Page 13 of Beast's Wife
“It’s all true, but that is also why I don’t sneak around, going from one hideout to another. Everyone knows where I live.”
“Why?” Morgan asked.
“Because, that way, I can deal with those who dare to cross that line. Trust me, last night was not a regular occurrence, but I’m also used to people wanting to kill me. There is no harm, no foul on this one.”
Morgan didn’t know what to say. She looked down at her empty plate, and then watched as Carver ate his food.
“No one hurt you, did they?”
“No,” Carver said. “I would never allow it to get that far.”
She nodded her head, although she didn’t feel theslightest bit better about what she had learned. The very thought of someone attempting to hurt him filled her with an anger she couldn’t understand. She wanted to find this person and hurt them.
Carver was a good person.
No, he was a bad person.
She stared at the blood on his clothes. He was eating food as if nothing bad was going on, and that wasn’t what a good person did. Yet, all he’d done was be nice, kind, and sweet to her.
She had gotten the small jewelry box this morning, containing a gold banded bracelet that looked so beautiful, with a few charms around the wrist. It had been breathtaking. She hadn’t worn it because she didn’t know if it would be safe to do so. Now, as she looked at Carver, she wished she had worn it.
Even though his shirt was covered in blood and there was a high chance he had killed someone today, she didn’t care. He’d been good to her. Protected her, kept her safe, looked after her, and even took care of her through her illness. She didn’t want anything to happen to this man.
Talking about the kiss last night seemed out of the question. She wanted to ask him, but instead kept her lips firmly closed. She didn’t know if she was ready for the kind of answers he might give her.
****
There was a time Carver used the basement to deal with invaders on his property, but he grew tired of the constant crawl upstairs and downstairs. Also, attempting to keep their screams locked in a room beneath the main house.
Now, he had to consider Morgan, and he didn’t want her to worry about the bastard that was his captive. The man who had snuck onto his property ruined a perfectly good moment when he was kissing his wife, and had already begged repeatedlyfor his own life, which had irritated Carver. He’d not even gotten to the good knives yet, and already he was sobbing, pleading, asking for his mommy. The man was in his late forties, a known abuser, and he couldn’t even take a little pain. Carver had already done his research on this piece of scum, sent by Romone. Now, things were going to get a lot more interesting.
It had gone from being a game to a certainty that he was going to kill Romone. He didn’t give a fuck what kind of deals Romone had made. The bastard was going to die, just like his little buddy George was. George, a known pimp, who took young underage girls, forced them onto drugs, and then used them on the streets. He had no remorse for the damage he’d already done.
“Sir, you wanted me?” Andy said, stepping into the outer building. To the outside, it looked like a shed, but the wood on the outside hid the entire bricked building. This room was for dealing with invaders and traitors.
Carver had built it with his own two hands, to ensure he had the proper space to finally deal in any way he wanted with the men or women that tried to fuck with him. There was a beam, so if he chose, he could have them hung upside down. There were several chairs and even a bed for what he had in store.
He didn’t believe in second chances. Those that gave second chances were simply asking for a death wish.
If someone was going to kill him now, and by some act of mercy he sent them away, if they succeeded a second time, he deserved it for being the asshole that actually trusted them.
“I want you to keep Morgan company today. Play that air hockey game, if you must.”
“Sir, I’m pretty sure she would prefer to play with you,” Andy said.
Carver had to stop because the truth was, he wanted toplay with Morgan so badly. It’s why Georgie boy before him was still alive, barely, and also why he had to pay for cutting his time short with Morgan. She had come to him, asking for her wedding band, asking to kiss him. That kind of shit didn’t happen to him.
He knew there were women out there who were aroused by his scars and loved his reputation. He had a feeling Morgan wasn’t chasing a title with him. She didn’t hide her feelings that well. Morgan was intrigued by him.
Even today at breakfast, he had decided to test her resolve. He’d washed his hands, because eating food with another person’s blood on his hands was just plain disgusting. She’d looked at his shirt, but her gaze had been focused on him and only him. He didn’t have a problem with that. She’d passed a test by the way she’d been with him.
“I’ve got to take care of business here.”
Andy sighed. “You could just kill him and be done with it.”
“I know, but then he hasn’t suffered for all he has done, and there has to be a price.”
Andy nodded. “Good. I will take care of it.”