Chapter 24 Caden
CADEN
“What’s going on with you today?” Jalen asked from his perch opposite my desk as we went over the final details for Clive’s retreat and the silent auction items for The Clara Foundation gala.
I grimaced at my phone. I’d been twitchy all morning, hating the idea of Grae out on a trip alone. The only thing that had kept me from going with her was knowing how much having control of her life meant to her. “I’m fine.”
Jalen arched a brow in challenge.
I fought the urge to squirm in my seat. “I’m waiting to hear that Grae’s back from her hiking trip.”
A grin spread across his face.
“Shut up,” I mumbled.
Jalen’s smile only widened. “It’s good to see you like this. She’s good for you.”
His words only made me feel twitchier, as if my skin were too tight for my body.
A little of the amusement left Jalen’s face. “It doesn’t make you weak to care about someone.”
Everything in me stilled. “I know that.”
“Do you? Because from where I’ve been sitting for the past six years, you’ve done just about everything imaginable to keep people at arm’s length.”
I started to argue, but Jalen held up a hand to stop me.
“Don’t get me wrong. You’re friendly—warm, even. But there’s an invisible wall that you don’t let people pass. It’s not healthy. You need to let people in.”
I was quiet for a moment, letting the words land. I hadn’t realized how much I’d been hurting the people around me by keeping them out. But after the conversation I’d had with Nash and now Jalen, it was obvious I was doing damage. “I’m sorry.”
It was all I could say. I wasn’t about to make a promise to change when I didn’t know if that was possible. Sometime over the years, it had become ingrained in me to keep people out. And the idea of lowering those boundaries had panic eating at me.
“You don’t have to apologize. I’m just happy to see that Grae is getting through.”
Fear spiked in my gut, but I shoved it down, forcing a grin. “Don’t go marrying me off just yet. This is new.”
Jalen chuckled. “Just promise I can help plan the wedding.”
I shook my head. He was hopeless.
My phone buzzed on my desk, and I swiped it up, hoping it was Grae. Instead, I saw Nash’s name on the screen. I tapped accept. “Hey, man.”
“Caden.”
The lack of humor in his voice had my spine snapping straight. “What’s wrong?”
“Grae’s fine.”
Those words offered the opposite of comfort. Instead, ice slid through my veins. “What happened?” I gritted out.
“I’m at the trailhead. Someone broke into the Vacation Adventures van while they were on the hike. Smashed the windows. Slashed the tires.”
I was already on my feet, striding out of my office. This wasn’t a break-in; it was someone who was pissed the hell off. “I’m on my way. You’re with her?”
“She’s good. I promise. Pissed off more than anything.”
That wasn’t enough. I needed to see Grae with my own eyes, wrap my arms around her, and feel her heart beating against my chest. I picked up to a jog as I made my way through the lobby. “I’ll be there in ten. Don’t leave her alone.”
A million thoughts flew through my mind as I ran to my SUV and climbed inside. Was this asshole lying in wait? Was he watching?
“You know I won’t. See you in a few.”
I hung up and started the engine. Images of Grae filled my mind as I took off. Memories of a lifetime together. But there were too many holes in it. Gaps that I had put there because I’d been so desperate to keep her out. Because I’d been a coward.
I floored it down the mountain road until I hit the turnoff I knew led to the trailhead. To Grae. I made the trip in nearly half the time it should’ve taken.
Gravel flew as I hit the brakes in the parking lot. I jumped out of my SUV and stalked toward the cluster of people.
A tall, broad man immediately clocked me and shifted so he stood in front of Grae. The move had Grae looking up. She whispered something to him, and he stepped aside.
The crowd parted, seeming to sense the feral energy swirling around me. Then I was in Grae’s space, hauling her into my arms and holding her tightly.
She wrapped her arms around me, seeming to get that I needed this. “Hey. I’m okay. I promise. The only one that got hurt was Betsy.”
I pulled back a fraction. “Betsy?”
One side of Grae’s mouth kicked up. “The van.”
I pulled her back to me. “It’s not funny.”
“I know.” She ran a hand up and down my back. “I joke when the schnitzel hits the fan.”
As I held Grae against me, I realized that I was trembling. It didn’t matter how many walls I’d put up or how much I’d tried to reinforce them while the two of us had played this risky game of pretend. She’d snuck behind my defenses, and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.
A throat cleared, and I forced myself to release my hold on Grae.
Lawson studied us, an unreadable look on his face. “G, you had some things in the back of the van?”
She nodded. “A gear bag with extras of things and my pack that I don’t bring on the hikes. It has a change of clothes in case of rain, some extra food, stuff like that.”
He handed her a pair of gloves. “I want you to go through them and make sure nothing is missing.”
“Sure.” Grae donned the gloves, and I followed her as she headed to the van the crime scene techs were processing.
My gut tightened as I took in the sight in front of us. Glass was everywhere. The van’s paneling even had some dents. I glanced at Lawson. “This is someone who is seriously pissed off.”
A muscle beneath his eye fluttered. “I’d guess it was someone out of their mind on drugs, but there were two other vehicles in the parking lot that weren’t touched.”
Dread swept through me like an insidious inky cloud. “This was targeted.”
“We have to assume so.”
Nash gave me a chin lift as we approached.
“Thanks for calling,” I said.
“Of course.” His eyes tracked his sister as she moved to the crime scene techs with the two bags. “This isn’t good.”
Lawson shook his head. “I’d say this is likely a reaction to whoever this is, having their access to Grae removed. She’s staying with Caden and is behind gates this asshole can’t get past. He’s angry.”
My dread morphed into nausea. “What does that mean?”
“We need to hope he screwed up. Maybe he left some prints behind,” Lawson said.
“You going to talk to Rance?” I growled.
Lawson nodded. “As soon as I leave here. But we can’t only focus on him.”
“We’re going to interview everyone in Grae’s life. See if they’ve noticed anyone hanging around that shouldn’t be or anyone who has been unnaturally focused on her,” Nash added.
That muscle under Lawson’s eye fluttered again. “Not sure what the end game is with this. Are they trying to scare her? Just want her attention in some sort of sick way?”
My jaw worked back and forth. “You should talk to Gabe. I know he has an alibi for the fire at her house, but I’m not sure about the car fire.”
“I will,” Lawson assured me. “But you need to brace. He’s not going to like it, and he could take that out on you.”
“I’m used to my brother’s wrath.”
Lawson clapped me on the shoulder. “I’m sorry, man.”
Grae straightened as she looked at the contents of her bag, her face going pale. I was moving before I consciously decided to. “What’s wrong?”
Her pale blond hair swirled around her face as she looked up at me. “I had an extra change of clothes in this bag.”
I looked down at the items spread out on a sheet of plastic. “They’re right there, aren’t they?”
Grae swallowed hard. “My underwear. They’re gone.”
Grae sat on the couch, her hands wrapped around a mug of tea. I paced back and forth in my living room as Lawson and Holt discussed our options.
“I can have a four-man team here by tomorrow,” Holt said. “They can keep a low profile.”
Grae shook her head. “I don’t want a bunch of bodyguards.”
“G,” Nash urged.
“No. I’m staying in a gated estate. I’ll agree not to go anywhere alone, but I’m not getting bodyguards.”
My muscles wound so tight they felt like stone, but I couldn’t stop moving. “What did Rance say?” I asked Lawson.
He sighed. “He said he was fishing this morning. Another guy saw his car at the lake, but no one actually saw him.”
“I can’t imagine him doing this,” Grae whispered.
Holt turned to his sister. “This is an obsession. Someone who is mentally ill. And some people are really good at hiding that sort of thing.”
She leaned forward, setting down her tea and dropping her head into her hands. “This is making me look at everyone differently. Even strangers on the street. I wonder if they’re the ones doing this.”
I strode to the couch, dropped next to Grae, and rubbed a hand up and down her back. “We’re going to find them. You’ll get your life back.”
Her head lifted. “I don’t want to feel like a prisoner.”
I heard the words Grae didn’t say. That she’d already felt like that for too long. She’d worked so hard to prove to her family that she could handle her illness and her life despite her diagnosis. Now, she felt like she was losing that. “You’re not a prisoner.”
“We just want to make sure you’re safe,” Lawson said.
“But at what cost?” Grae asked.
Holt sighed. “Okay. We hold off on a security team for now, but I want to put cameras at your work. I’ll talk to Jordan about it. And no leading trips on your own.”
Grae’s shoulders slumped. “Okay.”
Holt pushed to his feet. “I’m going to put these pieces into place and then go talk to Mom and Dad. They’re freaked.”
Grae winced. “I told them I was fine.”
Lawson shook his head. “Would you be okay if this were happening to your daughter?”
“No,” she mumbled.
“Give them a little grace.”
Grae sighed and leaned back in her seat. “I’ll call them again later.”
Lawson nodded, and then he, Nash, and Holt headed for the door. I followed them out of the living room, and they stopped short in the entryway.
Lawson turned, pinning me with a hard stare. “Tell me you’ve got her.”
My heart thudded against my ribs. Did I have Grae? I’d barely kept her alive all those years ago, had almost lost her.
Nash gave Lawson a shove. “Don’t be an ass. He’s doing everything he can.”
“I want to hear him say it,” Lawson growled.
“I’d trade my life for hers in a heartbeat.” The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. But they were the raw truth. I’d give everything I had to make sure I didn’t fail Grae.
Lawson, Holt, and Nash stilled. Lawson studied me for a moment and then nodded. “Okay.”
Nash hovered in the entryway as Lawson and Holt headed for their vehicles. “You gonna be all right?”
I jerked my head in a nod but wasn’t sure if the action was a lie.
“Call me if you need anything.”
“I will.”
He pulled me into a hard hug. “I’ve got your back. Always.”
A burn lit my chest as I released Nash and watched him walk to his SUV. He cared. And I’d been locking him out.
Closing the door, I flipped the deadbolt and set the alarm. I walked back toward the living room. I nearly tripped as I took in Grae on my massive sectional. She looked so small as she stared out my back windows into the surrounding forest. The look on her face was almost as if she’d given up.
That familiar vise tightened around my ribs as I thought about how determined this asshole was to hurt her. “Are you okay?”
Grae stood, picking up her now-empty mug. “I’m fine.”
But there was no emotion in the words.
She crossed to the kitchen, rinsed her mug, and set it in the sink.
“Maybe you should lie down. Rest for a little bit.”
Grae whirled on me. “I’m not breaking.”
“I’m not saying you are. Just that you need to take care of yourself—”
She shoved at my chest, forcing me back a step. “I’m not weak. I’m not going to crumble.”
“I know—”
“Do you? Because you sometimes look at me like you expect me to fall apart in front of your eyes. But you, of all people, should know better than that. I didn’t break when I got Type 1.
Or when you walked out of my life and broke my damn heart.
And I’m not going to break because some asshole is trying to scare me. ”
Grae’s chest rose and fell with each word, but I was frozen to the spot. All I could hear was “broke my damn heart” over and over in my head.
My body reacted before my brain. I moved so fast I couldn’t have stopped myself if I’d tried. I was steps away, and then I was on Grae. My hands tangled in her hair as I pulled her face to mine.
The moment my lips met hers with crushing hunger, every wall I’d tried so desperately to keep up crumbled to dust. There was no doubt in my mind now. I knew I was ruined. But I didn’t give a damn.