Cam shrugged. “No clue. He just said he needed to talk to you urgently.”

“Don’t they all.”

He stopped midstride when he saw who was waiting for him on the sidewalk outside the shop, in a suit that must have cost at least two thousand dollars. Carter cursed and rubbed his palm down his face in aggravation.

“Austin Ford.”

Austin nodded. “Carter.”

There was a moment of overwrought stillness while the two men observed each other. Impatient as always, Carter was the first to break it.

“What are you doing here?” he asked with an incensed shake of his head.

“You haven’t been returning any of our calls,” Austin answered, his tone calm and arrogant.

“You dipshits can’t bully me on the phone, so you decide to come down and do it in person?” he retorted.

“We’re not bullying you, Carter. These papers need signing.”

Carter pulled his smokes from his back pocket and lit one, taking a huge drag. He pointed at Austin with the cigarette still between his fingers. “Those papers were drawn up without my consent as a way of shifting me out of the picture. That, my friend, is fucking bullying: underhanded, conceited bullying.”

“Carter.” Austin rubbed the bridge of his nose. “You don’t want anything to do with the company. You’ve said that time and time again, yet when we offer you a way out, you dig in your heels and say no.”

“Bullshit,” Carter snapped. “You’re offering me a way out because the Fords are scared shitless that WCS shareholders will find out your company is owned by a criminal. Ironic, really, when you consider the men you’ve been making deals with. Casari ring any bells?”

Austin’s eyes narrowed infinitesimally. “Carter. Rumors aside, we’re family—”

Carter’s eyes blazed. “Don’t play the family card with me, Austin.” He flicked his cigarette away, missing Austin’s left arm by millimeters. “You weren’t my fucking family when I was doing time in prison, so don’t pretend you give a shit now!”

Austin held his hands up in submission. “Okay, okay. I get it.”

“No,” Carter continued, stepping toward him. “You don’t get it. We may be related, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t think twice about laying your ass out, right here and now, just on general principle.”

Austin refused to back down, even when Carter was nose to nose with him. “That wouldn’t be too good for your parole, now, would it?”

“Fuck you, you sanctimonious shit,” Carter hissed. “Don’t stand there looking down your nose at me like you’re cleaner than a nun’s bedsheets. I could make one phone call about your dealings with Casari and the Feds would be all over your ass.”

“And of course you have proof about Casari and me, right?”

The two men glared at each other, neither blinking nor stepping back.

“We okay here?”

Austin’s eyes flickered toward Max, who was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his wide chest.

“Yeah,” Carter answered, never taking his eyes from Austin’s face. “My cousin was just leaving.”

Austin exhaled in resignation. “Think about what I said, Carter. We’ll be in touch.” He headed back across the street to his car.

Carter watched the car pull away, then turned to Max with a face like thunder.

“What the fuck was he doing here?” Max asked with raised eyebrows.

Carter slumped against the wall next to him. “They’re still tryin’ to buy me out.”

“What did you say?”

“I told him to go fuck himself,” Carter replied with a shrug.

Max bumped his shoulder. “That’s my boy.”

Carter cracked a smile, allowing his body to calm down.

Fucking family? What the hell did Austin know about being family?

The Fords were all the same. All they cared about was getting their hands on his money and having more power. And as much as Carter despised every cent that entered his Swiss bank account every month, he wasn’t about to slink off like some black sheep just because the Fords wanted him to.

Suddenly he bolted upright, wide-eyed and frantic. “Shit!” He patted his chest and jeans pockets as though searching for something. “What time is it?”

“It’s three forty-five, man, why? Where’s the fire?”

“Fuck!” Carter cried, running full speed back into the shop to grab his bag and keys. “I’m fucking late! I’m late!”

He pulled on his leather jacket and shades, and ran back out of the shop toward Kala. “My session!” he called back to Max, then pulled on his helmet and threw his leg over the bike. “I’m late and I said I wouldn’t be! I told her I wouldn’t be!”

“Oh, the tutor,” Max replied as Carter steered the rumbling bike onto the road with his feet. “Hey, if you’re not interested, tell her I’ll show her a damned good time! I always had a thing for redheads.”

He laughed when Carter flicked him the finger before revving the Harley and speeding off like a bat out of hell.

* * *

Kat drummed her nails on the library table in annoyance, wondering why the hell she’d thought Carter had meant it when he’d said that he would be on time.

Oh yes—because she was stupid.

She was stupid for thinking he’d be on time. She was stupid for looking forward to their time together and resenting him for cutting it short. And she was really stupid for having taken time to reapply a little lip gloss before she reached the library.

She pulled the copy of Walter the Lazy Mouse he’d given her out of her bag and reread the note he’d written. “No matter what the obstacles …”

Well, she thought dryly, the biggest obstacle right now was the fact that the guy would be late to his own funeral. She closed the book and glanced at the clock once again. Four ten. She’d waited thirty minutes the last session. She’d wait twenty this time. She picked up her phone, checking for any messages or missed calls from him. Nothing. The only text she had was from Austin, telling her to have a good day and asking if she had plans on Saturday.

She heaved a sigh, avoiding looking across at the shelves of books where Carter’s large, strong, muscular arm had grabbed her and held her so deliciously—

“Dammit!” She dropped her forehead on the table. “It’s just a stupid crush. Get a grip. Just because he’s pretty doesn’t mean you—”

“Who’s pretty?”

Oh. Holy. Shit.

Kat sat up very, very slowly.

“My … shoes,” she answered, extending her foot so Carter could see the gunmetal-gray Gucci pump. “Aren’t they pretty?” She kept her eyes on her shoes, trying to calm her racing heart.

Carter cocked puzzled eyebrows above eyes that raked over the foot, ankle, and leg she was showing him. “Um, they’re not really my style, but, yeah, great.” He pulled off his jacket and flung it over the back of his seat, grimacing. “So, I know I’m late. And I know I said I wouldn’t be.”

“Yes,” she answered sharply, eager for the change in topic. “Again. I know you have stuff you need to do, but so do I. And your being constantly late just isn’t going to work. We’ve already lost fifteen minutes.”

“Give me a break here, Peaches. It’s only our second session. I’m still trying to find my groove and shit with everything. It won’t be like this forever … I’m trying, okay?”

Kat noticed his face was softer, more vulnerable. She frowned. “What happened?”

Carter sat back, looking surprised. “What?”

“Why were you late? What happened?”

He inhaled deeply and rubbed his neck. “There was a … family issue I had to deal with and I lost track of time.”

Family? That was the last thing she thought he was going to say. She knew nothing about his family. “Is everything all right?”

“Um … yeah, everything’s fine.” His eyes darted away. “Can we start now?”

Kat saw the tension creep back into his jaw. The truth was, she barely knew the man sitting before her, and it was cause for concern. She was lusting after him, yet all she knew for sure was that he’d done time, he had a good education, and he worked in a body shop with his best friend. The fact that he made smoking look sexy as all hell and looked fucking amazing in jeans and Ray-Bans was inconsequential.