30. Carter

Igot home, practically walking on cloud nine, knowing I would never need to deal with Chase again. The treats for Sam are made by lunch, which gives me plenty of time to eat something before I leave.

I reheat some leftovers for myself, and when I’m done eating, I head to Sonoma to drop off my treats. If they’re not out on a call, they should be digging into lunch right about now.

When I pull into the parking lot, I’m met with the hottest sight I think I’ve ever encountered.

The guys have the fire trucks pulled out of the bay and are hosing them down. Most of the guys are wearing white tanks, a couple have their shirts off, and oh, holy God, there’s Sam.

It’s like everything drops into slow motion as he walks around the truck. He slings a towel over his bare shoulder while his fingers brush his blond hair off his forehead. His navy blue pants are slung low on his hips, showing off the V-lines I’ve become fond of licking.

I was not prepared to pop a boner before coming to the station. What do I do? Okay, think bad thoughts. Erasing an entire line of code on accident… burning dinner… running into Chase. That last one does the trick.

Well, at least until I get out of the car, only to see Sam goofing around, wiggling his butt as if he’s dancing to a song I can’t hear. It makes me laugh, which has him turning to see who’s here. The smile that lights up his face when he sees me makes my heart all gooey.

Sam jogs over to greet me. “Hey, baby.” He presses a quick kiss to my mouth. “What are you doing here?”

“I was bored and thought I’d bring you guys a treat. I wasn’t prepared for a show when I got here.” I take in the other guys. Brody and Daniel are the only other ones who have their shirts off, and they’re as ripped as Sam is.

“I’m over here,” Sam grumbles.

“I know.” I take my time looking back at him and wink.

He pinches my ass. “What did you bring?”

“Double-stuffed Rice Krispies treats.” I hold up the two large containers.

“Hmmm. I’d like to stuff you,” Sam says into my ear.

I roll my eyes, but the shiver his words send down my spine gives me away.

“Fuck, I wish we could sneak away for a few minutes,” Sam groans. He takes the containers from me and nods his head toward the station. “We’re just about done, though, if you want to hang out in the bay for a few minutes while we clean up?”

“Sounds good.” I sit in one of the chairs Sam gets out for me and then enjoy watching my man do his job for the next twenty minutes.

When they’re done, we head inside to where Taylor and Charlie are setting out a lunch of cold sandwiches and chips.

“Are you staying to eat?” Sam asks.

“I’m staying, but I had lunch before I came over.” I’m not even finished with the sentence before Sam is headed toward the line. He throws an elbow at Daniel to cut in front of him and ends up the third person in line behind Charlie and Taylor.

“Asshole,” Daniel grunts.

“Gotta be prepared to throw hands, son. And I was not going to get stuck behind Rodney and Rick this time. They take all the good stuff and leave us with shit.”

Daniel looks behind him, holding his hand out where no one else is waiting in line to make his point. Sam just grins at him.

I laugh at their continued banter as they move through the line. And Sam thought he didn’t know what it was like to have siblings.

“Hey, Carter. What are you doing here?” Tucker’s deep voice has me turning toward him.

“I didn’t have anything else to do on my Saturday, so I thought I’d bring a snack and say hi.”

Tucker’s eyes light up. “What did you bring?”

I open the container to show him.

“Score.” He reaches in and grabs one before anyone notices. “Damn, those are good. Thanks, man.”

Tucker goes to grab a plate behind Rodney and Rick. “Don’t you two go taking all the meat this time. Chief James still needs to eat.”

The second the words are out, Rodney and Rick put back half of what they took. I understand why Sam would do whatever it takes to go first. When he’s through the line, he grabs my elbow and directs me down a hallway I’ve never been to before. He leads me into a room where a bunch of beds are spread out, and I realize this is where they sleep.

Sam sets his lunch down on a bed, turns to me, and snatches one of the containers I’m still awkwardly carrying as if they’re glued to my hands.

He then proceeds to stuff about six treats into a quart-sized resealable bag. After he closes the bag, he slides it under his pillow.

“Okay, we can go back to the kitchen now.” He leaves, carrying one of the containers with his lunch stacked on top.

I bark out a laugh and hurry to follow behind him. “You’re ridiculous.”

“I’m a genius. You’re crazy if you think I’m not going to take extra of the snacks my boyfriend made for me.” He scoffs.

“Where were you guys?” Brody narrows his eyes.

“I was having a private moment with my boyfriend. Would you like details? It’s been a while since I embarrassed Rodney.”

The whole crew shouts no, yelling at Brody to shut up. My face flames, even though we weren’t actually doing anything dirty. I lean over to Sam after we sit down. “What would you have told them?”

“I knew they wouldn’t call me on it. I used to say whatever it took to make Rodney blush. It turned into a game for me, and they know I can make up some crazy shit.”

I laugh. I should’ve known he wouldn’t have said anything embarrassing about us.

The next hour goes by in a flash. I can’t keep up with the lighthearted ribbing or the inside jokes they share, but I’m still having fun being a part of their day. I wish I could stay the rest of the afternoon, but I know they have responsibilities to get to while they’re not on a call.

Both of the containers were emptied within minutes of opening them. I understand why Sam tucked a few away for himself earlier. Given how lunch went, I should’ve seen it coming.

Sam walks me back to my car, hesitating with every step to prolong our time together. When I’m standing next to the door, I’m reminded of my run-in with Chase.

“I have to tell you something,” I start.

“Uh-oh.”

“No, it’s nothing bad. It’s actually fantastic. I ran into Chase at the store this morning.”

“What?” Sam’s eyebrows fly up his forehead. “That’s not fantastic. Are you okay? What happened? Do I need to punch him? God, I want to punch him so bad.”

I press my fingers against Sam’s mouth to get him to stop talking. Then I laugh at his stunned expression. “Let me finish, please.”

He nods and presses a kiss to my fingers before I lower them.

“He started to say some shit about getting back together, but I shut him down quickly, and he finally got the message. He’s going to back off and leave me alone.”

“Are you sure?”

“Completely. I know him well enough to know that he’s giving up.”

“Then that’s great news. I’m so happy you’ll never have to deal with him again.” Sam’s shoulders finally lose the tension that had wound him up. He palms my cheek and presses a kiss to my lips. “I’m really glad you stopped by.”

“Me, too. Next time, I’ll make extras.”

“Nah, they’d eat all of those just as fast. And then they’d be too hopped up on sugar to want to do their jobs.”

“You sound like their boss. Have you ever wanted to be a captain or whatever, like Tucker?”

“Too much responsibility for me. I like my job, and it pays well enough.”

“That’s the most important thing, then. That you’re happy.”

“I am.” His eyes get this sparkle to them, making me wonder if he’s talking about more than his job.

“I love you.” I press a kiss against his lips. When he hums into it, I have to remind myself we’re in a public parking lot right outside where he works.

He pulls away first. “I love you back. Thanks for bringing us treats. I’ll be enjoying them tonight when I get into bed.”

“Ooo. Kinky.”

He laughs as I get into my car and drive away. It’s going to be a lonely night. One of many to come if things continue going as well as they are for us. What if we lived together? Then we’d see a whole lot more of each other than we do now. I could get behind that idea… real fast.

Before I know it, I’m pulling into my garage. I grab the empty containers from the passenger seat and head inside. What am I going to do for the rest of the night?

I’ve barely crossed the threshold into my house when a large, muscular guy walks out from the hallway. “Who the hell are you?”

“Oh, good, you’re home. Now I won’t have to wait for you to get back.” He flicks his chin up, and it’s then I notice the two other guys in my house.

They grab my arms, their fingers digging painfully into my biceps. I’m dragged across the room and shoved to my knees in front of mister mafia boss. Or whoever this guy is. He can’t be good if he’s breaking into people’s houses and hurting them.

“What do you want with me? Why are you even here?” I try to keep my voice even, but the fear pulsing through me makes me shake.

“We’re here to give you a warning. Tell your boss what you found and you won’t like the consequences.”

I scowl. “This is about my job? I didn’t think I worked for the mafia.”

“We aren’t the mafia.”

I shouldn’t provoke them, but the words fly out before I can stop them. “Psh. Sure. Okay.”

“We gave you the warning. That’s all that matters.”

“Fine. I heard you. You can let me go now.”

“Except, the words aren’t enough. You need to know how serious my employer is.” The Michael Corleone wannabe nods his head at his thugs.

Blinding pain explodes across my face. Fists land on my ribs, my back, my hips. Each hit is calculated for maximum pain, and all I can do is lie there and take it. I’m not a fighter. I’m not Sara or Nolan. I don’t know how to even throw a punch. So I wait for it to be over. Like a coward.

Finally, they pull back, both of them breathing hard with exertion.

“Continue on your path and you’ll get much worse.”

As those words echo in my head, I black out.