Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
SEVEN
Next week…
I’ve been so busy with Sanctum work over the past few days that I haven’t had a chance to visit her at night. It’s not all bad, though. I see enough of her during the day, and the brief interactions I have with Grace as Archer are enough to get me through this dry spell.
But it won’t be for long.
I’m tired of waiting, watching her from my office or the cameras in the apartment next door. She’s so close, but so far out of reach, and it’s going to drive me mad sooner or later.
I check my watch, smiling when I realize it’s time for lunch. Grace always responds positively when I offer to take her out for food, so I make a point to do it every day.
Not wanting to waste any more time, I exit my office and walk over to her desk, stifling my grin at the sight of the flush spreading across her face.
“Hello, Grace.”
“Afternoon, Mr. Graves.” Her eyes twinkle as she smiles up at me. “I was wondering when you’d stop by.”
“I had some meetings this morning.” I reach out to tuck a stray piece of hair behind her ear. She flushes, turning away and dropping her eyes.
“Sorry,” she whispers. “I just don’t want anyone to suspect anything. Especially not before the work trip…”
A thrill goes through me at the mention of the company bonding trip in a couple of weeks.
The entire company is flying out to Neon Valley, and it will be the perfect opportunity to deepen Grace and Archer’s relationship.
I’ve already made plans for us to fly in first class on a separate plane from the rest of the company so I can spend as much time alone with Grace as possible.
“There’s nothing to apologize for,” I say, sliding my hands into my pockets and giving her a small smile. “I can keep my hands to myself until we’re out of the office. So… lunch?”
She shakes her head, her eyes twinkling.
“Actually, I brought my lunch today… Don’t give me that look!
I need to finish going over these spreadsheets by the end of the day, and I’m already super behind schedule.
” As if to prove her point, she pulls out a soggy-looking sandwich, and I can’t help but grimace.
I reach out, snatching the sandwich from her hands and tossing it in the trash before she has time to protest.
“Hey! I was going to eat that!”
“No one should eat that, Grace. I’m taking you out for lunch. You can have an extension on the spreadsheets. A whole week if you need.”
“But—”
“We can get chips and guac.”
“You should have said that first!” She laughs, turning to shut her computer off.
“Let’s go!”
After lunch, we take our sweet time walking back to the office. We stroll down the sidewalk hand in hand, enjoying each other's presence, the heated buzz of desire pulling us together.
I’m so caught up in the feel of her hand in mine that I don't realize she’s stopped walking—not until her palm slips out of mine. At the loss, I whip around, and my throat tightens at the sight of her pale face. She looks like she’s seen a ghost.
“Grace? What’s wrong?”
She doesn’t answer, just turns her head toward the darkened alley on her right. I’m about to ask what she’s looking for when a high-pitched wail breaks the silence, echoing off the cracked brick walls and out through the mouth of the alley.
“I think it’s an animal.” She doesn’t take her eyes off the shadows. “I think… I think it’s hurt.”
She takes a step into the dark and freezes, her entire body shivering. At that moment, I know exactly what she’s thinking. Grace is reliving the first night we met. The circumstances are so similar—the trapped animal, the dangerous alley—and she’s shaken by it.
I reach out, placing my hand on her shoulder. “I’m here, Grace. We’ll look together.”
She turns to me with a grateful smile, taking my arm as I lead her deeper into the alley. We make it to the end, and I take out my phone, shining the light around to locate the animal.
“Oh my God. There’s no fucking way.”
I turn toward Grace, but she’s not paying attention to me in the slightest. She’s too busy staring at the raccoon caught in a wire snare. Its leg is bloodied, bent at an odd angle, and I have no doubt the animal has been struggling for a long time before we came along.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
“The raccoon… I… I’m pretty sure I’ve saved it before…”
I raise a brow, looking back at the masked creature. It looks just like any other of the trash pandas I’ve seen roaming the city—but if Grace says she recognizes it, I believe her.
“How do you know?” I ask.
“The color… he has a little white diamond on his eyebrow. I’ve never seen a raccoon with it before. It has to be the same one I saw… that night.” The last part is barely a whisper—not meant for my ears—so I pretend I didn’t hear.
“Would you like me to help it?” I ask.
She nods. “Can you?”
I decide not to comment on how it’s probably best to leave it as nature intended. Instead, I strip my suit jacket off and stride toward the raccoon. Crouching low, I place the jacket over the screaming animal, making sure to cover its head so I can safely free its leg from the trap.
Luckily, as soon as its eyes are covered, the raccoon ceases its struggle, and I’m able to remove the wire.
Now that I’m up close, it’s clear the leg is not broken, but several deep lacerations will require medical care if it is going to survive—and based on the way Grace is looking at the pathetic creature, I know I’m going to have to make sure of that.
I straighten with a sigh, holding the raccoon to my chest. Surprisingly, it doesn’t fight against me. Now that it’s not trapped, it seems fairly content—and it even snuggles into me.
“So cute.” Grace reaches out to scratch the top of its head. “He’s friendly.”
“I think he’s just traumatized.”
Grace tsks, rubbing her forefinger lightly through its fur. To my surprise, the raccoon does a slow blink, then closes its eyes entirely and dozes off.
Grace looks up with a haughty grin. “I told you it was friendly.”
I shake my head in amazement. It’s not a very bright creature, but it does seem to be fairly sociable. “I guess so…”
All of a sudden, her expression crumples. “What are we going to do with it?”
“Call animal control, I guess.”
“Won’t they kill it?”
I shrug, which seems to be the incorrect response. Grace’s eyes widen with horror as she declares, “Then we’re not calling them!”
I already know the answer to my next question, but I have to be sure. “Do you want me to take it home? I can care for its wounds and give it a warm place to recover.”
She gasps in delight. “You’d do that?”
I don’t even need to think about it. If it’s something she wants, I’ll do it. “Yes. Let me get my car.”
Grace steps through the threshold of my apartment building in downtown Moriton, her eyes wide as she takes in the vaulted ceilings and grand pillars scattered around the lobby.
“You live here?” she asks, her voice hushed.
“Yes. I own the building.” I lead her toward the elevator at the back of the room, and as soon as we step inside, I press the button for floor 6—where my small medical setup is located.
I’ve used the room in the past to stitch up my wounds or to administer an IV after a particularly brutal weekend, but other than that, it’s gone untouched.
There will be plenty of equipment to fix up the little creature Grace is so fond of.
The elevator dings, and I gesture for her to step off. “After you.”
She follows me down a long hallway, but hesitates when I open the door to the medic room. “What is this place?”
“Storage. Medical storage.”
She peeks inside, her eyes widening at the sight of what is essentially a small doctor's office. “Why do you have all this?”
“It came with the building,” I lie, stepping inside and setting the raccoon on the exam table. Grace stands near her furry friend, keeping him company while I grab some antiseptic, sutures, and bandages from the cabinet.
I give the raccoon a shot of pain reliever to make it comfortable, then get to work stitching the torn flesh back together. Grace watches me silently, her eyes widening with a sick sense of wonder. “You’re really good at that.”
“I’ve had a lot of practice.”
Grace blinks, surprised by my answer. “Really?”
I clear my throat. “All done,” I say, changing the subject by gesturing to the raccoon's bandaged leg.
It works like a charm, and Grace’s attention diverts to the fluffy creature on the operating table. “Oh my gosh! He looks so much better already!” She reaches out, giving him some much-wanted scratches. “You think he’ll do okay?”
“He should make a full recovery.” I scoop the animal into my arms, cradling him gently. “Follow me. We’ll put him somewhere quiet so he can recover.”
Grace follows me into the next room down the hall, her expression morphing into one of confusion as she takes in the crates and cages scattered around the space.
“What are these for?”
I shrug, trying not to look at her as I grab a blanket and place it at the bottom of one of the larger cages.
“I used to foster dogs. I just never got rid of the crates.” It’s a lie, but I can’t exactly tell her the real reason—that I was testing the strength of various models to see which would be best to hold a human.
“Oh. That’s sweet of you.” She gives me a bright smile that tugs at my heart. “He looks comfy in there.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Should we name him?”
I take in her excited expression with a small grin. “Of course. What do you think would suit him?”
She brings a finger to her lips, thinking hard. “Hmm. What about… Zorro? He’s already got a cute little mask, so I think it’s fitting.”
“Zorro it is.” I gaze down at my handiwork, satisfied that the creature has a nice, quiet, safe place to get some rest. “You know what this means, don’t you, Grace?”
“What?”
“It means we’re going to have to spend quite a bit more time together.” I nod toward the raccoon. “It’s in Zorro’s best interest, after all.”
“Yes,” she says, her eyes twinkling with amusement. “It is.”