“How old were you?”

“Six.” Carter cleared his throat. “Within two years, my mom was dead,” he continued. “And I was being sent to boarding school via my mother’s wishes in her will. My father, he just went along with it …” Carter trailed off, clearly uncomfortable.

“I was thrown out of most of the schools I went to. I hated every fucking minute. If I wasn’t thrown out of school, I ran away. The older I got, the more I came to understand that if I made a big enough noise, caused enough shit, the more likely it was that the Fords would have to deal with me instead of shipping me off in the hopes that I’d never come back.”

Kat’s hand rubbed circles on Carter’s shoulder. Her heart broke wide-open for the small boy within the man before her.

“I don’t know how he was with you, Kat,” Carter said, “but Austin Ford is dangerous. He’s selfish and greedy.” Hate lit his irises. “And it makes me fucking sick that he’s been anywhere near you.”

“I’m sorry.” What more could she say?

Not caring where they were, Carter wound his arms around her waist. “I’m sorry, too. I’m sorry I scared you.”

“You didn’t.”

“Yes, I did.” Carter rubbed his palm over the small of her back. “And I’m sorry. I’m just …”

“I know.” She knew how hurt she would be if the circumstances were reversed.

He pressed his lips together. “The idea of you being with anyone makes me wanna tear the city up,” he confessed. “But him?” He shook his head slowly. “Thinking that you’d been with him fucking killed me.” His heart thrummed under her palm.

“I’m with you,” she whispered. “I promise. I don’t want anyone else.”

His eyes burned. “I don’t want anyone else, either. It’s so perfect when it’s just us, away from all this shit.”

Kat fought through the haze of delight his words brought, thinking carefully for a moment. “You know, I have a friend … Ben.”

Carter’s brow furrowed, menace skipping across his face. “Ben? A friend, huh? Should I be worried?”

Kat brushed away the deliberate anxiety wrapping his question with a roll of her eyes. “Hardly. He’s a lawyer, among other things.” She bit the inside of her mouth. “He could help you. With Austin.”

“How could he help?”

Kat chuckled. “Ben could find dirt on just about anybody. That’s his job.” She shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe he could find something you could use against him.”

Carter’s lips twitched. “Fight fire with fire, you mean.”

“It’s worth a shot, right?”

Carter considered her offer. “I know Austin has been known to do business with some dodgy fucking characters. Adam has always been the one to clean up his shit.”

Kat smiled. “That sounds like Ben’s forte.”

Carter regarded her carefully. “You’d do that for me?”

“I want you to have what’s rightfully yours. You deserve that.”

His exhale shook from him. “You’re something else, you know that?” The pad of his thumb whispered across her bottom lip. “Thank you. I owe you.” He paused. “Maybe I could do something for you.” He nibbled his lip adorably, hesitant. “We could— I could take you … I mean, do you— What, um, I was wondering. I … Dammit.” He rubbed his face. “I’m shit at this.”

Kat made to move back, to give him some space, but his hand flew to her waist, stopping her.

Carter closed his eyes and spoke in one long breath. “Do you have plans for this weekend? Because if you don’t I’d like to take you somewhere. If you don’t want to I understand, but I’d really like you to come with me. I want to spend some time with you. I mean, I don’t know …” He muttered a number of colorful curses before he shoved the tips of his fingers into his jean pockets.

Kat folded her hands together nervously. “Just us?”

Carter’s eyes shot up, blazing blue and hopeful. “Yeah.”

She cupped his cheek, smiling warmly. “I’d love to.”

Carter blinked, not attempting to hide his surprise. “Really?”

Kat laughed. “I said so, didn’t I?”

His chest rumbled with a low self-mocking laugh.

He glanced toward the empty reading room doorway and reached for her hand, clasping it gently between his large fingers. He tilted his head to the right. “I know it’s against session rules, but I’m fucking dyin’ to kiss you.”

Kat instinctively licked her lips.

“Just a small one.” His thumb snuck under the edge of her blouse, skimming her stomach, igniting the glowing embers in her blood. “Just a small taste.”

Kat moaned deep in her throat, hearing the words he’d spoken the first time he’d ever kissed her. As soon as their lips met, her body relaxed. She forgot about the rules and risks. She forgot about Austin, her mother, and Beth.

All that mattered were his hands on her face, the strength of his body, and the way his tongue possessed every inch of her mouth.

She grasped his belt loops and pulled him closer, not giving a damn whether anyone saw.

24

Kat answered her cell phone on the third ring. “Ben, how are you?”

His smile could be heard in his answering words. “I’m great. How’re you?”

“I’m okay.”

“That’s good. That’s good. So, um, Beth called last night. She said you’ve still not spoken.”

Kat sighed. “No.”

Ben hummed. “Kat, I—”

“I know, Ben,” Kat interrupted sharply. “I’ll talk to her when I’m ready, okay?”

“Okay.”

Kat pressed her lips together and took a deep breath, fighting off the sadness that pressed heavier every day she didn’t answer Beth’s or her mother’s calls. “So did you get Carter’s e-mail?” she asked, changing the subject quickly. “Were the details enough?”

Ben chuckled. “Oh yeah. That’s what I was calling to let you know. Everything’s ready to go with Ford tomorrow. What Carter sent was fantastic. Tell him thanks. How did he get hold of that stuff?”

“I have no idea. I didn’t dare ask.”

“Well, it made for very interesting reading. Seems our boy Austin has been playing with those he shouldn’t. The Feds would have a field day with this shit, and if his shareholders got a whiff, having an ex-con on the board members list would be the least of his worries.”

Kat didn’t doubt it. Since she had asked Ben to help Carter with reclaiming his business, Ben had been working like a demon, calling in favors and hunting for any type of dirt he could find. Unsurprisingly, it hadn’t taken long.

“You’re meeting tomorrow?” Kat asked, getting into her car in Arthur Kill’s parking lot.

“Yeah.” Ben laughed. “Austin must be curious to have set up the meeting on a Saturday.”

“You’ll let me know how it goes?”

“Of course.”

“Great.” Kat leaned her head back against the seat. “Thank you, Ben. Truly. You don’t know what this means to me.”

“Of course I know what this means to you, Kat. Why do you think I agreed to do it?”

Kat smiled. “You’re my favorite.”

“I know. You just remember that when your millionaire boyfriend wants to loan out one of his supercars.”

“He doesn’t have any supercars, Ben,” Kat replied with a laugh.

“Then he’s a damn fool. You take care, yeah?”

“I will. Love to Abby.”

Kat left Arthur Kill with a suitcase in the trunk and a flutter in her heart. After ending the call, she turned off her cell phone, ignoring the two voice mails from her mother. They hadn’t spoken in over a week and, although Kat missed her, the relief that came from not having to hear the relentless daily diatribe outweighed it all. Guilt had threatened, but she’d pushed it down, deep into the gulf that continued to widen between the two women.

This weekend was about her and Carter. Everything else was irrelevant.

Excitement bloomed in her belly. He’d been incredibly coy about what he had planned and where they were staying, giving her brief directions and cryptic clues she’d spent the whole week trying to figure out.

Thankfully, the drive was easy enough. Kat wasn’t the best with directions, but she knew she was headed toward the coast, specifically the Hamptons, which confused her to say the very least. West Hampton Dunes was an extremely affluent area, filled with people who were more Labradors, pipes, and slippers rather than metal, tattoos, and leather. Kat smiled. She was sure Carter stuck out like the proverbial sore thumb around these parts.