Read Carter: The Sinner Saints #1 for Free Online

around me…which you never did,” she said.
    “Come on, I got rid of the men who were following you.”
    “They were your men.”
    “Still, it’s got to count for something.”
    “Yeah,” she said, as Peter walked back and put down two small brown bags in front of them. “It counts for a muffin and Danish apparently.”
    She started to hand Peter her bankcard, but Carter was faster. He pulled a bill out of his pocket and slid it across the counter.
    “Keep the change,” he said to a very impressed Peter, who had just earned the biggest tip of the day.
    Ally headed over to the crowd that surrounded the drink handoff platform as Carter swooped up the bags. A moment later, he joined her, standing maddeningly close to her side.
    Ally thought for a moment about how badly she needed that quad latte this morning as she joined the jumbled throng waiting for their drinks. On any other day, she probably would have just left it behind and walked out the door, hopefully losing Mr. Macmillan in the process. But not today. Today she needed that coffee almost as badly as she needed oxygen.
    Ally instinctively took a defensive stance, crossing her arms over her chest as she settled in to wait. There were lots of things to love about this little independent coffee shop in the heart of downtown Sacramento—good coffee, eclectic staff, a decidedly non-corporate ambiance—but their speed wasn’t one of them. Today, she would have appreciated a little less artisan foam art and a little more hustle.
    “I take it you didn’t have a good rest of your night, Miss Weaver.”
    Ally stiffened instantly. The sound of her name on his lips did more to wake her up than a dozen shots of espresso ever could.
    “How do you know my name?” she asked, keeping her voice low.
    Carter didn’t look over at her. He kept his eyes straight ahead. “Same way I found out that you work for the Sacramento Gazette, but you’ve been doing more and more freelance work to online journals. That you live off of 5 th Street in West Sac. That every morning around eight-thirty, you have a charge on your debit card at CafeNation.”
    Ally’s heart sped in her chest with every word that came out of his mouth. Cold tendrils of panic started to creep through her veins. Screw the coffee. She had to get out of here.
    She spun on her heel and started for the door, but Carter put a hand on her shoulder. He didn’t grab her. His fingers didn’t twist into her sweatshirt. There was nothing about his touch that was physically restraining her, but she stopped all the same.
    He bent down to whisper in her ear.
    “You don’t want to run away from me again, Ally.” It didn’t sound like a threat. It sounded like friendly advice. “I’m not your enemy.”
    She twisted around to look at him.
    “Why don’t we go sit down while we wait for your coffee,” he suggested.
    Ally nodded. It was a good idea. They hadn’t caused a scene, not exactly. But a few gazes were starting to turn their way, and the last thing that Ally wanted was any more attention.
    She walked over to the closest empty table. She took in a shaky breath, trying to calm her racing heart. When that didn’t work, she turned her attention out the window, and away from the turmoil inside herself.
    Pull yourself together, Weaver.
    She repeated the mantra with every passing car. After half a dozen, she started coming back to herself.
    “Let’s try this again,” Carter said as he sat down. “You didn’t sleep last night, did you?”
    Ally shook her head. She was too tired to be offended. Besides, it was obvious. If her tired eyes didn’t give her away, then the massive dark circles under them sure did. It didn’t help that, since she’d stayed at her parent’s empty house last night, she didn’t have any of her makeup to try to cover it up.
    It also explained her wardrobe for the day—an old UC Davis sweatshirt and a pair of jeans she hadn’t worn since her sophomore year of college.
    “Work or