Chapter Thirty Grayson
Chapter Thirty
Grayson
That first night inside the safe house felt like it was pressing in on me. I couldn’t fucking sleep, and instead felt this antsy energy rushing through me. Everything was too quiet, too still. Even with blinds drawn and the locks checked, the place didn’t feel safe.
It feels like I’m waiting for something.
Violet was in this limbo, too, unable to sleep and feeling anxious.
She sat curled up at the far end of the sofa, her knees pulled up, the thick quilt tucked under her chin as she stared at the muted TV.
Her gaze kept darting to the window even though the blinds were shut tight.
She, too, was waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Her silence weighed on me more than words ever could.
I stayed close enough to touch her if she needed it, but far enough away to give her some breathing room. I hated how temporary this all was. A holding cell dressed up like safety.
I finally broke the silence. “You need to eat something.”
She looked at me, and the dark shadows beneath her eyes made her look fragile and vulnerable. “I’m sorry I pulled you into this mess.”
I looked away. There was a heaviness that surrounded us. It made it difficult to look her in the eye, to see her pain and know that there was nothing I could do to help her feel any better.
“Don’t say sorry to me.” My tone came out sharper than I meant.
Too much harshness, not enough gentleness.
I forced myself to exhale and take on a softer tone.
“I’m sorry. I’m just on edge.” I scrubbed a hand over my face.
I was so fucking tired. “I’ll get you something simple.
Soup. Saltines. It doesn’t matter if it’s bland.
Just enough to put something in your stomach. ”
Her lips parted as if she wanted to argue, then closed again. She nodded once, reluctantly.
I stood, crossed into the kitchen, and made myself useful. I needed to stay busy. The cupboards were already stocked with canned and dry goods. The fridge had a few items in it: milk, eggs, some bread, cheese, and lunch meat. The essentials.
I pulled out a can of soup, dumped its contents into a pot, and turned the burner on. The faint hiss of flame filled the silence, and I stood there and stared at it glowing blue. I heard Violet enter the kitchen.
She was silent for a second before whispering, “This doesn’t feel real.”
Her throat bobbed as she swallowed. “And the truth? About . . . about the cult?” The word barely escaped her mouth, fragile as glass.
“They’re going to know.” My answer was steady, a blade sharpened. “I already told Marie we need a sit-down in the morning. I’ll be there with you every step of the way.”
“All I keep thinking,” she said, voice thin, “is that I could stop all of this by going back to them.”
My grip on the spoon I was using to stir the soup tightened until the wood bit into my palm. I didn’t let myself go there. I couldn’t let my head fill with the image of her slipping back into their fold. I knew it was a reality, but I blocked it out. At least for tonight.
When I didn’t answer, she watched my hands as if the way I held the spoon would tell her what to do. “God,” she whispered. “I just want to go home.”
I put the spoon down carefully and crossed the room. I cupped her face and tipped her chin until she had no choice but to meet my gaze. Up close, she was all hollowed out—like someone had carved pieces of her away.
“Home isn’t safe anymore,” I said. “And you’re not fixing this by walking back into the hands of the men who sent a heart to your doorstep. You’re here with me. You’re safe with me. Understand?”
She swallowed. “If—when—I tell them about the Bleeding Ground . . . what happens? Will they arrest me? Will I go to jail?”
It was a question we both needed to confront. I kept my voice level because she didn’t need to panic. She needs facts she can hold on to.
“I won’t lie to you.” I let those words hang between us for a second. “The DA can and will consider charges like obstruction of justice, misprision of a felony, or even being an accessory after the fact.” I hated the way I felt her body tense. “Like burying that first heart to hide evidence.”
“God, Grayson,” she whispered.
“Depending on what you knew and what you did. If you actively helped hide things or took part in planning, that’s different from being coerced or groomed. Those are two separate conversations.”
Her eyes flared. “Accessory? I could go to jail?”
I ground my back molars, hating the fear in her face.
“Possibly,” I finally said, being frank.
“But it isn’t automatic. Prosecutors want convictions, not mysteries.
If we come to them in full cooperation, you tell them everything you know, and we provide any evidence you may have, the DA can arrange for consideration of certain things. ”
She closed her eyes and rested her forehead on my chest. I cupped the back of her head and kissed her crown. “Like what?”
I kissed the top of her head again. “Reduced charges, diversion, or even an immunity agreement in exchange for truthful, complete cooperation. I won’t let them paint you as a villain.”
She exhaled, a small, ragged sound.
“Once we give sworn statements—because I have to, as well, baby.” She pulled back and looked up at me. “I withheld information and evidence, too. Credibility is everything.”
She pressed her hand against her chest as if she could stop her heart from thudding through it. “And you? What happens to you for not telling sooner?”
I let the question sit. My chest tightened at the admission I owed.
“Administratively? I’ll see if I can get an internal affairs interview.
I don’t care if they dock or suspend me.
I don’t give a shit if they take the badge because they think I mishandled evidence.
Criminally?” I scrubbed a hand over my hair and turned to go check on the soup.
“I knowingly concealed felonious activity. I could be exposed to charges, too. But I’m not going to hide.
I’ll put everything on the table and explain the choices I made.
Being up front is the only way to limit the damage.
” Once the saucepan was boiling, I turned off the stove, poured the soup into a bowl, and gestured for Violet to take a seat at the kitchen table.
I took one across from her, not wanting to sit, but she didn’t need me pacing.
She searched my face as if trying to read how screwed we might be and whether I’d still be there when the smoke cleared.
I reached across the table for her hand and held tightly, showing her without words I wasn’t letting go.
“Eat, baby.” I was silent until she started, and didn’t speak until she was almost finished. “The plan is simple. Tomorrow morning I’ll call an attorney to meet with us. After we have that set up, we speak with Marie. We tell her everything. Then we meet with the DA’s team.”
She closed her eyes. “I’m terrified.”
“I know. Me too. But I’d rather fight them with the truth than let them bury us because of the lies.”
She nodded slowly, as if each movement was too much. “I’m glad you’ll be there.”
Outside, the night breathed its oppressive dark, the kind that wants to swallow everything it touched.
“We’ll do this right,” I told her, not softening the edges of it. “We tell them everything on our terms.”
She looked at me as if she were trying to memorize the shape of my jaw. “And after?”
I let the image sit between us for a long moment.
A road with no return. A place we could settle in and truly make our own. New names tied to a new life. And a future that belonged only to us.
“After,” I said finally, “we find out what we want and we seize it.”
She closed her eyes and let out the smallest laugh. “I like that plan,” she said on a smile.
I brought our conjoined hands to my mouth and kissed her knuckles. “When this is over, I’m taking you so far away, all of this will seem like a bad dream.”
The night pressed in, heavy and patient. When the last word was finally spoken and the truth was out in the world, I would drag Violet out of this life and into whatever came next.
No more bloodstained lawns. No more gift-wrapped hearts. And not one fucking person coming to take her away from me ever again.
“I don’t want to feel like I’m drowning. Be with me, Grayson. Give me something else to feel, even if for tonight.”
Something inside me snapped. I was out of my seat and had her in my arms seconds later. I needed to be with her just as strongly as she needed to be with me.
“I want to feel like I’m burning alive, Grayson.”
I kissed her as I carried her into the bedroom, closed the door with my foot, and set her on the bed. We stripped out of our clothes, both frantic and anxious in ways that didn’t have to do with the chaos of the world.
My mouth crushed against hers when we were naked. No hesitation, no soft pretense. Just heat and hunger. Violet opened for me like she’d been waiting all night, like I was the glass of water she needed after being dehydrated, like I was a meal and she was starving.
Our tongues tangled together. Desperate.
The taste of her hit my bloodstream like a drug.
I was frantic as I moved my hands up and down her body.
I growled when her palms flattened against my bare skin.
She trembled, but not from fear. She arched into me, pressing her chest against mine, a small sound breaking from her throat that made my cock throb.
“You know you can tell me to stop,” I rasped against her lips, my hand already tugging her hair to tip her head back, allowing me to kiss her deeper. “With everything going on . . .”
Her answer was a shake of her head, and her voice breathy as she said, “Don’t stop, Grayson. I need this. I need you.”