Page 49 of Boss and Brat

Duarte cleared his throat. “Tomás González filed a complaint against Ethan.”

Carter’s jaw tightened. “For what reason?”

“This afternoon, Ethan threatened Tomás and assaulted him.”

Carter snapped his head toward Ethan. “Is that true?”

“Not the way he tells it,” Ethan said. “I was dressing the horses, and Tomás came in to talk shit. I told him to shut up and one thing led to another. So he’s such a pussy filing a complaint.”

Carter winced. Wrong time for that attitude.

Duarte continued, “He is summoned to appear in court. And just so you know, Mr. Higgins, this has been going on since Ethan stole two motorcycles, crashed and burned them in the middle of the night while he was drunk.”

Carter’s stomach sank. “Is that all?”

“Are you in charge of Ethan?” Duarte asked.

“Yes. He’s staying here.”

“Ethan is still guilty of stealing and damaging the motorcycles. Mr. Evans paid the owners to avoid court and a prison sentence for his son. That’s why Ethan won’t ever learn from his mistakes. His father bails him out of every damn mess he gets into.”

That last line hit Carter wrong. Like a slap. He stood, snatched the summons out of Duarte’s hand, and didn’t bother hiding his glare. Duarte left without another word.

The second the door slammed shut, Carter turned to Ethan, stepping in close enough that Ethan had to tilt his chin up. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me about this?”

Ethan’s eyes darted away. “I didn’t think it was a big deal.”

“Not a big deal,” Carter repeated, voice low. He felt something hot and frustrated coil in his chest. He’d been trying—really trying—to give the kid a chance, and Ethan kept dropping landmines at his feet.

He walked back to the kitchen, covered the plates, and shoved everything into the fridge. Appetite gone.

“Let’s go,” he said.

Ethan blinked. “Where are we going?”

“We’re going to visit Tomás.”

“And?” Ethan’s face drained of color.

“To put an end to this shit. And you’re in big trouble for not telling me about this. Big trouble.”

Ethan swallowed hard. “Are you going to send me back to the barn?”

That hit Carter right in the chest. The kid looked terrified—like he expected to be thrown out the second he messed up. Carter hated that. Hated that someone had taught Ethan to expect abandonment.

He wasn’t giving up on him. Not now. Not after everything.

“Get your boots on,” Carter said, softer than before.

Chapter Nineteen: Carter

They drove to Tomás’s rented room, a run-down place on the ground floor of a converted house. Carter didn’t bother knocking politely—he pounded on the door until Tomás opened it, eyes wide.

“Get out here. Now,” Carter demanded.

Tomás stepped outside, arms crossed like he thought that made him tough.

“Who the hell do you think you are filing charges against Ethan?” Carter asked.