. “We love good news.”
There was a smile in Detective Massey’s voice when he spoke. “Well, I love being able to give it. We tracked down the burner phone, and you’ll never believe who it belongs to.”
“Who?” Austin and I said at the same time.
“Joe Harker, your past student’s father. It looks like he’s our guy. I’ve seen this sort of thing happen before: anger turning into a different kind of obsession altogether.” I reached across the table and tried to grab Austin’s hand, but he was already on his feet and coming around. He pulled me to my feet and wrapped his arms around me, kissing the side of my face that wasn’t scratched.
Massey continued talking. “Two officers located him just a few minutes ago, and they’re bringing him to the TMU headquarters. Contacting you was a violation of his parole so he won’t be getting out anytime soon, even if we didn’t have other charges to bring against him. I’ll update you as we know more, but I thought you’d like to know you can breathe a little easier now.”
I squeezed Austin more tightly. “Thank you so much.”
“Thank you,” Austin echoed. “We really appreciate all your hard work.”
“Happy to help, I’ll be in touch.”
With that, I clicked the end button on my screen and started doing a happy dance all over the kitchen. Austin, having had enough of this, swept me up into his arms and kissed me soundly. “You are such a goof.”
“But you love me.”
“I do love you.” He kissed me again.
“So, what do you want to do now that we’re free?” I asked.
“I want to celebrate.” Austin lifted me up, and I wrapped my legs around his waist, my robe flapping around us. He set me on the counter and reached for the belt holding my robe together. As he loosened the knot, my breaths started to come faster, and my nipples tightened. Slipping the fabric off my shoulders, I was suddenly completely bare to him. He stepped back, his gaze darting over my skin. Heat came to each place his eyes touched.
“You are so damn beautiful, I’ll never get enough of looking at you.” He stepped closer. “Each bend.”—his hand grazed my knee heading up to my hip—“each curve.” He bent down, kissing the top of my breast. “Each swell. I’ll never get enough.” Sparks danced across my skin with each caress.
I reached between us and pulled Austin to me by his waistband. “Need to feel you.” I helped him peel out of his t-shirt while using my feet to push his workout pants down. My hands roved over his torso and chest, fingers dipping into the grooves of muscles and tracing his nipples.
Suddenly, his lips were on mine again, hungrier, fiercer than before. It was like we couldn’t get close enough. And then I felt him at my entrance. “Yes.” It came out breathy because I was panting. He pushed inside me, moving slowly. I could tell he was holding back to keep from hurting me, but there was no pain, only a delicious stretching sensation. But I needed more. “More. Please, more.”
Austin started to move, his thrusts picking up speed. His eyes burned into mine, holding me captive, drawing me into him in every possible way. This was why I had waited. Because I hoped sex could be like this. Firing every nerve ending and singeing my soul, all while making me feel seen and understood at the deepest level.
My eyes misted. The coil within me tightened. Austin reached between our bodies and applied just the right amount of pressure to send me careening over the edge. My walls contracted around him, and he grunted out his release.
Slowly, I came back to myself, Austin’s forehead was pressed against mine, arms braced on either side of my body. He gently pulled himself from my body. “Was that too much?”
I leaned forward, pressing my lips to his. “That was perfect.”
Austin’s eyes softened as he pulled my robe around my shoulders. “Shower?” he asked. I nodded, and before I knew what was happening, Austin had lifted me into his arms and was carrying me through the house towards his bedroom. While I was wrapped in my robe, he was still buck-naked. “Austin! Someone could see, there’s still security around.”
“Don’t give a fuck, Firecracker.” I reached around and pinched his bare butt. “Hey!” he hollered.
“That’s what happens when those bare buns are out for all to see.”
Austin set me down outside the shower and turned on the water, holding a hand under the flow until it was warm. Then, he stepped in, pulling me with him. He reached for the body wash I used, squirting some into his palm and then rubbing his hands together. He turned me away from him and started massaging the soap into my back. “I could get used to this.”
“Could you, now?”
“Mm-hmm,” I hummed.
I felt his body move closer to mine, and his lips touched the shell of my ear. “Move in with me,” he whispered.
I froze. “What?” My heart thudded in my ears. Had I heard him correctly?
He rested his hands on my hips. “Move in with me. I realize now that Joe is in custody there’s no reason for you to stay, but I don’t want you to go. I’m selfish, and I want you with me all the time.” My heart seized. He wanted me to stay. Not because I was in danger, but because he wanted me with him.
I looked into his eyes, searching for…I don’t know, a thread of uncertainty or doubt. I couldn’t see any. “Are you sure? Isn’t this a little soon?” I wanted to give him an out, just in case this offer had been made in the heat of the moment. But I was all in. There was no one I’d rather spend time with, no one else with whom I’d want to build a home. He was it. He was everything.
“I’m sure. You’re my best friend, my favorite person, the love of my life. And if we can get through this past month, I’m pretty sure we can get through anything.” My heart did summersaults in my chest. “What do you think?” he pressed.
“I think…” I paused, “Yes!” I threw my arms around him. “When?” I asked, leaning into him, my lips almost resting against his.
“Today? Yesterday?”
I giggled. “Today.” I was smiling so hard, my cheeks hurt. I grabbed the body wash and started a furious scrub. “Hurry up, I’ve got packing to do. Well, searching through my trashed stuff to see if there’s anything left to pack, but you get the picture.”
Austin chuckled but reached for his own, more manly smelling, soap. “Calm down, I’ll help you pack.”
I pushed Austin aside so that I could rinse the suds off my body, being careful not to wet the hair that was in a bun on top of my head. I didn’t have time for blow-drying this morning. “You can help me with the heavy lifting, but I’ll do the packing.”
I looked up to see Austin had pulled a full-on pout. “I can help pack.”
I bit back a smile. “I love you, but you’ll just want to throw everything into boxes and call it a day. And you’ll drive me nuts if you’re just hanging around while I�
��m trying to organize things.” He ushered me aside to rinse himself but didn’t deny anything. “You know I’m right.”
Austin turned off the water, and I stepped from the shower, grabbing us both towels. “Why don’t you just drop me off on your way to the gym?” I paused as I handed him his towel. “Oh, shoot, I forgot you don’t have your car.” His Range Rover was currently under the care and inspection of the LAPD. “Oh, well, we can just Uber.”
Austin wasn’t saying much as he toweled off, just eying me. Finally, he said, “Don’t be mad.” Just the sentence every girl wanted to hear from her boyfriend.
“What?” I asked. Then thinking I knew what he was going to say, I kept right on talking. “I can be in the house by myself for a few hours. Joe’s in custody, there’s nothing to worry about.” I walked out of the bathroom in search of clothes.
Austin followed closely behind me. “It’s not that. I mean, I’m not crazy about you being there by yourself, but that wasn’t what I didn’t want you to be mad about. I got you something, and I don’t want you to fight me on it.”
I narrowed my eyes skeptically at him. “If this is another Taser, I think I’m good with the one you got me already.”
A smile stretched over his lips. “It’s not a Taser. Come on. Get dressed, and I’ll show you.”
As quickly as possible, I lotioned and dressed, and then followed Austin through the house. I was confused when he started heading towards the garage, but then I got excited. “Holy heck, did you get me another dog?!”
Austin scoffed, “Fuck, no!”
I pulled on his arm. “Hey, now, that would be a great gift. Blue could use a sibling.” At the sound of his name, Blue lifted his head from where he was snoozing on the couch.
“That dog is a terror. I’m not getting you another one.”
Further To Fall Page 24