KILLIAN
What the hell was Carter doing here? Asshole.
“Go home, sleep this off, and maybe Gisella will forgive you.”
His normal sneer disappeared. “Don’t talk about her.”
Lucy’s gaze flicked between us. It was hard. Foreign.
“I’ll call her and then you’ll be her problem.”
“Shut your mouth, King. You don’t talk about her. You don’t think about her.”
Oh shit. It was going to be that kind of night.
“Are you still pissed about that whole thing? Look, it wasn’t my fault she left for Paris.”
“Yes. It. Is.”
Carter could be meaner than me, which was saying something considering I was pretty much a bastard on a daily basis. Carter usually couldn’t be bothered to expend this much energy.
Blue-blooded with a pedigree stretching to the Mayfield, Charles Evan Carter III mocked us all with his wit and silence.
Except when it came to Gisella.
Even if he’d been whoring around with Sabrina or whoever it was this week, I knew what the score really was with Carter and Gisella. It was a fucking telenovela of drama, passion, and God knew what else.
I wanted no part of it. Unfortunately, I got entangled as soon as Gisella came to me for help.
Dumb ass. This is why no good deed goes unpunished.
“She came to me for a job. I gave her one. That was it. Nothing else.”
“Bullshit. Everything changed after she went over to King. Over to you.”
I didn’t want to do this, not here and definitely not in front of Lucy.
“She was only there for a couple of months. I can’t believe you’re still holding a grudge.”
“You fucking ruined us, Killian! You ruined whatever chance I had with her.”
“No, I didn’t do shit. You’re blaming me for your mess.”
“The blame is right where it belongs. Gisella told me about how you dug for information. I know you, King. You used it to get closer to Gisella, have her share her secrets to try to get her in bed. Are you going to deny it when I’ve seen you do it time and time again?”
Lucy’s head jerked. Her gaze stopped ping-ponging between us. Her little ears were as red as Carter’s face. What did she think?
Because that part about Gisella was true, I only needed one guess. Dammit.
“Carter, we’re friends, right?”
“Define ‘friend’. If it means coming between two people, seducing one of them, and then giving her the money to leave for Paris? Then yes, you are a friend. Class act, King. The best around.”
“That’s not what happened! I never got her in bed, all right? Whatever is going on between you and Gisella is between you two. Leave me out of it.”
“Leave it? Leave it?” He dropped his head back. “You’re here with her.”
“Who?” He didn’t even know Lucy. Never seen her before five minutes ago.
He stabbed a finger towards her. “She proves your type is Gisella. This girl looks like her sister. Tell me it’s coincidence.”
“That’s exactly what it is.”
“Liar! You’re fucking in love with Gisella and since you can’t have her, you’re going for the next best thing! I should return the favor, don’t you think?”
Carter ducked into the alley, snatching Lucy with him. Before I could fuck him up, all hell broke loose.
Lucy roared, fucking roared, and applied a beatdown I never saw coming.
She went for the ribs, his nose, took her shoe off and Madre de Dios! I had just gotten within feet of them when Carter landed a lucky push and knocked Lucy down on her ass.
I saw red.
Never mind that Carter looked stricken with guilt. Never mind that he extended a hand for her to take or that he spat out some sort of apology.
He put his hands on Lucy and for that, he stopped being my friend and became my enemy.
I ripped Carter away. His shirt tore beneath my grip. I punched him in the mouth until blood coated my knuckles. Carter dropped to the ground. It wasn’t enough.
Pressure built steadily. It became a band around my skull. My foot kept connecting with Carter’s ribs and it still wouldn’t stop. Even when he curled into a protective ball and was long past being a threat.
All I saw was him shoving her away. No one could touch Lucy in violence and survive it.
“Killian! Stop!”
I didn’t believe her. Lucy couldn’t want that, not and have already beat the shit out of him.
She wanted Carter to hurt and I’d give my goddess whatever blood she demanded.
“Killian, please! Stop!”
That was when I realized the police showed up. Lucy stared at the lights bouncing off the brick walls with horror. She ran up on me and urged me to go. We’d be safe as long as they didn’t catch us.
Carter laughed, spitting blood out of cracked lips. He wouldn’t stop laughing, even when the officers knelt by his side and radioed for an ambulance.
Then the cuffs came out.
Within seconds, I was marched out of the alley and into a squad car. Right before I ducked my head to get in the back, I saw Jorge. His face said it all.
I was well and truly fucked.
Gramps was definitely going to kill me.