11. Dane
ELEVEN
Dane
I pulled up to the curb outside Grace’s house. She’d just gone inside.
Her place was half a mile from Main Street, a one-story ranch with mature trees growing around it. It looked nice, but not exactly what I would’ve expected for Grace. It was nondescript. Grace had an indefinable, special quality about her, even when she was dressed casually. A spark that naturally drew my eye. But maybe she hadn’t lived here long, and she hadn’t had the chance to put her own personal mark on it yet.
She’d left the door open, which I figured was an invitation for me to follow her inside. I made my way up the front walkway with a grin on my face, still feeling triumphant that she’d agreed to have dinner with me and be my guide to her hometown. It was all platonic, of course, but I had every intention of enjoying her company.
I’d also been relieved to hear she and the police chief were no more than friends. I had no claim to Grace, and I couldn’t be more than friends with her either. But she seemed to bring out a possessive streak in me that I’d never experienced with anyone else.
Then the hairs on my arms started to prickle, and my smile faded in an instant.
Grace was standing just inside the doorway, not moving.
I jogged the last few steps to reach her. “Hey, what’s—Oh, shit .”
The living room was a disaster area. Cushions thrown off the couch, lamps knocked sideways. The kitchen was visible through an archway, and the drawers and cabinets were all open, contents strewn everywhere.
“Grace, you need to get out of this house. Whoever did this could still be here.” I put my hand on her shoulder, and that seemed to wake her back up.
“My bedroom!” She slipped out of my grasp. Shit . The girl was fast.
I rushed after her, catching up to her in the hallway. My fingers closed around her wrist to keep her from going into the bedroom. “Did you not hear what I said? We need to get out of here.”
She struggled. “Dane, let me go. Some asshole has been in my room.”
“Exactly my point.” Her bedroom hadn’t fared any better than the living room. Her bedding was thrown haphazardly, drawers rifled through. My stomach lurched with anger when I saw broken glass on the carpet.
Whoever had done this to Grace, I wanted to smash every bone in his body the way he had smashed her possessions. But only once I was sure she was safe.
“We’re going outside, and we’re calling your police chief friend.”
“Dane—”
“Nope. I’m not messing around anymore.”
Before she could run away from me again, I hoisted her over my shoulder in a fireman’s carry. Grace screamed. “Put me down!”
“I will. When we’re safely outside.”
“What about my roommates? What if someone’s hurt?”
From the hall, I quickly glanced in the other doorways, just to make sure nobody was injured and lying unconscious. None of the other rooms had been touched. I didn’t see any sign of an intruder, either. But I wasn’t going to push our luck.
Once we were outside, I carried Grace to my Range Rover, opened the door, and dropped her into the passenger seat. Then I stood there in the doorway of the SUV to block her exit as I took out my phone. She glared at me.
I dialed 911 and a dispatcher answered. “What’s your emergency?”
“There’s been a break-in at Grace O’Neal’s residence.” I glanced at the mailbox and read off the address. “No one injured that we know of. But it’s possible the intruder could still be inside the house. Yes. Will do. We’re not going anywhere.”
I lowered my phone. The dispatcher had asked me to remain on the line, but I would be able to hear if she said anything else. “They’re on their way. Are you all right?”
“No, I’m furious . My phone is in my purse. I dropped it in the living room. Let me go get it.” She tried to push past me. I kept her in place.
“You should be furious. But you’re staying right here. We need to wait for the authorities to arrive.”
“This is my home, Dane. Not yours. I promise you, if I run into the asshole who did this, he’s going to be the one fleeing for his life.”
I smothered the grin that tried to rise on my lips.
Her glasses had slipped down her nose, and it was so damn cute that it made me want to kiss her forehead. But I had the feeling that would only piss her off more.
The thought of someone going through her things, though, returned me to that simmering state of fury. It shocked me to think anyone would want to cause Grace harm.
“Any idea who would do this? The other bedrooms weren’t ransacked. Only yours.” It had looked like Grace had several roommates, and I suspected they weren’t the female variety given the decor choices in their rooms. I was curious about that, but it could wait until later.
I wanted her gut impression. Because if someone had been bothering her lately, that name would come first to her mind. I liked Grace a lot, and I would be damned if I let someone frighten and intimidate her this way.
She hesitated, averting her eyes. “I’m not sure.”
“Give me his name, Grace.”
“I don’t have any names. I have no idea if it’s connected. But?—”
A police cruiser roared down the street and stopped behind us. Chief Landry jumped out, along with another officer. I wanted to hear what else Grace was going to say, but Landry charged up to us.
“What happened?” he demanded. His expression hardened when he glanced at me.
She explained what we’d seen inside. While Landry and the other officer went into the house, more vehicles pulled up. Grace’s brother Callum and a younger guy wearing a Silver Ridge FD T-shirt jumped out. Callum’s head swiveled until he spotted his sister, and he went straight toward us.
“Gracie, what the hell is going on? We were at the fire house. We heard about the 911 call.”
Grace hugged her brother. “Someone broke in. Dane was with me when I got here.”
“Wasn’t clear if the intruder was still in the house,” I chimed in. “I took Grace outside and called the police.”
The one with shaggy black hair who’d arrived a second after Callum crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at me with suspicion.
Callum exhaled. “This is messed up. I’m gonna call the other guys and let them know.”
By the time the police finished checking the house, we had a crowd gathered on the front lawn. Me, Grace, Callum, and their roommates. I wondered when Grace had been planning to mention that she lived with three single men. Sure, her brother was around as well, but from everything I’d heard from Ashford, Callum wasn’t a model of responsibility.
I also couldn’t help thinking about the fact that nobody else’s room had been touched except for Grace’s. Did that mean the culprit had been looking for something of hers?
“Dane, what exactly were you doing here with Grace?” Callum asked. His tone was friendly, but there was a hard edge beneath. The other roommates frowned at me, grumbling that they wanted to know the same thing.
Grace rolled her eyes. “All of you calm down. I’m helping Dane with a project.”
Chief Landry stepped out onto the grass. “Grace, could I have a word with you?”
I stayed beside her as she crossed the lawn toward the chief. Landry frowned, but he didn’t tell me to leave. “Can you explain again what happened?” he asked Grace. “From the beginning. Don’t leave anything out.”
“There’s not much to tell. After bingo, I drove here, and Dane followed me so we could get started on a project I’m going to help him with. But when I arrived, I saw the door was already open. I walked in and found it just like it is now.”
She didn’t mention the part where I threw her over my shoulder and carried her back outside. Probably for the best.
“The common areas and your bedroom were the only parts of the house that appeared to be affected,” Landry said. “The parts of the house you presumably used. Certainly looks like someone was targeting you.”
“That’s what Dane said too.” Grace’s skin had gone ashen. I rested my hand on her lower back.
“You’ll need to take a look and see if anything is missing,” Landry said. “Do you have any idea who would’ve done this?”
Same thing I’d asked her before. But this time, Grace shook her head emphatically. None of the hesitation I had seen earlier around that question. “No. No idea at all.” Her eyes met mine, silently pleading with me not to say anything.
I didn’t like it, but I held my tongue. We would be discussing it later. Without a doubt.
“Are you checking for fingerprints?” I asked the chief. “What about doorbell cams at the neighbors’ houses?” I hadn’t seen one at Grace’s. No alarm system of any kind.
The chief fixed me with an annoyed look. “We’re following all our usual procedures. This isn’t New York City, but believe it or not, I know what I’m doing.”
I held up my hands. “Just making sure.”
Landry took Grace inside. I almost asked if she wanted me to go with her, but I figured I had ruffled enough feathers for the moment.
“Is there something going on between you and my sister?” Callum asked.
Uh oh.
I turned around, finding Grace’s brother and his three buddies glowering at me.
“We’re friends. I’m worried about her. Same as you. But if this were my place, I would’ve had a security system and stronger locks on the doors to keep her safe.”
Callum took off his baseball cap and ran his fingers through his hair. “I’ve always liked you, Knightly. Don’t give me a reason not to.”
“I’ve always liked you too, Callum, but I can’t really help what you do and don’t like.”
Grumbling, he pushed past me into the house.
* * *
I joined in with the others to help clean the living room and kitchen. When Grace and the officers finished in her room, she walked out into the hallway, looking shellshocked.
“Anything missing?” her brother asked.
Her gaze flew to me, then away. “No, not that I can tell.” She rubbed a hand down her opposite arm.
Grace was lying. I couldn’t say how I read her so well based on the few interactions we’d had, but I felt it in my gut. Just like she’d lied to Chief Landry earlier. The question was why.
One of the roommates nodded his head toward Grace’s room. “You want us to help clean up in there?”
“It’s not that bad,” she said faintly. “I can handle it.”
You shouldn’t have to , I wanted to say. But I didn’t think pushing her was the right move at the moment. She was upset, and all my protectiveness had reared to the surface. I wanted to put my arms around her and get her somewhere quiet. Somewhere she felt secure enough to talk and tell me what was really going on.
I crossed the room toward her. “I don’t think you should stay here tonight,” I said softly. “I can get you a room at the hotel.”
“There’s no need for that,” her brother said. Callum pointed a thumb at another of the bedrooms. “Grace can take my room. I’ll sleep on the couch.”
“Or she could take my bunk,” the guy who’d introduced himself as Connor said.
“Or mine,” Niko added.
Grace opened her mouth, but Chief Landry spoke over her. “No, I think Knightly has a point. But Grace should stay closer to home. I’ll call Piper. Grace, you can stay at my sister’s place tonight. She has a security system.”
“We’re fine here,” Callum protested. “I’ll head to the damn hardware store right now, get a new lock, and have it installed within the hour. Hell, I’ll install a camera outside too. Grace is completely safe.”
“Would you all shut up and let me speak ?”
Every head turned toward the small, flustered woman in the corner.
“I can decide for myself where I want to sleep. I appreciate all the concern, because you’re right, my room doesn’t seem all that attractive tonight after some creep was in there. But I also need space without all of you fretting over me. I’ll go to the hotel.”
Her brother tried again to talk her out of it, but Grace wasn’t having it. “I’m going to grab my things,” she said.
I made a quick call while she packed an overnight bag.
Callum went to help her, then wandered back to the living room and frowned at me as I finished my call with Tobin, my hotel manager. Grace emerged with a bag hanging from her shoulder.
Callum hugged her. “Text me when you’re in your hotel room, all right? I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Her brother glanced at me. “Make sure she has what she needs at the hotel?”
“Planning on it.”
I took Grace’s bag, along with the stack of books she carried in her arms. We went outside and headed toward my SUV.
It took some convincing, but she was leaving her own car here. She didn’t love the idea of being stuck at the resort and needing me to drive her around, but I’d reminded her that the shuttle made several trips to Main Street every day.
I had no intention of sticking her on the shuttle, of course. I would drive her wherever she needed to go tomorrow. But for as much as Grace bent over backwards on behalf of her family and the town, she wasn’t so great at accepting help for herself.
I opened the door for her, then stowed her bag and the stack of books in my backseat. It was fully dark by now, way past dinner time. I switched my high beams on to light the road to the mountain.
“You can scream it out if you want,” I said. “Now that it’s just us.”
“ What ?”
I saw her turn toward me from the corner of my eye, but I remained focused on the road. “A primal yell. Don’t you ever do that when you’re pissed off?”
“Just scream? Right now?”
“Sure.”
She paused. Inhaled. “I’ll…think about it.”
“All right. I’d prefer you use the car though, if you change your mind. Screaming in the hotel could raise some questions.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” She chuckled. A half-hearted one, but it was something.
We drove in silence for several minutes, and then she said, “I’ll pay you back for the hotel room.”
“No, you won’t.”
“I can afford it. I don’t need charity.”
“No offense, but I don’t need your money. I take care of my friends.” I tapped the steering wheel with my thumb. “I do think you should tell Ashford about what happened, though. Before he hears it from someone else.”
“Are you going to tell him?”
“Not unless I have your permission. But whenever he hears it, he’s going to be worried, and there’s nothing you can do about that. He loves you.”
She sighed. “Ashford and Emma have been through enough. I don’t want to add to it.”
“I doubt they’d see it that way.”
Ashford had told me about how Emma was hurt last year by someone they’d all trusted. From what I understood, that person had been a friend of Grace’s too. I was glad the attacker was dead and wouldn’t hurt any of the O’Neals again.
“But you’re right,” she said. “I’ll call Ashford tomorrow. I’m exhausted.”
“Let’s get you settled and comfortable, then.”
When we reached the resort, I parked in my reserved space beside the hotel and grabbed her things from the backseat.
“You plan to read this many books tonight?” I asked.
“I’ve got my e-reader and laptop in my bag too. Some of it’s for work, some of it’s for pleasure. And I never know what reading mood I’ll be in.”
I smiled. “Got it.”
We walked together into the lobby. There was a low hum of activity tonight, the sound of people talking and dishes clinking coming from the restaurant. But this was practically dead compared to how busy it had been the night of the grand-opening party. The last time Grace had been here.
Tobin spotted me and came out from behind the desk. “Evening, sir. Here’s the extra key you requested. The dinner you ordered should be up in a few.”
“Thanks, Tobin. Ms. O’Neal will be staying here a few days. Can you give her your direct number? And take care of anything she asks for?”
“It’s one day,” Grace corrected, accepting the business card that Tobin handed her. “I’ll be out of your hair in the morning.”
I shrugged. “We’ll see. You might like it so much here you decide to stay longer, and you’re welcome to. The owner is a generous guy.”
That earned me a faint smile.
I nodded toward the elevators, carrying her bag. The car opened as soon as I pushed the up arrow. We stepped inside, and I waved the keycard to get the elevator moving.
“What room number am I in?” Grace asked.
“701.”
She blinked at me. “ Your room?”
So she remembered. “My suite. It actually has three bedrooms. I’m only using one of them. If you don’t feel comfortable, I can make other arrangements. You said you wanted space, but…” I considered my words carefully. “If you need anything while you’re here, I’d like to be close enough to anticipate it. Since I have the feeling you won’t ask for it yourself.”
I expected some kind of pushback. The woman had been skittish around me from the first moment we’d met.
But instead, a hundred pounds of tension seem to melt away from her shoulders. “Thank you. That sounds pretty nice.”
“So you’re willing to trust me? At least for tonight?”
“I guess I am.”
I held out the keycard to my suite. “I did give you one of these already, but I’m assuming you got rid of it.”
She smiled sheepishly. “I left it in the purse I was using that night. The purse belongs to Piper, so it’s at her place. I can get it back for you.”
“Nah, don’t bother. You might as well have access to an extra copy.” I winked. “I’m willing to trust you, too.”