Yolo (Carter Brothers #7)

Chapter 15

I love pretty things, coffee and F -words.

— Bindi to Garrett

BINDI

I’d spent the majority of the day with a smile on my face.

Anytime I got to stretch my brain and use my language skills was always a good day.

I’d had an eventful day, too.

I’d assisted multiple officers with conversing with people over the phone. I’d helped multiple people in the lobby speak with other officers about crimes, helped others pay tickets or fines, and even once helped a lost woman find her way back home.

Which in the end was quite hilarious seeing as I was blind.

And everyone I worked with was great.

Like really great.

“ Hey , do you have time to help with one more thing before you sign off?” I heard asked.

I looked up in the direction of the assistant that was assigned to me, Melody Nesmith , and nodded.

“ Thanks ,” she said. “ I’ll take you.”

I got up, and poor, exhausted Rooster groaned.

He’d done a lot of walking and guiding today, and I knew that took a lot out of him.

“ Hey , wait a second,” I asked.

“ Sure ,” Melody said.

I opened my desk and pulled out a bone for Rooster .

Handing it to him, I said, “ You stay right here. I’ll be right back.”

I’d taken him out for two potty breaks today, fed him half a turkey sub—but don’t tell the boss that—and multiple treats throughout the day. But we’d been here a solid twelve hours, and he was exhausted. I was sure he was.

The hours were supposed to be eight to five, but we’d gotten here slightly early, and I’d just jumped into work. And there’d been so many cases that needed worked on that I’d dove in, and before I knew it, it was well past six.

I’d also missed picking up Rufus with Garrett , which was the worst.

But he did say he’d still be here to pick me up when I was ready.

Pulling my phone out, I went to check the messages when I realized that Melody would hear and tucked it back into my pocket.

“ Would you mind going slow?” I asked as I pulled out my cane.

“ Sure ,” Melody chirped.

I wasn’t sure about Melody .

On the outside, she appeared nice and helpful, but I got this weird feeling that she didn’t like me at all. That feeling had only grown as person after person—and a lot of them Carters —had come to make sure my day was going smoothly.

All except Garrett who’d been out all day on patrol.

Just the thought of Garrett had my heart picking up speed.

“ Oh , hey, Delphine ,” I heard Melody say.

I inwardly winced.

Awesome .

“ What are you doing, Melody ?” Delphine asked. “ I thought you were working with the female Carter ?”

“ I was, but Mrs . Carter transferred me over here as Bindi’s assistant.”

The way Melody said it made it clear that she wasn’t happy about it.

Whoops .

Guess that explained why I felt like she didn’t like me.

“ Babysitting . Nice ,” Delphine quipped.

I pushed on, knowing the hallway well now, and said, “ Melody , where am I going?”

“ To the front door,” she answered.

I left the two of them alone to talk, sighing as I did.

I’d just made it to the first turn when I heard, “ Ms . Howe , can I help you get where you’re going?”

The chief.

Garrett’s dad.

“ Hey , Germaine .” I smiled.

I’d called him Mr . Carter twice, and he’d corrected me twice to call him Germaine .

“ Where ya off to?” he wondered. “ And where’s that cute dog of yours?”

“ The front entrance, apparently,” I answered. “ And poor Rooster’s exhausted. I’m not sure he’s ever had to work that long before.”

“ We’ll get him whipped into shape up here.” He chuckled, making me smile. “ Always lots of work to do around here. I’ve heard you’ve already made a big difference. Sometimes we have officers on hand that speak the languages, but sometimes we don’t. It’s nice to have someone here that’ll be able to help.”

After today, I could definitely see the need for it.

“ I …” I trailed off when I heard the yelling.

Japanese .

I had a basic grasp on the language, but I was still learning.

I did, however, understand most of what was being said.

I moved farther into the room as the man yelling said in Japanese , “ If you don’t do something about this man, I’m going to shoot him in his cold, dead heart!”

I immediately waded in saying, “ Sir . Please slow down and start over. I’m learning Japanese right now, but I only really know the basics, so work with me, please? What’s going on?”

I could tell his tension immediately faded at my voice.

Germaine’s presence at my back had my heart rate slowing.

Irate men standing with me front and center slightly scared me.

“ There’s this man that keeps staring into my daughter’s window. It’s been every night for a month and he won’t stop,” he said, his Japanese much slower than before, allowing me to connect dots where some words were foreign. “ Every night, he stands out by the road, and he stares. My daughter is scared. My wife is scared. I don’t want him there anymore.”

I turned to Germaine and explained everything.

Germaine said, “ What’s the address?”

After several back-and-forth conversations, the man left with an officer on his tail to follow him home, and Germaine said, “ I’m not comfortable with you doing that by yourself. Have you had an officer with you every time that you’ve talked with someone?”

I shrugged. “ Honestly , I’m not quite sure who was with me all day. There were a lot of names.”

“ I’ll work and coordinate with my wife to make sure that you’re safe at all times,” he said. “ Garrett’s outside waiting for you. How about I take you out there, then run back in and get Rooster for you.”

I smiled. “ That sounds fantastic. To be quite honest, I’m not used to twelve-hour shifts myself.”

“ Love how it went from eight to twelve.” He chuckled. “ Come on. I’ll take you to Garrett .”

Ten minutes later, I was in the seat with Garrett next to me. “ There’s going to be enough room for Rooster back there?”

“ Rufus is in the very back.” He paused. “ Drugged up. The medication they tried to give him wasn’t strong enough, when they got him close to the car, he freaked.”

My heart literally ached. “ Then let’s get him home as fast as we can.”

“ Home ,” Garrett said. “ I like the sound of that.”

My heart melted.

“ This place is a mess,” he admitted. “ Can you give me like two minutes to pick up all my shit on the floor?”

I heard him step farther into the room, but not far.

He had Rufus in his arms and had stopped somewhere close.

“ Between Boss’s toys and my shoes and dirty clothes…” He trailed off. “ Fuck , he’s heavier than he looks. I put him on the couch. If you walk directly straight, you’ll be at the couch.”

I followed directions, and he said, “ Arm’s right there.”

I reached down and found the arm of the couch.

“ It’s an L sectional,” he said.

I followed the sectional with my hand until I found the dog.

I sat down at his head and started petting him.

I heard Garrett moving around behind me, then nothing.

A sliding door opened and closed, then two panting dogs came rushing into the house and the slurping sound of water sounded.

I had to smile at that, talking to Rufus as I said, “ You’ll get along just fine with Rooster , won’t you?”

It took Rufus an hour to start waking up, and the vet was right, despite being awake he was very lethargic and subdued.

We left him there to orient himself and explore when he wanted, and Garrett showed me the rest of the house.

“ It’s an open floor plan,” he explained. “ You have the main kitchen connected to the living room and the dining room,” he took me through each room. “ Here’s the fridge. This is the pantry where I keep the dog food, too. This is the microwave and the oven.”

The tour led me to the bedroom about ten minutes later, and I sat down on the bed and fell backward, arms up high over my head. “ This is the best bed I’ve ever slept on.”

“ You’re not sleeping,” he pointed out.

“ Give it time.”

He chuckled. “ If you wanted to, you could.”

I went up onto my elbows and said, “ I might have taken you up on that if I had clothes. I might or might not have forgotten my bag.”

He was silent for a long second before he said, “ My sister’s about your size. She keeps some clothes here for when she swims and wants to change.”

I thought about it for all of two seconds before I said, “ Then I’d like to stay over.”

He moved then, coming toward me on near-silent feet.

I waited to see what he’d do, and he didn’t disappoint.

I felt the bed dip on either side of me and felt my heart start to hammer.

He straddled my lap with his knees, his butt now resting on my lap.

His hands came down next on either side of my head, and my heart went from a nice normal resting heart rate to one that might concern medical professionals.

“ Hey , Bindi ?” he asked.

He was right there.

I could just lean up and…

I kissed him.

Hands threading behind his neck, I pulled him down to me and kissed him.

He took the kiss over after that, his mouth devouring mine.

It was the single most sexiest kiss I’d ever had.

Carnal .

Powerful .

Life changing.

He pulled back when my fingernails dug into his scalp.

“ Bindi ?” he asked again, breathless.

“ Yeah ?” I asked, my fingers tightening to pull him down to me once again.

“ I was going to ask you if I could kiss you.” He laughed. “ But now I want to ask you if you want this to go where I think this is going. Do you want me to go slow?”

I scoffed. “ Gee , I think we’re beyond slow at this point, don’t you? If you wanted to strip me right here and now, I would put up zero fight. In fact…”

I let go of his hair and reached for the hem of my shirt.

I pulled it up and off my body, and he growled.

“ You’re wearing no bra?” He hissed in a breath.

“ Built -in bra with my shirt,” I answered. “ Bras really suck.”

“ Agreed ,” he said as his hands came up to cup my breasts. “ Are you on birth control?”

I shook my head no.

“ Can you get onto it?” he asked.

I bit my lip. “ Yeah .”

His mouth came down to kiss the side of my neck, and my heartbeat went erratic.

Just the feel of his bearded mouth trailing kisses everywhere was enough to make my pussy tighten.