“Why should I do anything for you?” Anger swarmed at the sight of him. “When you nearly got me kidnapped and raped and—”
“Fuck! It wouldn’t have come to that, and remember, I told you to get in the compound when I saw the Mambas. If you’d done as you’d been damn well told, woman.”
She glared at him.
“Leah.” He stepped closer. His voice was softer. “Leah, I—”
“No, don’t.”
“Jesus,” he said, “let me look at you. Are you okay? Did that jerk hurt you? I swear if you’ve got one bruise, I’ll … I’ll…”
“What can you do from jail, Carter? Huh?” She stepped away and then sat. She pulled a pen and paper from her purse. “What else have you been arrested and charged for here, in this state?”
“Why do you need to know?”
“If you want me to help you, I need facts. All of them.”
He scowled.
“I’ll help you out, shall I?” she said waggling the pen at him, “We’ll start with today, possessing a firearm, likely without a license.”
“I have a license.”
“You do?” That surprised her.
He twisted his mouth. “Might be forged.”
She sighed. “And in Pierce, it was an assault charge.”
“Hey, I got off on that, thanks to your friend…”
“Willow.”
“Yeah, Willow. Nice girl.”
“So before that?”
He sat opposite her. Rested his elbows on the table. Sighed. “A few bits of shit, you know.”
“No, I don’t know.”
He paused then. “I did a couple of years for trafficking, a while ago now.”
She stared at him. How had she not known that? But more to the point, why was she surprised he’d done time?
He studied her. “What, ’cause you’re so perfect?”
“No, it’s not that, it’s…”
He tipped his head. “Go on.”
“I thought you would have told me at some point.”
“I figured you’d know, from the trial in Pierce.” He huffed. “And if you didn’t, why give you another reason not to want to be with me?”
“No, it’s not that at all, it must have been … horrible, that’s all.”
“Happened after my father died, I was in a black place anyway.” He held her eye contact. “I reckon it helped to duck out of life for a while and just be fucking sad.”