The Grayce Walters Romantic Suspense Series

by Jacki Delecki

  He might not be the man she called for help, but he was the one to protect her. He had failed. But he wouldn’t fail again.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Grayce was trapped in a watery grave. Escape was impossible. Her legs and arms wouldn’t move. Paralyzed, she was pulled down into the deep, bottomless void. The murky, green water surrounded her. The sound of her rapid breathing echoed in the silent water.

  Icy water compressed her chest, suffocating her. She was trapped, alone with no one to help. Her breathing became frantic. She was enveloped in endless fear. She fought the heavy sensation of falling into the emptiness.

  * * *

  Grayce awoke in a dark room. For a few seconds, she couldn’t sort out where she was. Then she heard Napoleon’s gentle snuffle. Relieved to be awakening in her own bed, she rolled to look at the clock.

  With the quick movement, a sharp pain shot through her head, a nasty reminder of her injury. The memory of her car accident and her fight with Davis came rushing back. No surprise that she had nightmares. At least she was spared from dreams of Hunter Hines or Gator.

  The clock flashed one AM. After Davis had stormed out of the house, exhausted and discouraged, she had immediately gone to bed. She’d slept ten hours.

  She gingerly sat up. Her headache had improved from excruciating to moderate throbbing. She needed a Diet Coke. She doubted she’d find potato chips in the cupboard. She hadn’t anticipated that she would have a need for the greasy, salty manna. She certainly wouldn’t have anticipated that someone would try to murder her.

  Napoleon didn’t stir. She delayed bending over to search for her flip-flops for fear of the headache from hell returning. She placed her feet on the floor and bumped against a big, furry mass. Mitzi slept next to her bed.

  “Mitzi?” The poodle sat up and nuzzled Grayce’s hand with her cold nose. “How’s my girl?”

  Grayce ran her hand over the dog’s chest, feeling for the swelling and bruising the poodle must have sustained in the crash.

  “Everything check’s out fine…but how did you get in here?”

  Had Davis brought the dog and left? With that depressing thought, Grayce stood and walked to the kitchen with Mitzi trailing close behind.

  She stopped suddenly when she spotted Davis—his dark head hung over one end of the couch, his feet stuck out the other, and his large body draped over the side.

  Grayce wanted to touch him, to soothe away the bad feelings between them. She had tried to take care of him, and he refused to understand.

  She watched him sleep—his large chest moving slowly, his spiky lashes spread across his rugged cheekbones. Davis suddenly opened his eyes as if he sensed he was being observed.

  “Davis?” Embarrassed to be caught staring at him like a star struck teenager, her tone came out strident. “Why are you sleeping on the couch?”

  He rolled off the couch and stood.

  The silence grew awkward.

  He was still in his rumpled blue shirt and khaki pants. His thick, bristly hair stood up on end.

  “I’m not leaving you alone until the bastards are caught.”

  He came back because he believed she needed help? Not to make up after their fight?

  “I know everything. Your brakes were cut, and you believe two guys were trailing you.”

  “You don’t need to do this. The police are on the case.”

  The flash in his eyes was either anger or pain. He spoke in a calm voice—unnatural and not convincing. “Someone tried to kill you. Do you understand? You need me.”

  His male, take-charge attitude wasn’t what she wanted. She did need him but not as a watchdog. She needed him because she loved him. “If I need protection, I’ll hire Nick to protect me. He’s a soldier and has special training.”

  “I’m not leaving. I’m not allowing anything to happen to you.” For a brief moment she saw his vulnerability, but it was quickly replaced with coolness.

  She had never realized before how much indifference could hurt.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  After walking the perimeter, Davis and Mitzi waited for Grayce in his car parked in front of Dr. Z’s little Ravenna house. The back garden was enclosed, making entry difficult.

  Grace hadn’t objected when he said he’d wait for her in the car. She had left him with Mitzi.

  For the three days since her car accident, he had guarded her 24/7. He never expected to feel such responsibility for any woman. He wasn’t going to let anyone hurt Grayce.

  His only break was after her he walked her to the office where Nick took over. He continued to search for Gator without alerting Calfell. Davis was frustrated that he had made no progress mainly because Calfell was blocking all of his inquires. Something or someone was going to have to break soon.

  How had his life gotten so out of control? He, of all men, who managed his life sensibly and efficiently, had been taken down by one tiny blond woman with fiery green eyes.

  Since the accident, he and Grayce had remained in a holding pattern, maintaining a wary distance. It seemed that they were both afraid to discuss their feelings. Maybe it meant Grayce still cared and didn’t want to risk ruining their future. That thought gave him hope.

  As usual, he kept the radio tuned to KJR, the sport’s channel, but he couldn’t listen to another analysis of U-dub’s upcoming football season. He switched the radio off.

  Grayce thought he was still mad at her. He wasn’t mad. He was afraid, afraid she’d never get past her fear of commitment. Still wounded by the loss of her sister, Grayce couldn’t allow herself to trust the future. He felt that their love for each other should overcome the past. In Grayce’s complicated mind, their love heightened the fear.

  He didn’t understand emotions like Grayce did, but what he did know was that he was afraid that she might never need him the way he needed her.

  He had to make a stand. He couldn’t allow her to wield so much power, but he worried that if he pushed her, she’d let him go…back to DC alone. So, he remained silent in a purgatory of his own making.

  For three days, he had been unable to kiss her or even touch her. He was torturously aware of her every word, her every gesture, constantly hungering for every brief contact with her. It had gotten so bad that he watched her sleep. She didn’t sleep well without him. She tossed and turned with a worried face. She was having nightmares, but she never admitted a word to him about her restless nights.

  He tried hard to hide what she did to him in her little skimpy yoga clothes. He hadn’t understood the power of obsession, had never felt its fierce pull until now. He couldn’t reason himself out of this passion. He wasn’t in purgatory. He was in hell.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Grayce sat in her usual chair, across from her mentor. The familiar fragrant scent of the Dragon Well green tea soothed her jangled nerves. There was comfort in routine. She smiled, then he smiled. Always the same, but never the same.

  “How are you?” His fathomless eyes radiated love. She had come to be with him on the pretext of treatment for her concussion.

  “I’ve a mild concussion from a car accident.”

  “Yes, I see the bruising.”

  “Someone had tampered with my brakes. My car went out of control, and I struck a tree. I was evaluated at Harborview. My CAT scan was negative. I’ve recovered. The men, possibly from Aunt Aideen’s prediction, are still at large. Davis is trying to find a connection to why they want to harm me.”

  “Your mind is spinning, yes? Take a cleansing breath.”

  She took several deep breaths and tried to absorb Dr. Z’s calm, but this time it wasn’t working.

  He smiled. “Still spinning. You remember the exercises we did when you first started your training?”

  “That’s the problem. My mind has taken hold of me, and I can’t get out of its destructive grip.”

  “Your thoughts sound harsh. Lord Krishna reminds us in the Bhagavad Gita that gentleness of the mind must be practiced.”
<
br />   “Everything in my life is out of control, and I can’t stop the whirling buzz.”

  “Yes, I can feel how disturbed your energy is. Tell me.”

  “I hurt Davis badly. And now we’re distant. I don’t know how to make it better between us.”

  “His fear over the accident, yes?”

  “He’s very upset that someone tried to hurt me. He’s guarding me day and night.”

  Dr. Z never asked direct questions, but always waited for the truth to emerge.

  “He’s hurt because I didn’t call him immediately after the accident. I didn’t want him to worry. He was in DC on his new job, and I didn’t want him to have to come home.”

  “You are used to taking care of others. Not easy for you to let someone else help you.”

  “He said I’m trying to push him away. But he doesn’t understand that I wanted to spare him the pain.”

  “Your life journey has always been about preventing pain for others. There is more. I can feel it—a deeper fear than taking responsibility for others. What is it?”

  She didn’t want to admit her scary thoughts out loud, because uttering the words would make it real, never to be taken back.

  Her mentor knew her mind so well, recognized her resistance. “Tell me about your dreams.”

  “Every night, it is the same dream or a slight variation. I dream I’m under water.”

  “Very auspicious. Water represents consciousness.”

  “But the dream isn’t auspicious. I’m being suffocated by the water. And there is no one to help me.”

  His round eyes focused on her face. “Anything else?”

  “I’m sinking into the emptiness alone. The anxiety is overwhelming.”

  “A very frightening dream. I can see why your energy is unbalanced. Deep fear of loneliness, yes?” His words always had the effect of softening the ache around her heart.

  “Why do you think you’re having this dream?”

  There was never any hiding from her mentor. Dr. Z liked the analogy—delving deep into your soul is like peeling away one petal at a time from the lotus flower. He had never described the suffering involved in the process of peeling.

  “Cassie’s gone. She’s left me. I used to feel her, dream of her, feel a connection. But when the men threatened me, I didn’t feel her with me.” Grayce couldn’t hold back the anguish. Hot tears rolled down her face. Searing grief burned in her lungs. She gulped, trying to suppress the sobs.

  Dr. Z leaned forward and patted her hand.

  His touch steadied her. He never judged feelings. He allowed them to flow.

  “Your sister didn’t leave you.” He put his hand on his chest. “Is she not here?”

  Grayce shrugged her shoulders. “But if she is with me, why don’t I feel her? Something has changed.”

  “I don’t think she left you. I think you let Cassie go.”

  “That’s not true!” She never totally lost control with Dr. Z, but today he was pushing her limits.

  “You’re letting go of very old fears in your dreams. And creating new dreams and hopes, yes?”

  “I don’t understand.” Her voice was challenging, almost hostile.

  “Cassie has always been a part of you. And she still will be. She is held deep in your heart. ‘New beginnings are often disguised as painful endings.’ My favorite poet Lao Tzu says it beautifully.”

  “By your reasoning, I should feel her presence more.”

  “We’re back to the brain spinning. This isn’t about reasoning. This is feeling.”

  Grayce felt the tightness in her chest and around her heart ease with acceptance.

  “She will always remain a part of you, as will all the people you love. But you don’t need her to be with you now to make you complete. Letting her go gives room in your heart for another who loves you and protects you.”

  Grayce stared at her mentor. “I’m not sure that I’ve room in my heart for both Cassie and Davis.”

  He shook his head. “Your brain is quite revved up today.” Dr. Z’s exuberant smile wreathed his face. “There is always room for love.”

  “But Cassie guided me. Helped me in my work.”

  “Your gifts of insight and intuition have always been yours and only yours. You’re the gifted one. Cassie loved and protected you.” He was always so patient, gently guiding her to painful truths.

  “Am I substituting Davis for Cassie?”

  He chuckled. “You need to stop your brain from talking. You can love Davis, because you have loved Cassie and let her go. The deepest love is always letting go.

  He stood. “No more words. Come, I’ll treat you now. Let me take care of you.”

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Davis was slouched against the front of his parked car. Mitzi’s head lay at his feet. The dog slept soundly, unfazed by her guard duty.

  Grayce had been meeting with her mentor for over an hour.

  Davis was restless. He had plans to talk with Gator’s probation officer this afternoon. He was anxious to find the connection between the criminals and Grayce, and impatient to end the rift with Grayce.

  When he heard the door open, he straightened and put his hand on the gun in his jacket pocket. He slowly turned in a circle. Mitzi continued to sleep unaware.

  A little man in a brown robe, dressed like a monk, walked toward him. Grayce had never described her mentor as a monk. Davis was on shaky ground—he knew nothing about monks.

  Davis was immediately struck by Dr. Z’s resemblance to a shiny, brown nut with his bald head, brown eyes, and brown robe.

  Mitzi jumped up and pranced toward the man as if she were greeting a familiar friend.

  “Oh, Mitzi, very nice to meet you.”

  As with Grayce, Mitzi calmed promptly and assumed a position next to the monk as if she had been trained as his companion.

  “And you must be Davis.” Dr. Z’s voice was soft but powerful.

  Davis was used to men sizing each other up, establishing who was the biggest, fastest, and strongest. He was accustomed to being acknowledged as the alpha, the pack leader. This assessment was quite different. The man smiled with his whole face and looked deep into Davis’ eyes, peering into his soul.

  He suddenly felt very exposed. Did Dr. Z know about their fight? Had Grayce told Dr. Z about him going ballistic?

  The man glowed as if the sunshine of the day came from within him. Davis found himself smiling back. The knot in his chest eased for the first time since Grayce’s accident.

  Mitzi sat at Dr. Z’s feet. The monk rested his hand on Mitzi’s head as if bestowing a benediction. “Mitzi is a very brave dog. Grayce has told me about her fierce devotion.”

  “Yes, Mitzi is very loyal to Grayce.”

  “I’m glad. Mitzi will help Grayce again.”

  Davis didn’t like the sound of this. Too much like a prophecy. And though he didn’t believe in that kind of stuff, it didn’t mean he’d ignore it.

  “But I don’t want Grayce involved in dangerous cases.”

  Dr. Z nodded. “Yes, I understand your worry. Grayce has unusual gifts and must use them. A spirit like hers needs to be safeguarded against the evils of the world. The universe has provided her with several stalwart protectors. I am reassured. You, Mitzi and your aunt will keep Grayce safe.”

  And with that, the little monk nodded, and walked back into his house. He turned and said over his shoulder as if an afterthought, “Grayce is sleeping. She is very tired from all the turmoil. You’ll have to wait longer, Davis. Patience, Davis. Patience.”

  The little man had a twinkle in his eye. Davis knew that Dr. Z wasn’t only talking about waiting for Grayce today.

  But what did he mean by Aunt Aideen as Grayce’s protector? Just like Grayce, her mentor spoke in riddles. Didn’t anyone speak clearly and logically?

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Grayce left Mrs. Leary’s house to retrieve Mitzi. The poodle had to remain in the car until Mrs. Leary gave permission to allow Mitzi to vi
sit with Grendel, a sweet and silly Himalayan, Mrs. Leary’s newest addition. Grayce was always fascinated by her client’s choice of names. Mrs. Leary had taught English at UW and always chose her cats’ names from the epic poem Beowulf.

  Grayce was surprised that Mitzi had been so patient while Mrs. Leary had described her hospitalization in great detail.

  Grayce had to do a lot of fast-talking to persuade Davis that this home visit was really essential, and she didn’t need a bodyguard to visit an elderly woman. It helped that Davis had wanted to go down to the police station to look into Gator’s criminal record.

  Grayce wouldn’t disappoint sweet Mrs. Leary. She wasn’t about to cancel because Hunter Hines or Gator tried to intimidate her. Except for Aunt Aideen’s prediction, she had no idea why either man wanted her dead.

  She descended the steps from the sprawling house in the posh Laurelhurst neighborhood. A swift, vicious jolt of foreboding hit her right in the chest—the front door of her car was open and Mitzi was gone.

  Trying to remain calm as her entire being was flooded with panic, Grayce scanned the spacious, manicured, English garden. She called and whistled for Mitzi. No response. Now, the metallic taste of fear was in her mouth. Her heart raced out of control. Grayce didn’t want to alarm Mrs. Leary yet.

  She ran down the winding driveway to the street. The house was hidden behind tall laurel hedges. When she came around the hedge to the street, a young, blond man with a polo shirt open at the neck was standing next to a black SUV with the passenger door open as if he was waiting for her.

  “Get in.” He spoke in an even, detached voice as if he were a pick-up car service.

  Terror gushed from her pores. Desperate, she scanned the tree-lined street hoping to find help. Unfortunately, exclusive, orderly neighborhoods never have people wandering the streets.

  “This is a mistake.” It took a masterful effort to keep her voice calm, but her heart sped along like it would burst.