A Pound of Flesh (A Pound of Flesh #1)(188)

“Kat,” Carter said firmly, interrupting what he knew was going to be something toxic and unhelpful. He fixed her with a level stare and shook his head minutely. The anger never left the rigidity in her body, but, to her credit, she shut up.

Carter turned to Eva, whose eyes were flickering between the pair of them, and gradually dropped his hand. “Kat didn’t put me up to this,” he said. “I was the one who wanted to come here today.”

Eva remained silent, cautious, and expectant.

“I wanted to come here and talk to you.”

“About what?”

Kat shifted at his side. Still watching Eva, Carter reached out his hand, finding Kat’s, and wrapped his index finger lovingly around her pinkie.

“I wanted a chance to explain.”

“Explain?” Eva scoffed. “Explain what, exactly? Are you here to explain why you’re endangering my daughter’s future? To explain why the hell I should trust you with her when you’re a convicted criminal? To explain what prospects someone like you could possibly have with a woman like Katherine? What exactly are you here to explain, Wes Carter?”

Her voice rose in volume with each word. Carter didn’t miss the quiver behind it, though, and allowed that to ease his temper rising with each slice of her tongue. Kat’s hand shook. She was aching to blow up at her mother, resisting only because he’d asked her to and he loved her all the more for it.

“I can explain all of that, if that’s what you want,” he offered in a tone more clipped than he’d intended. And, without knowing why, he took another step toward her. He saw Eva’s eyes widen infinitesimally, though her chin rose defiantly.

“But I came here to explain that, despite what you think of me, or whatever conclusions you have come to about me and my intentions, I’m in love with your daughter. And no matter what you say or do, I’m not goin’ anywhere.”

Carter could have sworn he saw shock tease at the edges of Eva’s mouth. “Is that so?”

“Yes,” he answered with a sharp dip of his head, determination once again flowing freely through his body.

Kat moved closer, and he indulged in the warmth and security her gesture brought. Eva saw it, too, which conjured up another intense frown. She stared at her daughter, but Kat’s eyes were on Carter, branding him as hers.

“I love you, too,” she said, loud enough that everyone heard.





32


“What time is your flight, darling?” Nana Boo asked, shattering the quiet enveloping the sitting room.

“We need to be at the airport in a few hours,” Kat answered from her seat at Carter’s side. She drew invisible circles on the back of his hand encased in hers on her lap.

Eva, seated in the large, plush chair opposite, glared as though Carter had asked her to give up her only virgin daughter for a public human sacrifice. He simply looked back, strong and patient, waiting for her to combust with everything he knew she wanted to say.

Fleetingly, Carter wondered what she saw as she glowered at him.

Did she see the love he had for her daughter? Did she see what conflict he’d gone through to be at her side? Did she see how he would lay down his life to keep her safe? Or did she see his list of crimes? Did she see him as a poster boy for the major f*ckups of society? Did she regard him in the same way she regarded the animals who’d stolen her beloved husband?

Yeah, he thought pessimistically. That’s exactly how she saw him.

“I know you have a lot to say,” he muttered. “I know you have strong opinions of me.” He raised his eyebrows. “I’d rather you tell me so that maybe I can change them.”