Carter (4 page)

“You’re to stay away from her.” He told him it wasn’t that easy. “Well, you make it that easy. We don’t want you in our lives. We’re just fine the way we are.”

“And who do you think will protect you when she’s hurt again? You think she’ll trust anyone again?” Max had no idea, but he needed to protect his mom from this man. Max tried to judge the distance to the elevator, but Carter spoke again. “You know what I am to her. And to you. I can’t just let you out of my life now.”

“She’s your mate?” Carter nodded at Rider. “Mother fuck.”

Mrs. Lanning hit Rider in the back of the head, but he only stared at his brother. Max thought about moving to get away again when Carter moved with him.

“Just let me see her. If I’m wrong, then what are you out? Nothing. I just need to see if she is or not. It might be someone else that you’ve been around.” Max didn’t think that was it, and he didn’t think the man did either. “I promise you, she’ll be safe with me.”

“Like she was with her dad? The man who was supposed to keep her out of harm’s way?” Max had never spoken to an adult like he was this man, but he was beyond terrified. “You aren’t going to make her go to him. You’re not going to get the chance, because I will kill you.”

He let his power go. Not a lot of it, because once it got too far, he lost control of it. But before he could funnel it to Carter, Linyah was standing in front of him with two more people.

“Bring it down, Max. Now. Bring it back down or these men will hurt you.” Carter growled and Linyah told him to stand back. “Max, take deep breaths and let it out. Bring your energy down and I’ll move out of your way. You can’t hurt me and you know it.”

“He says he’s her mate. I don’t want to go through that again.” Linyah turned to look at the men who had come with her. They disappeared as he started to pull the power back. He was going to hurt after this, and he was afraid that his mom would need him. “I don’t want him near us. I can’t let anyone hurt her like that again.”

His world seemed to close in on him then. There was so much of his power humming through him that he hurt with it. When the darkness rolled over him, Max felt himself being lifted up and knew that it was Carter. He wasn’t going to like this man no matter what he told himself.

~~~

“What the hell was that?”

Carter sat down with his burden in his arms. Rider got up to pace when no one answered him. The kid was ready to kill him, and Carter had no idea why. He looked at Linyah when she sat down across from him.

“He and his mother are of a special race. Not many…there are fewer than a dozen left of them, and never have I seen one here on earth.” She turned Max’s head so that Carter could see the mark at Max’s shoulder. “His mother has one too. On her neck. It’s a sigil.”

“What are they? And how did they come to be here?” She said she didn’t know how these two had survived here, but she told Carter what they were. “And what is that? A Doran?”

She leaned back, brushing the hair from Max’s face before speaking. “Long ago when we were trying to populate our world, the Doran were plenty. They were killers, I suppose you could call them, a group of fighters that would stop at nothing to keep our world safe. And they did, at great cost to themselves. When I saw young Max today, I spoke to my sister. She said that there are rumors that some of the older ones sent their children here when things were getting bad for them. They were told none survived. I’m thinking that the stories of their death are not true, and that there might be more here than just these two.”

“But these two did survive. Or one of their family members did.” Carter said nothing as he listened to Rider talk. “When we were in college, she told me some of the things she could do. But there was never anything like this in our conversations.”

“No, and they have hidden it well. And the fact that no one has figured out what they are makes me think she has some sort of sixth sense as to what she might need to hide and show people.”

Carter had started to stand when Sina, Linyah’s mother, appeared. She told him to sit down and continued where Linyah stopped.

“Their bloodline is as long as ours. Their magic—magic that they had long before we met them—was the only thing that kept us from coming to an end. Their ability to fight and to win also kept our borders from being overrun when we were still in the infant stages of getting our lives back. This young man is extremely powerful and has good control of it. I should like to meet his mother now.”

It looked as if she thought that they should just take her there, but Carter wanted answers too, and shook his head before speaking.

“She’s injured. Not just from earlier, but from when the blast took out most of the building they were in. She’s in surgery now.” Sina said that she understood and touched her fingers to Max again. Carter felt his cat stir along his skin, and Sina told him that she’d not harm either of them. “I’m sure you won’t, but she’s my mate. Or I think so. I have yet to meet her. But Max smells like her, and I want to protect him as well. So before we take you anywhere near her, I’d like to talk to her first.”

“Then we shall have to find out.” Max stirred in his arms, but he didn’t wake. Carter wondered if he was going to be all right, and Sina assured him that he would be. “But to take him to his mom like he is will not go over well, I think.”

Another touch of her fingers to his head and Max opened his eyes. He looked like he was weak with whatever had happened to him, but he soon wanted down. Carter kept a close eye on him, and the kid glared at him as they made their way to his mom. Carter felt sweat bead and roll down his back. He might be meeting his mate, and he was just a little afraid.

The ride up was made in silence. He wanted to talk to Max, tell him that he’d never harm him even if it turned out that his mom wasn’t his mate, but he wasn’t sure that he’d believe him. He wasn’t even sure he believed himself. What the hell was he supposed to do with a mate and a son? Christ, he had a ready-made family and no place for them to live.

His apartment was nice, but unfurnished for the most part, with only a bed and a dresser that was empty of clothing. Most of his things, his uniforms and a suit, hung in his closet, and his underwear and socks never left the basket unless it was to wear them and toss them into the washer. He had a television that was still in the box, a couch that was only half unwrapped, and several boxes of Christmas things that his mom had sent to him with a huge-assed tree. He was positive that there was not a thing to eat in the place either, having been too depressed until today to even bother with eating, much less going shopping for stuff.

But the moment that he walked into the room, seeing her laying there, he knew that she was the one. Her scent hit him like a train and had him going to the bed before he could think that he should have made sure that her son saw her first. But once he saw her, took her hand into his, he felt his life settle, his mind finally have peace, and he smiled for the first time in a very long time. He looked at his mom when she asked him if it was her.

“It’s her. She’s my mate.” He looked at Max. “And you would be my son, I guess. I’ll protect you both.”

“No you won’t. They always say that, but no one ever does. Connie knew they were coming; she let them in, and Mom trusted her. She was killed because she thought that the man loved her. And you’ll say you love her too until my grandfather comes and takes me.” Max took Carter’s hand off his mom’s. “Get away from her. I’ll take care of us both. You’re nothing to us.”

His mom turned Max around to look at her and slapped him across the face. It was the first time he’d seen her do that since he’d been a child and the woman up the street had threatened Phillip.

“Now you tell Carter that you’re sorry. I don’t care what you believe or don’t believe, there is no reason whatsoever for you to be rude to him.” Max looked at him with his hand on his cheek, then back at Carter’s mom. “You heard me. I’ll not stand for rudeness, young man. I don’t care that you are hurting. You will not take that tone with me or anyone else in this family. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, ma’am.” He looked at Carter, then at her again. “I don’t trust him. I don’t trust any of you.”

“All fine and good, but you don’t have to be nasty about it. Now, see to your mom and behave yourself. I don’t care how mighty you are, I will beat that bottom of yours if you act out again. There is a time and a place for such actions, and this is not one of them.” He told her he was sorry, and she told him it wasn’t her he’d hurt. Max looked at Carter, the red stain of his mom’s handprint on his face. “I’m sorry I was rude to you. I don’t trust you, but I didn’t have to be rude about it.”

“I’m sorry too. I should have thought about how this would affect you. And I was rude as well. I’m very sorry for that.” Max nodded and looked at his mother. “I can make arrangements to have her put into a bigger bed if you’d like to lay down with her. You’d have to be careful of her wounds, but she might heal better with you there.”

“I…she’s all I have.” Carter told him that he had all of them now too. “I don’t…she’s my mom and all I have. And until she says it’s okay, I have only her.”

Carter told him that he could live with that. Danny had the nurses bring in a bigger bed and they transferred his mom to the bed. Then, feeling a little silly, he asked Max what his mom’s name was.

“Dane Murphy. She doesn’t care for Dane, so everyone calls her Murph. I’m Maximillian, after my great grandfather. But I just go by Max.” Carter helped Max onto the bed with his mom and settled into the chair nearby. It was going to be a long night, and he found himself looking forward to it.

Chapter 4

As soon as she opened her eyes, she knew who was lying beside her. Wrapping her arms around him, she brought Max to her face so she could smell his shampoo. He was safe. He was with her.

I took him to my house last night so he could shower and get cleaned up. He was sort of rank from worrying so much.
The man who spoke was in the shadows, but she sort of knew the voice. He sounded like Rider
. My name is Carter Lanning. And if you don’t mind, we’ll leave the light off so he can rest. He’s not been doing much of that lately.

He’s all right though?
He told her that he was fine other than being a little on the scared side.
Linyah said she’d find him for me. And she did.
I’m ever so grateful to her.

She said he’s a good kid. I think so too. My family has been taking turns feeding him. They fell in love with him, even if he is still a little standoffish with us.
She nodded, so glad that he’d not let his guard down.
I need to talk to you about some things. First of all, your apartment where he was. The police are looking for you both. There were two dead women and one man…a man by the name of Conrad Snyder. He was killed by one of my brothers when he entered the apartment with a stick of dynamite.

Snyder is the man that shot me the first night. He had it in his head that I got him fired. Which I guess I did. But he was skimming funds, and that just wasn’t sitting well with me. As for the apartment, I figured they would be there sooner or later. We’ll have to leave soon. It’s not safe for us here.
He didn’t say anything, and she thought about what had happened before she’d been brought back here the second time.
They raided the place. Right after Linyah left, the door exploded open and I was…I think I was hurt again. Was that when Snyder was killed?

It was and you were. Thomas brought you here with Phillip. He’s another brother of ours.
She held Max tighter to her
. Linyah has information on what you and Max are. Doran. Does that mean anything to you?

No. Should it?
He told her that he wouldn’t think so. She held her son and Carter said nothing more for a long time.
Why are we here and not in the hospital?

Rider said you were shot and he didn’t know who had done it. He thought you’d be safer here in the event that they came back to finish the job.
He sat up then. She heard the movement of his body and the small sigh the chair gave when he did
. Max told me that Connie knew that the men were coming. He said that instead of having the two minute warning that he was supposed to have, he had less than a minute. Max said that Connie thought she was in love with the man who had killed her. Again, it was Snyder.

There was no point in denying it. If Max said it, then it was more than likely true
. They were…I guess I just thought that I was paying them enough to keep him safe. I’ll have to be more careful from now on.

They’d have to move again. And not just move, but become someone else. They’d never had to do that before, change their names to hide. Having Connie and Rachel around had made her relax a little, but no more. The man cleared his throat, and she closed her eyes on how sexy that sounded.

I’ve been on my own for a long time, Mr. Lanning. And too long if the sound of you clearing your throat has that effect on me.
She was embarrassed for telling him that, but she’d learned a long time ago that her filter didn’t work. And even if it did, she would more than likely ignore it.

He was standing over her when she opened her eyes. The light was turned on, and she looked at him after blinking the blinding pain out of her sight. Christ, he was gorgeous. She licked her lips when he smiled at her, and when he leaned down to her, she felt his breath on her moist mouth.

“I want to kiss you. I have since I found you, but thought I should wait until you could kiss me back.” His words, no longer spoken in her mind, warmed her mouth, touched her cheeks. “Can I, Murph? Can I taste your mouth?”

He didn’t wait for her to answer. She was sure she’d not told him what was going through her mind as he lowered his mouth to hers.
Yes
, her mind had screamed at her, and when he touched his mouth to hers, Murph felt sparks over her entire body and moaned.

The kiss was gentle. Hungry but gentle. When he ran his tongue over her lips, seemingly begging for more, she gave it to him. His mouth turned greedy then, his hunger barely held back. When he lifted his head and looked at her, she could see the need in his dark eyes. He touched his fingers through her hair and cupped the back of her head before lowering his head again.

This kiss was more. More of his mouth, more tongue. He suckled at her tongue and ate at her mouth. When he lifted his head again, he took a step back and she found herself reaching for him. But he only took her hand and didn’t kiss her again.

“You’re my mate.” It took her a few seconds to register what he’d said. “I thought so when I smelled you on Max, but it wasn’t until I came up here and saw you that I knew for sure. Now I know.”

“I can’t help you with that.” He only smiled at her. “I don’t know what you think…I can know, but I’m not going to. But you’re insane if you think that since you think I’m your mate that I’m going to become this simpleton that does what you say when you tell me to.”

“I can protect you, but you’ll have to do what I say. Both of you.” Murph had no idea how he thought he was going to do more than she’d been doing, but he spoke before she could point a few things out to him. “My family are leopards, and not without the means to keep you safe. You’ve met Linyah and the rest of my family. We can help you, but you’re going to have to listen to every word I say from now on.”

Saying nothing, she turned from him. He was an ass and full of himself. If he thought that she’d been just sitting around waiting for him to come along and rescue her and Max, he was dumber than the people who thought she’d give up without a fight.

He said her name, and it was at that moment that her son woke. Right away, she could see that there was something between the two of them and it wasn’t good. Great, this would go so much easier if he hadn’t already formed an attachment to the blowhard.

“How are you?” She told Max she was fine now that he was there. “You scared me. I thought for sure that when that woman came to get me, you were dead and they were trying their tricks again.”

“No. She’s a nice person who helped us out.” Max looked at Carter then back at her. Smiling, she tried to ask without sounding like she was accusing Carter of anything, “Something happened that I should know about?”

“His mom slapped me.”

Murph felt her body tense up. A lot of things could have happened that would make someone slap another person. Calming them. Or simply because Max had said something that might have offended. She’d taught him to say what was on his mind, and sometimes that wasn’t really a good thing.

“He was mouthing off.” Murph ignored Carter to hear what her son had to say. “He said we were nothing to him and that he was going to take care of the two of you.”

“Max, honey. I want you to do me a favor.” He nodded, and then he got off the bed. He would be gone from here in minutes, and she’d know where to find him this time. It was their backup plan. He would be safe from here and she’d be able to deal with this, if there was something to deal with. As he walked out the door, Carter sat on the bed.

“He was mouthy. And my mother slapped him. It wasn’t like she caused him any great harm.” Murph was in pain. Not just in her belly, but the pain around her heart as well. She wouldn’t look at Carter, and when he pulled her face around for her to do so, she glared. “We don’t need to fight over this. If you want him not to be disciplined, then perhaps you and I can come to some sort of understanding with him.”

“You do realize that he’s my son, correct?” He said as of now, he was theirs. “Right. And how stupid of me to have forgotten that the great Carter Lanning knows all about parenting, as well as making sure that the little woman is safe. I guess you can cut me some slack since I’ve only just met you and you’ve made such a great first impression.”

“You’re mad.” He seemed so confused that Murph closed her eyes. Her anger was building and she had to control it. “I have every right to be a part of his life too. And as of right now, I am. He’ll have to learn to control his mouth.”

She was losing it and she knew it. Murph didn’t want to hurt this man, felt for some reason that she couldn’t really, but she reached blindly for help and really wasn’t surprised to find a huge man standing in her room with her.

She’d seen this particular man before, but not for a very long time. His name was Nic, she thought, and when he bowed before her, Carter stood up and looked at the two of them. It was then that she realized that they knew each other.

“Nic? What are you doing here?” He nodded at her, and Murph sat up. When he approached the bed, Carter stepped in front of him. “That’s my mate. I have no idea what you think you’re going to do, but you touch her and I’m going to hurt you.”

Nic’s hand reached out to hers, and she felt his power. It made her cry out, and when she did, everything faded out. Then just as quickly, she was healed and full of energy. As Carter shoved Nic back from her, Murph reached into his mind and made him no longer see her. It was the same trick that her son had used to leave the house when they’d been attacked. It was what she’d taught him to do. Max would be standing right outside this room when she left to be with him. And she did before the first punch was delivered.

~~~

“What do you mean, you had to heal her? You don’t do anything with my mate unless I say it’s fine.” Nic raised a brow at him but said nothing. Carter was beyond caring if he sounded crass. She was fucking gone, and so was Max. “Did you make it so she could get away?”

“No. I merely healed her. I’ve done it for her before. A good long time ago, but she called for help and I have no choice but to come to her aid.” Carter asked him why. “Carter, may I ask you something? This woman and her child, do you have any idea what they are?”

“Doran. Some sort of fighting race that helped save your world.” Nic shook his head and sat down on the chair. Carter started pacing the room. “Are you going to help me find her or are you going to tell me bedtime stories? Because in the event you might have missed it, someone shot her and I can’t protect her if I don’t know where she is.”

“Sit down.” Carter looked at his mother and brother when his mom snapped at him. “I said to sit down. And I’m as in the mood for you to throw a temper tantrum as Nic is.”

He sat down, but he wasn’t going to be made out to be the bad guy.

Misha laughed. “You really screwed up with her. And man, if there was ever a time when Hannah was as pissed as your mate is right now, I’d run for cover. Christ, what the hell did you do to her?”

“I didn’t do a damned thing.” He flushed when his mom cleared her throat. “We were talking about Max and his behavior.”

“Yes, she told me. You seemed to think she’s been this horrific mother, that she needs you…what did she call him, Misha?” He told her and Carter started to speak, but she just glared at him. “She said that she cannot understand how the great prick fuck Carter—nice ring to it, I’m thinking—but she wondered how you, the great prick fuck, had not had single women coming to you with their childrearing issues all this time. What did you say to her exactly?”

“I told her…that we didn’t want to fight over Max. And if she wanted him not to be smacked, then perhaps she and I can come to some sort of understanding with him.” Carter felt his cat move along his skin, and he was sure that he was pissed at him too. “You’re the one that slapped him. Max made it sound as if you’d beaten him.”

“I’m sure to him it felt as if I had. Did you know that he’s never been slapped? Never in all his life. And would you like to know why?” Carter shook his head. “Too bad. He’s never been slapped because he’s never had to be. Apparently, he’s a model child. Already out of high school, taking online college classes to graduate in a few months. Smart doesn’t even begin to cover how intelligent he is. Did you know all this, Carter, before you began spouting off how you were going to be their great protector? Did you even bother to ask him why he said that to his mother? I know why. He told me. He doesn’t like you. And neither does Murph.”

“They’re my family.” His mom snorted at him, and Nic laughed. “What the hell did you do to her? She’s gone, and you did it.”

“No. I healed her. As I’ve already told you, twice now.” Nic stood up and looked ready to do battle, and Carter felt a little finger of fear race down his back and stood up to fight if need be. “I understand the value of family, young Carter. Perhaps you need to think of what it is you want from Murph and her son. And Max is her son, not yours, and never will be at the rate you’re going.” With that, he disappeared.

Carter was pissed, and not just a little. This wasn’t his fault. He’d only been trying to have a conversation with her about her son’s behavior. When his mom sat down, he did as well. He knew that for some reason he was in trouble here.

“When you’re out with Hannah and her new baby, and—”

“Mom, I know you think I was wrong, but I have to establish the fact that I’m—”

“Don’t you dare interrupt me again.” He sat back and waited. Christ, why was he the heavy? Then his mom started talking. “You’re out with Hannah and the baby and the baby gets sick. Hannah has dealt with it before. Just a little bubble in her belly, but you get all in her face and tell her you know better, that the child needs surgery. You’ve never had a child. Never even been around one so far as I know, but you expect her to listen to you because you know better because you’re the man.”