Chapter 12 Seven
CHAPTER TWELVE
SEVEN
Grace screams, lobbing a pillow at my head. It misses spectacularly, smacking me in the chest before falling to the foot of her bed, and I can’t help but chuckle. That is, until she launches another projectile—and this time, it hits the mark.
With a growl, I lunge forward, prompting Grace to scurry backward off the mattress. She tries to run, but I’m faster. I jump off the mattress, cutting off her path toward the exit. Eyes widening, Grace swings her gaze around the room, searching for another way out. Praying for salvation.
When she finds none, she levels me with her mightiest glare, raising her fist in defiance. “Don’t you dare come any closer. I’m not in the mood.”
My chest shakes with a laugh as I take a step toward her, spreading my arms wide. “I told you I’d come for you.”
“I didn’t think it’d be the same damn night!” Her chest rises and falls with rapid breaths, making her look like a scared little bunny rabbit. Then she opens her mouth and screams—the sound powerful enough to shatter the windows.
Not wanting her to wake the neighbors, I lunge toward her, wrapping my arms around her like a vise as I hold her to my chest. “Be quiet, Grace.”
When she refuses to cease the incessant noise, I slap my gloved hand tight across her mouth. Far from deterred, Grace snarls, attempting to bite through the thick leather with little success. With my other hand, I reach up and pinch her nostrils closed, cutting off her oxygen.
“If you want to be a brat, I’m more than happy to correct you.” I hold her tight as she squirms in my arms. Half a minute later, Grace jerks wildly, her body doing everything it can to get a breath of air.
I lean in close enough that my mask brushes the shell of her ear. “Be good, and I’ll let go. No more screaming. Okay?”
Her head bobs frantically, and I let out a satisfied hum as I release her. Grace stumbles forward, landing hard on her hands and knees. She tucks her head between her arms, sucking in deep lungfuls of air.
“You… fucking… asshole…” She raises her head, turning to glare at me. “That wasn’t necessary.”
I shrug, my gaze unabashedly trailing over the curve of her ass. “I happen to disagree.”
“Of course you do.” She rolls her eyes as she pushes off the floor, giving me a perfect view of her pussy through her thin pajama shorts. “Why are you here, Red 7?”
“Seven.” My chest squeezes with an emotion I don’t recognize. “My name is Seven.”
Her brown eyes pin me with a heated stare. “Seven. I like that better.”
“It certainly sounds better rolling off your tongue.”
She blushes, her eyes dropping from my face as her body reacts to my heated statement. “You never answered my first question.”
My gaze moves slowly over her features, committing this particular expression of hers to memory. “I wanted to make sure you were okay. And if you were not, I wanted to comfort you.”
Grace sighs, her eyes closing in a long blink. “That’s… weirdly sweet. Thank you, Seven.”
“You don’t need to thank me.” My lips press together in a frown. “And I’m not sweet.”
She shakes her head. “You may be an unhinged masked killer, but you’ve been pretty damn nice to me.” Her brows pinch in a small frown. “Well, except for the tattoo. Still not crazy about that.”
My blood heats at her mention of my mark inked into her skin, but I manage to keep it together. “You never answered my question.”
Grace blinks hard, shaking herself out of whatever memory she fell into. “What?”
“Are you okay?”
She rolls her lips. “Well… I can’t really lie and say I’m fine. You were there last night. You saw how much of a mess I was.”
“Not a mess. My fierce warrior.”
Her mouth falls open, but no sound comes out.
Grinning, I continue. “I can tell that you might be… embarrassed for breaking down when it was all over. Don’t be.
I’ve seen people twice your size and age crumple under half the weight of the things you went through tonight.
Without your quick thinking and devotion, your friend would be lying in the morgue instead of a treatment room. ”
At my mention of it, her gaze trails to the ceiling as she tries to hold back a wave of tears. “I don’t know why I’m getting so emotional.”
“You almost lost your best friend tonight. It’s completely normal to be shaken up.”
“Yeah…” Grace takes a couple of deep breaths, pulling herself together. Drained, she turns and climbs back into bed. I watch with rapt attention as she settles under the covers, pulling the top blanket high over her chest so every part of her is covered but her head.
When she’s ready, she turns her attention back to me, letting out a hefty sigh. “Today really sucked, Seven. Like really, really sucked.”
“Surely, it wasn’t all bad?” My mind travels back to the lunch Grace and Archer Graves shared. “Maybe there was something good that happened that you can think about? Take your mind off what happened?” I slide closer to her, reaching out to place my hand on her covered knee. “It usually helps me.”
She bites her lip, a blush creeping over her cheeks. “There was one good thing that happened.”
“Tell me.”
Grace narrows her eyes suspiciously. “Why?”
“Because I’m curious. Because it might take your mind off things.”
“Okay…” She bites the corner of her lip, dropping her gaze to her lap as she recounts the memory. “It wasn’t anything big. Just lunch with my new boss. Still, it was… really nice.”
“Hmm.” I stare at her, at a loss as for what to say next. I don’t want to give away any clues that I’m Archer, and I’m worried if I open my mouth, I’ll do just that.
“You should get some rest.” My gaze flicks to the dark circles under her eyes.
She barks a laugh. “Yeah, I should. But there’s a serial killer in my bedroom, so that might be a little difficult.”
“Wait right here.” I give her one last glance before heading into the kitchen.
I grab all the supplies I need and turn the kettle on, waiting patiently as the water heats to a boil.
Carefully, I pour the water into the mug, watching as it slowly turns a murky green color from the teabag.
I add a splash of cream and head back into the bedroom, passing the warm mug into her waiting hands.
“What’s this?”
“Drugs,” I respond without a beat.
She barks a laugh, her eyes widening in shock. “Really?”
“No. It’s just tea. It’ll help you sleep.” I mean, there are drugs in the tea, but I don’t think she needs to know that. “Drink. It’s not poisoned. I promise.”
Rolling her eyes, Grace places the lip of the mug to her lips, taking a large sip. “Mmm. Really good.”
Once she’s drunk the tea, I take a seat at the edge of her mattress, running my fingers through her hair to soothe her.
The sedative works quickly, and paired with my soothing caresses, Grace drifts off to sleep.
Her head lolls to the side, her eyes droop, and all the while, I keep touching her, humming softly to ease her into oblivion.
Just before she’s fully gone, I lean in close, positioning my lips near her ear as I whisper, “What’s his name, Grace?”
“Huh?” Her eyes slide open the tiniest bit, and she struggles to focus on my face. “Whadasay?”
I bring my hand down to cup her chin, brushing the pad of my thumb softly against her bottom lip. “What’s his name, Grace?”
“Who?” she asks.
“The man who hurt your friend. The man who made you cry…” My voice lowers to a furious whisper, and I shake, unable to contain the rage that thought brings about. “I want to know his name.”
Grace blinks slowly, suspicion gleaming in her eyes despite being half awake. “Why…?”
“I want to send him flowers.”
She frowns, her lips forming the cutest pout. “Why?”
“Shh.” I brush my palm over her hair in a soothing motion. “Just tell me his name, beautiful. I’ll take care of the rest.”
She relaxes back into her pillow, her eyelids drifting closed as the sedative courses through her, dragging her into the dark. “Take care… of him…”
“Yes, my sweet, darling girl. Now, tell me his name.”
“Grabary Lite.”
“What was that?”
She sighs dramatically, her eyes opening for one moment to shoot me an irritated glare. “Gregory. Wright.”
With that, the air sloughs out of her, and Grace falls into a deep, peaceful sleep. I palm her face with both hands as I lean in, pressing my lips to the center of her forehead.
“I’ll be back soon, Grace. Have a good rest.”
Gregory Wright is about to have a terrible night.