She had to tear her gaze away, she couldn’t take it anymore. Suddenly she noticed the wreckage inside her house. Tables were broken, pictures hung crooked and shattered. Splintered spindles from the banister was scattered up the stairs. Grace’s head whipped back around to her mother. Laney’s arms were wrapped around her midsection, and tears were streaming from her eyes. “Were you hurt?” Grace asked.
Laney’s gaze remained on Quentin as she shook her head no. “I wasn’t here.”
Frantically, Grace ran through the rest of the manor, assessing the damage. Her heart stopped as she stood in front of the broken door of her grandfather’s office. Quentin was just coming out of the bathroom.
His eyes were wide and wild, and his face had paled. “Pandora’s gone.”
Grace’s shoulders slumped forward slightly. “I know.” She let out an exasperated breath, and then turned around to walk back to the foyer.
Quentin’s footsteps sounded like thunder as he quickly caught up with her, grabbing her by the arm. “What do you mean you know?”
Too stressed about where Amanda and her father might be, she let the manhandling go. “For whatever reason, Pandora had me take her out last night. She’s with Amanda … somewhere.” Grace felt a little dizzy thinking of the somewhere Amanda could be with the Fallen, and placed a hand out to steady herself in case she fell over.
Quentin let go of her arm. “Pandora had to have known.”
“Known what?”
He rubbed at his shirtsleeve, and then looked back to Grace. “The Fallen were coming. She must have known.”
The wreckage surrounding her pushed her thoughts to her father, Amanda, Pandora, her house, and Zeke, she couldn’t help but wonder why Quentin hadn’t been there to help her. “Where—”
Suddenly, the familiar sound of Darius’ motorcycle pulled up outside, causing her a completely different kind of pain. A couple of seconds later, the front door swung open. Darius stumbled through, holding up her father. “Richard!” Laney screamed, running to his side.
“I’m fine, Laney,” he grumbled, while Darius helped him to the family room, setting him gently on the couch.
“What happened?” Grace asked, eying a dark wet spot pooled under Richard’s hand, splayed against his side.
Her mom followed her stare. “Richard, you’re bleeding,” she screamed, as she pulled his hand away.
“I’m fine, it’s superficial. I’m already healing.” He smiled lovingly at Laney. With his other hand, he pulled her to him by the chin and kissed her softly on the lips. Grace swung her gaze away from the intimate moment.
Darius stepped out of the family room, and Quentin met him at the door. They talked in hushed tones. Grace strained to hear, but they talked too low. From the couch, Richard spoke up. “Darius, you and the others need to stay here for a while.”
Surprised, Grace whipped her head back to her father. “Why?”
“Because they went rogue tonight.”
“Rogue?” Grace asked.
“Darius led us to you,” Richard explained. “When Darius, Ari, and Lux joined us to rescue you, they chose our side. Now they’ll be hunted by the others too.”
Grace turned back to Darius, wide-eyed. “Why?” Fear and worry crept painfully up and down her spine. Darius closed the distance between them in a few strides.
He ran his finger along her jawline, cupping the side of her face. The weak part of Grace’s heart skipped a few beats. “Because I told you, I’d never let anything happen to you. And where I go, Ari and Lux go too.” A soft glisten collected in his eyes. “I was so scared I’d never see you again.” Grace heard the catch in his voice, and leaned into his touch. Her restless soul stirred when he pressed his lips against hers, and a tear slipped down her cheek.
The sound of someone clearing their throat had her pulling away. All of what Richard had said finally registered. She stalked back into the family room. “What do you mean ‘Darius led us to you’?”
Taking the hand towel from Laney, Richard pressed it against the wound, wincing from the pain. “He led me and Quentin to you.”
Grace stomped her foot, and then did it again for good measure. “You can’t fight! Don’t do that again!” She whipped back around facing Quentin. “I thought your band was a GPS tracker?”
Quentin chuckled. “Actually, your dad is pretty badass, Grace. You don’t need to worry.” Suddenly, all humor fell away from his face. “And the band doesn’t work when you’re with Fallen.” Grace noticed the slight shift of his eyes as he stared at Darius.
Quentin said not to worry, but worrying was all she seemed to do anymore. Grace wouldn’t let those she loved and cared for pay for what she was. She couldn’t accept that. However, all that happened today could have been avoided had Quentin been there like he was supposed to be. If Zeke didn’t pull through, or Amanda…
Her eyes closed to slits, as she looked back to Quentin. “Where the hell were you today?”
Quentin folded his arms across his chest, and looked to the floor. “I’m sorry.”
Anger instantly spiked in her. She couldn’t believe he wasn’t even going to try to explain. “You’re sorry? We all could have died today. You’re supposed to be close by, protecting me!” Her head instinctively turned as her gaze settled on the blood underneath Richard’s hand. An uncontrollable shiver ran over her. It was all too easy to picture some of them in the ground.
Quentin moved closer, reaching out with a tentative hand. Grace glared at his hand in warning, and he dropped it back to his side. “I was summoned to the Consulate, Grace.”
Grace threw up her hands. “I don’t even know what that means.”
“I stood trial for breaking the rules.”
Her eyes went wide, and then started to sting from the tears that welled. “What now?” she whispered.
Quentin took a step closer, leaning toward her. “Don’t worry, I only got a warning. They’re not taking me away from you.”
She opened her mouth to say something, anything, but clamped it back down, rendered speechless by her roiling emotion. Worry moved aside, however, when the front door clicked shut, and light footsteps trotted across the foyer.
“What is going on?” Amanda demanded, gaping at the chains hanging from Grace’s wrists.
The tears burst from Grace’s eyes like a dam breaking as she ran to Amanda and wrapped her arms tightly around her. Amanda froze in Grace’s arms, seeming unsure as to what all the fuss was about. When Grace was able to stop, she wiped embarrassingly at her face until it felt dry. “Where have you been?” Grace asked through trace tears.
Amanda shook her head slightly. “It’s the weirdest thing. You know when you get this feeling, a sixth sense?” Grace anxiously nodded. She knew all too well. “After my interview, something kept telling me to keep driving and not to stop. It kind of freaked me out. So I kept driving.” Grace laughed. “You need more gas, by the way.” She hugged Amanda again and kissed her cheek. Amanda made a face and wiped it away, warning, “You’re not getting off that easy.”
Grace glanced around, realizing just how lucky she was. Every one of them had in some way sacrificed to keep her and her secret safe. Since she was a little girl, all she ever truly wanted was a family, and to be loved wholly and completely. For so long, she thought she felt alone, and mostly believing that the only person in her life who loved her was her grandfather.
Her gaze fell back on her parents, who were still holding each other on the couch. Despite how sad and lonely the last fifteen years were without them, Grace felt an unbelievable peace wash over her. This was what happy felt like. She felt a smile take over her face as she sighed internally. Grace was Chosen, which meant she had a tremendous duty. She would do everything in her power to keep them and Pandora safe.
“Pandora!” Grace yelled, and ran out the front door. She breathed a heavy sigh of relief and grabbed the backpack out of the trunk of the Shelby. Pulling her from the bag, Grace held Pandora close as she walked back in
to the house.
Amanda’s face contorted in confusion. She stared at the jar in Grace’s arms. “What’s that?”
Grace smiled. If Pandora trusted Amanda enough to speak to her, Grace knew she could too. “I think you better sit down. I have an unbelievable story to tell you.”
Zeke was in the hospital for two weeks. One of his lungs was punctured, just as Grace had feared, pierced by his broken ribs. The doctors worried mostly about the loss of blood from internal bleeding, but he recovered and was doing well.
The police assumed an animal had jumped in front of Zeke’s car and caused the accident. Toxicology reports came back negative for all drugs and alcohol, and since he couldn’t remember anything from the accident, they had nothing else to go on. Of course he couldn’t remember. There was no accident.
Zeke and Amanda had questions for days after she told them her full story. Zeke was more accepting of the truth than Amanda. He said he knew those guys were monsters from hell. Amanda still had a hard time believing it all, but she was coming around. “So, you’re like a superhero,” Amanda would ask over and over.
And every time, Grace answered with an emphatic, “No!”
Quentin insisted that Zeke and Amanda begin krav maga training, since their knowledge of the others put them in danger. Darius didn’t like the idea, and especially didn’t like Zeke. And Zeke knew it. Grace played peacemaker, ensuring that Darius was busy whenever Zeke was over for training. Zeke promised Grace more than once he’d forever protect her with his life. So he couldn’t be more ecstatic to learn krav maga. Amanda was a little more apprehensive, but after a couple of weeks, she couldn’t get enough.
At Richard’s insistence, Darius, Lux, and Ari moved in to the secret apartment down below. Laney wasn’t too happy that Lux and Ari weren’t married, but they weren’t human either so she let it go. Lux and Ari had no problem staying hidden together.
Darius spent most of his time in the main part of the house. When Grace was at school, he waited in the parking lot with Quentin. Quentin didn’t exactly like it, but seemed to accept it. Apparently, he and Darius had called a truce and formed an uneasy, yet mutually respectful relationship.
Quentin pulled Grace aside one night. “He’s alright, Grace. I was wrong. If Darius is what you want, then I’m okay as I can be with it.” It was hard for Grace to see Quentin hurting. If the eyes are the window to the soul, then his were in agony. She cared for him. A lot. But she realized Darius had a part of her heart and soul … for keeps.
Grace welcomed the end of the school year for all the obvious reasons. She was seriously considering doing her freshman year of college online. Amanda was against it. All of the guys were for it.
A couple of weeks into the summer, Grace decided to throw a pool party, giving Quentin the opportunity to barbeque ribs and show off the sauce he insisted he was famous for. Even though she couldn’t invite her “normal” friends to the manor, for obvious reasons, there were so many people living in the same house that bringing them all together for food and fun definitely constituted a party.
Keeping Emily at arm’s length was hard, but Grace knew she had to do it to keep her best friend safe. There was no good reason to bring her into the secret, so she had to remain on the outside. Luckily, Emily was so busy with Tommy most of the time that she hardly noticed.
Mathias was hanging around a lot, but he wasn’t part of the “normal” crowd she couldn’t invite. Grace had her suspicions about him and Amanda. She watched them on the other side of the pool … whispering, smiling, and laughing.
“Grace, can you go inside and get some more barbeque sauce?” Quentin asked from behind the grill, interrupting her spying.
“Sure.” Running inside, Grace was surprised to hear someone knocking on the front door. She peeked through the peephole, and saw a man in a gray suit. “Yes,” she asked as she opened the door.
The man smiled affably, his arms behind his back. “Hi, I’m looking for Grace Morgan.”
“That’s me.” She smiled back, wondering what this was all about.
His smile disappeared as he thrust an envelope at her chest. “I’m serving you with papers.”
Irritated at his sudden abruptness, she nevertheless instinctively grabbed the envelope before briefly glancing down. “Papers? What kind of papers?”
“Sign here, please.” His throwing “please” in there didn’t make him any less of a jerk, in her opinion. He pushed a pen in her face. Just to get rid of him, she signed the document, then stepped back inside and kicked the door shut.
Grace headed for the kitchen, ripping open the envelope and rapidly scanning the first page she pulled out. Her head suddenly buzzed with a familiar anger. That stupid—
The string of curse words she prepared to say in her head abruptly stopped. Darius’ wet arms wrapping around her midsection made her lose her train of thought. Teasingly, he brushed her hair aside, and trailed kisses down the side of her neck and along her shoulder. She shivered.
Darius chuckled against her skin. “Did I hear someone at the door?”
“Uh-huh.” Her mind always turned to mush when he touched her like that. “I was just served with papers.”
“Papers?” He pulled back, and her skin turned cold where he no longer touched her.
“My cousin, Rose.”
“Do you need me to take care of her?”
Grace chuckled. “No worries.” The smile fled from her eyes as she absentmindedly brushed his wet hair off his forehead before locking her determined gaze with his.
“Rose is mine.”
A huge thank you to:
My sons, Micah and DJ, and Taija, for giving me the reasons to always push forward, to never give up;
My husband, Tyler, for always encouraging me to follow my dreams;
My best friend, Sutthira, for being with me and Grace from day one and for being delusional enough to think I’m some kind of hero;
My good friend, Tarryn, for my first lesson in defiance. My book would still be an unfinished project if you hadn’t schooled me;
My 50 Authors and an owl Facebook Group for listening, encouraging, and always being ready and willing to answer my many questions;
My friend, Jenn, for giving up her editing spot, thank you a million times over;
My super ninja editor, Pam, for teaching me more in a few months than my expensive college education, and for pushing me and this book beyond anything I imagined. You’re amazing;
My awesome beta readers, Sandy, Jennifer, Kate, Tosha, Ashley T-Love, and Alicia, for believing in me and Grace’s story;
And my first love, chocolate covered raisins, for every night you were by my side getting me through difficult rewrites and edits, for always quietly waiting, and for being everywhere I happen to be.
K Anne Raines is the author of the Fallen from Grace Series. She is a Washington State University graduate and the senior accountant at a local firm in her home town. K Anne’s impassioned but regular commitment to chocolate covered raisins inspires creativity at home...where ever the raisins are, there she is with her laptop. A lover of great sushi and other fine food, K Anne prefers coffee in the morning, the right wine in the evening, and her fireplace at all times. A Northwest native, K Anne Raines is the mother of three, cat lover, avid exerciser, and blanket hogger.
For more information about K Anne Raines
and her books, visit:
Website
http://www.kanneraines.com
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/kanne.raines
Twitter
https://twitter.com/kanneraines
Goodreads
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6580110.K_Anne_Raines
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine<
br />
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Shattered Grace (Fallen from Grace) Page 33