26
Andras
"Keir just text me. They're on their way here." Liam assures me. Thank fuck. It's been a while since I felt like this. I nearly lost my mind when she didn't come back to the funeral. I was out for blood when Christian found her purse by a tree coated in vomit.
Christian was shaking as he started making calls to the guys. Her guys . All mafia heirs. I guess she solved her problem but I honestly did not see that as an option. Hand it to Grace to survive though.
My heart is in my throat when I hear the door open. She's chattering a mile a minute at someone on a burner phone. She's a commander of an army demanding results and accepting nothing else. I see the Russian kid following her looking pale.
He pulls out a chair for her and she smiles sweetly up at him before she gets back to business.
"Remember what I can do if you fail, Angela." She threatens in a cold voice I barely recognize before hanging up and resting her head on the table.
"Holy shit, she looks like you when she does that." Richard smirks from beside me. I shoot a glare at him.
I spot dried blood crusting her hair but Ruby is on top of it with a first aid kit before I can do anything.
"Are you okay?" I ask at the same time as the others seeing that she's not going to give us any information on her own.
"I'm fine. Mom and Dad were idiots working with someone.
That's what got them killed and the Russians thought I knew something so.
.." She shrugs like it's nothing but it very much sounds like something.
Ruby starts cleaning the wound at the back of Grace's head and she hisses but stays remarkably still. Even I would flinch.
"So what's with the Patton routine?" I ask.
"I'm trying to figure something out. Actually... " she turns to Liam, Christian, and Jai who look as pale as Kier. "Do you know a Ryan Oliver?"
"Yeah." They all say at once. Then all look scared as they regard each other.
"Motherfucker," she mutters. She scrolls through her phone pulling up a photo. "Is this him?" She asks.
They all pale further.
"Yes."
"Fuck... this goddamn idiot!" She swears as she winces at Ruby's attention.
"Stop your cursing!" Ruby scolds as she finishes up.
"Yes, ma'am." Grace smirks. "This imbecile of epic proportions. Better?"
"Much." Ruby grins making Grace chuckle.
"So you were at Kier's place?" Christian asks.
"Yep, also his dad knows now." She shrugs.
"Knows what?" I demand. I just want her safe and she's mixed up with mobs and that funeral was a sham.
I don't know who that guy was that gave the eulogy but he needs his head examined.
Even as a kid, Rachel couldn't be deemed a good person.
I understand not speaking ill of the dead.
I do. But you don't have to lie either. And every word was just that. A lie.
"I am a psycho for hire," Grace says boldly pulling me from my thoughts .
"A what?" I ask.
"No, you're not," Liam argues. "She's a mercenary."
"Same thing. But I don't know any mercenaries that will torture people do you?" She asks blandly.
"I know a few." Richard remarks with a shrug grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge for her.
"I need more of an answer than that, Grace," I demand feeling lost.
"I go by Ace at work." Well, fuck. Ace? Here I thought she was at worst a street fighter or something but this wasn't even on my radar.
Ace has been in my contacts for years. I've had to use him once.
.. er her. Am I sexist? Fuck, I don't even know anymore.
But I wasn't there when she arrived. Richard was.
"But... but you... and you .” I point to a chuckling Richard.
"Yes, I had hair the last time I met Ace. She was so small. I didn't recognize her when she arrived here but eventually, I did." He grins.
"When did you need me?" Grace asks with wide eyes.
"Two years ago. There was a loose-lipped informant in an MC." Richard recalls.
"Oh! I remember him! He was fun." She laughs. She turns to the others. "Big biker dude. Cried like a baby when he heard Ace was in the room." She cackles. Her... boyfriends look so proud of her. "Okay! But back to the topic at hand. Who is this Ryan Oliver guy?"
"He's a runner for us," Jai explains.
"Us too." Liam nods with a frown.
"Yeah. Same with us." Christian says through a scowl. That can't be good.
"Shi... take mushrooms," Grace says hesitantly looking at Ruby who just laughs. "Okay... I'm going to wait for my contacts to get back to me and then I may need to meet with The Heads." She surmises with a nod. "Yeah, I think that's going to have to be the plan for now."
Liam
God, I am so glad she's okay!
That was the worst phone call of my life. "Grace is missing." The worst words I have ever heard. My heart still hasn't recovered. I am sure there will be nightmares just echoing those words.
I can't take it anymore. I storm over to her and wrap my arms around my beautiful Grace. I need to feel her. Make sure she's real and safe here with me. She melts into my embrace and I fall further in love with her.
"I'm glad you're okay. I was so worried." I whisper holding her to me.
"I'm okay. Just stressed out right now." She admits looking up into my eyes. Her gorgeous green eyes are soft as she smiles up at me. God, I am a lucky man.
"You sure?"
"I am. Thank you, though."
"Okay, Liam. My turn." Jai sounds off from behind me. I squeeze her to me once more before letting him take over. I watched him shake too when he got here and then we had to wait hours for word. I watch him now holding her so gently like she's a treasure. And she absolutely is.
Oddly, we can be like this with her. I should be jealous that my girl is in another man's arms, but I'm not. I just want her safe and taken care of. They can help me with that and they genuinely care about her. As I said, I am a lucky man.
I let them have their moment to reassure each other before Christian comes up for his time with her. Jai stands beside me giving them their privacy.
Christian takes her into a deep kiss and I hear a soft whimper come from her and it goes straight to my lower regions. Not the time but my dick doesn't agree. Anytime with Grace is a perfect time.
Thankfully, they are cut off by her phone ringing.
I would hate to come in my jeans just from watching her kiss another dude.
That is an unexpected kink, but it looks like I'm not alone.
Both Kier and Jai are shifting and hiding their lower halves behind something.
Huh. Maybe our arrangement will work out after all.
Grace picks up her phone.
"What do you have?" She demands her voice hard and it does not help my dick situation at all.
She grabs a pen and notepad and starts scribbling furiously.
"Good. And Marconi?... good. You know where to drop it off.
" She hangs up and scans her notes, and her proper phone rings.
She takes a deep breath before answering.
"Yeah?... Well, I'm sorry. I was away from my phone... it's not like I can bring it in the pool, Ray... Okay, I get it... Well, it's probably for the best right now anyway... Okay, I'll fix it... Yes. Jeez, what crawled up your ass?... Fine. Okay, bye."
I can see the gears turning in her mind as she runs through everything she knows.
All of a sudden, she straightens takes her phone to the sink and turns the water on, and starts picking apart her phone.
She moves fast and finds what she's looking for with a growl and takes her shoe off and smashes it to pieces.
"Cover your ears Ruby, it's about to get unladylike!" She warns before letting out a surprising string of curses and insults. We all stand there in shock as she takes a deep breath and puts her phone back together and turns off the water.
"He fucking bugged my phone." She seethes.
"Who?" I ask.
"Ray." Her voice cracks and I'm hugging her with the others before I know it. "Guys, I'll be fine. I just need to find out what's going on." She assures us. I watch as she looks up at Keir. "Sorry about our date."
"It's fine. We can always go out again another day." He smiles. "Actually, we can still make it to the last part if you feel up to it." He poses.
"There are parts to this date?" She asks incredulously making us all chuckle.
"Yeah, I wanted it to be special for you." He mutters and we all know that feeling. I walk over to where I was before to give them some privacy.
"You guys can come too. We're going to the drive-in...if it's okay with you, Mr. Van Doren." He stumbles. Oh, shit. Yeah, good call. Check with the boss.
"It's fine. But only if you feel up to it, Grace." He chuckles.
"I feel fine. But thank you for worrying about me." She beams making my heart stutter again. God, she's beautiful.
We all pile into Keir's Hummer and Ruby and Richard stock us up with blankets and pillows.
"Christian, you may want to think about bringing your truck. So you can all sit in the back." Richard winks and gives him a knowing look.
"Thank you. I will." He smiles and hops into his truck. "Liam, come with me. We'll grab snacks." I slide in and we pull out of the driveway.
"What was that about?" I ask.
"Oh, Richard told me he was in a similar relationship when he was younger. He was just helping us out." He grins. I whip my head back to look at the butler. Mind. Blown.
"Are you serious?"
"Yep. It was weird for me to find that out too. Especially because it came out after they covered for me coming out of Grace's room in the middle of the night." He reveals.
"Shit, that must have been awkward," I comment .
"Oh yeah." He nods as we pull into a grocery store.
“Why don't we just buy snacks at the drive-in?” I ask turning down the snack aisle.
"Keir wants to do this on a budget. He says she'll appreciate it. We have forty dollars to spend." He shrugs at my questioning look.
"Okay, his funeral." I chuckle.