Kev gestured with the wine bottle in my direction. “You want? Or you wanna do this planning without alcohol?”
I shrugged. “I guess I might as w— Wait!” My stomach swooped as I noticed the bottle’s white-and-blue label, and I stood up and grabbed the bottle from his hand immediately. “This is the wine Riggs brought? You’re sure this is the bottle?”
He frowned. “Yeah, positive. I mean, Capybara isn’t a brand of wine Grandfather usually orders, so— Carter? Where are you going? Get back here so we can make you a plan!”
“I don’t need a plan!” I called over my shoulder.
I didn’t need to control anything. I didn’t need to protect myself.
All I needed was Riggs. A man I trusted with my whole damn heart. And I knew exactly where to find him.
19
Riggs
I was fucking everything up. Had Champ put me into the AIP prep coursework a few weeks ago, before Venezuela, I would have been all in. My ability to focus on things like this was well-known. I was all about the job, and impressing Champ and my team with my dedication had always been a top priority.
But something was wrong this time, and I was well aware of what it was. Or who it was.
Carter Rogers was like the worst kind of earworm. He was a song I couldn’t get out of my mind, the kind I found myself humming to in the shower and on my way to work. Even when I wasn’t actively thinking about him, he was there, affecting the rhythm of my day.
The interaction between us at his grandfather’s house a week ago had been brutal. If I hadn’t spent all that time in close quarters with him, I would have believed him to be the snotty doctor I’d first assumed him to be at the gala. But I knew better. I knew Carter was vulnerable deep down inside, and he withdrew inside his aristocratic shell when he didn’t want to be seen.
I saw him, though. I saw the real Carter Rogers, the man who’d looked hurt for a split second when I’d asked him about the case. The man who’d admitted his fears to me in the dark of night and who’d lost his parents at a young age. The man who carried a video game console in his suit pocket so he could maintain a relationship with his cousin.
The man I was beginning to recognize as an essential part of my own well-being.
“You’re moping,” Elvo said, shooting a crumpled-up piece of paper at my face. Thankfully, my reflexes were honed enough to bat it away before it hit me.
“Cut that shit out,” I mumbled, not bothering to lift my head up from where my chin rested on my hand. “I’m trying to concentrate on this comms training prep. I fly out in a few hours.”
“Bullshit.” Elvo came closer and leaned over the reception desk to see what was on my computer screen. “Why are you researching hospitals in Tennessee? Is that part of the auricle stuff? I figured you were out here sulking about someone else protecting your hottie principal.”
I quickly clicked out of it before he recognized the professional headshot of said “hottie principal.” The Distinguished Fellow Award page had the best professional shot of him, but I still preferred the candid shot I’d snuck of him in Gelada when he’d just taken a bite of a pastry one of his patients had brought him. He’d closed his eyes and groaned in pleasure. His cheeks were pink from the heat, and his hair was messy from the industrial fan in the clinic. That was the Carter I knew. Not the stuffy cocktail party man I’d seen the other night.
Elvo’s words caught up to me. “Wait, what? What do you mean someone else is looking after him? Is Carter in danger? Why does he still have close protection? Gustavo doesn’t even know about him. Does he? Did something change?”
Elvo shrugged and flicked at a cup of Champion Security pens on the reception desk. “His grandfather insisted on protection for a little while just in case. I’m sure he’s fine. That intruder the other night turned out to be an ex-boyfriend. Nothing to worry about.”
I shoved the chair back and stood, propping my hands on the desk and leaning forward. “Intruder? What? Why wasn’t I told about this? He has an ex who’s stalking him?”
Elvo tapped his chin like he was deep in thought. “Not stalking exactly. I think it was more like… hmm… I’m having trouble remembering the details now. Baby Byrd was the one who checked the guy out. I’m sure it’s fine. The perp didn’t have much of a record.”
I grabbed the front of Elvo’s shirt and pulled him toward me, gritting my teeth. “Tell me what the fuck you’re talking about right fucking now.”