Chapter Five
GRANT’S GUT TIGHTENED into a knot. He’d known whatever happened to Rayne was horrendous, but this? His eyes burned. Man, she should never have had to face this, especially alone. How did she trust anyone after such a horrible past?
He captured her chin in his palm and raised her face to his. Grant pressed a light kiss to her lips, and murmured, “Look at me. Please.”
She finally did as he asked and locked her gaze with his.
“Listen to me carefully, Rayne. Ready?”
The woman in his arms paled but gave a slight nod.
“I’m proud of you.”
Rayne froze. “Proud? I tell you I killed a man and you’re proud of me? Why aren’t you horrified to be working with a stone-cold murderer?”
“I know you. You’re not a cold-blooded killer. If you felt it necessary to kill your father, you did it to save your own life or that of your mother. Am I right?”
She nodded.
“Tell me the rest of it.”
“One night when I was sixteen years old, my father was drinking heavily. He was angry about an insult his political opponent spouted and took his temper out on us.”
Rayne shuddered. “Dad started on Mom first. I wasn’t home.
I’d stayed late at the library to finish a school assignment and walked into World War III when I arrived at home.
Dad had beaten Mom into unconsciousness in the kitchen.
When I came in, he demanded to know where I’d been, then accused me of lying to him when I said the library.
He said he knew I’d been out with my boyfriend, and no daughter of his would wind up barefoot and pregnant before she turned eighteen.
Dad said his career would be toast if his constituents knew I was sleeping around. ”
She wiped at the tears streaking her cheeks.
“His accusation was wrong, Grant. I told Dad as much, but he wouldn’t listen.
The more I protested, the angrier he became.
Since Mom was unconscious, he took his anger and frustration out on me.
He punched me over and over. I thought he would kill me before he finished. ”
More tears spilled, breaking Grant’s heart. Although he longed to stop the story, Grant sucked it up and kept his mouth shut. He needed the information and had a gut feeling Rayne needed to tell him.
“By that point, I had several cracked ribs and bruises forming all over my torso. When I fought to get away from him, Dad grabbed my blouse. The material ripped.” Rayne swallowed hard, cheeks turning pink.
“He froze for a few seconds, staring at my bra, then an ugly light gleamed in his eyes, one I had never seen before. Dad said if I was sleeping with the boys at school, maybe he should sample the goods, too.”
Her voice grew thick. “Despite all the ugly things happening in my home, child molestation was never an issue until that night.”
Fury swept over Grant like a tidal wave. “Your father is lucky he’s already dead,” he said flatly. “I thought you said he never touched you like that.”
“He didn’t until that night. Dad shoved me to the ground, tore my blouse away from my body, then went after my bra.
I got lucky with a punch of my own that threw him off me.
Because he was so drunk, he took a few seconds longer than normal to get back on his feet.
When he did, Dad punched me again and knocked me back several feet.
I hit the kitchen counter and grabbed the first thing at hand to hold him off.
It was a steak knife. Mom had been preparing dinner when Dad came home, got into an argument with her, and attacked her.
” She stopped speaking, lost in the past.
“What happened?” Grant prompted.
Rayne blinked. “He lunged forward to grab me and impaled himself on the knife I held. When he fell and didn’t move, I gave him a wide berth and called the police. By the time the officers and ambulance arrived, Dad was dead. He bled out on the floor.”
“What about your mother? Did she survive?”
She nodded. “Mom still won’t talk to me. She tells everyone who will listen that I murdered her husband, that he was a good man and an excellent provider whose life was cut short by an insanely jealous daughter.”
Stunned, Grant sat in silence for a moment. “Even with all the evidence to prove you were defending yourself and her, she blames you?”
Her lips curved in a sad smile. “Mom really wanted to be an important politician’s wife. When I killed my father, I killed her dream. Now all she has left are bitter memories.”
Rayne sighed. “I should go.”
“Not a chance.”
“You can’t want me in your home, Grant. Not after what I just told you.”
“Want to bet?” He cupped her cheeks with his palms. “Listen up, Rayne Weatherly. What you told me in no way changes how I feel about you. In fact, if anything, I admire you more than ever. You had the courage to protect yourself and your mother. If you hadn’t stopped your father, he might have gone after her again and accidentally killed her.
You saved your mother’s life. She should thank you, not condemn you. ”
Rayne wrapped her arms around Grant and buried her face in his neck. “Thank you,” she whispered.
He held her for a long while until she calmed again. Grant pulled back enough to capture her mouth with his for a long, sizzling kiss. When he lifted his head again, Rayne’s eyes were unfocused.
He smiled. “Are you all right?”
“I don’t know. Ask me again later.”
Grant chuckled. “I’ll make a note to do that.”
“What are we doing, Grant?”
“Exploring the possibility of a relationship.”
Her eyes widened. “Even after I told you what I did to my father, you still want to date me?”
“Absolutely.”
“Why?”
“You’re gorgeous, funny, smart, and put up with my lousy coffee.”
She laughed. “Your coffee is terrible.”
“Ouch, babe. That hurts.”
Rayne studied Grant’s face for a moment in silence. “Are you sure? A few hours ago, you apologized for dragging me into your drama. Now you know I have drama of my own.”
The corners of his mouth lifted. “I’ve discovered something else in the past few hours.”
“What?”
“I’m already invested in you, Rayne. As much as I know I should walk away to protect you, I can’t do it. You mean too much to me.”
“Same here. However, I don’t want to make clearing your name harder because of my juvie record.”
“To have you in my life, I’ll deal with anything.” He brushed a soft kiss over her lips. “Are you willing to give a relationship with me a try?”
She nodded.
“Exclusive?”
“Of course, unless you have a twin you haven’t told me about. If so, I’ll have to compare before I make a final decision.”
Grant chuckled. “All right, you little minx. I deserved that for being insecure. And no, I don’t have a twin.” He sobered. “One request, please.”
“Name it.”
“If our relationship isn’t working for you, tell me.”
“I would never treat you like Selena did. I respect you too much to go behind your back. If I want out of this relationship, you’ll be the first one to know.”
“This won’t be easy,” he murmured. “You know that, right?”
“No relationship is simple. It takes work.” She brushed a kiss onto his mouth. “You’re worth any effort to make this work.”
The knot in his gut loosened. Thank God.
At least he didn’t have to worry about other operatives slipping in and stealing her from him before he staked his claim.
Yeah, that made him sound like a caveman, but Rayne was special.
He also wasn’t blind. He’d noticed other operatives watching her, and rumors were swirling around Fortress about two operatives on other teams who wanted to ask her out on a date.
Satisfaction filled him. That was no longer a problem. Fortress was like a small family. Word would spread fast that he and Rayne were together now.
Rayne’s eyes narrowed. “You look smug, Grant. Care to explain that?”
“Simple.” He smiled. “You’re mine, which makes you off limits to the other men who were thinking about asking you for a date.”
“What other men?”
“Doesn’t matter now, does it?”
She rolled her eyes. “Didn’t matter before, either, because I haven’t been interested in anyone but you since I met you.”
“Same.” Grant stood and tugged Rayne to her feet. “As much as I would love to stay here with you for the day, our team leaders will only give us so much grace.”
“Iona isn’t known for her patience.”
“What a coincidence. Neither is Seth. Do you want to shower here or head straight to Fortress headquarters?”
“I’d love a shower before we leave if you don’t mind.”
He wrapped his hand around hers. “Come with me.” Grant led her to his guest bathroom and turned on the light. “Everything you’ll need is in the linen closet beside the tub. I’ll be in the other bathroom. Want me to make coffee before we go?”
She grimaced. “Pass. Since I want to keep my stomach lining intact, I’ll make the coffee.”
Grant laughed. “Deal.” He kissed her lightly, then left to shower and change clothes himself.
Ten minutes later, he made two protein shakes and poured them into travel tumblers with straws, then filled the water reservoir of his coffeemaker. His lips curved. Guess he’d better not tamper with the coffee beans. His woman wouldn’t appreciate his helpfulness.
Rayne walked into the kitchen a minute later. “What’s in the tumblers?”
“Protein shakes.” He held up his hands as though surrendering. “I didn’t touch the coffee beans, just filled the water for coffee. Work your magic.”
“Choose the coffee beans you want and grind them.”
Once the coffee finished brewing minutes later, Grant poured the steaming liquid into to-go cups. “Ready?”
“Let’s do it. I don’t want Iona or Seth to assign more laps than they already will.”
An hour later, they parked their vehicles behind the training facility, grabbed their Go bags and hurried toward the entrance. When they walked into the cavernous room filled with every kind of exercise equipment imaginable, Seth and Iona eyed them.
“Better be a good explanation for why you’re three hours late for training,” Seth snapped.