by Mia Carson
Grace’s heart thundered behind her ribs. The way he continued to glance at her—and not in a smoldering hot, sexy way—told her she was in trouble. Had he overheard her talking to Jimmy? She swallowed hard and cracked her knuckles.
Just tell him now! Just do it!
Before she could get up the courage to tell the truth, her cell vibrated and she pulled it out quickly. Jimmy’s text said he’d spotted Mickey and his goons outside again and he’d keep her posted. Grace’s hands shook. This was ridiculous. Jimmy was right. All she had to do was tell Chase the truth and pray he believed her.
Except everything his mom told her about Tiffany rushed back, and she sagged against the cushions. Tiffany had used him for his money and kicked him to the curb. Those scars were still there and they ran deep, accompanied by bitterness and anger.
There was always the chance that what they both thought they felt in each other’s arms were simply lust and nothing more. It would break her heart to hurt him but even more to find out they couldn’t last through her telling him the truth. Her resolve strengthened, she told herself this was the only way to keep him safe and protect the love between them. In her eyes, it was just as fragile as it was strong. No man managed to stay in her life, besides Jimmy, but she hoped Chase was different.
She guessed, in a few days, she’d find out.
Chapter 10
By mid-morning, Grace knew Chase was suspicious that she was up to something, and despite her best acting abilities, she couldn’t muster enough fake happiness to make him think otherwise. He didn’t outright ask her, which was the worst part. Instead, he was quiet, barely smiling when she talked to him or when she asked what they were going to do for the day.
He told her he had some paperwork to catch up on and spread his work out on the dining table, asking if she’d be alright entertaining herself until dinner. His question was so cold, she almost lost it, but she caught herself at the last second and nodded brightly.
“Sure, I’ll just play Halo all by my lonesome,” she teased, but he barely glanced at her.
Her heart broke a little each time he gave her the easy brush off, but she told herself it was for his own good. When it was all over, he’d understand and they’d be fine. Everything would be as it was before and they’d laugh about it one day.
She was barely into her fourth round of killing whomever was online in the local area when her cell went off again. Letting herself get killed so she could leave the round, she checked the screen and pushed to her feet. Chase was hunched over his papers, his long hair covering his face, so she hurried to hide in the bathroom.
When she locked the door and slid her finger across the screen, she gasped and nearly dropped it. A picture of Jimmy, his lip split and nose broken, and behind him, Mickey, filled the screen. A second later, her cell rang.
“Jimmy? God, are you alright? What happened?”
“This ain’t Jimmy, love, and I’m tired of playing games,” Mickey snapped on the other end.
“Mickey, please, alright? Just let him go.”
“First, your mother tries to swindle me out of what she owes me,” he yelled, cutting her off. “And then she leaves town and you—you promise me twenty thousand by Monday and guess what, love? It’s Wednesday, and I don’t have me damn money!”
Grace flinched when she heard the smack of flesh on flesh and Jimmy groaning in pain. “Just let him go. Please, I thought she paid you! That’s all. Just a misunderstanding.”
“No, the misunderstanding was me thinking I could trust your mum or you.”
Grace chewed her lip and prayed to God she wasn’t about to listen to her best friend get killed over the phone.
***
Chase watched Grace all day from the corner of his eye as she checked her cell as much as she did the night before. When she got up and rushed to his bedroom, he worried for a second she was getting sick again so he followed, but when he lifted a hand to knock he stopped at the tone of her voice.
“Just don’t, alright? I said I would have it, and I will. You just have to wait.”
Silence fell over the room while he assumed the person on the other end of the call was speaking.
“Look, I’ll have the money by Thursday. It’s a done deal, might be able to get a little extra and then this whole thing will be over. Trust me, I’ve got exactly what I need to get what we’re both after.”
Chase flinched and stepped away from the door quickly. Money. She was telling someone she’d have money for them by Thursday. This whole time—the entire damn time—he thought he’d found the woman he was meant to be with, but she was scamming him for money. More money than was agreed on in their contract. Anger flooded him and he raised his fist to pound on the door but stopped. No, this was too easy a way out for her.
If she wanted his money, he’d make sure she got it—all of it—but it wasn’t going to be without a little payback. He was, if nothing else, a man who gave people exactly what they deserved.
Fuming, Chase left his bedroom quietly to sit down at the table again. He called Dexter and asked if he would be so kind as to swing by his office and pick up the money he’d set aside to pay Grace for her weekend on the yacht.
“Oh, and throw in an extra ten thousand. My secretary will be there to gather it for you,” he told him. “Bring it by as soon as you can.”
“Of course, sir. Is there anything else you will require today?’
“No. No, that should be all. Thank you, Dexter.”
Once he was finished with that call, he left a message for his secretary at the office about the money and to block out his schedule for the rest of this week and week following. He would have to make a note to stock up on the scotch and find a few women to keep him company this weekend. The second he set his cell down, his heart shattered as it had with Tiffany, only so much worse. He’d been so sure Grace was his and wanted him just for him.
Yet again, he was proven wrong.
A few more hours, then he could kick Graceland Summers out of his life. If only he could rid his heart of her in that little time, too.
***
Grace paced back and forth in the bathroom, listening to Mickey tell her exactly what he expected. “I don’t know if I can get that much that quickly, but like I said, I’ll pay you whatever you want when I can,” she told him again. “Please.”
“That’s not good enough. You will deliver the money to the pub Thursday morning, Graceland,” he said. “No more games.”
“Fine, fine… Just promise you won’t hurt Jimmy anymore.”
“Once I have a down payment in hand, we’ll let your friend go.”
“I’ll be fine, hon!” Jimmy called through the phone. “Just do what they say!”
Mickey cackled darkly, and Grace shivered, picturing what that man might do if she were a minute late. “Listen to your friend, and this will all be over. Oh, and come alone.”
“I don’t have anyone to come with me anyway.”
“You really think I’m that blind? I saw you with him at the carnival, love. Chase Valentine, the third? Did some research over the weekend while you were busy acting like his fiancée, though from what we saw at the carnival, I’d say that professional line has been crossed.”
Grace begged him quietly not to drag him into this, hoping he wouldn’t.
“Maybe I’ll go to him for the money,” Mickey threatened. “I’m sure he wouldn’t mind taking care of his new lover.”
“Please, I’ll bring you what I can and I’ll come alone. Leave Chase out of this,” she said desperately. “Please, he has nothing to do with this shit.”
“You better keep your word, love, because if you don’t, it’s not just your friend we’ll take it out on, but you as well. I said you were pretty enough to be used in other parts of our business. Test me again and you’ll learn how mean Mickey can be,” he warned. “Thursday morning, eight o’clock sharp, the pub. Do not be late.”
Grace was shaking when the call ended. He’d doubled wh
at her mom owed from last week. Eighty thousand. There was no way in hell she’d ever be able to work that debt off. And Chase? She’d drag him right down with her into a world he should never be involved in. Her world crashed down around her in that bathroom, and there was nothing she could do except watch each piece fall and shatter. Tears burned her eyes, and she let them fall as heavy sobs wracked her body.
Once they made it through the dinner tonight, she’d leave Chase forever and pray that one day he could forgive her. It was the only way to ensure his safety. Her tears dried up and her body exhausted from her cries, Grace cleaned her face and prepared for the hardest night of her life.
Chapter 11
Grace remembered how nervous she’d been the night of her first major performance. Her hands shook, and she was sure she’d puke in the middle of her lines. Every muscle had been tensed to the point they hurt. This—waiting for Chase’s parents to arrive—was a hundred times worse.
It didn’t help that Chase almost completely ignored her the rest of the afternoon, and when she asked what she should wear, he simply shrugged and disappeared into the kitchen. She couldn’t begin to know what he thought of her. If his cold shoulder was any indication, it wasn’t good and had gotten worse since that morning. She called on her best acting skills to hide her sadness and her tears, but when the doorbell rang and he went to answer it, Grace was exhausted from the effort and worried she’d screw this up for him.
“Where is she? Where’s Grace?” Margot called out as soon as Chase opened the door. “Ah, there you are, darling! I missed you!”
“It’s only been a few days,” Chase grumbled as Margot embraced Grace tightly.
“It’s alright,” Grace laughed brightly, trying to keep the same attitude she had all weekend on the yacht. A quick glance at Chase said he failed to do the same. “I quite enjoy your mother.”
“Makes one of us,” he teased, and though he smiled, there was a bite to his words.
Grace tried to catch his eye, but he purposely avoided it and turned away, asking his parents what they wanted to drink. The men went to get their scotch, and Margot pulled Grace to the side, chattering about the last few days and trying to decide where to travel to next.
“I honestly don’t know what to do anymore. So much time off,” Margot mused. “What do you think, dear? Where should we go?”
“I’ve always wanted to go to New Zealand,” she said. “Beautiful country.”
“And very adventurous, is it not? What about New Zealand, old man?”
Chase Senior choked on his scotch. “Why in God’s name do you want to go there?”
“Something different.”
“Chase, I have a feeling your fiancée and your mom are going to drive us both crazy soon enough. I hope you have enough scotch to get you through,” he said and patted his son on the back.
Margot talked with Grace about planning a trip, maybe the four of them together, until Chase announced dinner was ready. He and his dad carried everything to the table, laying out the fresh fish and salad and whatever else he’d cooked. Grace had stayed away from the kitchen after he very coldly told her earlier he didn’t need help.
“Well now, this looks wonderful,” Margot told him. “You got your cooking skills from me.”
Her husband cackled. “God, no, you did not. You got them all from me.”
The conversation stayed light, but every time Grace glanced at Chase, he either glared back at her or turned away. Her resolve weakened until she was ready to excuse herself from the table. She was about to get up when Margot asked about their ideas for a holiday wedding and if they had talked it over or not.
“I’m just dying to know if I’ll have something fun to do this year,” she mused. “Grace? What do you think? I don’t want you to think I’m being pushy.”
“No, course not,” she said and waved her worry off. “I’ve been thinking it sounds like a great idea. Right, babe?”
Chase swallowed his food and took a large gulp of whiskey before his mouth turned up in an unfriendly smirk. It was harsh, and Grace’s stomach plummeted. “Actually, there’s something we need to tell you… Well, I guess I should tell you, since I only know part of the story I thought I knew.”
“Chase? What are you doing?” she asked quietly, her voice shaking.
“I’m telling them the truth, something I think we all should do tonight, don’t you think, Graceland?” he snapped.
“Chase? What on earth’s gotten into you?” Margot asked, concerned. “Did you two get in a fight?”
“Oh no, we haven’t even begun to get into a fight,” Chase fumed and slammed his napkin on the table. “Grace is not my real fiancée.”
“Chase!”
“What are you talking about?” his dad asked over Grace’s panicked shout.
“You pressured me to be with someone, so I did what any rich playboy does. I hired a fiancée for the weekend,” Chase admitted. “I did it so you two would get off my back about still being single after Tiffany.”
Grace’s face flared, and she hung her head as Margot looked to her. “Is this true?”
“Yes,” she said quietly. “I’m an actress for a local theater company, but he’s not telling you everything.”
“Yes, I am. I hired her, and I’m ending our contract.”
“What? Chase, just please, calm down,” she begged, but the hatred in his eyes froze her words in her mouth.
“No. No, I won’t. You know why? Here’s why. I fell in love with this woman for real!” he yelled, standing from the table to glare at her. “But you want to know the kicker? She’s just like that bitch Tiffany. All she wants is money.”
Grace’s mouth fell open in disbelief. How did he find out about Mickey? “You… you overheard me on the phone?” This wasn’t the way she wanted him to find out, even though she could explain it all! “Chase, wait, you didn’t hear everything.”
“I heard enough to know what you’re up to! This whole time, you played me!”
Margot and Chase Senior sat still as statues, watching the fight play out, and Grace hated that they had to do this in front of them.
“That’s not true,” she argued. “Please. Trust me—”
“Trust you?” he roared. “Why the hell would I trust you? After everything, I guess I just didn’t realize how good an actress you really are. Terrance would be proud.” He stormed away from the table, and Grace hurried after him.
“Chase, no—just listen to me!” She grabbed his arm but he shrugged her off.
“Chase, this is not like you,” his mom called. “Calm down. We can figure this out.”
“No, I’m finished with women like her,” he muttered darkly. “And I’m finished with you. Here. For the contract. I added a bonus for everything else you did for me.”
When he turned back around, there was a manila envelope in his hand. Shaking, he tossed it at her feet and stalked away. Tears filled her eyes as she stared at the money. “I didn’t want your money,” she whispered, her heart breaking so much it hurt to breathe.
“What was that?” he growled.
Turning around, she straightened. “I said I didn’t want the money, remember?”
“Clearly you wanted more and were just finding a way to get it. Well, there it is. For your services—all your services.” He leered, and Grace staggered as the full brunt of his anger hit her hard. She stumbled backwards, dizzy from the sudden loss of the love she thought they’d found together. He was paying her like a common whore. It hurt more than anything else in the world could to have him toss her aside so carelessly.
She sucked in a breath and tried again to get him to listen, but he turned his back on her and threatened to call the cops if she didn’t get out. Grace watched his shoulders heave with every furious breath he sucked into his lungs, wanting to go to him, but as she reached out a hand, she yanked it right back. It was over. She’d lost her chance to tell the truth, and he was beyond hearing her out.
“Fine. If that’s ho
w you want it, then fine,” she whispered. Grace held out her shaking hand and pulled the engagement ring from her finger. “For the record, these last few days were not an act.”
Still he didn’t turn. Grace set the ring on the kitchen counter, muttered an apology to Margot and Chase Senior, and ran from the penthouse. On her way, she kicked the envelope of money, scattering it, but she didn’t stop to pick it up. She wanted nothing from Chase, not even what he owed her.
The elevator wasn’t fast enough so she took the stairs, making it down three flights before she slipped and her heel broke, sending her tumbling down to the landing. Her eyes blurred by tears, she kicked off her heels, wincing at the pain in her knees from smacking against the hard floor. She was going to break it off, but not like this. He tore her heart out and crushed it in his hands, destroying any hope she clung to. There would be no going back to him, even if she did find a way out from under Mickey’s thumb.
Grace didn’t know how long she sat in the stairwell, tears running down her cheeks, her body shaking as if on the verge of death before she forced herself to her feet. It didn’t matter. Jimmy needed her, and she was not going to let him get beaten up by Mickey again.
This was her life. She was destined to be alone, and maybe it was time she embraced that fact head on. She was Graceland Presley Summers, and she was not going to let another man ruin her life. After tonight, she wouldn’t cry any more tears for Chase and what they’d shared together. She’d drink it away, forget it ever happened, and move on. Her pain and anger were all she had left to hold onto, and she’d wear them like a coat every damn day to get through.
***
The second the door slammed, Chase’s arms fell to the side and he fought to keep the angry tears in his eyes. He hadn’t cried when Tiffany broke his heart, and he wasn’t going to cry for Grace either. He was better than that.