Twenty-four
TWENTY-FOUR
Greyson
“I’ve never been so afraid.”
That made two of us.
It had been hours since I’d gotten that call from Ty, hours since I’d rushed into the library at the school and taken in what happened to Cierra.
For as long as I lived, it was a scene I’d never forget. It was a terror-stricken panic I’d always remember. To go in and see the state of the library, to see a man pinned on the ground by Ty had been one thing. I’d seen stuff like that throughout my entire career, both in the military and working at Harper Security Ops.
But to see Cierra sitting on the floor, covered in blood and entirely disheveled, in the middle of that mess, was something else. It took some form of superhuman strength to swallow down the rage I felt. Knowing it was the man Ty had restrained on the ground that had done all of that to Cierra had the fury building inside me, and I wanted nothing more than to go after him.
It was only the sight of her, shaking and terrified, that kept me from doing what every instinct inside me screamed to do.
So, I went to her, giving her the comfort and reassurance she needed that everything was going to be okay. I thought I’d experienced the worst of it, and anything that happened moving forward would be easier.
I was wrong.
The worst of all of it might have been listening to Cierra tell the story to the police of what she’d gone through up until Ty had arrived.
Now, she was here at my place, hours after it all happened, and her arm was bandaged up. The stab wound had required seven stitches. Fortunately, there was no major damage, and she’d be able to get the stitches out within a week.
It seemed that with all that had happened leading up to this point, neither Cierra nor I had really been able to process everything. It had been about doing the next necessary thing.
But now that we were alone in my bed, the weight of it all resting heavily on our shoulders, we needed to talk it out.
Cierra was on her back beside me. I was on my side, my head propped in my hand as I looked down at her.
I’d been just as afraid as Cierra, terrified that I wouldn’t get there fast enough. That even Ty would be too late.
My eyes roamed over her sweet face, gratitude sweeping through me that she was still here with me. “I know you were afraid. I was, too. And I’m so sorry I wasn’t there to protect you.”
“But you were,” she returned softly.
Confusion washed over me, my brows pulling together. “What do you mean? I got there after Ty, and it wasn’t like he’d prevented you from being attacked. I heard what you told the police. I talked to Ty. You had to endure so much on your own. You got hurt. And that’s something I’m not sure I can ever get past. How can you say I was there when I feel like I was far too late?”
“I remembered the things you taught me.” A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, like she was recalling some happy memory. “I know I didn’t execute everything perfectly, and I still need a ton of practice, but I think a big part of the reason I was still alive by the time Ty got there is because I was able to fight back using the skills I acquired during our lessons. But it feels kind of crazy.”
Seeing that smile on her face eased some of the guilt I felt. I didn’t think it’d ever go away completely, but as time went on, I hoped I’d be able to focus on the positive side of this instead of focusing on how much worse today could have gone.
I draped my free arm over her abdomen, and my fingertips brushed tenderly along the skin on the side of her waist. “What feels crazy?”
Cierra took a deep swallow. “It was one thing to be in lessons with you and execute moves in a controlled environment. But to be in that moment, to have my heart beating so hard and fast I could both feel and hear it, was something else entirely. In training, even at the very start of it, I never felt afraid. I never feared for my life. I was terrified in that library today. When I first saw Richard, I felt all these conflicting emotions. There was this cold feeling that washed over me, at the same time I could feel the sweat beading up on my lip and the back of my neck. My heart was racing, but I felt like time had slowed and the world had stopped spinning. I don’t know. I guess I thought, in some foolish way, that if I ever wound up in a situation like I did today, it would feel like lessons with you do. But that wasn’t how it was, and it took me more time than it probably should have in order to get my wits about me.”
My fingers stopped moving against her skin long enough to squeeze her hip. “You did beautifully today. I’m so proud of you for fighting back the way you did. I listened to you tell that story to the police and at the hospital, and considering this was your first ever life-threatening experience, you handled it better than a lot of people could. I get that you were terrified. I was, too. But you have nothing to be ashamed about.”
Appreciation shown in her gaze. “I couldn’t have done this without you. I know if it hadn’t been for your persistence and willingness to keep teaching me, today would have ended differently. But I do have one question.”
“Sure.”
She thought for a moment. “Maybe it’s two questions. How did you know something was wrong? And despite it feeling like an eternity for me, how was Ty there so quickly?”
Time to spill the beans. She was either going to hate me for doing this, or she would be understanding of the position I was in. “Do you remember the morning your tires got slashed, and you told me the real reason you decided to come in for self-defense training?”
Questions lingered in Cierra’s stare, but she didn’t ask them. “Yes, of course, I do.”
“You told me that morning how important your students were to you, how terrified you were that something might happen to them, and I couldn’t ignore that.”
“What did you do?”
The tone of Cierra’s voice didn’t indicate how she felt, whether she was preparing for me to share that I’d somehow gone on to betray her trust in some massive way. “I went to work on Monday, told the men I work with about what was happening, and I got Ty and the rest of the guys in the bodyguard and private security unit to set up a schedule to watch the school. They’ve been rotating shifts every day since, making sure you arrived and left safely, and that nobody who didn’t belong there went in. I still don’t know how Ty didn’t catch him going in.”
“He walked in this morning,” Cierra declared. “When he first stepped into the library, I was panicking. I thought I’d do whatever I could to keep him talking, that as long as he was talking to me, he wouldn’t be stabbing me. And he told me that he walked in with several other staff members this morning. Nobody questioned him, and he stayed somewhere in the school all morning and early afternoon until Raelynn left, and I was alone.”
That explained it.
And I didn’t blame Ty or Forrest, who’d been there in the morning. If I’d been the one in their position, I wouldn’t have thought someone like Richard would just walk into the school with the other members of the staff. If Richard had been able to make it seem like he belonged there, that he was one of them, he wouldn’t have stuck out.
“Are you upset with me?”
“For what?”
“For not telling you that I had men watching the school, watching you.”
Long moments of silence stretched between us, and there wasn’t a hint of what was going through Cierra’s mind written anywhere in her expression. Maybe that was why I’d been caught off guard completely when she finally spoke. “I’m not upset at all, Greyson. In fact, I think I love you more for it.”
Every muscle and bone in my body tensed. “What did you just say?”
Cierra’s eyes filled with tears. “I think I might be in love with you, Greyson. I’ve been feeling something for a while now, and after what happened today, I don’t want to leave things unsaid. You mean the world to me. You’ve changed my life completely. And I think you deserve to know how I feel.”
“You love me?”
A tear escaped and slid down the side of her face toward her hair. “I do. I know it hasn’t been a very long time, so I don’t want you to feel pres?—”
“I love you, too.”
She blinked in surprise. “You… you do?”
I nodded. “I’ve been feeling this way for a while, too, and I think there was a part of me that was worried you might freak out if I shared it with you so quickly. But I do, Cierra. I love you like I’ve never loved anyone before you.”
Cierra stared at me for several beats before she asked, “How can today be both the worst and best day of my life?”
Laughter spilled out of me as I leaned down and touched my lips to hers. “I’ll make sure you have more days that can just go into the ranking of being the best only.”
Her hand on her good arm drove into my hair. “Mmm. That sounds nice.” She kissed me. “It feels so good to have it out in the open.”
I smiled against her lips. “Yeah. I can’t think of anything better to turn this day around.”
“I can.”
“Better than that?”
Seduction was etched into every gorgeous feature as she dipped her chin. “You could make love to me.”
Okay.
So, she had a point.
It could get better.
“Are you sure? After everything that happened…”
“I think I need it after everything that happened. We’ll just be careful of my arm, but I’m sure you can manage that alright.”
I grinned, taking in the sight of her, before I captured her mouth and kissed her again. This time, I didn’t stop to talk.
This time, I showed her just how much she meant to me, doing it while erasing all the bad from our day.
Cierra
Greyson and I had just finished having breakfast when his phone rang.
While he answered the call, I gathered up our plates and carried them to the kitchen, feeling immense gratitude for so many things.
It had been two weeks since that final day of school, two weeks since I’d fought off an attacker and avoided certain death.
So much had happened since then. Two days after the incident, I met up with Naomi for lunch like we’d planned. I hadn’t called to tell her about what happened. I figured it was best to just share the news in person. And it was good that I had, because she could see that I was okay and still lost her mind.
It had been nice to catch up with her, to have some time together and share just how wonderful things were in our lives. After having a few hours with one another, we made plans to go on a double date with the special men in our lives. That was planned for next weekend, and I couldn’t wait.
On the physical front, my stitches were removed just a few days ago, and the doctor was pleased with how well I’d healed. Since we hadn’t wanted to risk any damage to the wound, Greyson and I had held off on my self-defense lessons. It was Saturday morning now, but we planned to get back to my training on Monday, switching to an earlier time in the day, since I was off for the summer.
Greyson was impressed by my willingness and desire to continue with lessons. The reality was that I’d likely never need to utilize any of the skills he’d taught me already or would teach me in the future, but there was always a chance of something bad happening. After having experienced what I did with Richard in the library, I never wanted to go back.
And when it came to Richard, I was relieved to know he was back in prison. He had still been in a probationary period when he decided to come after me, and his foolish belief that he’d never be caught landed him where he was now. I didn’t know yet how long he’d be in, but there was no question he was facing several years behind bars again.
For now, that was good enough for me.
“We’ll get dressed and head over there right now.” At the panic in Greyson’s tone, I spun around. He still had his phone to his ear, listening to whoever was on the other end of the line. And then his face transformed, his features softening. “I have someone I want you to meet.”
Oh, boy.
I had a feeling I knew precisely where we were heading.
“We’ll see you soon.”
He pulled the phone from his ear and said, “Morgan’s in labor. It’s a week earlier than they anticipated, and our parents, having no indication the baby would arrive early, left for a weekend trip. They’re three hours away and coming home, but Morgan was hoping I’d be able to hang with Tucker at the hospital.”
My eyes widened. “The baby is coming today.”
“Looks that way.”
“Well, you should get going,” I urged him.
He shook his head. “I want you there with me. There’s no better time to introduce you to my family.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to intrude.”
He tipped his head to the side, his eyes roaming over my face. “If things continue the way they have been, they’re going to become your family, too. I’m positive.”
As much as those words made me want to cry, we didn’t have time for delays. So, I swallowed down the emotions and said, “Let’s get ready.”
Thirty minutes later, Greyson and I walked into the labor and delivery room where his sister was hooked up to the baby monitor, her husband beside her bed, and Tucker staring at us with a look of terror on his face.”
“Uncle Greyson, why is Miss Wallace here? School’s over for the year.”
Greyson laughed, setting his shining eyes on his nephew before turning them to me. I dipped my chin with approval before Greyson looked at Tucker again and said, “Cierra, or Miss Wallace to you, is my girlfriend.”
Tucker’s eyes nearly fell out of his head. “Girlfriend?”
“Yep.”
Tucker shifted his attention to me for just a moment before returning his focus to his uncle. I held my breath, waiting to see his reaction. “Please don’t tell me I have to read all summer!”
I pressed my lips together to stifle my laughter. Greyson chuckled and ruffled Tucker’s hair. “You don’t have to do any schoolwork over the summer. But who knows? You might find a book you want to read.”
“That’s never going to happen,” Tucker muttered.
“Alright.” Greyson placed his hand on the small of my back and urged me to look toward the bed. “Cierra, I’d like you to meet my sister, Morgan, and my brother-in-law, Eric.”
“It’s lovely to meet you both.” My gaze settled on Morgan. “I hope you’re feeling okay.”
“So far, so good. I’m sorry we’re meeting like this. We would have loved to have had you over for dinner.”
I waved my hand in the air dismissively. “Oh, it’s okay. You’ve got enough on your plate right now. Maybe after you get through this labor and delivery and have some time to recover, we can talk about it.”
Morgan caressed her hand over her belly. “Yes, I think we’d love that.”
Greyson took a step toward his sister’s bed. “We’re going to take Tucker out of here and find something fun to do. We’ll stay close by, though, so whenever this baby arrives, we’ll be back.”
She smiled at her brother. “Thanks, Greyson.”
He leaned down and kissed her forehead before shifting his attention to Eric. “Good luck.”
Eric jerked his chin up at Greyson. “Thanks.” His eyes slid to his son. “You better be on your best behavior, kid.”
“I always am.” Tucker’s tone indicated he’d felt like he’d just been insulted, like it was an impossibility for his father to believe that Tucker would do something unbecoming of a kid his age.
“You ready, Tuck?”
Tucker nodded his head furiously.
The three of us said goodbye, Tucker giving each of his parents a hug and a kiss before we left.
On the way to the park—Greyson had brought a football to toss around with Tucker—I turned in my seat to look back at Tucker. “Are you excited about the baby?”
He nodded. “Yeah. I can’t wait to see if I’m going to have a brother or a sister.”
“Do you have a preference?”
“A preference?”
I smiled. “Yes. That means that if you could choose whether the baby was a boy or a girl, which would you choose? Which would you rather have?”
Tucker tapped his finger on his chin and considered my question. I was surprised he hadn’t already had an answer. “I think I want a sister.”
My brows shot up. “Really?”
“Yeah. I think my parents would like that, too. Then they’d have one of each of us.”
Greyson chimed in. “That’s a big responsibility, Tuck.”
“What do you mean?”
Without any hesitation, Greyson explained, “If you have a sister, you’ve got to make sure you protect her. You would do the same if you had a brother, too. But a sister is different. Especially as she gets older. You’re going to have to be her protector. Are you up for the job?”
Tucker thought on it again, and I was sure he was going to change his mind. “I’ll try my best. You could teach me how to do that, couldn’t you, Uncle Greyson?”
Beaming from ear to ear, I had my focus on Greyson’s profile. He glanced at me, winked, and answered, “Absolutely. I’ll teach you everything you need to know.”
“Cool. Do you think we can get ice cream after we go to the park? It could be like a celebration for the new baby?”
I bit my lip. This kid knew how to get what he wanted. No way would I have been able to turn him down. Surprisingly, Greyson replied, “We’ll go to the park for a little while before we grab some lunch. You need to eat some real food first. Then we’ll get some ice cream.”
“You’re not going to let me skip lunch?”
We had pulled to a red stoplight. Greyson lifted his chin slightly, looked in the rearview mirror, and locked his gaze on his nephew. “We’ve got a lady in the car with us, Tuck. When it’s just us boys together, we can do only ice cream. When we’ve got a lady with us, we take her out for a real meal. Got it?”
Tucker hesitated, even as my heart sang. I loved that Greyson was doing something to teach his nephew how to treat a woman, even if the kid was far too young to be dating. As for Tucker, I thought for sure he was going to be angry with me. “Okay. Lunch, then ice cream.”
We arrived at the park, and for a long time, I sat and watched as Greyson and Tucker tossed the football back and forth. They threw it to me a handful of times, only half of which I’d caught. But the joy in it wasn’t about that for me.
What I loved most was seeing Greyson in this element. Other than when he’d picked Tucker up from school that day I met him, I hadn’t ever seen him interact with children.
It warmed my heart to see how much of a natural he was, and I could admit there was a small part of me that wondered if Greyson wanted children of his own one day.
Following our time at the park, Greyson took us all out for lunch. And Tucker didn’t let him forget about going for ice cream afterward.
Since we hadn’t heard anything from Morgan or Eric at that point, we decided to go see a movie. Thirty minutes before it ended, Greyson received a text from Eric that the baby had arrived.
So, as soon as we left the theater, we made our way back to the hospital. Tucker was beyond excited to meet his new sibling and practically raced down the hall to his mom’s room.
When we entered, Greyson and I stayed back to give Tucker the time to meet the baby. “Is it a boy or a girl?”
“Meet your sister, Olivia.”
It was a girl.
Tucker got his wish and had a sister.
I couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across my face as Greyson wrapped his arm around my back to land on my opposite shoulder. He curled me in toward his chest, my body easily going.
Tucker took his time meeting his new sister, the joy radiating off him.
Eventually, Morgan asked Greyson if he wanted a chance to hold his new niece. He didn’t hesitate to step forward.
And that was the moment it happened for me.
I’d fallen in love with Greyson weeks ago, told him just how much he meant to me the night after the attack at the school. But I wasn’t sure there was anything that compared to seeing the man I loved holding his brand-new niece in his arms.
If I’d been smiling when I watched Tucker with Olivia, it was a massive effort to not burst into tears watching Greyson with her.
After taking some time with her, he looked up at me and asked, “Would you like to hold her?”
I looked at Morgan. “Is it okay?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
Returning my attention to Greyson, I said, “I’d love to hold her.”
He placed her in my arms, and I fell in love. She was the most adorable thing I’d ever seen, and I couldn’t take my eyes off her. “She’s beautiful.”
Greyson wrapped his arm around my back again, giving me a squeeze, and I imagined what it’d be like if one day this was us holding our own baby. The longer I stood there, the stronger that feeling became.
“Okay, I better give her back to her mom or dad, because I’m getting baby fever.”
I felt Greyson’s body tense beside mine, and I wondered if that was a warning sign. Refusing to ruin such a joyous occasion, I ignored the questions and returned Olivia to Morgan’s arms.
Greyson and I stayed a little while longer, and I had the opportunity to meet his parents. They were lovely and, like Morgan, they were excited to have Greyson and me over for dinner. We promised to make that a priority.
And soon enough, Greyson and I said our goodbyes and left.
The moment we’d made it to the elevator, he said, “Baby fever?”
I shrugged. “She was adorable.”
He tipped his head to the side. “Do you want babies one day?”
I licked my lips, hoping he felt the same. “I do. And as an only child, I want more than one. I’d be fine with at least two, but I’m not opposed to having more.”
Greyson stared at me, nodding slowly.
The elevator door opened, and we stepped inside. After the doors closed, I waited for Greyson to say something, but he just continued to stare.
I couldn’t take it any longer and asked, “Why are you looking at me like that?”
He shook his head, blinking his eyes as though he’d been lost in thought. “I was just thinking about how beautiful you are. You’ll make beautiful babies.”
I swallowed hard. “Do you want them one day?”
The corners of his mouth tipped up in a smile. “I do. And I’d be happy with as many babies as my wife wants to have.”
Warmth and relief spread through me.
The elevator chimed, and the doors opened.
Greyson took me by the hand and led me out of the hospital.
“We should head home and practice,” he said.
“Practice?”
“Baby making.”
I shoved my shoulder playfully into him.
“I love you, pretty lady.”
“I love you, too.”
Greyson and I got back into his vehicle and went home. Then we spent the rest of our day practicing for what it seemed we both wanted in our future.