Page 49 of A Dangerous Game

“No.”

Something twists in Carter’s gut. “Oh…”

“I don’t need a file to remember you, Carter.”

That same something from before loosens and flutters. “Oh.”

“I could make you one, if you’d like.” The man smiles, the expression just on the edge of teasing.

Carter wants to take him up on that, solely for the chance to see what the man would say about him.What details would he find important enough to include? What picture from Carter’s past would he use? Would he describe him as defiant, or a good slave?

The answers to those questions are too dangerous to even consider. Carter's heart is already aching just thinking about them. So, he settles for practicality instead. Casey has been saved. Now it's Elliot's turn. "I was wondering… do you think there’s a chance you could find that little boy I told you about? The one that was in the cell with us? His name was Elliot…”

Nathan’s expression twists. “I could try. Not sure if it’s possible, but I could try.”

“You have to find him. He’s – he’s so little, Nathan. He’s just a kid.”

Nathan nods, his hand squeezing Carter reassuringly. "I'll do everything I can. I have to be careful, I don't want to start a territorial war right before we're about to end this case, but I'll try to see what I can find. Can you get me a physical description of him? Doesn't have to be right this minute. Think on it a bit. Any detail helps. Casey might even be able to help too."

“What if we can’t find him in time? What if the case ends and we haven’t found him?”

Carter already knows the answer before Nathan speaks. It's written across his face. "Then we give all the information we have to the task forces that will be cleaning up the strays after, and we hope like hell they find him."

“Can we help them? After this is over?”

“Help the task forces?”

“Yeah.”

Nathan’s lips twitch, on the edge of amusement and something else.Concern, maybe?“You’re hardly equipped to be a member of a task force, kid.”

“Kid?” Carter grinds his teeth. “Are you fucking kidding me? Any part of me that was even remotely kid-like left around the same time you raped me on a fucking stage in front of all your little friends.”

Any amusement in Nathan’s expression evaporates. “They’re not my friends.”

“The details hardly matter. You get my point.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I get your point.” He starts gathering up the files scattered across the floor. “Mental toughness isn’t all you need for a task force, though. Besides, I think you’ve sacrificed enough. When this is over, you deserve to go live your own life. To let all of this go.”

“Is that what you’re going to do?”

Nathan turns his back to Carter then, taking his sweet time putting the files back in the safe. “I doubt I’ll survive this, Carter.”

“What?” When Nathan doesn’t respond, Carter lurches forward and grabs his arm, tugging. Nathan turns halfway, arching a brow at him. “What the fuck does that mean?”

“You know what it means.”

“You’re not going to die.”

“No? Have you acquired a crystal ball I don’t know about?”

Carter lets go of his arm with a shoving motion and pushes to his feet. He considers storming off, but he’s not done with this conversation, so he settles with crossing his arms over his chest and setting what he hopes is an impressive glare on Nathan. “Don’t be an asshole to me.”

“Don’t be fucking naïve.” Nathan stands up, shaking his head. “I thought you said you weren’t a kid.”

“Why is thinking you’ll survive naïve?”“Because I don’t want to!” Nathan yells.

Carter’s heart stutters in his chest. “W-what?”

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