Twenty-three
TWENTY-THREE
Greyson
When my phone rang in my pocket, something unfurled in my gut. My breathing had eased a touch, too.
These days, I’d grown accustomed to that feeling, to the constant state of worry I’d been in over Cierra whenever I wasn’t with her.
As much as I hadn’t wanted and didn’t like to make her feel like she couldn’t go anywhere or do anything on her own without calling to notify me of it, Cierra didn’t seem to mind. She willingly agreed to check in with me whenever I requested it, and I had to wonder if she knew just how much that helped to settle me throughout the day.
Because it did.
It helped tremendously. Not completely, though. Not when I knew there was a threat against her. But it was enough for me to make it through each day without going crazy.
I was in the training room with Huck and Jake and shoved my hand into my pocket. “Hang on. That’s Cierra.”
Pulling out my phone, I glanced down at the display, and it took a moment for what I was seeing on the screen. I’d been expecting to see Cierra’s name on my phone. Her name and that picture of her beautiful face.
That it wasn’t either of those was concerning.
That I saw Ty’s name instead was alarming.
“Ty,” I answered.
“You said she was coming right out, didn’t you?”
My body tensed, my horrified eyes landing on my best friend. Huck seemed to understand immediately that something was wrong. “Yes. I thought this call was her letting me know she’d gotten back to my place.”
“She hasn’t come out yet, Grey.”
That sense of uneasiness and discomfort I felt earlier when Ty had first called me was back.
Ever since I’d learned the truth about Cierra’s reason for needing self-defense lessons, I’d taken precautions to keep her safe when I wasn’t around. She’d been terrified about Richard Lynch going to the school and doing something to harm the kids there.
So, I’d talked to the guys in the private security and bodyguard unit, and I asked them to set up a schedule to watch the school, to watch Cierra. One of those men would be there every day before she arrived, and they’d alternate a new team member in every couple of hours until Cierra left school for the day.
They knew to be on the lookout for Richard Lynch. While we still had no concrete proof that he’d been the one to destroy her garden or slash her tires, my gut told me he was responsible. And given that she’d never experienced anything like that in all the years she’d lived in her home, that it all happened just weeks after Richard had been released indicated he was the likely culprit.
I’d been slightly relieved today, knowing it was her final day at school. But when I’d received a call about fifteen minutes ago from Ty, I feared the worst. I’d shared with him this morning the approximate time Cierra was scheduled to leave, and when she hadn’t walked out at the time, he thought it strange.
Of course, he waited a few extra minutes, realizing that she might have been finishing up just a few more tasks, but when there were just four cars remaining in the parking lot and it had gone well past the time she was expected to leave, he had the feeling that something was up.
So, I’d called her to check in. And fortunately, everything had been okay. Cierra had stayed later to finish up some loose ends with her coworker. But when I’d gotten off the phone with her not quite ten minutes ago, she’d told me she was ready to leave as soon as we disconnected.
If that had been true, she should have been back to my place by now. Or, at the very least, nearly there.
Ty informing me that she hadn’t come out felt like some cruel joke. “Are you being serious?”
“Why would I lie? I’m telling you, she hasn’t come out yet. Her car is still in the same spot it was when she arrived here this morning. I thought it was possible she stopped to talk with a coworker on the way out. Obviously, I don’t mind if that’s the case, but I’m concerned.”
Four cars left in the lot.
What were the chances she would have even seen a coworker on her way out the door?
“Let me call her again. I’ll call you right back.’
I didn’t wait for Ty to respond, quickly disconnecting the call and tapping on the screen again to call Cierra.
It rang four times before going to voicemail. My stomach pitched uncomfortably, something squeezing in my chest and making it difficult to breathe.
“Everything okay, Greyson?” Huck asked as he made his way over to me.
I tapped on Cierra’s name again and held the phone to my ear. “Cierra hasn’t walked out of the school yet, even though she told me she was leaving ten minutes ago. Now, she’s not answering her phone.”
The call when to voicemail again. I swore as I pulled the phone away from my ear. “Something’s wrong. I’ve got that horrible feeling that she’s not okay. I’ve got to go.”
He jerked his head to the side. “Go. I’m coming right behind you.”
I took off out of the training room at a run with my phone at my ear again.
“Did you get in touch with her?” Ty asked, cutting to the chase.
“No. Please tell me she walked out,” I begged, breath heaving.
“She hasn’t come out.”
“Did you ever see someone go inside that didn’t belong there?”
“Nobody since I was here. Do you want me to check with Forrest? He was here this morning.”
“No. No, I want you to go in,” I ordered. “Whatever you’ve got to do, get into that school and get to her. We’ll deal with the fallout later.”
Despite my running through the Harper Security Ops building and out the front door into the parking lot, I could hear Ty springing into action on his end. “I’m on it, Greyson.”
“Please protect her,” I pleaded. “Please.”
“I got it. Just get here as soon as you can, because she doesn’t know me. Now, I’ve got to go.”
Ty didn’t give me the opportunity to respond.
And as I pulled out of the parking lot, I prayed I’d arrive at that school having overreacted and find Cierra whole and unharmed.
Cierra
Dread washed over me.
My breathing had turned quick and shallow. My stomach was roiling, and my heart hammered.
He was here. Richard was here in the school. In the library.
I couldn’t die here. I couldn’t let this man hurt me the way he’d hurt Briana. And if I stood a chance in making that happen, I was going to have to summon the techniques I’d been taught by Greyson to defend myself in a situation like this.
Because Greyson had no idea that I needed help.
He wouldn’t know that I was in trouble until too much time had passed without me calling to tell him I hadn’t made it back to his place.
And by then, how far would this have escalated? I didn’t think I’d still be standing here in this face-off with Richard, neither of us speaking.
Though it couldn’t have been even thirty seconds, it felt as though time had slowed down, that I’d been standing here in shock for minutes.
Finally, I took a step back. “Get out.”
A sinister smile washed over him, his beady eyes glowering. “You know that’s not going to happen.”
I did.
But that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to try to do everything I could to delay having any sort of physical contact with this man.
“What do you want from me? How did you even get in here?”
My voice cracked, and I hated that it revealed just how terrified I was.
It didn’t matter that I’d been training with Greyson for weeks. The hope was always that I’d never have to implement anything he’d taught me, that I’d only ever have those skills as a means to bolster my confidence. To think I was going to have to execute them now was terrifying.
What if I didn’t succeed?
What if I hadn’t learned enough or had enough practice?
“I walked right in this morning with everyone else. Nobody asked questions, and I kept myself hidden all day, waiting for the other one to leave.” Raelynn. God, she could have been caught up in this mess. Richard took a step forward, forcing me back another. I intended to maintain this distance from him for as long as I could. “And you already know what’s going to happen here. It’s time you pay for what you did.”
I steeled my spine, my knuckles turning white with the grip I had on the box in my hands. “I stopped an innocent woman from being murdered, and I made sure the man responsible wound up in prison.”
“Yes, you did. And now, I get my revenge. Or the rest of it, anyway. You should have kept your trap shut. You should have minded your own business.”
Something he said made my ears perk up. “The rest of it? So, it was you. You were the one who slashed my tires and destroyed my garden.”
His expression twisted with delight. He was proud of himself for what he’d done. “I was just having a little fun. I wanted you terrified about what I’d do next. And now, you don’t have to wonder any longer.”
Oh, God.
I didn’t know if I could do this.
Richard Lynch was standing between me and my escape. And with all the bookshelves, tables, chairs, and the check-out desk, there was such a narrow path for me. I was going to have to get on the other side of him, and that likely meant I was going to have some kind of physical contact.
I wasn’t going to be lucky enough to have someone walk past the library now. No doubt most of the staff had already left.
Maybe the janitor, Reggie, would come by if he heard the commotion. But I didn’t want to just start screaming before I felt fully prepared to fight.
If only this was one of the situations Greyson had talked to me about at the very beginning of my training. He’d shared how the most important thing for me to do was to give myself the opportunity to get away, not to engage in a fight, if at all possible. In most cases, an attacker would be looking for a quick score—keys, purse, or cell phone—and the instruction had been to give those items to the person attacking me, doing it by throwing them off to the side so it’d distract the perpetrator long enough to give me a head start.
But that wouldn’t work here.
Because Richard wasn’t interested in robbing me. He wanted to kill me.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a knife.
I was out of time.
If I didn’t do whatever I could to disarm him before he could open that knife, I would only risk additional injury.
So, I didn’t think twice.
I threw my box of things at him. It hit him hard enough that he dropped the knife at his feet and stumbled back a few steps.
My feet propelled me forward as I charged, remembering how the goal was to get him thrown off balance. Using all my weight, I barreled into him, and he went down.
I was only momentarily stunned by what I’d done, but I snapped out of it and focused my attention on the exit.
One, two, three strides in my heels was all I’d gotten in before I felt his hand or arm at my ankle. Richard had a tight hold on me, and when I attempted to pull out of his grasp, I went crashing to the ground.
My hands went out to brace for the fall, and pain shot through my palms and wrists as I let out a scream.
“You bitch!” Richard shouted.
I thrashed around, kicking my legs as I attempted to scramble out of his hold. Somehow, I managed to free my ankle and get to my feet, but he’d done the same and grabbed me by my hair.
I yelled out in pain again, but with his body behind mine, my instincts took over. Greyson and I had practiced this at least a hundred times. With as much force as I could muster up, I reared my elbow back toward his face and connected with his cheek.
He grunted in pain and released my hair, giving me the opportunity to spin around and face him. Richard’s hand was covering his cheek, his body hunched over slightly. I braced my hands on his shoulders, gripped as hard as I could, and propelled my knee up into his gut.
Richard moaned again, and I was sure he was disoriented enough for me to get away. But just as I turned, I tripped over the box that had been carrying my things.
I fell to my ass and couldn’t get back up on my feet before Richard brought his body down on top of mine.
Worst of all, I’d landed right beside his knife.
“Someone’s learned just a few too many tricks,” he seethed, the weight of him making me feel like I was being crushed.
My arms were pinned at my sides as Richard lifted the knife between our faces. With his head positioned just inches away, I couldn’t miss the awful stench of his breath.
If ever there was a time to scream, this was it.
I yelled.
I screamed as loud as I could for help, praying Reggie or any other faculty member was still in the building and close enough to hear me.
Before I could prepare for what he was doing, Richard clamped a hand over my mouth, reared back with his knife, and plunged it into my side. Only, he didn’t puncture my torso.
Blistering pain shot through my arm, warm blood immediately leaking from the wound. I was still screaming behind his palm.
I had to get up.
I had to get him off me.
Richard realized he hadn’t made contact where he wanted, so he repositioned himself and sat up on top of me as I kicked off my heels. I had one shot to do what Greyson had taught me.
Planting the soles of my feet onto the ground as Richard lifted the knife up near his shoulder, I used every ounce of strength I had inside me to lift my hips and unbalance him.
To my utter surprise, he went flying over me, his foot connecting with the arm he’d stabbed and sending another jolt of pain up my arm. I scrambled to get myself upright, and when I turned around, I realized I wasn’t alone.
There was a man I didn’t recognize dealing with Richard, and that man clearly knew what he was doing.
I stood there, unable to move as the blood poured down my arm, watching as the mystery man effortlessly restrained Richard.
And to my utter surprise, once he had Richard pinned, face down on the ground, he called, “Cierra?”
I blinked in surprise. He knew my name. How did he know my name? I was too stunned, and perhaps in too much shock, to respond.
“Cierra, honey, look at me.” My eyes left Richard’s red face and shifted to the man who’d rescued me. With my focus on him, the mystery guy spoke. “You’re bleeding.”
I looked down at my arm, at the blood pouring from it, and returned my attention to him. “Yes. Who are?—”
“My name is Ty. I work with Greyson. He’s on his way.”
Greyson was coming? How did he know I needed him? And how did this guy get here to help?
My chest was rising and falling so fast with my labored breaths, my insides trembling. I didn’t know what to say.
“Do you have a towel or an extra shirt? You need to put pressure on that wound.” I didn’t move. I didn’t respond. I wanted to fall to my knees and just start crying. Ty must have noticed. “Cierra.”
I shook my head, trying to come back to reality, but it wasn’t easy. My mind was lost.
“A towel or a shirt, Cierra,” Ty said. “Greyson needs you to do that. Can you get yourself something to staunch the blood? Can you do that for him?”
For Greyson?
I could do anything for him.
I nodded and found the sweater I’d had in the box I’d intended to take home with me today. I’d always kept one here in case I ever spilled something on myself or got chilly. “Will this work?”
“That’s perfect,” Ty assured me. “Wrap it around your arm and hold it firmly over that wound.”
There was so much blood. I didn’t know it was possible to lose that much blood from your arm. Suddenly, I was dizzy.
“Ease yourself down to the floor, so you don’t fall. The adrenaline is wearing off, and the blood loss isn’t helping.”
One step after another, I followed Ty’s instructions until my arm was wrapped up in my sweater and I was sitting on the floor with my back resting against the desk.
“Thank you,” I rasped. “Thank you for coming here to help.”
“You’re welcome. Are you okay?”
I shook my head, tears filling my eyes.
Ty offered me a sympathetic look, and I had a feeling if he wasn’t busy restraining Richard, he’d have walked over to comfort me.
Maybe that was the reason I hadn’t completely lost it yet. I didn’t feel safe enough to break down.
Was Greyson really coming?
Barely a minute later, I got my answer. Because I heard the rush of footsteps pounding down the hallway. And the next thing I knew, they came to a halt in the doorway at the entrance of the library.
Greyson took in the scene, noting Ty and Richard first. He was frantic, his eyes revealing just how terrified he was. And the second his gaze locked on mine, he nearly lost it.
“Oh, fuck. Cierra…” He entered the room and made a beeline for me. “You’re bleeding.”
I nodded, my lip trembling. The moment his hand reached for my arm and his fingers touched my skin, I lost it.
A choked sob escaped, and tears spilled down my cheeks. Greyson wrapped me in his arms and hushed me, tucking my head beneath his chin and holding me tight to his body. “You’re okay. You’re going to be okay.”
His words and firm hold were a balm, soothing me from the outside in. He continued to comfort me, pressing kisses to the top of my head as he whispered reassuring words. It took a few minutes, but I eventually settled down. I didn’t have a chance to ask Greyson a thing, because the next thing I knew, the police and Huck had arrived.
From there, it was a whirlwind. Greyson, his friends, and the police took care of everything. I’d only needed to relay the story of what had happened here in the library.
As soon as I’d done that, Greyson told the police he was taking me to the hospital to have the wound in my arm addressed.
They didn’t try to stop us, which I was grateful for.
And the moment I was in Greyson’s vehicle on the way to the hospital, I finally let out a sigh of relief.
This was over.
It was finally over.