Twelve
TWELVE
Cierra
“So, this guy is out for revenge.”
There was little room for argument. Not only was it true, but Greyson’s tone was firm to the point it would have been difficult to question anyway.
Of course, that tone didn’t scare me. He’d been nothing but sweet to me.
I’d been sitting on one side of the square table in my breakfast nook off the kitchen. Greyson sat kitty-corner to me, and as we ate breakfast, I filled him in on the story of what happened with Briana Nichols and Richard Lynch.
I shared all the details I could remember—which was essentially everything, because I hadn’t forgotten a single thing about the traumatizing experience. I told him how I’d been walking along downtown Steel Ridge after leaving the public library one evening, minding my own business, when I noticed what was happening. I revealed the specifics of how I’d reacted immediately in that moment, how Richard ran off, and the terrifying minutes that followed as Briana bled profusely, waiting for help to arrive.
After filling him in on the immediate things that happened, the extent of Briana’s injuries, and the lengthy healing process she’d endured, I shared the legal side of it. I told him how the same as Briana had, I’d been able to identify Richard—a face I’d never forget as long as I lived—and how I’d testified when the case went to trial.
And finally, Greyson learned the truth about how Richard believed I was the person responsible for destroying his life. Granted, it was my testimony, along with Briana’s, that had been the nail in the coffin for him, but I didn’t think that was a justification for wanting to seek revenge.
Greyson not only listened raptly, but he also comforted me throughout. Sometimes, that meant covering my hand with his and stroking his thumb over my knuckles to reassure me. Other times, it meant allowing the warmth in his eyes to do the work his touch didn’t or couldn’t.
I hadn’t envisioned this being how my day would go today, especially not after how things went down between Greyson and me last night. In fact, when my alarm went off this morning, I felt sparks of excitement that helped me to push past the sleepiness. I’d been looking forward to seeing him again, even if I knew we were going to have a serious conversation about what was happening between us.
But then I went out to my car, saw the tires, and the fear settled in.
As quickly as I could snap my fingers, the elation and warmth were gone, replaced by fear and icy cold. My belly became a mess of trembling nerves, and breathing became so difficult, it was like being planted atop Mt. Everest without an oxygen tank.
I had no proof. There was no evidence. It was entirely possible that I was overreacting to what could have just been an awful yet random act of vandalism.
It was for those reasons I hadn’t wanted to tell Greyson everything. Knowingly pulling him into this mess weighed heavily on me.
But I couldn’t have him thinking that everything I was feeling had anything to do with how I felt about him. It was just my luck that at the precise moment things took such an incredible, wonderful turn between Greyson and me, something like this would happen. He’d been so distressed on the phone, and the way he pleaded with me to give him a chance to talk to me about us broke my heart.
I’d been so terrified that he wouldn’t be okay with it, that he’d be too worried about his nephew and the rest of the innocent children, teachers, and staff at the school to want to help me, to even listen to my side of it.
But that wasn’t what happened. No doubt he had concerns about the well-being of innocent people in this situation—that was never in question. Greyson was so calm and focused, as much as he could be upon learning what had happened, and if anything, he seemed to have more resolve to fix this for me. He hadn’t said as much, but I could see it in his warm brown eyes.
And now that I’d finished sharing it all, Greyson had drawn his conclusion. Apart from that slight firmness in his tone, Greyson exuded calm. He kept his eyes focused on me, and his expression remained neutral. He hadn’t even jerked his head back or squeezed my hands out of surprise or shock.
I still felt lingering bits of dread. I didn’t think I’d even taken a full breath since I noticed the damage to the tires. “I can’t say for sure that what happened to my tires is because of Richard, because I don’t have any proof that he did it. But I think it’s possible he did. He had the motive, and he didn’t hold back his disdain for me doing what I’d done to help his conviction.”
“What’s your relationship like with your neighbors?”
“My neighbors?”
He tipped his head to the side. “Do you get along with them? Does everyone just keep to themselves?”
I shrugged. “It’s all friendly. I don’t speak to anyone on a regular basis, and nobody really goes out of their way to speak to me. But if I happen to be outside at the same time as anyone else, we all wave. Sometimes, we spend a few minutes catching up about whatever’s going on in the town at that time. That’s the extent of it. I wouldn’t necessarily consider anyone to be a close friend or anything like that.”
“Okay. But they’d be concerned about a criminal in their neighborhood, right?”
“Of course.”
Greyson narrowed his eyes as though deep in thought. “Alright. Maybe we can see if anyone with a direct line of sight to your driveway had an exterior camera that picked anything up from last night.”
That was a great idea. I hadn’t even thought about that. “Oh, I’m sure they’d be more than willing to help out if they have cameras or footage.”
“Perfect. That’ll be our first step.”
Something about him saying it would be our first step warmed my heart. That he hadn’t gotten up and walked out of here, unwilling to be associated with me any longer, was both comforting and refreshing. “Are there more steps?”
One half of his mouth quirked. “Yes. Quite a few more, some I won’t even bother taking the time to even explain to you, because they’re all things I’ll deal with on my end when I’m back at work on Monday.”
“I feel awful about this.”
“Don’t. First of all, what you did for a woman you didn’t even know, especially when the guy attacking her could have easily turned on you, is beyond noble, Cierra. There aren’t a lot of people who’d step in during a situation like that, so you shouldn’t be passing it off as no big deal. It’s a big deal. I want to stand a little taller just knowing you.”
My chest expanded, my heart feeling so full. “That was very nice of you to say. But I still feel foolish.”
“Why?”
I shook my head with disappointment. “I should have taken steps to protect myself sooner. Obviously, I know that wouldn’t have necessarily changed anything about what happened last night, but I’d be in a much better place now if I’d done something before Briana showed up and told me he was getting out. All these years, I knew how he felt about me and my role in his conviction. It was stupid to pretend I didn’t.”
Greyson’s hand was still covering mine. He pushed his chair back slightly from the table and turned fully in my direction, scooting his chair closer in the process, and took hold of my other hand. Appreciating the tenderness of his touch and the closeness to him, I had no choice but to turn my body toward him so he could continue to provide that comfort. “What do you think it was that stopped you from starting up with lessons years ago?”
The concern in his voice and in those warm brown eyes was almost too much to bear. For all that I’d just revealed, it helped to not hear smugness in his tone or to see judgment in his expression. This man was genuinely curious; he simply wanted to understand my mindset.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. In the beginning, when he first went away, I think I was just exhausted from the whole ordeal. It drained the life out of me, and I wasn’t the one who’d been attacked and on the verge of death. Back then, knowing he was behind bars, I probably just wanted a break from it all. But then I got comfortable again. And for far too long, I guess I had hoped Richard would use his time in prison to look inward and recognize that it was his own choices that landed him where he was. Surely, any personal vendettas would fade once he realized it could land him right back there.”
Greyson’s thumbs stroked lightly over my knuckles. “Did he make any attempts to contact you at any point before you showed up at Harper Security Ops?”
“No.”
“So, even not knowing if he’d had a change of heart while in prison, you still felt fearful? Was it just the idea of him getting out that pushed you to finally take that action to get lessons?”
“It’s crazy, I realize,” I murmured.
Greyson released his hold on my hands and curled his fingers around the outer part of my legs, just above my knees. “It’s not crazy. You saw his release as a re-emergence of that threat against you. I merely wanted to be sure there wasn’t anything else you experienced before coming in, that’s all.”
I was trying to focus on his words, but the firm grip he had on my legs was making it virtually impossible. The only saving grace was the pants I had on. I could only imagine how much worse my ability to focus would have been if I could feel two of his fingers drifting toward that sensitive spot just behind my knees, doing it on my bare skin.
Greyson didn’t seem to notice the effect he was having on me, so I used every bit of resolve to focus on our conversation. “The slashed tires are the first indication of something sinister going on.”
Nodding his understanding, Greyson insisted, “That’s good. Not good that it happened at all, obviously, but that there hasn’t been anything else. And even if I would have loved to have met you sooner than just a couple of weeks ago, I’m glad you came in for help when you did.”
I offered a small smile in return. “Yeah, me too. Thank you for not making me feel bad about this.”
His hands squeezed my legs. “I’m so proud of you, Cierra.”
My eyes dropped to my lap, the praise making me feel a bit bashful. “So, what other steps do I need to take?”
Greyson sat back in his seat, losing his grip on my thighs. “You need to continue your lessons with me.”
“I already planned on that.”
He grinned. “That’s great. I wanted to be certain. You also need to make sure you continue to implement the things I’ve already taught you to do whenever you’re out anywhere. Situational awareness, especially when you know there’s someone with a grudge, could be the thing that makes a difference to you.”
I had been practicing that more and more, but there was the time he’d been with me as I left the grocery store, and I completely forgot to be mindful of it. “I’m going to keep working on that.”
“Good.”
“Anything else?”
Greyson tipped his head slightly to one side, his eyes roaming over my face as something softened in his expression. “How would you feel about me installing some security here?”
It was something that should have been done a long time ago. “My dad would love you for that. In fact, I had sort of promised him the weekend before I came into Harper Security Ops that I was going to look into that as well.”
“He hasn’t noticed it’s not been done yet?”
I shook my head. “No. He and my mom are in Florida. They go there for the winters. And they were ready to come back when they learned about Richard being released, but I insisted that they stay, that I’d be fine and would take all the necessary precautions.”
Seemingly satisfied that my father hadn’t left me to fend for myself in a situation like this, Greyson said, “If you’re up for lessons this morning, we’ll get the security system taken care of afterward.”
“Oh, well, you don’t have to do it that fast,” I argued.
He arched a brow, a slight smirk donning his expression. “Do you think there’s a better time for me to be concerned about your safety?”
“No. I’m just… I feel like I’m disrupting your life.”
“You are.” I jerked back, hurt radiating through me. Greyson seemed to notice, leaned forward again, and touched his fingers to my thighs once more. “You are the best disruption I’ve had in a very long time, pretty lady. And I’m not interested in going back to the mundane days I had before the distraction of you, which leads me to the next step.”
He wanted to discuss the next step while I was still stuck on him calling me pretty lady . He’d said it a handful of times now, and I hadn’t yet pressed him on it. I wanted to, but I also had a feeling it might come up in another discussion soon. Plus, he was also making it clear he liked being distracted by me, and shivers ran down my spine at that admission. “What’s the next step?”
Greyson’s fingers moved from the side of my thighs to the top and back again. He was doing little to help dissolve the heat building inside. “You can agree to join me for dinner tonight?”
“What?”
He hesitated for just a beat before he said, “Things changed between us last night, Cierra. At least, they did for me. And I hope they changed for you in a similar way. I’d like to take you out on a real date tonight, one where you can get all dressed up. During our dinner, dessert, and whatever else we might decide to do, I want to talk to you about where I stand and what I would like for us moving forward.”
I’d only gone to Harper Security Ops two weeks ago in hopes of getting lessons on how to defend and protect myself. I was in the process of getting that, of learning everything I needed to in order to stay safe. Everything I’d learned so far had been invaluable, and I fully believed, as long as I continued to take those classes with Greyson, they’d serve me well.
But I was beginning to think that perhaps the greatest thing I was getting out of the lessons had nothing to do with any of the techniques I’d been taught or would learn in the coming weeks.
It was him.
Greyson West.
A handsome man with a kind heart and warm eyes who teased me and taught me and was a phenomenal kisser. A protective man who was concerned about my safety and wanted to install a security system for me. A charming man who wanted to take me out to dinner, so he could tell me where he stood and what he wanted for us.
If I thought I’d been a fool not to do something about protecting myself before I learned of Richard’s release, declining Greyson would be infinitely worse.
So, I smiled at him. “I think I’d love to join you for dinner.”
“Yeah?”
I nodded and held his stare. “You’re not the only one who’s been distracted lately. I have some things of my own I’d like for us moving forward.”
His gaze darkened. “Then there’s only one thing left to do.”
“Oh? What’s that?”
“Come over here so I can finally give you a kiss.”
I didn’t hesitate.
I stood, took the single step toward him, and had just enough time to let out a yelp as he tugged me into his lap, drove his hand into my hair, and kissed me like he never wanted to stop.