20. Grayson
CHAPTER 20
Grayson
A few days later, Harvey was off, God knows where, and Clementine was in the kitchen popping a bowl of popcorn.
“It’s Sunday night football,” she said, shooting a frowning glance at me. “I know the Giants are playing. I, however, will be watching the Kensington Cat Show Competition, for competitive cats to showcase their skills in three key areas: floof, purr, and belly display. There will be no football here. Of course, should you wish to watch football, you are free to go elsewhere.”
She folded her arms across her chest and glared at me, her little toe tapping on the ground.
Goddamn, she really didn’t see it yet, did she?
I didn’t give a shit about football.
I didn’t give a shit about sleeping on a couch I was one foot and 50 pounds too big for, having to literally cook meals every morning and night for the con man I spent over two years meticulously working to put in prison, or singing,
I love to feel the spring blossoms on my tongue
Tra-la-la-la-la-la
Troll-de-roll-de-pickle-de-pie
As I did a pirouette and curtseyed to a 70-year-old librarian named Miss Patty who was playing a tree spirit.
The only thing I cared about was Clementine and making sure she knew how much I cared about her and how fucking desperate I was for a second chance.
To get that, I would follow her anywhere. Do anything.
“That sounds good,” I said, watching as her full lips turned down. “Proper floof is key to maintaining a competitive edge.”
“Why do you want to sit here watching a cat show?” she demanded.
I stepped closer, watching her for any sign that she was relenting. For a moment the other night, she had kissed me back.
“Because I want to be with you , Clementine. Because I’ll do anything to show you I’m sorry and have you forgive me.”
“Hmph,” she said. “Maybe I could forgive, but I’ll never forget.”
“That’s OK,” I said. “As long as you let me make new memories to outweigh the bad ones.”
“You don’t give up, do you?” she huffed as she sat down on the couch. “If you’re going to watch, you have to sit on the other side.”
“All right,” I said, and I sat my ass down as the cat show began. “Can I get you anything? Popcorn? Tea?”
It was amazing how much I loved just being next to Clementine. Even though she was still mad at me. Even though she might never give me another chance. I knew 100% I would choose this over sex with any other woman.
As the shadows deepened in the yard, out of the corner of my eye I saw a brief flicker of movement on one of the security cameras.
My spine turned to ice.
Clementine was sitting beside me. Tiny, soft curves, her little foot curled up under her, sitting drinking her lavender tea in her sweatpants on the couch.
No one was going to hurt her. Ever.
They’d have to get through me first.
“I’ll be right back,” I said, dragging my eyes away from the security screen so she wouldn’t be anxious.
She flicked hazel eyes over to me.
“Getting tired, Grayson? Going to sneak out the back and down to the pub to watch the game?”
“Nope,” I said firmly. “I am riveted and rooting for Princess Sasha, the elegant Russian Blue. I’m just going to take the garbage out.”
“That Russian Blue is a real longshot,” she said.
“I’m rooting for the longshot,” I said. “Because I don’t give up. Even when things seem hopeless.”
“Pft,” she said, turning away and snuggling deeper in the couch.
I let myself noiselessly out the garage door, shutting the light off so the intruder wouldn’t see it slice across her green yard.
Letting my eyes adjust, I crouched behind a hydrangea bush and planned my attack.
It looked like there were two big dark figures in the driveway, beside the garbage bins. They were way too fucking close to the house!
I didn’t know who they were or what they were doing. It couldn’t be Harvey’s prison correspondents unless he’d been seducing some linebackers. Were they some of Harvey’s mob associates? Did he finally get the missing $50 million and they were here trying to get its location from him? Were they planning to burn down her home?
Moving slowly, I took a careful, circuitous route around the garden, stepping carefully over Clementine’s crocus and tulip bulbs.
She would not appreciate me destroying those.
Anger rose in me as I approached. One of the dark figures was facing her house now, where Clementine sat framed like an angel in the window. As I crept closer, one of them raised a camera to take a picture of her.
How fucking dare they threaten Clementine!
I wanted to rend them apart with my bare hands.
Moving as lightly as I could, I pounced, smashing an elbow into one of the men’s necks, knocking him senseless to the ground.
“You’re missing it,” Clementine called smugly from indoors, “Princess Sasha just bit one of the judges.”
“I want to hear her side of the story first,” I said.
“Oh my god, Grayson!” she caroled, and I heard the unbearably delightful sound of her little throaty chuckle. “Don’t try to grovel by pretending you’re a cat dad.”
“I’ll be whatever kind of daddy you want,” I said, as the other man raised a heavy cudgel, like he was going to strike me.
Kicking out with my foot, I knocked him off balance. He looked like a pretty big guy too, and I whipped around and elbowed him in the shoulder, sending him flailing sideways.
“I’ll be a plant daddy, cat daddy, and I’ll give you as many babies as you want,” I said, smashing my fist in this guy’s face and hearing the satisfying crunch of his broken nose.
There was something sort of familiar about the grunt he made, and when another black-clad shape emerged from the shadows, it only confirmed my suspicion.
“Grayson, goddamn it! Stop! It’s us!”
Since that was Vivi, I yanked the masks off the other two men, one moaning and holding his nose, the other retching up blood. Nakamura and Williams.
“What the fuck are you guys doing here?” I hissed, glancing over through the window at Clementine. Now she was dipping a shortbread cookie into her tea.
Adorable as fuck.
Nakamura threw up again, all over the lawn.
“Chief’s orders,” he said.
“Why?” I asked sharply, my fear spiking. “Did a threat come in about her?”
“No,” Vivi snapped resentfully. “We’re trying to find some dirt on her. You know, to encourage her not to contact that journalist.”
My blood froze in my veins.
I’d worked like a fucking dog for a department that was currently rummaging through an innocent woman’s trash in an attempt to intimidate her into not talking to a journalist.
“Get the fuck out of here,” I said.
“But the Chief—” Vivi began before I cut her off.
“I’ll be in to talk to him tomorrow. I’ll give you all ten seconds to leave or I’m going to fuck up the cop car.”
Nakamua and Williams began to back away, but Vivi said,
“You’ve never so much as failed to do a report on time, Grayson. Just help us go through the garbage. Maybe we can find some loans or something we can hold over her head.”
“Five more seconds,” I said.
“Let’s just go,” Nakamura said.
“No!” Vivi snapped. “He’s bluffing.”
“5,” I said. “4.”
“Come on,” Williams said.
“You won’t get the promotion if you don’t play nice,” Vivi warned.
“Really?” I asked, picking up the camera they had used to take pictures of Clementine with and smashing it on the ground, stomping on it with my boots until it was nothing but a pile of crushed plastic.
“Shit,” Nakamura said.
“1,” I replied.
Then I walked over to the cop car and wrenched the mirror on the driver’s side off, in a sudden ear-splitting rip of shredded metal and snapping wires.
“What was that?” Clementine cried, looking out the window, and I only hoped the night was too dark for her to see anything.
“Just taking out the garbage,” I called back. “I’ll be there in a second.”
I turned to my team, who no longer really felt like my team. They felt like strangers.
“If the Chief asks, tell him I take it very personally when people threaten Clementine Adler,” I shrugged. “You can stay here and I’ll fuck up the rest of your car or you can go.”
Then I left their stunned faces and went back inside to finish watching the cat show.