by April Hunt
“You guys are doing great, Grace,” Bethany said into their ear comms. “In and out. Quick and easy. No one will even know that you’ve been in there.”
“Are you’re sure there’s not going to be a problem cutting off the power? Because it just so happens that I left my invisible cloak in my closet.”
Bethany chuckled. “We have it covered, don’t worry. When you’re in position, all our person has to do is hit the button and you’re free and clear. Think of the big picture. You’re helping a fellow Order member get one step closer to their New Dawn. There’s no act more noble.”
Except making sure that guy gets back to DC to see his day in court.
As if reading her mind, Cade cupped the back of her neck. His magical fingers rubbed away the forming knot just as they approached the evidence desk. “We got this, babe.”
“Joe!” Cade addressed the older officer behind the chain-link screen and leaned against the counter. “How the hell are you doing, man?”
“Look what the cat drug in. How are you doing out there in the private sector? Civilian life, man. Scary thought.”
Cade chuckled. “Are you kidding? I love it. I roll my ass out of bed whenever the hell I want to and then I get to experiment with alcohol. This is like retirement thirty years early. You’ve gotta be close to taking the plunge, aren’t you?”
“Next year, but then what would I do? The sooner I retire, the sooner my ass will get dropped in the ground. Gotta keep busy to keep young, my friend.”
“Ready whenever you are, Grace,” Bethany announced in the ear comm.
“Ready,” Grace murmured.
“On three.”
Cade shifted, blocking Joe’s view of the door. “How are the grandkids? Are your son and daughter-in-law going to give you that granddaughter you’ve been talking about?”
“One. Two.”
The overhead lights blinked twice, before dousing the basement corridor in pitch black. In front of Grace, the door’s security light went out. She tugged it open, careful not to make noise. “I’m in.”
“All the way to the back. Second to last aisle on the left. Row S. Case file 52405.” Grace snuck a glance back at Cade, who was “helping” Joe find his emergency Maglite. He dropped something, making the older officer shoot off a round of expletives.
“Your guy has the guard covered, Grace,” Bethany encouraged. “You’re doing great. Imagine how good it’s going to feel to help someone in our community.”
Grace held back a smart retort, because what it felt like was committing a felony, staged theft or not. She found row S, tucked her little pen flashlight between her lips, and scanned the box labels until she found 52405.
“Got it.” She jimmied the tape open and grabbed the copied thumb drive. “All this for this little piece of plastic?”
“That’s all we need,” Bethany affirmed. “Cade’s still trying to distract his friend, but you may want to pick up the speed. He’s getting a little antsy—the friend, not Cade. Your sweetie is cool as a cucumber.”
Grace stuffed the drive between her cleavage and quietly returned the box. Three feet away from the door, Joe stepped into her line of vision, his broad back toward her.
She froze, afraid of drawing the officer’s attention. Cade’s gaze slid over Joe’s shoulder, locking on her—and then he was gone. Something large hit the floor.
Cade.
“Shit, man, you okay?” Joe cried out and moved to help, no longer in Grace’s path. “You trip over that box on the ground? I meant to stuff that away. Shit. I hope you didn’t break anything.”
“Go. Go. Go,” Bethany ordered, chuckling.
She was glad one person was enjoying this.
Using Cade’s distraction, she slipped silently out the door and nearly fell against the wall with a sigh. The police commissioner might know about their operation, but no one else in the precinct did. If they’d been caught it would be real handcuffs and an unsanitary holding cell.
“Good job, guys,” Bethany congratulated. “Lights going on in three, two, one…voilà.”
The overhead fluorescents blinked menacingly before coming to life. The rumble of the heating unit vibrated the floor, blasting stale air from the vents.
Cade stood behind the counter with Joe, helping the older man restack a tower of fallen files. “Looks like they figured out what the problem was. Something probably happened to the circuit breaker.”
“Or it could’ve been the rats chewing on the wires again. We had the exterminator out here last month, but the little bastards still manage to sneak back in. Gotta love old DC buildings.” Joe paused, looking nervous. “Oh. You probably shouldn’t be inside the cage in case someone comes down to check on things.”
“Can’t be hanging out with the riffraff, right?” The two men shared a laugh, and after shaking Joe’s hand, Cade met her at the hall corner. “Got it, babe?”
Staying in character, she gestured between her boobs. “Got it. Good job on the acrobatics there, slick. For a minute, I thought we were toast.”
He slid her a coy smirk. “I think I may have bruised my ass on the way down. Maybe you can kiss it later and take away the sting.”
Bethany laughed via the mic. “Job well done, you two. May the New Dawn shine upon you.”
“And upon you as well.” The words were bitter ash in Grace’s mouth, and her hand, limp at her side, reflexively reached out for Cade’s. He slid his fingers through hers and kissed the backs of her knuckles.
That small contact, however innocent he’d meant it to be, helped her breathe a little easier.
* * *
After Cade and Grace’s Grand Theft Evidence at the station, Cade had been more than happy to hand over that little piece of plastic to Bethany and Thomas. Their evidence tampering hadn’t come without a price. He’d felt it in the tremble of Grace’s fingers. Saw it in the way she refused to meet his eye for too long.
Getting her alone, away from prying eyes, had been his goal after proving their worth to the Order. He needed to make sure she was okay, and she wasn’t about to tell him the truth when they were surrounded by a crowd of people…especially when those people were their friends and family.
Which was probably why they were still at Iron Bars two hours after they’d checked in with Roman and the others.
Laughter spilled from one room to another, and as time passed, even more people made their way inside in an attempt to get away from the quickly dropping temps. The lounge was packed shoulder to shoulder, the tasting rooms in the back nearly the same.
It was as far from the alone time Cade had anticipated as it could get—and Grace, sitting with Zoey and Jaz across the room, hadn’t looked his way in close to an hour.
Ryder’s newest bartender reached across the bar to give a customer his drink, and the glass slipped from her fingers, dousing the front of her pants in vanilla bean vodka. It was the sixth disaster to happen within the last thirty minutes.
Roman sat down in the vacant seat on his left. “Ryder claims that she’ll catch on quick.”
“Before we run out of stock?”
Roman chuckled just as Ryder appeared behind the bar to help Emma clean up her latest mess. Bastard didn’t realize he got starry-eyed gazing at the redhead.
“Everything at the precinct went off without a hitch? No problems?”
“Not a one—which makes me a little embarrassed for the state of DCPD’s security features, and a lot more concerned about what other talents these New Dawn people have been hiding.”
“Guess you and Grace will find that out soon enough.”
Cade grunted and sipped his beer. If Bethany’s appreciation over a job well done was any indication, they’d be getting that invite any day. Sarah Brandt would be back with her family. Job over. Peace reigns. And Grace no longer had a reason to stick around.
But hell if he didn’t want to give her one, which was putting the cart light-years before the horse. He was surprised she agreed to see where things we
nt with them. He didn’t want to fuck it up by demanding more. Making edicts would lead to automatic failure and Grace telling him to go to hell.
For now he’d hold the course and hope for more mornings of waking up to her warm and very naked body. He’d enjoyed watching her gorgeous body glide into the shower instead of out of his apartment, which is what would have happened—and did happen—six months ago.
Thinking of Grace heading back to New York, Cade clutched his beer mug until his knuckles cracked.
A familiar laugh drew his attention across the room where Jaz, Zoey, and Grace had commandeered a corner table, a party sampler of flavored vodkas in front of them, and a flirty Cajun smiling down on them.
Tank whispered something in Grace’s ear that made her laugh again, and he pulled away, shooting a smug smile Cade’s way.
Bastard. If the guy weren’t his friend he’d hate him. At the sound of another one of Grace’s laughs, Cade changed his mind.
He hated Tank anyway.
An evil glint twinkled in Roman’s eye. “You want to go over there?”
Fuck, yes.
“Nope.” Cade watched Emma put way too much vodka in a Bloody Mary.
Roman stared over his shoulder, a shit-eating smirk on his face. “You got to see this.”
“Nah. I’m good.”
“Tank sure knows how to put on a show. I think it’s the Louisiana bayou accent. Women lap it up like a damn Tootsie Roll Pop. Come on, man. You gotta at least take a look.”
“I really fucking don’t.” Because God help Tank if he had his hands on Grace. And then if Cade strutted over there banging on his chest like a caveman, God help him, because Grace would kick his ass.
“Damn.” Roman shook his head, his gaze still aimed across the room. “Guess the bastard’s about to get lucky tonight after all.”
“Fuckin’ A.” Cade was on his feet and already halfway across the room before he realized the brunette sitting on Tank’s lap wasn’t Grace.
He shot Roman a hard glare and got a half shrug in return.
Grace chose that moment to turn her pretty golden gaze his way. Deer caught in headlights didn’t describe how he felt. He told his feet to move, but they didn’t obey. Around him, people swayed to the music filtering through the speakers, but he couldn’t take his eyes off her.
Cade crooked his finger and got a subtle who, me? lift of her eyebrow. He wiggled his finger again and watched as Grace said something to Zoey and Jaz. Both women glanced his way, Zoey with an ear-to-ear smile and a thumb up.
Cade looked his fill as Grace closed in on him…if that was even possible. Her jeans were molded to her body, her heeled boots showcasing her mile-long legs. He reflexively licked his bottom lip and saw her gaze drop to the sight.
A smile played on her own lips as she walked up to him. “Please tell me that you didn’t summon me over here.”
“I didn’t summon. I coaxed.”
“And the difference is what?”
“No magic involved—unless you consider my animal magnetism a power.”
Grace rolled her eyes. “If that’s all you wanted to say…”
Cade caught her arm and gently pulled her back to him as a slow song came over the speaker. He brushed his mouth over the shell of her ear and nearly groaned when she sighed. “Dance with me.”
“You? Dance? Who are you and what have you done with Cade Wright?”
“I told you that I’m not the same person I was nine years ago, and I meant it. This is me now. Cade 2.0.” This was him silently pleading with her not to pull away.
This thing between them was so new, and not to mention fragile, that he half expected it to blow away. Hell, maybe he’d imagined it, which was why he waited with bated breath for her next move.
Her lips tugging into a small smirk, she slid her hands up his chest and linked them behind his neck. “What the hell am I going to do with you?”
“Right now? Dance with me. In another hour? Strip me naked and have your way with me.” Cade eased them into a slow sway, and on every beat, the soft curves of her body melted against his even more.
He wanted to whisk her away right then, but instead, he savored the fact she stood with him—in public—and devoured him with her eyes. They weren’t playing it up for New Dawn.
This was entirely for them.
Grace’s fingers played with the hair along his nape. “Does this sudden need to dance have anything to do with a certain sexy Cajun?”
“Sexy Cajun?”
“Well, yeah. A woman would have to be dead not to notice—and I’m definitely not dead.”
“No, you’re definitely not.” Cade breathed through a rush of annoyance, stopping when she laughed so hard tears sprung to her eyes.
“You find something funny, sweetheart?” His voice rumbled his chest.
“Yeah, you.” Grace snort-chuckled. “Seriously, Cade. I’m messing with you.”
“So you don’t think Tank’s hot?”
“Oh, he’s totally hot. But I’ve been too wrapped up in thoughts of taking this other guy home to really notice. Actually, I was crossing my fingers that he’d take me back to his place and ravage me.”
“Ravage?”
“Mm. Total devouring.” Grace nibbled her bottom lip, making Cade groan.
His cock twitched at the mental image she painted. “Just so you know, that guy you want to go home with is totally up for what you’re suggesting—after getting one thing straight. This see-where-it-goes second-chance? It’s just us. You and me. Cade and Grace.”
“Temporary monogamy? How forward thinking of you.”
Temporary. The word left a bad taste in Cade’s mouth, but he’d gargle later. All that mattered at the moment was him and Grace being on the same page.
He leaned down and held his mouth mere centimeters away from hers, and she came the rest of the way. As their lips fused together, heat zipped through him. The kiss was hot, hungry, and over way too quick.
Her voice dropped low, heavy with lust. “I think I can handle that.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. And I think…”
“What?”
“I think my phone’s vibrating.” Breaking the moment, Grace tugged her cell from her back pocket and flashed him a look at the caller ID. “It’s Bethany.”
Their gazes locked. They both knew what this meant.
New Dawn’s light was already shining upon them, and yet all Cade could see was a dark cloud hovering right over their heads and the storm that was about to wreak havoc on their lives.
Chapter
Twelve
Drumming her fingers against her thigh, Grace fought not to look toward the driver’s seat because Cade’s worried glances only added to the nerves twisting her stomach.
This was really about to happen.
After seventeen years of being free of Father Teague’s daily Blessings and her mother’s nonstop disapproving lectures, she was headed back to New Dawn…and back to the people who stole eight years of her childhood.
Escaping the Rec had been easy compared to her time in Sanctuary. In the Order, you weren’t one person. You were the Community, and every action was judged by how much it benefited the entire compound—or Rossbach. Not having known anything else, Grace had unwillingly accepted it as a way of life…but then she’d met her father’s family.
Living with the Steeles, autonomy had been her biggest adjustment, and there had been times she’d gone a little overboard experimenting with it.
Okay, a lot overboard.
Skipped classes. Frat parties while, woefully, still in high school. The only reason she hadn’t crash-landed while stretching her wings was Cade. He’d been her friend before anything else, and he hadn’t hesitated to remind her on a daily basis that the Steeles were her second chance—and that she was blowing it.
Something had clicked.
Seeing the disappointment in Aunt Cindy’s eyes, she’d buckled down with her studies and refocused her goals: to figu
re out why people made the choices that they did. At what point did a simple couples’ therapist turn into a sociopathic cult leader?
Grace was a few hours away from finally answering that question.
Once again, Cade glanced her way, the sixth time in the last three minutes. They crossed a rickety one-lane bridge, and she sent up a silent prayer.
“With how often you keep staring at me it’s a wonder how we haven’t careened into a tree,” Grace pointed out.
He didn’t smile. “You’ve been quiet.”
“You don’t like it when I argue. You complain when I’m quiet. I’m beginning to think nothing would make you happy,” Grace said.
Cade’s frown deepened.
“Wow. Tough room. I thought at least you would enjoy that, Ro,” Grace addressed her cousin who was about twelve car-lengths behind them in a nondescript black sedan with Tank in the driver’s seat.
Her cousin’s voice cursed from the comm link tucked into all their ears. “Too busy fearing for my life right now. This is the mountains of West Virginia, Dawson, not the fucking Indianapolis Speedway.”
“Don’t lose them. Don’t get too close,” Tank mimicked a whiney voice. “How about you pipe down and let me do what I do best?”
“Irritate me?”
Grace chuckled, their antics temporarily taking her mind off what they were about to do. After she and Cade met up with Bethany’s New Dawn contact, her cousin and the sexy Cajun operator would keep a close distance, honing their inner hunters and making up camp outside the compound perimeter. They’d be their link to the outside world—and any surveillance toys they needed to get the job done.
Grace’s gaze flickered to the rearview mirror, where the second car looked like a small dot. “I appreciate the eagerness, Tank, but our little plan is only going to work if you don’t get spotted.”
“This isn’t my first rodeo, cheré. You and your fiancé there worry about being model New Dawn citizens and leave the rest to me and Roman.”
“Just remember to ditch your comms the second you get to the meeting point,” Roman reminded her. “There’s no way they’re not going to do a sweep to make sure you’re not hot, and if they find the comms, this op is dead in the water right from the start.”