A Cartel Affair (First Original Draft)

Chapter 15

Lea's P.O.V.

I found myself smiling to myself as I followed him, Lynx, Miller, Paul, and Samuel out of the house and to the car, my mind reeling at the openly playful side of Carter. I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and shook my head at the thought. I couldn't believe that he had actually kissed me in front of our guards. Normally if he was going to pull a stunt like that, he would have sent them from the room.

As we neared the driveway, I looked up and was surprised that it wasn't one of the Navigators that we were taking. Instead, there was a sleek, shiny, black Audi R8 and a matching Audi Q7 parked in its place. And I was surprised to see Xian stepping from behind the wheel of the S.U.V., normally it would have been Tony stepping out of the car.

"Where's Tony?"

"He's taking care of the house tonight."

Carter's answer seemed guarded. I wanted to ask what that meant, but the way he said it told me not to press the issue.

I shrugged it off and looked from Carter to the group of men as he walked towards the sports car and opened the passenger door. Carter caught my worried glance and gently tugged on my hand.

"Come, Lea. They will be right behind us."

I gave a slight nod and slid into the black leather seat, watching as Carter walked around and talked briefly with our guards before getting in the driver seat and putting the key in the ignition.

Carter pointed to my seat belt. "Buckle up."

"Is this one of the communal cars?" I asked in awe as I took in the features of the Audi.

"No, this is my own personal car. No one is allowed to drive it except myself."

"It's sweet." I crossed the seat belt over my body, clicked it in place, and folded my hands in my lap. "Where are we going?"

I didn't really expect Carter to tell me and I was proven right as a sly smile settled across his face.

"Somewhere."

Soft classical music streamed from the radio as Carter put the car in drive and pulled away from the house. "Feel free to change the station if you wish Lea."

I reached over and scrolled through the stations, "Is this pulling from satellites?"

There were so many different genres to choose from and then the number of substations were unbelievable.

"Yes, it's SiriusXM. There is also a binder of CD's in the in the glove box if you prefer." Carter's voice was amused at my expression.

"Who needs so many choices from a radio?"

Carter laughed lightly, "Your parents didn't have satellite radio in their cars?"

I tensed and drew in a sharp breath at the mention of my parents. Carter cut his eyes to me and cursed himself.

"Shit, Lea. I didn't mean to. Dammit." He reached for my hand and ran his thumb over my knuckles, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought them up."

I shook my head, "Don't apologize. It's Okay." Carter started to protest, "Really. They made their choices three years ago. It hurt like a bitch, but when they decided their company and reputations were more important than me, and the grief and guilt I felt over loosing CeCe, it let me know exactly where I stood with them."

Carter lifted my hand to his lips and placed a kiss on the back of it.

"You really don't realize how amazing you are, do you Lea?"