A Pound of Flesh (A Pound of Flesh #1)(193)

“The news,” Eva stammered. “It was all over the news. Everyone knows where they were that night. Everyone knows what happened.”

Carter carried on, ignoring her accusation that he was a liar. “I heard a scream.”

Eva closed her eyes.

“I was across the street and I saw everything: the punks with the bat, Kat, your husband. Christ—it happened so damned fast. He … Your husband was on the ground. They hit him with the bat, kicked him. He tried to fight back, but there were too many of them for one man.”

Eva made a strangled sound and clapped a palm to her mouth.

“Kat was on the ground about two feet away,” Carter continued, lost in the memory. “One of the *s had hit her.”

“Stop.”

“She was wearing a blue dress. It was dirty from the sidewalk, ripped at the sleeve. Your husband screamed at her to run. He begged her over and over, but she didn’t listen. And I knew that if those f*ckers got hold of her, they’d kill her.”

Eva looked up at him finally, tears spilling down her face.

Carter put his hand on his stomach. “Something in here, deep in here, told me to help her. I just couldn’t watch them hurt her. It was so damned wrong.”

“You—you,” Eva hiccoughed, unable to form a full sentence.

“I ran to her,” Carter said. “Grabbed her arm and ran. But I had to drag her most of the way; she was small, but she fought, ya know? She was so strong.”

Eva wrapped her arms around herself, listening to him describe how he’d tackled Kat to the cold, wet ground.

“There was gunfire and she screamed, and all I could do was hold her and make sure that she didn’t run back. I figured I was doing what her old man wanted. I was doing something good.” He ran his hands across his hair. “Saving Kat’s the only good thing I’ve ever done in my entire life.”

Then they stared at each other for the length of two heartbeats, and he hoped they finally understood each other. They’d found their common ground. They both existed for the same reason, and, with that realization, he found it easier to breathe.

“Where did you take her?” Eva croaked.

“A doorway a couple of blocks down. Once she stopped fighting me, she cried until she fell asleep.”

“Then you left her?”

“No,” he replied. “I held her. Stroked her hair, talked to her until help came.”

“But … you disappeared.”

Carter gave a wry smile. “I already had a name with the police because of shit Max and I had done, and I knew if they caught me I’d have to answer questions. So …”

“You ran.”

“Yeah.”

“Where did you go?”


“Back to my friend’s place. Max calmed me down, helped me through the shock of what happened.”

Eva cast her eyes toward the doorway. “She knows?”

“Of course. I had to tell her.”

“How did she take it?”

Carter smiled. “In her own way. But I’m here, right?”

“Yes, you are.”

Carter exhaled and rubbed his face with a weary hand. “Look. I know we’re never going to be the best of friends. I know you’ll never see me as good enough for her, because I know that myself. And I didn’t tell you this to win points. I told you because I wanted you to see I would never ever hurt her. She’s everything to me. I want to give her everything she wants or needs. And I want you and Kat to go back to the way you were before I got involved. I hate that I caused this.”