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Marco shrugged. “Does that mean you’re accepting my offer?”

Carter sighed, bowing his head and shaking it. For a moment, Marco thought the guy was going to tell him to fuck off and leave him be. He would have been well within his rights, considering he hadn’t exactly had a good streak of luck with strangers lately.

Instead, Carter gave another heavy sigh. “Sure. Fine, what the fuck ever. Why not?”

Marco smiled. “Then let’s get us a ride.”

CARTER

While his night had been bad enough, Carter hadn’t expected it to take a weird turn. Which was the only way he could think about his situation as he sat in the back of an Uber with Marco.

The Uber driver had taken one look at them, and Carter swore the guy was a split second away from driving off. Marco had talked to the man quietly, and whatever he’d said had put him at ease or at least kept him from screeching his tires in an attempt to escape.

Carter had slipped into the backseat with Marco, still holding his side tightly. One of the guys had got in a good kick when Carter had been distracted. He still wasn’t sure if he had a broken rib or if it was just bruised. There’d been a couple of cheap shots to his face too, but the aftereffects of the mace were bothering him the most. Thankfully, the drunk woman’s aim had been bad and had missed his eyes, but the right side of his face was throbbing.

His lip curled as he faced the window, watching the buildings pass by as the driver took them to Marco’s address. He should have been thankful for the shrieking women as they found their friend huddled against a car while four men fought on the nearby sidewalk. The fight could have been even nastier if not forall the noise they’d been making, sending the trio of attempted rapists stumbling for their car to escape.

“Still conscious over there?” Marco asked softly.

Carter snorted. “I’m not going to pass out and die in the back of a fucking Uber. Don’t worry about me.”

“If I wasn’t worried about you, I would have left you on the sidewalk to fend for yourself.”

Carter didn’t know what to say, so he kept his mouth shut. The man beside him was an enigma Carter couldn’t wrap his head around. While it pissed him off that the women assumed he was part of the problem, he hadn’t been surprised. Far more surprising had been this random stranger helping him, even taking him back to his apartment to treat him.

Cynicism and curiosity warred in Carter’s head as they slowed to a stop at an intersection. If the guy wanted to drag Carter tojustice, he would have left Carter where he’d found him. He was pretty sure the women had called the police. Of course, there was always the possibility that the guy was trying to be genuinely nice and wanted to help someone he believed had tried to help someone else.

Which, again, was a weird thought.

Carter glanced over at him, narrowing his eyes. “Are you trying to lure me back to your apartment so you can drug me and cut me up?”

Marco returned his gaze, the corner of his mouth twitching. “Really? That’s what you’re going to lead with?”

“Cannibalize me?”

“I don’t like pork.”

Carter blinked, holding on to his self-control so he didn’t give the man the laugh he so richly deserved. “Is this how you get your kicks?”

“My kicks?” Marco asked, amusement leaking into his voice.

“Yeah, like, is this how you pick up guys?”

“What makes you think I’m into guys?”

“Nothing...yet. But I know some guys around here get off on danger.”

Marco tilted his head. “You know that, huh?”

“Rough trade,” Carter informed him. “I’d be pretty much catnip to a guy like that.”

“A guy like that,” Marco repeated. “And you know this how?”

Carter hesitated, suddenly realizing the trap he’d set himself before growing quiet. He should have known better than to try to talk circles around someone. It had never been his strong suit, and despite his comments about Marco’s lack of sense, the guy clearly had a functioning brain.

“Here we are,” Marco said as they stopped again. “Need some help?”

Carter shot him a dirty look. “I’m hurt, not crippled.”