Carter Reed(15)

His coffee pot was empty. “You want another pot started?”

He jerked his head up, as if seeing me for the first time. “Oh. Uh. Yeah. Thanks.” He ran a hand over his face, waking himself up. “She’s asleep?”

I dumped the little bit of coffee left down the sink and refilled it with water. “Yeah. It took an hour.”

He nodded.

“Is Amanda still here?”

“No.” The exhaustion had turned into a glaze over his eyes. “She went home for a break. She’ll be back tomorrow. I think she said something about getting new clothes or something.”

After pouring the water in his coffee pot, I rummaged through his cupboards, looking for his coffee grounds. “And maybe food.” His cupboards were sparse except the huge bin of ground coffee beans. I put two healthy scoops in the machine and hit the button. It wasn’t long before it started to gurgle to life.

“Yeah, I haven’t gone to the grocery store in awhile. I’ve been too nervous…” He trailed off, lost in thought as he stared at the table.

“Too scared to leave?”

He jerked his head in a nod. “Yeah.” A sad laugh left him. “I’m a grown man, and I’m terrified. I can’t step out the door. I’m afraid they’re out there, that they know, they’re watching. And her.” He glanced in Mallory’s direction. “I can’t touch her. I tried to help her when she asked. She didn’t want his touch, but now it’s mine that disgusts her.”

“No, it’s not. It’s his. Trust me. You did help her. You are helping her.”

He lifted stricken eyes to me. “I’ve been an ass**le to you. Why are you being nice to me?”

I shrugged but huddled back in my chair. I understood. “Because you want to help her but don’t know how. I understand. Believe me.”

He shook his head with his eyes closed. “I have no idea what to do, Emma. None whatsoever. She has to go to work. I have to go to work. I called and covered for us, but that’ll give us a week. We have to figure out how to clean this mess up in a few more days.” He looked towards the door again. “I’m so scared to go out there. You have no idea.”

“I do. I really do.”

Then he sighed. The momentary truce ended as he pushed up from the chair. “I’m going to clean up. That’s all I’ve been doing. I just clean. Clean the dishes, clean the table, clean the floors. I have to do something.” A bitter laugh escaped him. “I gotta clean myself. I’ll be in the shower if you—if she needs me.”

He was scared to step outside that door, but that was all I wanted to do. “I’m going out on the patio for some fresh air.” Maybe a new idea would come to me, but as he ignored me and left, I didn’t think it would come to me.

As I sat on his small patio, curled on one of his loungers, I couldn’t shake the idea that maybe I should go on the run. Mallory didn’t kill him. I did. He’d been hurting her. He hadn’t been hurting me. She could offer me for her safety, and I would be long gone.

My stomach rolled over and over. I felt nauseous, but I hugged myself harder. My arms pressed tighter to my stomach. It didn’t matter. I wasn’t going to stop the unsettled feeling inside of me. It wasn’t going to go away. I had tried with Carter. He left me so that gave me one other alternative. I would go away. Mallory would be safe.

With my new decision made, I was in no hurry to leave. I stayed in that chair for a long time. The night air was cold and I knew my body was shivering, but I didn’t feel it. I couldn’t. All I could focus was on the next step. Where would I go? How would I go? I needed money. I knew that much, but I didn’t have enough set aside. My job was better than all of theirs, but it still wasn’t enough. The little in my savings wouldn’t be enough. Ben and Mallory both worked at a fancy clubhouse. They didn’t make enough to help me at all. Amanda was a teacher. She might’ve had a little bit, but I knew she worked in the café during the summer to make ends meet.

I was on my own.

I sat outside for a long time. Ben came to the patio door and peered through it. When he saw me, he came out and gave me a blanket, but I didn’t leave the chair. I didn’t want to move, not yet, but I took the added warmth he offered. I wrapped the blanket around me, and he went back inside. The lights turned off and I was left in the dark again.

“I told you to stay put.”

I gasped and jumped in my seat.

Carter appeared around the patio’s corner. A fierce scowl was on his face and his eyes glittered in the moonlight. He was furious as he sat across from me. He was dressed all in black, black pants and a black sweatshirt with the hood pulled over his head. It shadowed his eyes. It made him look even more dangerous.

My throat went dry. As he had turned to pull out the chair, I saw a bulge from his back. Was that a gun? Of course, it was. This was Carter Reed. He killed. That’s what he did.

“What are you doing here?” My heart picked up. If he was there, did that mean…?

“I came to get you.” He leaned forward. “I told you to stay put. I came back and found you gone. I don’t like that, Emma, not one bit.”

I glanced towards the patio door. What if Ben came out? I didn’t want him to know about Carter.

He sighed from irritation. “Are you worried about your boyfriend?”