“It feels good.”
Max squeezed Carter’s hand. “For what you did for me and— To get put away when you weren’t even … I can’t ever thank you enough—”
“Hey,” Carter interrupted. “It’s all good, brother. I owed you.”
Max exhaled hard, anguish and heartbreak clear on his face. “Yeah. I’ll see ya later.”
Once Max left, Carter closed the door and fell against it with a loud sigh. He glanced around his apartment, wondering what the hell he was supposed to do. At Kill he’d had a routine, a schedule, people to tell him when and where he needed to be. Now he was free to do what he wanted, when he wanted. Within reason. It felt strange.
With a despondent exhale, he glanced at the clock on the wall and his mind instantly went to Peaches. She’d be in class right now with Riley and company.
Outrageously, jealousy bloomed in his stomach. “Get a grip, idiot,” he muttered. He grabbed his beer from the counter and made his way to his bedroom.
He’d have Peaches all to himself come Tuesday evening, anyway. He smiled while he stripped off his clothes and made his way to the shower. He was more than ready to wash away all remnants of Kill from both his body and his mind.
12
Kat pulled her bag up onto her shoulder as she made her way into the library. She walked toward the grand welcome desk and smiled at Mrs. Latham, who’d worked at the library for decades. She was there the day the Daniel Lane Reading Room opened after his passing.
“Good afternoon, Kat,” she said, pushing her glasses up her small nose. Her whole face, surrounded by curly gray hair, wrinkled when she smiled.
“Good afternoon, Mrs. Latham. You’re looking well.”
“Thank you. You’re here to use the reading room?” She flicked through a schedule book on her desk.
“I am.” Kat extended a printout. “I’ve booked it indefinitely for these days at these times.”
“Ah, here we are, dear.” She handed Kat the sign-in sheet, which was empty. Carter hadn’t arrived yet.
Kat signed her name. “When my student gets here, can you tell him to come straight through once he’s signed in?”
“Of course.”
Kat wandered through the immaculate building toward the reading room constructed as part of her father’s wishes in his will. Kat had always loved to read and her father had wanted to create somewhere that not only she but other people could go to lose themselves in the pages they read.
His plan was to do it before his fiftieth birthday, which he never saw.
Kat dropped her bags onto one of the large oak tables and sat down. She pulled out all her resources for Carter so they could get straight to work. She didn’t want to dilly-dally. She got flustered enough in his presence.
The truth was, after seeing Carter so … civilian, as he left Kill, Kat had finally accepted that maaaaaybe she had a wee crush. The vision of his buzz cut and bright blue eyes, his body wrapped in a tight T-shirt and low-riding jeans, accosted Kat once again.
Why did it have to be the Ramones? She loved the Ramones. She loved them even more stretched across Carter’s wide chest and large biceps. She’d been unable to tear her eyes from his tattoo, either. Cursive black and red flames of delicious ink dressed his skin to the elbow of one arm and to the wrist of the other; the intricate vines, patterns, and words she couldn’t quite make out were stunning.
And very, very sexy.
Dammit. She’d been a train wreck. All she’d wanted to do was thank him for the amazingly thoughtful birthday present he’d given her and she’d ended up stammering like an idiot.
It was so stupid, and not simply because she was the teacher and he was her student (how cliché). Carter was from a different world. He was a different species to her, and not because of his criminal past, although that was definitely a factor. He was angry and big-headed, hostile, and cocky. He was everything she should run away from, screaming. But she couldn’t deny he was equally smart, sensitive, and funny.
Christ, what a mess. Why couldn’t he be a normal guy? Like Austin.
She glanced at her cell phone. Austin had texted her twice since the morning to wish her luck with Carter and to tell her that he was thinking of her. He was impossibly sweet, but still the uneasiness remained.
Kat started as if struck by a lightning bolt.
Was Carter the reason she was so damned uneasy with Austin? Was he the cause of the heaviness in her stomach, the discomfort, the whisper of wariness, and the reason her heart galloped?
Shit. She pushed her bangs from her face. Enough was enough. Kat knew she had to grow up and stop acting like a teenager. It was her first session with Carter outside of Kill and, by God, she was going to act like the professional she was.
Resolute, she crossed her legs and waited.