A Pound of Flesh (A Pound of Flesh #1)(41)

“COME ON!” Carter roared with clenched fists. He ran over to Greg and grabbed him roughly around the neck, rubbing his knuckles a little too vigorously over his head. “MY MAN!”

“You f*ckin’ cheat!” Riley yelled with a pointed finger. “You— You cheated!”

Carter laughed and shook his head after he released a relieved-looking Greg. “Losing without dignity or grace is not attractive, Moore,” he commented as he sauntered toward him.

“Yeah?” Riley questioned with his tongue planted in the right side of his mouth. “Well, Carter, I may not have dignity or grace, but I sure as hell have a fist for your face and a foot for your cheating ass.”

Carter stopped midstep, caught the glint in Riley’s eye, and within seconds was running like a bat out of hell across the court as Riley lunged his two-hundred-pound-plus frame in Carter’s direction.

“Come here, you *!” Riley cried, chasing Carter around the incredulous-looking inmates and guards.

Carter panted as he weaved and ducked from the ape’s grasp, unable to keep the huge smile off his face. His overwhelming happiness and smug satisfaction were halted abruptly when he realized he had nowhere else to go and was facing a brick wall with a huge human gaining on him. He spun around to face his pursuer and plead surrender, and felt every bit of air leave him in a huge gust and a loud strangled groan, as Riley plowed hard into him. Riley grabbed him in a headlock before Carter could even blink or protest and was dragged back, groaning and digging his heels in, to the center of the yard, where even the guards were laughing and jeering at the punk ass cursing through an almost-crushed windpipe.

“Riley,” Carter gasped, grabbing at the tree-trunk forearm around his neck.

“I’m sorry, what?” Riley asked loudly. “I don’t speak ‘cheating f*cker.’ You’ll have to speak clearer.”

Carter couldn’t help but let out a choked bark of a laugh. “Riley!” He gripped his wrist with his long fingers. “Man, please! I’m— Dammit! Riley, I’m sorry!”

[page]Riley smiled and winked at the large amused crowd that had gathered and released the neck that had been resting comfortably in the crook of his arm.

“Bastard,” Carter muttered. The gathering dispersed disappointedly when they realized that it really was all in good fun and that no one was going to have their ass handed to them.

Riley snorted. “Cheat.”

“Touché,” Carter conceded with a wry smile.

“Yo, Miss L!” Riley boomed, startling Carter.

He turned around to see Peaches walking from her car, half-hidden by a huge bag, toward the main entrance, waving discreetly toward Riley. Carter let the right side of his mouth rise in a small smile in her direction and frowned when she dropped her head and hurried on her way. Carter rubbed his stomach when a twinge of something uncomfortable curled deep and heavy. It’d been plaguing him for days.

Riley dropped his arms. “What was that about?” He stared, waiting for an explanation.

Carter rubbed his face before walking over to his regular seat and pulling out a cigarette. He lit his smoke, inhaled, held it, and exhaled with a shake of his head.

“She’s been weird for a couple of weeks,” he confessed, nodding toward the car lot.

“Miss Lane?” Riley clarified, to which Carter nodded and passed the smoke over to him.

Carter had tried to ignore Peaches’ behavior, but it’d been getting progressively harder with each session they had together. It’d started a few sessions after the initial parole meeting with Diane. She’d come into the tutoring room, barely looking or speaking to him for the entire hour. He hadn’t pushed the issue, sensing it was something that he maybe didn’t want to know about. But after two weeks, Carter’s patience was rapidly disappearing.