Chapter 16 #2
Grayson’s eyes flicked to me, softening as he beheld my expression. “Yes, my mother gave me her maiden name. Her father died two months before I was born, and she wanted to continue his legacy.” He scoffed. Something about it amused him.
My heart squeezed at the little piece of himself that he offered to me. “Where are we anyway?”
“So many questions today, Princess.”
I turned towards the window. He was right, but things felt weird between us since our last conversation. And I desperately wanted a distraction from my own thoughts.
“May I ask something?” Grayson sounded unsure, which was very unlike him.
I nodded, watching as the trees blew by.
“Do you mind if we take a little detour? I have some… business to attend to in a nearby town.”
I scoffed. “You mean you have something to steal?”
“That is my business, darling.” He gave me a dazzling smile that stopped my heart.
I looked away. All my emotions were constantly simmering at the edge. Smiles like that could tip it over. And I had no intention of crying about Grayson, in front of Grayson. I just needed to concentrate on the fact that I was going home.
“How long would this detour take?”
Grayson contemplated it. “If all goes according to plan, no more than a day.” He paused to look at me. “Would you be okay with that? Having to see my face for a whole extra day?”
“And this can’t wait till after you take me home?”
His face fell. “I guess it could.”
My heart lurched. He was doing this detour so I’d be with him for another day. Was he also taking this as hard as me? “If you get me some snacks for the road, I think I could bear it. Your face, that is.”
We stopped at a small gas station in the middle of nowhere. I stayed seated as Grayson hopped out, but he turned. “You coming, Princess?”
I got out and followed him to the back of the car. “Aren’t you afraid anyone might recognise me?”
He looked around pointedly.
Right. There was no one here to see me.
When he opened the trunk, there were clothes hooked to it in protective bags. The whole cargo area was lined with bags. Everything you would need when on the run.
“I guess we should get out of these cargo pants,” Grayson said absentmindedly, as he rummaged through the bags.
I snickered. “Do you even own anything else?” He’d been wearing nothing but cargos and black t-shirts. I couldn’t even imagine him in jeans. My own borrowed wardrobe also consisted of mostly cargo pants.
“You’d be surprised at what I own.” He wasn’t talking about clothes anymore, by the devilish look on his face.
“Pants or dress?” Before I could answer, he said, “No, I’ll choose. This.” He unhooked a protective bag from the trunk door.
I rolled my eyes at him but took it anyway. “Still no free will, I see.”
He hooked his fingers under my chin and lifted my eyes to his. Always making me look at him. Or maybe I had it wrong. Maybe he wanted to look at me. At my eyes. “I only get to see you for a few more days. So, put the fucking dress on for me, Princess.”
I blushed and I hated it. I hated how my body instinctively leaned into him, every time he touched me.
I hated how my mind went fuzzy when his eyes were on me, to the point where I couldn’t form a coherent sentence.
I was twenty-seven years old, for gods’ sake.
And I hated how the things he said, made me want to rip his clothes off.
I hated the chokehold this man had on me. And I hated myself for allowing it.
He handed me a box. “This is actually Hunt’s, but I guess it could work for you. Would you mind? We’re heading into town, and it’s a little too close to your home for comfort.”
It was brown hair colouring. The non-permanent ones that washes out.
“Your hair is what makes you stick out. It’s what people would remember if they saw a photo of you.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
“I’ll help you,” he said, taking the dress from me and unhooking another protective clothing bag, and a duffel bag.
We headed into the women’s bathroom, which was relatively clean for a gas station.
Grayson slid the stick of a mop into the door handle so no one could open it.
He placed a towel he took from the duffel bag over my shoulders and gently loosened my braid.
The feel of his fingers through my hair made me shudder.
Embarrassingly, I suddenly understood why cats purred.
With some less than graceful manoeuvring, Grayson rinsed the solution from my hair in the basin. He was in a stall getting changed while I stared at myself in the mirror, struggling to adjust to the new me. Grayson came out and stood behind me.
“Still beautiful.” He smiled and moved to kiss my temple, but decided against it, his eyes going weary. “Get dressed, Princess. I have work to do.” He quickly hid whatever he felt behind a smirk and left.
I took the dress from the cover. It was a beautiful, long sleeved, wine-coloured dress.
I turned in the mirror, admiring it on me.
I had to give it to Gemma. The girl had style.
Although it was a bit tight for my liking, it hugged my body perfectly before it flared out at my hips, stopping mid-thigh.
The deep red would have complemented my copper hair perfectly.
The knee-high boots were a bit much for a day look, but it was that or hiking boots.
I also took out Gemma’s makeup bag from the duffel and did what I could.
Lastly, I added some dark red lipstick that was the same colour as my dress, which I was sure was no coincidence.
I ruffled my still damp hair to accentuate the curls before I walked out.
If Grayson wanted me all dressed up and pretty, why not take his breath away?
And I did. At least that’s what he said as I handed him the bags.
“You are breathtaking,” he murmured, his eyes roaming over me, oh so slowly. Heat bloomed wherever his eyes fell. “It’s a shame you hide all this beauty in little Bentley Cove.”
I blushed. “You don’t look too bad yourself,” was an understatement. He looked so handsome in his rolled up, long sleeved, button-down shirt that it almost hurt. I was probably staring again.
We were on the road again, but not before Grayson bought my snacks at the gas station shop. The town came into view an hour before sunset. We stopped in a street lined with shops.
“There,” Grayson pointed to one of the larger buildings up the street.
A large orange and black sign, read “XtraSpace” above the doors. “You’re robbing a storage facility?” I guessed.
“This one caters specifically to businesses. And there is a box of things stored in there that I need.”
“For what?” I don’t know why I asked. I never get straight answers anyway.
“For whom,” he corrected, surprising me. “I’m trading it for information.”
“Then why not just buy new ones, whatever these things are, and give it to the person?”
He shook his head. “These particular items, I’m told, cannot be bought without raising suspicion.”
So he also didn’t know what he was stealing? That baffled me. “So, what’s the plan?”
“No plan. Just waiting to see how many guards pitch for nightshift, then I’m going in. Hungry?”
There was a pub and grill right next to the storage facility I knew he was eyeing. “No, thank you. So, you’re going in blind?”
He unbuckled his safety belt. “Not all heists have to be planned out. Where’s the fun in that?” He hopped out of the car. “I’m getting you something anyway. Don’t take your eyes off that building.” He jogged across the street, his powerful body capturing my gaze.
We ate in silence and watched as the workers clocked out and two guards clocked in.
They were young, probably in their early to mid-twenties.
One was a man, light hair with a tattoo peeking out at his collar.
The other was a woman, with a buzz cut and a proud walk.
They seemed to be good friends by the way they joked around when walking up to the building.
By 9 o’clock, Grayson announced that he was going in.
“I’ll be back in less than an hour. There won’t be any trouble, but if I’m not out in three hours or the police comes, then you drive away.
There is a satellite phone in the glovebox, so you can call Hunter and Gemma.
Understand?” He reached for a black hoody from the backseat and pulled it over his head.
Then a black baseball cap. “Ava? Understand?” His voice was stern, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“Yes,” I breathed. “Just be careful.” I could feel the anxiousness rolling through my body.
He grinned at me, excitement sparking in his eyes. “Don’t sweat, Princess. It’ll be fun.”
Grayson disappeared into the alley next to the building.
I proceeded to count each second that passed, getting more and more wound up.
After thirty minutes, I could barely stay in my seat.
It was hard work trying to contain my anxiety.
Fifteen more minutes passed, and it felt like I wanted to puke.
When one hour had passed, and Grayson hadn’t returned, I knew something was wrong.
I had no idea what to do. He said he’d be back before an hour was up, but he wasn’t.
There was no way I was just going to leave him after another two hours went by.
I got out of the car and opened the trunk.
I searched for any type of weapon in the multitude of bags but only found mace in a handbag that was presumably Gemma’s.
But a little tab at the side of the trunk caught my eye.
I shifted the bags away and pulled at it.
A compartment opened up, layered with guns.
There were handguns and shotguns and ones I had never known the names of.
Jeez.
I sighed. I couldn’t even fathom using one of those on anyone. I quickly closed the compartment and shifted the bags back into place.