Chapter 16
To saythat Bella was disappointed was an understatement. Tonight, she had planned on stopping by to visit Grant so they could get a little more time with just the two of them. She’d hoped they could talk more about what he’d mentioned earlier when he’d brought her coffee.
Then the deputy on call tonight got sick and she had to turn around and head back to the station. That wasn’t going to stop her from paying him a visit on her dinner break. She didn’t have much time today to call him or let him know that her plans had changed, and she wasn’t about to make him wonder if she was ghosting him.
Bella stared down at her uniform with frustration. For the first time in a long while, she didn’t want to be at work. There was finally something else worth putting her energy toward. Her heart did a little skip-hop followed almost immediately by her stomach churning.
It was still unclear if that churning was a good thing or a bad thing. It had started shortly after Nick had expressed his worries over his father.
But Grant had cleared all of that up. He’d let Bella know exactly what his intentions were. She didn’t have to worry, and neither did Nick.
Unless…
That word hung heavy in her mind.
In her experience, people weren’t generally the most trusting. When something better came along, it was only the stalwart who stuck around. As of right now, she couldn’t be one hundred percent certain on what side of the line Grant fell. She wanted to believe he was everything he promised he was. That would be the easiest.
Still, there was that niggling doubt that he was keeping something from her. It wasn’t the illegal activity; she knew he wasn’t involved in that. But there was something else, and it was making it hard for her to be able to trust him fully.
Bella needed to get out of her own head. The more she dwelled on what she did or didn’t know, the bigger the chasm that was coming between them. Tonight, she was going to put all of that aside. She was going to enjoy her dinner with him and leave it at that.
Before she could knock on the RV door, it swung open, nearly knocking her back. Grant stood at the top of the stairs, holding the door open with a grin. His eyes dipped to her uniform and his brows furrowed.
“I wasn’t aware I was spending the evening with the deputy. Is something wrong.”
She sighed. “The only thing wrong is that Theo is sick and he needed someone to cover for him. I swear, that man gets sick every other weekend. Sometimes it makes me wonder if he’s really sick at all.”
Grant chuckled. “Lucky for you, I like a woman in uniform.”
“Oh, stop it.” She brushed him off with the wave of her hand, but inside, she couldn’t resist letting her pulse go wild.
He took her hand and helped her into the RV. “You should have seen Nick’s face when I told him that he was eating supper with his grandmother.”
“Was he excited?”
“Sure was. But then I told him that I got to eat dinner with you, and that changed right quick.”
Bella laughed. “He’s too sweet.”
“I’m pretty sure he thinks you’re his friend and not mine. I’ve a mind to be a little jealous.”
She couldn’t help the laughter that continued. “You have nothing to be jealous about. I’ve only got eyes for you.”
He guided her to the small table. “I’m not talking about you. I’m talking about him. If he prefers the town’s deputy over his own father, I’m going to lose all my street cred.”
Bella snorted. “Funny.” It was nice being with him this way—not a care in the world, no worrying about who might be out to get him.
“Is everything okay?”
She blinked and found him staring at her as he placed a plate in front of her. “Of course.” She forced a smile but apparently there was no hiding that she was still very much worrying.
“Doesn’t seem like it.”
Bella glanced down at her plate, which had been loaded with steak and mashed potatoes.
“It’s the case, isn’t it?” Grant sat down beside her, causing her to scoot farther into the booth.
“Am I that transparent?”
He took her hand in both of his. “You care. It’s one of the things I like about you.”
She lifted her gaze, finding it hard to avoid his searching eyes. “I just can’t shake that there’s something more sinister going on. Everything that has happened so far has been getting worse. At first, it was just jeopardizing your job. But then they crossed the line and drugged you.”
“To be fair, that was to get me fired.” His light tone didn’t disguise the fact that he was worried, too.
“What if they’d gotten the dose wrong? You could have been seriously hurt. Controlled substances are just as dangerous as anything else out there when used improperly.”
Grant’s hands tightened on hers. “But nothing happened. And we’re showing them that I’m not someone who’s going to run and hide. Eventually, they’re going to have to give up, right?”
She leaned into him. That was something she couldn’t allow herself to hope for. The only thing she could do was be the best deputy she could be.
Grant turned his head and pressed a kiss to her forehead. It would be too easy to melt into his touch, to allow herself to pretend they didn’t live in the real world. In fact, she almost did, but then her radio crackled.
Bella groaned.
“I thought you said you could still have dinner.”
“I can. But that’s what happens when you’re on call. If someone calls something in…” She gave him an apologetic look. “They want me to call the station. Give me a minute, okay?”
Grant scooted out of the booth to give her access to the door. As soon as she stepped outside, she pulled her phone from her pocket and called dispatch.
“What is it?” she demanded, glancing toward the RV and feeling every drop of guilt that came with having to leave like that.
“Bella?”
“Officer Whitfield, yes.” She sighed. This dispatcher was a new one and Bella still didn’t know her name yet.
“Oh, good. There was a call for you—from Billings. Something about finding out the results of those labs you ordered a couple weeks ago.”
Bella straightened. “Did they send over the results? I told them to email me.”
“I think that’s what they said they were going to do. But they told me you should probably know right away. The victim was drugged with Rohypnol.”
The dispatcher’s voice grew distant, taking on an almost buzzing quality. She continued to speak, but Bella didn’t grasp a single sentence.
Grant had been drugged with a sedative that could have poisoned him if he’d taken too much. Whoever it was meant business, and they weren’t about to let someone like Grant stay in this town without making it hard on him.
She shouldn’t be feeling dizzy right now. Bella was an esteemed officer, and she couldn’t afford to let her feelings for him prevent her from doing her job. She wouldn’t let that happen. Was Grant in danger? Yes. So that meant she’d push him to leave Sagebrush. Even if he had to move his trailer to the other side of town, that would be better than being here, in closer proximity to whoever was acting against him.
Bella hurried up the stairs into the RV. The second Grant met her eyes, his expression faltered. “What’s wrong?”
“They found the samples.”
Initially, he was confused. His brows came together and his frown deepened. Then the realization filled his eyes. “The blood samples?”
She nodded.
“That’s good, isn’t it?”
Bella swallowed hard and slowly shook her head.
“What do you mean? We’ve been wanting them to get back to us. What did they find?”
She clutched her hands together tightly to quell the trembling. Normally, she would be able to report what she’d found without being affected by it. But not this time. This time, it was different.
Her voice shook slightly as she said, “Rohypnol.”
He didn’t react immediately. Then his eyes grew wide.
“They drugged you with a very heavy sedative. Do you understand what that means?”
Grant’s face flooded with color and he shot out of his seat. “Yeah. That means they’ve crossed the line.”
She reached for his hand. “They did that a long time ago. No, this means you’re in more danger than I realized. We have to get you out of here.”
He pulled away from her and shook his head sharply. “I’m not going anywhere.”
She growled. “Listen to me! They gave you a sedative, Grant. Think about it. What if it had kicked in when you were driving? What if Nick had been with you?” She was yelling now, but she didn’t care. “This is about more than just you. If anything, you should realize that. Nick is in danger, too. You can’t possibly think it’s a good idea to stick around when this is escalating.”
Grant scowled at her. “I told you already. I’m not going to uproot my kid. We’ve found a good routine. We’re building a relationship and becoming family.”
She crossed her arms. “Then tell me who would be capable of doing this. Surely you have some idea.”
He shook his head. “No one here would do that.”
Her hands flung into the air. “People don’t do stuff like this with no reason. It’s either someone here, or it’s someone from where you used to live. Is there something in your past? Maybe someone is threatening you because they don’t want you to be happy.” Her thoughts shifted to the Mr. Shaw she’d found online. Her stomach twisted, telling her there was something there. She had no clue why he was keeping his past such a secret, but she needed to find out.
Grant didn’t look full of fury. In fact, he appeared to have retreated from her as if he didn’t want to delve into his past.
Bella took a step toward him. “You’re hiding something.” Maybe she’d been wrong. Maybe he was the same Shaw who had millions. “You can’t tell me you’re not. I can see it in your eyes.”
“What would I have to hide?”
She gestured to the RV. “You live in an RV that’s nicer than my apartment. What you spent on our first date… let’s just say I know you’re not making enough as a ranch hand to afford that. What’s really going on?”
He worked his jaw, unwilling to speak to her. This was probably it. If they couldn’t trust each other, then what was the point in exploring their relationship?
A sigh burst from her throat. “You know what? Fine. Don’t tell me. I can’t help you if you won’t let me.” She moved toward the door, but he jumped in front of her.
“Wait.”
“I’m done waiting, Grant.”
“It’s nothing illegal.”
She shook her head in defeat. “I thought we were getting close. But clearly, you don’t think I’m worth sharing anything with. Not as an officer of the law, and not as… something more.”
He held up his hands, desperation seeping into his eyes. “You can’t go.”
“My break is just about over. I have to leave.” She attempted to move past him again, but he blocked her once more.
“Fine. I’ll tell you.”
When he didn’t immediately start his story, she folded her arms again and lifted one brow. “You realize I can’t help you if you won’t tell me about everything in your past, right? Whoever is after you likely has a deep-seated hatred for you. The one thing you’ve said so far that makes sense is that you don’t think anyone here would be capable of it. Unfortunately, in my line of work, I find that it’s usually who we least expect.”
His jaw tightened and he looked away. “I don’t like sharing everything about myself because of my past with my family.”
“Everyone has a past, Grant. After all we’ve discussed, I thought you knew you could trust me. I’m not going to judge you.”
“You sure about that?”
She tilted her head, hating how his question stung so much. Maybe it was because she wanted to be more to him. Or maybe it was because there was a tiny part of her that knew there was a small amount of truth behind his question.
She couldn’t guarantee that she wouldn’t judge him. From since before she could remember, men had to prove themselves worthy of her good judgment, and Grant had already gone through the wringer. “Just tell me what’s going on so I can help you.”
Grant pointed to the table where they’d been eating. “You might want to sit.”
“I’m good.” She narrowed her eyes, not sure if she should fear the worst or if she should give him the benefit of the doubt.