Chapter 14
Carter
Her body continues to shake, but not because she’s laughing. Royce glances at me through the rearview mirror, tension around his eyes.
“I’ve got you, honey. It’s okay now.”
Her fingers tighten on my coat, and she pulls her legs up so she’s a little ball on my lap. My arms encircle her, and I rest my chin on the top of her head until Royce stops. He parks and quietly slips out of the vehicle.
Once he’s gone, I lift Billie’s head and wipe beneath her eyes with my thumbs. “You’re okay now.”
Her lip quivers, but she nods as she looks away from me.
I don’t want to be pissed at her for going without me, but I am. I fucking knew something was going to happen. She told me she was home. She told me she was there waiting for me. “What happened to me going with you, Billie? I fucking told you not to go.”
“They called last minute. Said they had to change the day, and if I couldn’t make it tonight, I wouldn’t be considered. I knew you had that thing. I called you before I went, I swear.”
“And when I didn’t answer, you just took that as the all clear to put yourself—” I cut myself off and take a breath. “Sorry, I’m not mad at you. I’m fucking furious at the situation.”
“I shouldn’t have gone, I know it. It was too late by the time I figured it out, and I swear, Carter, I listened to you. I know how stupid it was. But the way he made it sound, I just… I don’t even know. It was so stupid, and I’m so sorry.”
I bring my forehead to hers and kiss the tip of her nose. “I’ve never been so fucking scared as I was when you called. I’d go insane if something happened to you.”
“Nothing did, thanks to you.”
“And it never will.”
“Where are we?” She suddenly sits up and looks around the garage half filled with black vehicles.
“Royal Ace Security. Where I work. I just need to get my Jeep.”
“Carter… how did you get to me so fast?”
I want to tell her I wasn’t fast enough. “I was at the event, and it wasn’t far.”
“How did you get in?”
“Don’t worry about that, okay? I got in, I got you, and that’s all there is to it.” And if I wouldn’t have… I can’t even bring myself to think about it.
My phone vibrates, and I pull it out to see a text from Graham telling me the bad guys were arrested, and eleven other girls in a holding room have been released safely. A chill runs through my body, and my arm tightens around Billie. I have to bring her to the police station so she can give her statement. As much as I want to be the one to give her the details of what she was just subjected to, I’d rather be the one to hold her while she listens to someone else give her the horrible news.
“Baby, I need to take you down to the police station so you can give your statement. If you don’t want to, it can wait until tomorrow, but honestly, this is a bigger operation than you know, and any details you can give the detectives will help their case. And possibly help any other girls who might find themselves in the same situation as you.”
“There were more?”
I press my lips together.
“Oh, my God. Did they get out?”
Most of them, but from what I understand from Graham’s message, some went before her, so the real answer to her question is no, but I don’t even have to tell her that. She knows by the completely tormented expression on my face.
“Oh, God.” Then she loses it.
And I can do nothing but hold her while she does.
Billie
“I know this is going to be uncomfortable, so I have Lucinda Reyes coming in to take your statement, okay?”
I nod at the detective I’ve been giving a statement to, and he opens the door while a female detective trades places with him. This is all surreal.
I’ve been sitting here listening to him tell me about this… operation I was unknowingly involved in. I’m kind of numb. It feels like a movie. Like it’s not real life. But when this new detective walks in, waiting for me to give my statement, I know it’s very much real.
She sits in front of me and introduces herself, and although it’s hard, I turn to Carter. He’s been my rock. His arms have been steady around me, and if it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be able to get through this. But he can’t be here for this. “Can you wait in the hallway for me?”
The muscles in his jaw clench, but he gets up and squeezes my arm before he walks out. “If he knows what happened, it’ll make him more upset than he already is.”
“I understand that. I’m sure he’s already mad enough about losing the money.”
“What money?”
“You don’t know?”
I shake my head. “Know what?”
“When he showed up, there was a buy-in of fifty grand just to bid on a girl. He walked right in, offered a hundred and fifty thousand, which is more than double what a girl usually goes for, and left with you. That money is now evidence, and he’ll never get it back.”
“Oh, my God.”
“I realize this is probably inappropriate, but you were very lucky to have a man like that in your life tonight.”
“I know… is he going to get in trouble for buying me?”
She shakes her head. “No. He’s not.”
“Okay, good.”
“Now, tell me what happened. From the beginning.”
So I do. But unlike what I told Carter, I give her all the details.
She hands me a tissue when I describe how he cut the little bit of clothing I had on, and I stood there completely nude. If Carter heard that, I know it’d haunt him. I’ll never tell him. I don’t ever want him to know because then he’ll feel guilty… or even more guilty than he already does even though it’s not his fault at all. It’s not mine either. It’s these sick people who organized this sick auction.
“Thank you, Billie, for your statement. We shouldn’t need any more, but if something changes, I’ll be in touch.”
“Okay, thank you.”
“Remember, you did nothing wrong. These people make a living out of being manipulative. You are not stupid for believing them. You are not wrong for your role in this. Understand?”
“Yes.”
“Good. I’m going to go find your man, then you’re free to go.”
“Thank you.”
She pauses with her hand on the doorknob. “If you wouldn’t have gotten away and called Carter for him to tell Graham, who then got in touch with his contact to let them know they pulled a fast one, you would have been sold as a sex slave. And the eleven other girls who we got out of there, some half your age, Billie, they wouldn’t have made it out. So when you start to feel all the feelings I know you’re going to, just remember that, okay? You saved twelve lives tonight.”
I don’t even bother drying my tears, and when Carter comes in, he cradles me and immediately carries me to his Jeep without saying a word. He holds my hand on the drive back. He silently washes me. Then safely tucks me into bed.
“It wasn’t as bad as you’re thinking.”
“How do you know what I’m thinking?”
“Because I do. I just didn’t want you to hear the details because it’d mess with you.”
He kisses the top of my head. “Get some sleep.”
“Okay.”
“I love you, honey.” His arms are vices around me, and there is no way I could get out of them if I tried.
* * *
I slept through the night and woke up in the same position I fell asleep in. Carter left to go to work a couple of hours ago, but he had Gio come and hang out with me. I told him I was fine, but he insisted.
What happened to me was scary, but I’m choosing to look at the fact that I was lucky. Yes, I felt violated and humiliated, but those men are now going to jail. They didn’t win. And I’m going to continue living my life, the eleven other girls who got out of there are going to live their lives, and even more will get rescued as the days go on and they gather more information, so I remain the victor, and those other girls remain victorious.
Gio didn’t bring anything up from last night, but when he walked into Carter’s apartment, he pulled me in for a hug and said, “I’m glad you’re okay, Cara.”
I appreciate that he’s not talking about it, and I know he’s gotta be bored out of his mind, so I decide to ask him something I’ve wanted to know since I first saw him. “So why don’t you have a girlfriend?”
He looks up from his phone and smiles, then laughs so hard his face reddens. “Holy shit, woman.”
“How is that funny?”
“Listen, I’m glad for Carter, glad for you. Hell, I’m even happy Royce is with Paisley, but what you all have… it’s not for me.”
“Why?”
He sets his phone on the end table and sighs. “You’re nosy.”
“Curious.”
“Do you want some sob story about how a girl broke my heart, and I’ll never be the same? That I’m just waiting for her to come back into my life and put all the pieces back into place? Or do you want me to say I just haven’t found the right one yet?” He raises a brow, actually wanting an answer.
“I just want to know the truth.”
His biceps bulge when he crosses his arms. “I like sex, Billie. Lots of it with as many women who’ll have me. I don’t like being tied down unless it’s to a bed.” He smirks. “And there isn’t a woman in the world who can change that.”
I bite my lip. He’s so lying. “I bet there is. And I also bet that you know exactly who she is. Maybe she doesn’t know, maybe she does, but you sure as hell do.”
He swallows; the only tell I’m onto him.
“And you’ve gotten yourself so convinced you’re a player you don’t even know the rules of the game anymore.”
“Trust me, it’s not a game. And I won’t be played aga—” He clamps his lips closed, and instead of giving a victorious woot, I offer a sympathetic smile, then change the subject.
“How long have you known Carter?”
The tension in his shoulders unwinds as he relaxes on the couch. “About six, seven years.”
“How did you guys meet?”
“At the gym. I was training, and he needed to work his shit out.”
“What shit?”
He tilts his head, assessing me thoughtfully. “Not my place to say. But I will say this. You’re good for him. He’s changed.”
“I think so too, but… never mind.”
“Don’t do that girly shit. Spit it out.”
“It hasn’t been long, and I know he has this macho protective thing going, and I worry that once that wears off, it’ll be like, I don’t know. Boring or something and he’ll change his mind.”
Gio shakes his head. “If I didn’t think you’d take it personally, I’d laugh right now because there is no way what he feels about you is wearing off. I never thought I’d see the day, to be honest, but if I did, I knew it’d be with his ride or die.”
“What happened?” I ask, knowing I’m missing something.
“Not my place to say.”
“Well, it’s my place to say I think you’re a nice guy, Gio. And I hope you find your ride or die.”
After this statement, he laughs again, but someone starts messing with the doorknob, Gio jumps up from Carter’s black leather couch and stands in front of me. His hand goes to the small of his back. The door is like an old flip-book as it opens, and when Carter walks through, both Gio and I sigh. I think having him here with me is overkill, but it gives Carter peace of mind.
“Hey.”
“You didn’t call, asshole.” Gio grabs his phone. “Almost shot your fuckin’ head off.”
Carter sets a bag on the countertop. “Shit, sorry. Everything good?”
“Yeah.”
“Yes.” We say at the same time.
“But I’m outta here before your girl tries to talk to me about relationships anymore.” He turns and winks at me, then he and Carter bump fists before he walks out.
I gravitate toward Carter, and he pulls me to him, wrapping his arms around me and giving me a chaste kiss. “Hi.”
“Hi.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
I tilt my head up. “How was work?”
“Fine. I got my schedule cleared for a little while.”
“You didn’t have to do that.”
“I want to. You don’t have a job right now, and that shit that happened is fucked up, and I don’t want you outta my sight for at least a little while.” He’s almost frantic as he speaks. “I can’t lose you. I almost did, and I just… I need you close for a while. You can get a job in a little bit, but for now, just be with me where I can control what happens.”
I put my hands on his face. “What happened?”
“You were—”
“Not me. Something happened, and this brought up whatever feelings you have from that.”
He steps back. “Nothing happened.”
“You’re lying.”
“Why are you even bringing it up? You were almost fucking sold—”
“But I wasn’t because you saved me. You did that. And there’s something that happened when you were younger—”
“Bullshit. You met my parents. You sat on that couch”—he points at the living room—“and listened to their stories about how I slept with my baby blanket until I was twelve, and that I got the chicken pox twice. They told you that I played Peter Pan in my fifth-grade play, and I had a hamster named Powder who died on Christmas day when I was seven.”
“Those were all stories they told me, though. You haven’t told me anything, Carter. And I haven’t brought it up because I can tell you’re still hurting, but you’re holding back something from me. And whatever it was wasn’t something in a photo album.” Not only was this something I suspected earlier, but it was also something Gio just confirmed.
His fingers tug at his hair, and he walks away from me, pacing in the kitchen in his track pants and a tight white t-shirt.
“Why don’t you ever talk about it? Why don’t you ever let me help you? I know it has something to do with surfing, right?”
And just like that, I get Ice Carter. He pushes away from the countertop and brushes past me.
“What happened?” I beg.
“Nothing.”
“What happened?”
He shakes his head. “I’m not talking about this with you.”
“Have you talked about it with anybody?”
“Yes! Okay, I have. I’ve fucking talked until I was blue in the face, but nothing makes it better. Nothing takes it away. The closest I’ve come to peace is when I’m with you, and I don’t want to talk about it with you. I can’t fucking taint what we have because I can’t live without you.”
My eyes burn, but I don’t let his vows overshadow the real problem. “Did you ever think maybe I could help you get past it?”
“If we’re really gonna do this, baby, why don’t you tell me about your shit? Ladies first and all that.”
“What shit?”
“You know. And the fact that you do and haven’t told me about it is the reason I’d think that you would understand I don’t want to fucking talk about my shit!” He leans into me, and I flinch. All the anger disappears, and he pulls me against him. “Shit, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, honey.”
I wrap my arms around him. “It’s fine. I shouldn’t push. You’re right. I’m sorry.”
“You don’t need to apologize. I should never yell at you like that.”
I don’t disagree but settle into his embrace, which is exactly where I want to be. Forever. But for now, I’ll take today. And I’ll take now.
And I’ll let him hold me all day and laugh a little too loudly when he tries to make a joke. I’ll smile so he thinks I’m doing okay. I’ll talk his ear off so he can’t bring it up.
But what I won’t do is let him feel like he failed me. He didn’t and couldn’t ever. Because it’s impossible for him to fail me when he’s already succeeded in saving me.