Chapter 18
Viper
The woman was going to drive me absolutely nuts.
What was I saying? She’d already managed to do so in only a few days. You bet I’d enjoyed her company. And I’d been allowed to let my guard down around her. The passion was off the charts and I was thankful for having a roof over my head.
But my God, she was determined to solve the crime herself.
Not that I blamed her. After all, I was the kind of man to handle justice myself, knowing the system couldn’t give a shit.
However, she was a woman, a stunning hardnosed woman determined to push her way into any situation. Not that I didn’t admire her chutzpa either. I did. Yet with her demanding I let her go the entire time I carried her toward the house, I’d grown beyond frustrated.
“You can stop pounding on my chest because I am not letting you go. Not until I clean your wounds.”
Grace’s entire face wrinkled in disapproval, and she almost managed to slip from my arms. That did it. I allowed her onto her feet but before she could get away, I tossed her over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
“You are kidding me! Let me down.” She pummeled those small fists against my back like a drum.
I wasn’t in the mood for her antics. Maybe she hadn’t realized what she’d admitted to me when sending me off on a wild goose chase. “In a minute, princess.”
She jerked her head up. “Why are you calling me a princess?”
“Would you prefer I call you a spoiled brat?”
“You are… Oh!”
That comment cost me a few more strikes on my back.
I could take it. I was a tough guy. Who couldn’t help grinning.
Once inside and in the kitchen, I tossed her on the counter, slamming my hands on either side of her and putting my face only inches from hers.
“Now, you’re going to be a very good girl and tell me where your hydrogen peroxide is and hopefully you have a first aid kit.
Then you’re going to stay right here until I come back. ”
She looked away but I just frustrated her more, pushing my face even closer. “Fine. My mother likely had some in her ensuite bathroom. If I know her, there’s a full kit under the counter.”
Taking a deep breath, I backed away but pointed my finger at her. “I mean it.”
“I’m right here. My knees hurt anyway.”
I glanced down at the pups. “Don’t let her out of this room. I’m counting on you two.” I also gave them the finger, but they only wagged their tails.
At least they didn’t try to follow me.
As soon as I walked into the bedroom, I was struck by how close I was to being in a time capsule.
No wonder Grace was staying in her old bedroom, which suited her perfectly.
Nothing had been touched since the police had gotten through with searching the house and the room.
I knew exactly what a search was like and they hadn’t been overly nice.
Granted, they’d been much gentler with the items than when they’d come to arrest me, my entire world turned upside down.
However, with a robe on the hook behind the door, a pair of reading glasses and a turned-over book on the nightstand, and clothes across a chair, it was obvious how much pain being in the room had caused her.
I moved through reverently, feeling her pain. That’s the way I’d been with Aimee’s room. Hell, I wasn’t even certain what the attorney had done with her things. I hadn’t wanted to ask. I found what I was looking for, grabbing a clean washcloth just before heading back.
Grace studied me as if she didn’t know me any longer while I turned the water on to allow it to warm up before preparing a few items. I could tell within a couple of minutes my silence was bothering her.
“You’re angry with me,” she said, wincing when I placed the cloth on one knee, gently removing the dirt.
“I’m not mad.”
“Yes, you are. Why? I didn’t do anything.”
How many deep breaths had I taken around her?
How many sleepless nights had I experienced?
Well, namely for another reason, but she could be irritating.
I continued cleaning, even picking out a couple of rocks that were firmly imbedded in her kneecap.
“If you’re talking about the fact you are the kind of woman to throw caution to the wind every time, you certainly are succeeding. ”
“What? That doesn’t make any sense.”
Grousing under my breath seemed to frustrate her. Fine by me. I moved to her other knee, the first touch causing her to flinch.
“Relax, Grace. I need to get all the dirt out.”
“Then explain why you’re angry.”
“Someone has been following you? Maybe stalking you? Why would I be angry you wanted to follow them? What if there had been someone watching you? What if they had a weapon?” As if I was going to tell her I suspected she was right. She’d go off halfcocked.
Her face flushed. “I never said anyone was following me and I didn’t think about a weapon.”
“You just did and you’re right. You’re not thinking. When and how did this start?”
Groaning, she looked away, licking her lips.
If she thought the seductive move would keep me from obtaining answers, she was dead wrong.
“Almost from the moment I came back home. When I checked into the motel on day one, I could swear a car had been following me. I went to the local diner to get breakfast the next morning and the car I thought I saw was in the parking lot. Then I didn’t see anything for about a week. ”
“Did something happen?”
“I’d found the courage to come to the house and was staying here.
I also had a couple conversations with the police, including forcing them on the property to bring me up to date on the investigation.
After that, every few days I felt like I was being watched.
And no, I could never prove someone was on my property or following me and I didn’t see anyone. Not once. I swear to God.”
“Did you tell anyone? Hold out your hands.”
I was forced to grab her arm like I would a child. “No. As it is, the chief doesn’t think there’s any evidence to work with. He’d just think I was nuts.”
“You thought you saw someone in the woods just now.”
“Yes.”
“And you were going to go after them with no way to protect yourself.” As I cleaned her hands, she started squirming.
“I know how to defend myself.”
“No, you don’t. Now, you’re going to tell me everything that you know and maybe I can help. I can talk to the fire marshal and see if there’s any correlation, but you need to be straight with me.”
She lifted her gaze from what I was doing, nodding. “I will.”
Still grumbling, I finished what I was doing, ignoring her trying to pull from my grasp.
“I don’t need bandages,” she insisted.
“Yes, you do. Don’t fight me.” Maybe my grip on her face and chin was too harsh, but I’d already begun to face the fact I couldn’t stand the thought of anything happening to her. She’d been brought into my life for some crazy reason and I would do my best to keep her safe.
I also wasn’t about to tell her that I’d seen a vehicle for maybe a split second before it had taken a sharp right turn onto the main road. If I did, she’d be all over it, acting as if she was impervious to both pain and danger.
As her long eyelashes skimmed across her rosy cheeks, I could tell behind her luminous eyes a predator lurked in the shadows.
She wasn’t willing to let this go any more than I’d been when Aimee had been in trouble.
I had a terrible feeling that she was eager to get herself into trouble.
I was very concerned that in doing so, she could poke the bear.
If she was right that someone was watching her, which I suspected she was, the last thing she should do was stick her head in the middle of the investigation.
That would push him into a corner.
“Fine. Just…”
“Just what?” I yanked an oversized bandage from the first aid kit, peeling back the adhesive and gingerly placing it on her knee.
“Nothing. Just remember your job comes first.”
She didn’t need to remind me I was on probation as all rookies were.
However, after spending time with her, in sharing her space and her life, my priorities were all fucked up.
Her laugh was the reason. Her smile. The fact that as soon as she’d found out I loved Mountain Dew and Corona, she filled the refrigerator with both.
The way she cared for Sailor. Just the way she looked at me had me all fucked up in the head.
No, I sure as shit didn’t need any complications, but I’d not only believed but wanted my life to be over.
Then she’d come along. Had Landen known she was the only person capable of bringing me back from the dead?
Maybe so. Whatever the case, I was lost in some crazy minefield that felt as if with any move I made, explosives were ready to kill me.
There was also still some thought that’s all I deserved.
“Thank you for taking care of me.”
Damn if her voice wasn’t inviting.
“Grace, you need to know—”
The sharp sound on my cellphone jarred us both.
“What the hell is that?”
I yanked my phone from my pocket, eyeing the screen. “An alarm.” I’d been told that if there was what the Zullies affectionately called a five-alarm fire, the alarm activation system would send a text to everyone.
That was immediately followed up by a call.
“Hello?”
Of course the voice on the other end was AI generated, instructions to head to the base without providing any details about the fire itself.
“What’s wrong?” she pressed.
“A fire. I need to go.”
I’d been through the drill already. While I doubted I was being pulled into the field, that didn’t mean they wouldn’t use me in an auxiliary function at the base.
“What do you mean a fire?” She clung to my shirt, keeping me in place.
I shoved my phone away, planting both hands on the counter. “Everything will be fine. I’m sure it’s just a requirement of the trainees. Just remember what I said.”
“Do you want me to make dinner when you get back?”