Chapter Twelve
Grace was terrified, but who wouldn’t be? A severed finger? Was that the supposed electrical issue Reaper claimed to have been dealing with? If so, why did he lie about it?
“I’ll be on guard,” Grace said.
This wasn’t good. She quickly packaged her bag, and then grabbed the pen that belonged to Heidi. She was tempted to leave it on Gena’s desk, but she knew who the owner was.
“Please do.”
Gena’s phone rang, and the other woman smiled at her, but her lips looked tight, as if she was trying to control her emotions. She was stressed, and Grace could understand why.
Keeping hold of her pen in one hand, she immediately went to the staff room to store her bag in a locker. Once it was secure, she went straight through to the main building, looking for Heidi.
No one was outside, not even any of the kids, which meant the threat was very real.
Heidi wasn’t in her bedroom. There was no sign of her near the kitchen, however, she was able to find her in the tea room sitting at a table alone drinking a cup of tea. Her daughter was playing in one of the game rooms.
Grace took a moment to look at Heidi. Was it her husband that was causing all the trouble? What did Heidi know?
It didn’t matter. It wasn’t like they were going to stop carrying for her. She moved closer and stood by the table.
“Grace,” Heidi said with a smile.
“Hi, Heidi, how is everything?” she asked.
“Oh, it’s nice. Thank you.”
Grace held out the pen. “I just wanted to return this to you. I found it in my bag and realized I mustn’t have given you this back.”
Heidi frowned and shook her head. “That’s not mine.”
She looked down at the pen, and then over to Heidi. “It is yours, when I came in I didn’t have a pen, and you handed this to me.” She was a little confused as to why Heidi didn’t want to take the pen.
“It’s fine. I don’t want it. It reminds me of him,” Heidi said.
“Him?” Grace asked.
“Franklin. It was his pen. I took it from his desk because I needed it to sign for a delivery. I guess it was the last thing I took,” Heidi said. “I don’t want it back. I just want to be free of him.”
“He scares you?” Grace asked.
“Terrifies me. There’s ... he’s going to come for me.
I know he is. Anywhere else, and he would already be here.
” Tears filled Heidi’s eyes. “I don’t know what I’m going to do because we can’t stay here forever.
I know that’s terrible, but it’s the only place we’re safe.
” Heidi laughed, but she wasn’t entertained, not even a little bit.
“Of course, if he decides to burn the place down, then he gets his wish, and I’ll be out.
He just wants control. That’s all he does.
It’s why he became a judge in the first place.
” Heidi pressed a hand to her face. “I’m sorry. ”
Grace felt bad for bringing these memories to Heidi. She didn’t continue to bother the other woman, and allowed her to have some space. Rather than push the issue, she put the pen back in her bag.
She began her volunteer duties, and she was there for a good two hours before Reaper finally showed up, and he didn’t look happy. He glared at her as he grabbed her arm and pulled her into the spare bathroom.
“Reaper, what the hell?” Grace asked.
“What did I tell you?”
“I don’t understand.”
“Someone was following you, Grace. Someone could have been waiting in the shadows—”
“It was daylight when I left my job,” Grace said. “It was a slow day, and there was no point in staying there.”
“So, you’re telling me you came from the bubble tea store to here?” he asked.
She opened her mouth, then closed it, because right now the memory of how her apartment looked was very clear in her mind, and she had to be careful.
“I went to my apartment,” she said the words slowly.
She kept her gaze on him at all times. Reaper looked pissed. She had never seen him angry.
“You’re going to tell me nothing was out of place, aren’t you?” he asked.
Why would he ask her that?
She looked at him and tried to think of anything that could help the situation right now. There was nothing. She was drawing on a total blank.
And yet, she knew Reaper was just looking out for her. It had been so long since anyone cared. Her parents didn’t care. They judged. They’re only focus on the later part of their lives, was her sister. Revenge and trying to get justice for her sister.
Grace had forgotten what it felt like to have someone that cared.
Even though she looked into Reaper’s eyes and saw the anger, she understood it, and she also saw worry. He was worried for her safety.
She knew it wasn’t love. They hadn’t known each other long enough for it to be love, but this had to mean something.
She couldn’t help but close the distance between them, and she wrapped her arms around him and held onto him tightly. She didn’t want to let him go, not for a second.
“Grace, is everything okay?” he asked.
“Yeah, just ... please, I know this is crazy, but hold me, for just a second. That’s all I need.”
He wrapped his arms around her, and she closed her eyes, breathing in the scent of his leather, and the oil, and everything that was Reaper. This felt ... good. It felt wholesome. She didn’t want it to end.
“If you want to be pissed at me, do so, because I’m pissed at you for lying to me.” She pulled away and looked into his eyes. “A severed finger is not dealing with an electrical fault.”
“Gena told you.”
“She had no choice. She’s questioning everyone. Is this all because of Franklin Cartright? Heidi’s ex?”
“He doesn’t see himself as an ex, and yes, this is all because of him.”
Grace sighed. “Is everything okay?” she asked. “Please don’t keep anything from me. I need to know the truth so I don’t have to deal with all the surprises.”
Reaper stroked her cheek, and he gripped her chin. “He’s causing trouble with the club,” Reaper said.
“Is this usual?”
“Sometimes, if he has a reason to be pissed off. The only reason I can see is that I’m working here, and he wants his wife back,” Reaper said.
“What are you going to do?”
“Right now, there’s nothing I can do but sit back and wait. I’ll figure it out.”
****
Lord was pissed.
The club was pissed.
Rather than tell him to quit the woman’s shelter, the judge had pissed them off enough to tell him to keep on going. To not stop. To not give up. They were not the type of men that got bullied into doing what others wanted.
Reaper didn’t like it. Cartright could make their lives even more difficult.
In the past twenty-four hours, several of the guys had already been pulled over in a random search. No reason at all, but then one of the cops had decided to bust the taillight on one of the bikes. This pissed them off. They knew when to hold back, not react, and wait until the right moment arose.
“Okay, well, are you sticking around?” Grace asked.
“I’m still pissed,” he said.
“Then we can be pissed at each other together, and think of all the fun we’re going to have doing it.” Grace tapped his chest. “We’re both at fault.”
He couldn’t argue with her, but he had swung by her apartment and saw the mess they had left. She didn’t ask him how he got into her apartment, and that was maybe a good thing, as he didn’t have a key. He didn’t like how easy it was to get into place.
“I better go. We’ll talk more later?” she asked.
He agreed, and waited for her to walk off, before heading to find Heidi. She was coming out of a bathroom, wiping her hands on a paper towel as she did.
“Reaper,” she said.
“Hello, Heidi, I don’t suppose you and I can have a talk?” he asked.
“Sure, sure, what is this about?” she asked, taking a seat in front of what looked like a very cold cup of tea.
“You want a refresh?” he asked.
“No, I don’t want to be wasteful.”
“You think taking your time to drink tea is wasteful?” He watched how uncomfortable she got.
“Some people believe that leaving things like the lights on, or wasting money is entitlement,” Heidi said.
“Some people, or your husband?”
Heidi’s head jerked up. “I didn’t say it was Franklin.”
“Let’s cut the crap, and both admit that your husband is an asshole,” he said.
Heidi looked pale and he noticed how she glanced around the room as if she expected him to come out of the woodwork.
“You’re afraid,” he said.
She jerked her head back toward him.
“What exactly did this asshole do to you?” Reaper asked, and it was hard to keep his anger under control.
“You don’t understand. It wasn’t always his fault. He is a good guy. He’s a good person and people take advantage of him because of his money, and he has to do the things he has to do.”
“If he’s so good, why did you run away?” Reaper asked.
Heidi’s eyes went wide. “I ... I ... couldn’t take it anymore.” Tears filled her eyes. “He kept telling me how his life was, and that he was so important. I’m not good. I’m a whore, and I ... he would hurt me and I would never be able to see my little girl again.” She started to break down and cry.
He reached out and put a hand on his shoulder and as he got close, that was when Heidi whispered to him.
“There is a lot about him people don’t know.
He has people killed that get in his way.
Cops do his bidding even when it’s illegal to do so.
I know the law, and I know he has hurt a lot of people. ”
“Do you have anything that can help?” Reaper asked.
“Nothing, and I know it’s only a matter of time before he figures out how to get in here, and when he does, my body is going to be discovered and he is going to take my little girl.”
“I won’t let that happen,” Reaper said.
“You can’t stop it. You can’t stop him.”
“I can and I will.”
He calmed Heidi down, so that when her daughter entered the room, she was somewhat composed. He stayed with her for a short time, and when he was sure she was okay, he left. Gena was waiting for him on the other side of that door.
“Did you have any luck finding out who that severed finger belonged to?” Gena asked.
“Not a clue, why?”
Gena sighed. “Because there is only one woman unaccounted for, and that’s Cathy.”
“Cathy?” he asked, frowning.
“She’s a volunteer, has been since her daughter got into a sticky situation. I was checking my books, and she hasn’t been here since Heidi was admitted.”
“You’re only just realizing this now?”
“It’s a volunteer system,” Gena said. “I can account for people entering, but I can’t force them to stick here and work. She was very part-time. Only a couple hours a month. I’ve called her and she’s not answering. I think you could check it out.”
“I’ll go now,” he said. “I want you to keep Grace here, and another thing, find a way to go through Heidi and the kid’s personal belongings.”
Gena frowned. “I can’t do that.”
“You’re going to have to. I have a feeling Heidi has something, and her husband wants it back.
We need to find it, otherwise every person from the victims to the volunteers are going to be in danger, and there is only so much I can do.
” Reaper stopped at the door and turned back to Gena. “I’m going to need an address.”
“I thought you knew everything.”
“I know a lot of things, but there are some I don’t know.” He winked at her, grabbed the address, and left the building.
He checked up and down the street as he looked for any sign of questionable vehicles. There was nothing there. No black SUV. No suspicious men lurking about. It was still and almost peaceful, but Reaper didn’t trust it.
Checking the address, he knew exactly where it was, and it wasn’t a good area of the city. It was in the seedy area where a lot of bad shit happened.
He trusted Gena as she vetted everyone who entered those doors. His gut was telling him something bad was about to go down.