Clap Back (Carter Brothers #4)

Chapter 1

You don’t cross my mind. You live in it.

— Auden’s secret thoughts

AUDEN

I was exhausted.

Well and truly exhausted.

“ You’re free to leave,” our team leader, Scott Austin , offered up.

I was instantly on my feet, ready to get the hell out of the training facility.

Last night, Scott had declared that today we would have a team meeting, as well as a mandatory two-hour training session at the DPD SWAT’s training facility.

Which put a hamper on my morning plans of fishing with my brothers and dad.

The last thing I wanted to do was be in this place on my day off, yet Scott didn’t seem to care.

That was because Scott had no life.

Scott also decided that since he couldn’t have a life, the rest of us shouldn’t either.

And , even though we’d attended a team meeting as well as team training last week, also on our day off, he’d required us to be here today as well.

Though , I thought it was really fuckin’ weird how last week’s team meeting and training included us, as well as this week’s.

See , the Dallas Police Department SWAT team was enormous.

As in, so fuckin’ big that it was damn near impossible to hold a meeting where everyone could attend. A lot of us had to work our regular shifts still seeing as DPD SWAT wasn’t a full-time job like it was for Scott , and Scott wasn’t willing to allow that fact into his pea-sized brain.

I fucking hated Scott .

I hated even more that he dismissed us like children for a meeting that was exactly the same as last week.

“ Carters ,” Scott called as we stood with the rest of the group. “ A minute.”

I groaned, my eyes catching my brother’s.

He shook his head, forcing me to keep my mouth shut.

Atlas was the more even-tempered of the Carter clan.

He didn’t get mad easily, tried to keep the peace, and was ultimately my mom’s favorite child because he was so giving.

Meanwhile , the rest of us were heathens, myself included.

I had a temper that ran hot, and the only reason I hadn’t fucking quit SWAT was because my brother loved it.

Personally , SWAT was the bane of my existence.

I loved the challenge that SWAT offered me, but no challenge in the world was worth having to deal with Scott , and Scott’s cronies, who all felt like the only reason we were on the team was because we had the last name Carter .

See , the name Carter was pretty famous among the Dallas police community.

My great-great-great grandfather was the police chief way back in the day.

My great-great grandfather was assistant chief. My great grandfather was assistant chief. My grandfather was chief. And now my dad was assistant chief.

And all those assistant positions were only because they didn’t want to deal with the bullshit of having to be the actual chief.

Then again, maybe if my dad was willing to be the actual chief, we wouldn’t have to deal with Chief Austin’s bullshit, too.

Chief Austin was fair and just, but he also had a temper. He had a hard-on for all things Carter , too.

At one point in time, I’d learned that he had a thing for my mom. Way back in the day, when Chief Austin and my dad, Germaine , had first started with DPD , they’d met my mom, who was also a brand-new recruit. Mom , of course, only had eyes for my dad, and I think Chief Austin always resented my dad for that.

And , of course, Chief Austin’s step-son, Scott , had to hate me, too.

“ What’s up, Scott ?” Atlas asked with his usual politeness.

Don’t let my brother fool you, though.

He may appear polite, centered, and well-rounded. However , inside him lay dormant a sleeping dragon. Piss him off enough, and he’d explode.

Right now, Atlas’s dragon had one eye open and he had it aimed at Scott .

I didn’t bother to hide my annoyance at being here.

“ You were late,” he accused the two of us.

“ We were working,” I pointed out. “ We both got off shift at seven. You held the meeting at seven-fifteen. We were still doing turnover with day shift.”

Which he fucking knew, he was just being an asshole and didn’t care.

Scott’s eyes sliced to me. “ That’s not an excuse. Next time, get them to come in early.”

I gritted my teeth and was about to retort when Atlas kicked my foot with his, silencing me.

“ Unfortunately , that would not have worked this time because we were covering for a few officers who were sick. The stomach bug is running rampant through the department, which you know. However , we’ll work on that next time if you give us enough notice to prepare,” Atlas said succinctly.

A big ol’ ‘fuck you’ in a nice, neat little package.

Atlas was the king of saying it without actually saying it.

Scott narrowed his eyes and was about to reply when his phone rang.

He looked at his Apple watch—which in my opinion was too small for his wrist and was usually reserved for women and not men—and cursed. “ You’re dismissed.”

We both left and headed for the parking lot.

We made it as far as the bullpen before we were stopped, yet again.

“ Thank you, thank you!” Sage jumped in front of us, all but throwing herself at my brother. “ I appreciate you taking my shift so much. I know it was last minute, but I was having an episode and couldn’t make myself leave the apartment.”

I narrowed my eyes.

She was lying.

She was also milking the hell out of her ordeal.

Years ago, Atlas had been the one to save Sage from a very bad situation. Her ‘episodes’ were more like days where she didn’t want to go in to work.

And speaking of work, the day Atlas went out of his way to get Sage into the Dallas Police Department as a brand new recruit was the day I wanted to shoot him the most. And , just sayin’, as my brother and twin, there were plenty of those days in our many years together.

“ No problem,” Atlas extended his arms to set her back, putting distance between them.

I wondered if Sage saw that Atlas didn’t like to be touched as much as she touched him.

I also wondered if she had any clue just how much he didn’t want to take the relationship they had in the direction Sage wanted it to go.

Atlas was convinced she had a savior complex.

I didn’t know what she had. What I did know was that she was a fucking leech and had attached herself to Atlas and refused to let him go.

Sage insinuated herself into our daily lives like she had a right to be there.

She didn’t.

“ Sage ,” I said as I grew tired of the back and forth she was initiating. “ It’s nice to see you, but we’re headed out of town. Right now. We’ll catch you later.”

“ Oh , where are y’all going?” she asked. “ I …”

“ Have to work,” I pointed out, jerking my head toward my brother, Quaid , who shifted impatiently with his arms crossed, eyes narrowed, as he waited for Sage to get into the room where she belonged so he could start his daily debrief on what he needed/wanted from them for the day.

Sage pursed her lips and looked behind her, uncaring that my brother was waiting for her, very impatiently.

“ Oh , well, I’m not actually supposed to be here right now…”

“ You said you’d push back your shift,” Atlas said, no longer as patient with her as he usually was. “ That’s the only reason I took your shift and not the one I agreed to take. So get in there before Quaid gives you the shittiest section he can find today.”

Sage giggled, and I’d had enough. “ Bye , Sage . Let’s go.”

I physically caught Atlas’s arm and gave him a good yank.

He left without another word, and we were out in the parking lot moments later.

Since Atlas drove, I headed to his pickup and caught a few waves good morning as I passed, returning them.

Atlas unlocked the doors and we got into his truck.

“ I swear to fuckin’ God , bro.” I looked at him as he reset his mirror—he was so fuckin’ OCD .

Literally .

Atlas had what they considered a mild form of OCD .

There were things he had to do, no matter what. It was something he’d worked hard to overcome while he was working. However , when he wasn’t working, it was like his condition made up for having to be repressed.

“ I know,” Atlas said as he ran his hands over the steering wheel three times, squeezed it four, and then started the truck. He proceeded out of the parking lot before I’d even buckled my belt.

Finally .

It was fuckin’ hot.

A blistering ninety-five degrees at less than eight in the morning.

“ You need to do something about that before it gets out of hand,” I said. “ Stop taking her shifts. Stop fuckin’ around with her at all, preferably.”

Atlas didn’t answer, and I knew he wouldn’t.

Sage was a topic he didn’t discuss.

Ever .

He pulled out of the drive of DPD and took the wrong turn.

Instead of taking the road I knew would take us to the lake like we’d planned, he swerved left through a couple of traffic cones, and in the opposite direction.

“ Where you going?” I asked my twin, even though I knew damn well where he was going.

Atlas grinned wickedly. “ The bakery.”

I rolled my eyes. “ Why ?”

“ Because .” He shrugged as he whipped into a parking spot and got out. “ I can.”

I sighed and fell into step beside him. “ Are we still going fishing?”

“ Yes ,” he answered. “ But I’m peckish.”

The lying sack of shit.

I didn’t call him on it, though.

Atlas had a thing for the bakery owner, Maven Brumfield . Who just so happened to also be the sister of Scott , and the daughter of Chief Austin .

She was gorgeous, don’t get me wrong.

She was around average height, but that was the only thing average about the woman.

She was curvy—tits, ass, and hips.

She had long, blond hair that was so curly it reminded me of the American Girl dolls that my niece, Addison , loved to play with.

She had full hazel eyes rimmed with gold with the longest lashes I’d ever seen.

She truly looked like a doll given human form.

And today, when we pulled up directly outside of her bakery, she looked even better than usual.

Though , that was likely because she looked like she was fuming.

I could practically see the steam coming out of her ears.

Her arms were crossed over her ample chest.

Today she was wearing black skinny jeans, red Converses , a light blue tank top and a hot pink bra underneath it.

She had her hair in a ponytail, but the mass of wild blond curls couldn’t be contained, and still waved wildly around her face with her sporadic movements as she yelled at someone on the phone.

Her employee, I believe her name was Pepper , was standing next to her looking no less upset, staring at her boss.

We walked up in time to hear the ending of Maven’s phone call.

“ You do that, and I’ll sue you so fast and hard that you’ll wish you never fucked with me.” Maven hissed into the phone. “ You have until tomorrow to fix this, and don’t think my lawyer won’t find out that you’re harassing me again. A suit will be filed in court by Monday if you don’t fix this.”

She hung up and dropped her hands to her sides, phone still clutched so hard in her right one that her knuckles were white.

I tried not to look at the way her breaths were coming in pants, making her breasts jiggle.

I also tried not to pay attention to the way her eyes instantly came to me.

“ Officers , as you can see, we’re closed today.”

“ Well , I can see that, darlin’. We just stopped by for some baked treats,” Atlas teased, putting his good ol’ boy charm to use.

The lying bastard.

We may have been born and raised in Texas , but none of us had any charm.

And why did his words make me want to pound him into the dirt beneath my boots? Why the hell did I react like this at all to her?

Pepper said something under her breath that caused Atlas to glare at her.

That one single interaction had me tilting my head, really getting a good look at my brother.

He was standing closer to Pepper than he was Maven . And his body, that was also turned slightly toward Pepper , as if he gravitated to her without realizing it.

Which only made me more confused because before this particular visit when I saw Pepper and him in the same area so close together, I would’ve thought he felt nothing for her.

Was I wrong?

Was the reason he was coming here not because of the owner, but because of the employee?

I wasn’t the most experienced person in the world, but I could see that there was something between them. Something intense.

What little I knew about Pepper —what she allowed me to know about her—was that she was very, very independent. She worked multiple jobs, and she didn’t get along with her sister.

A sister who Atlas just so happened to save from a serial killer a few years ago.

Sage , the woman he’d saved, was Pepper’s little sister. According to Sage —who now worked at DPD —she didn’t talk to any of her family. They were all assholes.

Yet , Pepper never gave me that feeling. She was in a perpetual bad mood, yes. But from what I could see, she was a hard worker—always showing up on time for Maven . Not to mention her second job at a fancy smancy hotel off the interstate meant I saw her quite a bit due to the location of it and the calls that came out of it being in my particular beat.

Just because a hotel was labeled as five stars didn’t mean that it didn’t come with plenty of issues. From calls about vagrants, to guests who were no longer wanted, I was there quite a bit.

I also saw Pepper there, every single time.

Anyway , the things we’d heard about Pepper from Sage never fit, and I wondered if Atlas was aware of that. He and Sage were pretty damn close considering.

“ You can have it all,” she grumbled. “ But you have to get it out of my car in the next ten seconds, because I’m about to go down to the police station and murder my father in cold blood.” Maven fumed.

There was a moment of silence and then I said, “ You should probably not announce your plan when it comes to committing murder. Especially in front of two police officers obligated to share that kind of information.”

She scoffed. “ I don’t care what you have to say, or what you do. All I care about is how my father is ruining my life because I want nothing to do with him. And he’s all butt hurt about it and trying to force his hand. Like freakin’ always.”

I frowned. “ What else is he trying to do?”