“So if you are wondering why I ran out of your room, it wasn’t because of you. It was because I didn’t want you to think of me as some asshole who would use the fact that you were upset and scared as a simple way to get into your pants.”
I frowned. I literally had no words, and then the server showed up carrying our food. She placed the plates in front of us and scurried off in another direction when she sensed the tension between us. Instead of digging into his food, Grant got up from the table and, without another word, headed towards the bathroom. I frowned. Perhaps Grant was right. Perhaps the fact that he had left the bedroom the way he had was really bothering me more than I had let on. I had no idea that he had felt that way.
Minutes later, he returned, slid into the seat across from me, and dug into his dinner, not saying another word. We ate in silence, and when it came time to take care of the bill I had offered to pay, but he wouldn’t hear of it.
Once again, neither of us said anything on the drive back to my apartment. Once we got inside, I left Grant in the living room and took off into my bedroom. I needed to unwind; the tension was piling into my neck and shoulders. I grabbed my sweats and a towel and went to the bathroom where I filled the tub with hot water and a splash of bubble bath. The smell of lavender quickly filled the room, and I sank into the steaming water, leaning back and placing a hot towel over my eyes.
I listened to the silence for a while and then popped my earphones in and played my relaxing sounds play list. When the water started getting cold, I got out and dried off. I planned to make a cup of chamomile tea and head back to my room and watch a little TV. I wanted to be alone. However, when I entered the living room, I found Grant was pacing back and forth, looking rather agitated, which was odd because Grant hardly ever showed his agitation.
“Is something wrong?” I asked.
“We need to talk,” he said, gesturing for me to sit down.
I did as he asked, parking myself on the couch and waiting while he continued to pace back and forth.
“What is it?”
“Look, I didn’t want to tell you, but today I did some digging around on Jace.”
“Oh?”
“Becs, I went to The Wine Cellar to scope him out. I just wanted to get a look at him, know what I was up against. When I asked about him, they informed me they had fired him.”
A chill ran through me at that news. “Fired?”
“Yep, the manager there told me he’d been getting distracted, was always on his phone, had bad mood swings, and would leave all hours of his shift.”
I sat there not knowing what to say.
“I then went to his place over off Champaign Trail.”
“And?”
“He no longer lives there. The apartment is for rent and is apparently vacant and has been since the start of the month. Which means...”
“You don’t know where he is,” I finished, looking around my apartment. I brought my hands up and rubbed my arms, another chill running through me.
“Correct.”
“So he could be anywhere? He could be outside right now watching us.”
“He could be. I doubt it, but he could be.”
“My God...why did I ever...” I had to stop. My throat was getting tighter and I could feel the burn in my eyes from tears that had yet to fall. The fear that was rising in me was overwhelming.
I got up from the couch and walked over to the window, peaking out at the street below. “What am I going to do? Why did I ever agree to go out with him? Why didn’t I tell Chris sooner that this had—”
I could feel myself shake as I continued peering through the blinds. I could feel the breakdown about to happen when I felt Grant’s muscular hands on my upper arms. He gently pulled me back from the window and turned me around, looking down into my face.
“Becca, it’s going to be all right.”
“How can you say that? How can you stand there and say it will be all right when you have no clue where he is?”
“Because you are safe with me right now. I promised you that I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“What, are you planning to move in here? Because honestly, I don’t want to be alone ever again.”
I pulled away from him and headed to the kitchen. I pulled the refrigerator door open and grabbed a bottle of wine. I reached for a glass and filled it, turning to Grant. “Want one?”
He shook his head and watched as I put the bottle back and took a long drink of the cool liquid.
“What the hell was I thinking?” I asked myself out loud. “Why did I ever get involved with him? I should have known better. He was so pushy and clingy and...”
The second those words escaped my mouth, the tears poured. I stood there, crying into my glass of wine so hard I shook.
I was crying so hard I didn’t notice Grant had stepped behind me and took the wineglass from my hand until I felt his hands on me again. He turned me around and placed his thumb under my chin, tipping my head up so he could look into my eyes. He took his thumb and wiped the tears from my cheeks, and I took in a deep breath, trying hard to calm down.
“Becca, listen to me. You are stronger than this. You are tougher than this.”
I shook my head, not believing what he was saying, but he stopped me, placing his warm hands on my cheeks. I stopped crying and looked deep into his eyes. A calmness settled over me the longer I stared into his eyes. Slowly, he bent down and brought his lips to mine; only this time the kiss was far different from last night.
When he pulled away, I looked up at him. “I thought you didn’t want to take advantage of a situation where I was vulnerable,” I whispered, forgetting about everything I had learned only minutes before.
There was no response. Grant stepped forward, pressing his body into mine. My back hit the counter and he bent down and kissed me again, deeper, harder this time. I felt a surge of electricity race through my body as his hands gently gripped my hips, drawing me closer to him.
I rested my arms on his shoulders, and when our lips parted, he brought one hand up and placed it on my cheek.
“I don’t, and I hope you don’t think that’s what I am trying to do. Truth be told, I have wanted you since the minute I walked through the door and saw you. I wanted you the moment that first letter arrived across my path when I was deployed. What I told you tonight at dinner was the partial truth, but this is the real reason I ran: because the want I feel for you is so strong it scares even me.”
Before I could say anything, his lips met mine again, his tongue parting my lips and washing through my mouth. He gripped my hips, picking me up. He placed his hands under my ass as my legs wrapped around his hips. I pulled at my shirt, quickly pulling it over my head, and crashed into his lips again as he carried me down the hall.
I slowly opened my eyes. I could see the start of light peering through the blinds of my bedroom, my head resting on Grant’s shoulder. He was still sound asleep. I lifted my head to glance at the clock; it was only five. I put my head back down and snuggled into him, closing my eyes. I had just gotten comfortable when I felt his arms tighten around me. “Good morning,” he muttered, kissing my forehead.
“Morning,” I said groggily, wrapping my arms around him.
It had been a long time since I had slept as soundly as I had, but after the workout he had given me, I wasn’t surprised. Being held in his arms wasn’t like anything else I’d experienced, and it felt amazing to be so at ease. He held me for a bit and then stretched. “I should get showered,” he said, sitting up and throwing the covers off his naked body.
I couldn’t help but allow my eyes to wash over his strong and scarred body. Each wound told a story, and I wanted to hear about them all. He leaned back down and placed a long kiss on my lips and made his way to the bedroom door.
“I’ll get the coffee on.”
I wandered into the kitchen and busied myself. Once I finished, I looked around. I was feeling rather anxious now, knowing that I had to go into w
ork today. I saw the mail sitting on the table where I had left it and flipped through the stack of bills I still hadn’t opened. When I came to the credit card statement, Grant’s words rang through my mind. “Check your statements, make sure you recognize all the transactions.”
Once we’d eaten breakfast and I’d showered, Grant said he had a couple of calls to make before we left. I sat down with the highlighter and start going through this month’s statement, highlighting every transaction I recognized.
I frowned when I got to the second page. There was a transaction I knew I hadn’t made. I grabbed the red pen sitting on the table and drew a circle around the charge and put a large question mark beside it. Then I moved onto the next one. That, too, had the same charge on it. I was just about to call Grant when he came around the corner with an intense look on his face.
“Becca, we have to get a move on. I have a problem. One guy called in sick, which means a bunch of installations won’t get done this morning, unless I rearrange some things before the guys get there. I need to get to the office to sort it out. I have to drop you off early.”
“No problem.”
I dropped the highlighter on the table and grabbed my things. I made a mental note to make sure that I remembered to tell Grant about the charges I’d found later this morning.
Grant
After dropping Becca off, I got to the office in record time. I greeted Gale, my office clerk, at the front desk and saw the relief on her face as I took the pile of installation orders for the day with me.
“I’m so sorry to call you so early this morning, Grant. I just didn’t know how you wanted me to handle this,” she said, following me with another pile of work orders.
“No worries, Gale. I think I should be able to get it figured out before the guys get here so we don’t miss anyone. I will let you know if I need you to call any of the clients to reschedule.”
“Thanks, Grant. I feel just horrible.”
“No worries, Gale. It’s not a big deal, honestly.”
She nodded. “How about I get you a cup of coffee.”
“That would be great, thanks.” I couldn’t get mad at her. She was new to the city and closer to my mother’s age. Despite having tried to show her around our area, she still didn’t know it well.
I walked into my office and started sorting through the day’s assignments, quickly tacking an installation onto anyone who was lighter than normal and close to the area. I had just finished as, one by one, the installation guys appeared at my door and stepped into my office to grab their day’s assignments.
Once everyone was on the road, I picked up the lukewarm coffee that Gale had dropped on my desk and took a sip. I had just sat down behind my desk when Gale appeared at my door.
“Grant, I forgot to tell you, I received a call from a customer yesterday afternoon once you’d left for the day. You installed a system in his storage locker a few weeks back. He asked that you disconnect them today.”
“What, like stop the feed?”
“Yeah. He says he knows he paid for the entire year, but he asked that you disconnect them for this week only and start them again next Sunday.”
I frowned at the strange request when my phone vibrated, and I peered down to see Becca’s name flash across the screen.
“I’m sorry, Gale, I have to take this,” I said, reaching for the phone.
“Grant, he asked that they be disconnected yesterday.”
“Yep, no worries. I will get to it right after this call.”
I spun around in my chair and picked up the phone, thoughts of last night running through my mind. “Hey, you, miss me already?” I chuckled into the phone.
“Grant.”
I could hear the fear in her voice as she said my name, and alarm rose in my chest. “Becs, what’s wrong?”
“We are being evacuated. There’s been a bomb threat.” Becca’s voice was shaky, and I imagined she was on the verge of tears. She seemed to be out of breath as well.
“What? Where are you?” I said, spinning around in my chair, feeling around on my desk for my keys.
“I’m heading down the back staircase of the resort, toward the back entrance to the rear parking lot.”
“All right, listen to me. Keep calm and just breathe. As soon as you are outside, you head over to the Wine Glass Fountain.”
“Grant, I’m scared. I have a bad feeling about this.”
“Becca, listen, it’s going to be fine, I will meet you there in twenty minutes. Whatever you do, don’t go anywhere else, or with anyone else. Tell your boss that that is where you will be. I will be there as quick as I can,” I barked, getting up as quickly as I could without my leg giving out under my weight.
“Okay. Please hurry, Grant.”
I could hear the fear in her voice and wanted nothing more than to be with her and comfort her. “I’m on my way, Becs.” I hung up and grabbed my jacket and keys and headed out the front door, yelling back to Gale that I would be back. Once in my truck, I dialed Chris. I figured if this was a bomb threat, he was probably already on his way there.
“Chris here,” he barked into the phone. I could hear multiple voices in the background.
“Hey! You hear about the bomb threat over at the Moscato?”
“Yep, I just got back, and we are on our way now. Is Becca with you?”
“I dropped her off at work this morning. She’s already called me, and I’m on my way to meet her at the wine glass fountain.”
“Okay, we just arrived. I’ve got to go.”
The phone went dead, and I turned the corner and jammed on my breaks. There were people everywhere, lining the middle of the street, making it impossible for me to pass. I pulled over and parked the truck, quickly scanning the crowd of people for any sign of Becca. I could see the fountain from where I parked, and I pushed my way through the crowd, making my way over to the base of the fountain, looking in every direction for her.
When I didn’t see her immediately, I pulled my phone from my back pocket and quickly texted her. Still searching through the crowds looking for her, I held onto my phone, waiting for a response from her.
When I got to the base of the fountain, I once again searched the crowds, but still couldn’t find her. Then I remembered she had said she was going out the back door of the resort. Perhaps the police had refused to let them leave the area and she was still back there. I crossed the street and got around to the back of the building, but when I got there, the police quickly escorted me away, telling me that they had evacuated all persons and that they allowed no one in the immediate area.
I could feel my frustration peak, which was odd for me after all my training, but I couldn’t help it. I had to find her. I combed through the crowds for over an hour with no luck. I was out of my mind, and I now stood out front of the resort, watching as police walked out, and then I spotted Chris. As soon as he saw me, he waved, signaling for me to come over.
“You find her?”
I shook my head. “No, she is nowhere. It’s like she disappeared.”
“All right, once my captain clears the place and they allow people to go in, I am going to get in touch with the general manager. If she isn’t with them, then we are going to need the security tapes.”
Two hours later, all employees had been accounted for, except Becca. We sat in the general manager’s office, watching the security footage of each entrance. We finally got to the last tape and, sure enough, we saw her walk out the side door.
“Do you have the tapes from outside this entrance?” Chris questioned.
“Of course, sir.” The manager shuffled through the tapes, finally finding the one we wanted to see.
We watched as Becca stepped out that back door, ran her fingers through her hair, and turned her attention to another staff member who appeared to need help. She was just about to grab hold of her when someone came up behind Becca and grabbed her, throwing a shirt over her head. We watched the entire tape, watched as Becca struggled and w
as thrown against the front of a white van by a man with a balaclava over his head. Then he hoisted a fighting Becca over his shoulder and threw her into the side door of the white van. We then watched as the man climbed into the front seat and reversed, making sure the van never crossed in front of the camera.
“How is it, in all this chaos, with people everywhere, that no one helped her?” I blurted out.
Chris held his hand out. “Do you have any other tapes that cover the back parking lot?” Chris questioned, rewinding the tape, hoping for a hint at something, anything, that might put a mark on the vehicle, but there was none.
“No, sir, the camera for that part of the building was damaged seven months ago in an electrical storm,” the manager commented, looking uncomfortable.
“What? You mean you haven’t fixed it?” Chris said, getting up and leaning across the manager’s desk until he was in his face.
Chris’s supervisor watched and then cleared his throat, grabbing him by the shoulder and pulling him back. “All right, so they took her. Grant, we can take it from here. Sir, we are going to need that tape, and we want to speak with every employee who exited the building through that entrance. Surely, someone saw something,” he said to the general manager. Within seconds, the manager had put the tape in his.
“So what’s next?” I asked.
“We will get to the bottom of it, Grant. You head home,” the supervisor said, taking the tape from the manager. “Chris let’s get going. You’re off the case as well. It’s too close to you, but do you have any clue who may have taken her, a lead we could go on?”
Chris spoke to his captain and then stayed behind with me. Grant and I looked to one another as the others left the room, tape in hand. “Grant, I know you’re not going to listen, but when you get back to the apartment, if you notice anything, call me right away.”
“You heard your captain. You’re not supposed to be working on it either.”
Chris chuckled and looked at me with a serious face. “Are you telling me you’re going to sit idly by and wait?”
Saviour Boy (The All American Boy Series) Page 5