The Stand
Page 26
“I don’t know.” Grace shifted in her seat as Nathan flipped off the headlights. She looked to the youth center and felt a flicker of alarm when she saw a flash of light in one of the windows upstairs. “Turn off the truck.”
He shut off the engine, but when she reached for the door handle, he grabbed her arm. “What are you doing?”
“I saw something in the window. A light…maybe a flashlight.”
“You aren’t getting out.”
“Nathan, I think someone’s in the youth center.”
“Then we’ll call the police.”
“But we don’t know who it is.”
Nathan sighed and peered through the windshield. “I don’t see anything.”
Grace grabbed the handle again to hop out. She eased the door closed, careful not to make any noise. Nathan got out on the other side. When he came around the truck, she could barely make out his features in the moonlight. She saw the flashlight again. “Someone is definitely in there–”
“Get back in the truck, Grace.”
“Do you have a flashlight?”
“No. Grace,” he said again. He blocked her view of the youth center, cupping her face between his hands. “I’m serious, you need to get back in the truck.”
The sudden sound of footsteps had him spinning around. Grace sank back against the truck and Nathan stretched his arm out in front of her. The beam of a flashlight flickered off the steps as someone walked through the front door.
Grace narrowed her eyes in the darkness until she recognized the woman. “Mom?”
Marlene spun, guilt on her face. “Gracie? Uh…I thought you were already asleep in–in”–she jerked her thumb over her shoulder–“in the house back there.”
“What are you doing here?” she asked, stepping past Nathan. He caught her arm, but she pressed forward.
Marlene stayed on the porch. “I…felt bad using that money you gave me for the hotel and since you told me about the youth center and no one is staying here, I thought maybe it would be a better place to stay.” She cleared her throat and her eyes traveled to Nathan. “Just for tonight anyway.”
Grace moved up the stairs to meet her where she stood. “That’s fine, but you could have told me. Or you could come to the guesthouse.”
“No.” Marlene put her arm around Grace’s shoulders and turned her toward the stairs. “You look tired, sweetie. You should get home, get some rest. We can talk tomorrow.”
Grace looked to Nathan. She saw the wariness in his eyes. He paused at the bottom step of the porch, where they had sat just yesterday waiting for the furniture.
“Come on, Grace,” he said in a low voice. “She’s right. You should get home.”
“But–”
The flicker of light caught her attention and then the sound of footsteps. She turned again and saw another figure come through the doorway. The man from her mother’s room–the one with the tattoos. Dan? He had two laptop computers in his hands and came to an abrupt halt at the door.
Grace turned confused eyes to her mother. The computers…were they the same ones she and her friends had just purchased for the youth center?
“Mom? What’s going on?”
Her eyes widened with guilt.
“Well, lookie what we have here, Marlene,” Dan said with a smile. He lowered the computers to the ground.
Grace heard Nathan move up the steps.
“Now, don’t do that.” Dan flashed a wide grin. “We just have one question, then everyone can go their own way.”
Grace swallowed hard with the realization of what was going on. They were stealing from the youth center. Stealing from Grace and her friends.
“I just want to know where the money is,” Dan said. His grin disappeared. He moved toward Grace and reached out to give her hair a tug. “Come on, girlie.”
Her eyes swung to her mother’s in shock, then to Nathan, who gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head and came up another step.
“I don’t know what money you’re talking about,” Grace whispered.
“The money you told me about from the auction, Gracie,” Marlene said.
“Mom–”
“Just tell Dan, okay Gracie?”
“Why are you doing this?” Grace asked. She hated the desperation in her voice. She’d trusted Marlene. “I thought…” She swallowed again and shoved her emotions deep. “I thought you came back so we can be a family again.”
“Yeah, one sweet happy family,” Dan sang, bobbing his head in a nod. “You can do whatever you want with your family once you give me the money–”
“I don’t have anything here. We used most of it for the furniture and–”
“What about the rest?” he snapped.
Nathan came up behind Grace, hand touching her back lightly. “She said they used it.”
Dan’s face twisted in anger. “Bullshit. That’s enough.” He reached toward his back and pulled out a gun. Before Grace could react, he snatched her arm and jerked her in his direction, causing her to stumble. Her ankle twisted, and she grimaced.
“That’s enough,” Dan repeated, hauling Grace upright and sticking the gun against her ribs. “Tell me where the money is right now or someone is going to get hurt.”
Chapter 33
Dan ushered them inside and Nathan did what he said, being cautious about his movements. He ignored Marlene who, for the most part, didn’t seem to be a threat. She shuffled in behind them until they were all inside.
Grace stood close to the hallway under the stairs, weight heavy on her uninjured ankle. Dan still held her close, his gun digging into her side.
Her eyes met Nathan’s, wide and scared. His hands clenched tightly at his sides. Why had they stopped at the youth center? Why hadn’t they called the police?
“All right, now you’re going to give me everything else you have and then we’ll all be happy, okay?” Dan asked.
“I told you,” Grace said, voice even. Nathan gave her a nod, proud of her for staying calm. “We used most of the money for the furniture and the computers. For everything that’s already inside. The rest of the money isn’t here, it’s in the bank.”
“You didn’t say that.” Dan shot accusing eyes in Marlene’s direction. “You said we could get what we needed here.”
“We weren’t talking about the money.” Marlene shook her head. “You just said we should come see what’s here. Let’s go–let’s just take what we have and go–”
“There’s nothing here!” Dan railed, shoving the gun further into Grace’s side. She let out a surprised whimper.
Nathan stepped forward instinctively and the man jabbed the gun in his direction. “You just stay right there. Nobody wants to see anyone get hurt. But if you keep walking over here, then we’re going to have a problem.”
He froze. Behind Dan, a shadowy movement caught his eye. The dim interior of the house made it hard to see what was going on. He caught sight of another man, tall like Dan. Blond hair like Grace. Lewis?
Nathan saw the man put his finger to his lips. He stayed where he was and pretended he didn’t see anything.
Marlene tried again. “Let’s just get what we can and go.”
“Shut up!” Dan yelled at her. “I’m thinking.”
Nathan saw the shadowy movement again. He wanted to get the gun away from Dan, to get it pointed in some other direction. Before he had a chance to think it through, the front door opened again and Kara came in.
“I thought I heard something–”
The same moment, Nathan lunged forward and Lewis from behind. Dan jerked the gun toward Kara and Nathan flinched when he heard it go off. He saw Lewis grab the weapon as Dan shoved Grace away. He turned and swung hard at Lewis.
Nathan grabbed his arm as well and the gun clattered to the floor. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Grace scurry toward it.
Dan ducked out of Lewis’ grasp, landed a weak punch in Nathan’s stomach before racing after Grace. “Give me that!” he shouted.
Immediately, movement ceased beneath him and the tattooed man lie limp, eyes closed. Unconscious.
Breathless, Nathan stood and hurried to Grace, still pressed into the corner, eyes wide. She leaned all her weight on one foot and used the wall to help support her. The gun shook in her hand.
“Grace.” He reached out to her.
Lewis came over as well. “Give me the gun, Grace.”
She squeezed it tighter and Nathan stepped closer. “It’s okay, sweetheart. Come on.”
She passed it to Lewis, who turned toward the door. Marlene still stood close to the stairs. As if suddenly able to move, she bolted for the door. Kara shut it quickly and stepped in her way, ready to block her.
“Don’t even think about it, Marlene,” Lewis said. He kept the gun at his side but walked toward the door. “Sit down right there by the window and don’t move.”
She looked torn between running out the door and lunging at him. Finally, she moved to the window and seated herself on the floor.
Nathan turned back to Grace. He had to step around Dan to reach her. “Are you okay?”
Her face twisted. “I don’t know,” she whispered.
He pulled her close, helped support her weight. “How bad is it?” he asked, looking down at her ankle.
“Nathan.” She wrapped her arms around him, holding tight. “Are you okay? The gun went off–is anyone hurt?”
He looked back toward the rest of the group. Kara still stood at the door. She pointed to a hole next to her head, where the bullet had gone through the wall.
Grace shifted in his arms and then went for her friend. “Kara.”
She stumbled and Nathan caught her arm. “Don’t try to walk, Grace.”
He helped her to Kara’s side and they held onto each other tightly.
“What are we going to do about him?” Kara asked, pointing to Dan.
Lewis looked over. “I already called the police. They should be here soon.”
“How did you know what was going on?” Grace whispered, meeting his eyes.
Guilt flashed across his features. “I was watching the house. I followed you earlier. I knew that you were talking to your mom and I saw that man with her. I had no idea what was going on, but I knew something wasn’t right with you. So…I thought it would be best to wait outside the house. Help keep an eye on you. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry,” Nathan said. “This could have turned out worse. I’m glad you were here.”
Sirens sounded in the distance. He kept an eye on Dan, watched for any movement. The man breathed deep, still unconscious.
“I trusted you,” Grace said to Marlene.
Marlene looked away and didn’t answer.
Kara squeezed her shoulder. “Let’s get outside. We need to call everyone else.”
~ ~ ~
Red lights from police cars bounced off the trees surrounding the youth center. Grace sat in the back of an ambulance, ankle throbbing, swollen and nearly immovable. She kept her eye out for Riley as a paramedic checked for scrapes and bruises, asked a few questions and undid the bandage that was already on her ankle.
Nathan and Lewis spoke with the police. Two men in uniforms hauled Marlene out in handcuffs. She didn’t even glance in Grace’s direction.
“Does this hurt?” the paramedic asked.
Grace yanked in a sharp breath. “Yes.” She bit down on her lip.
“Sorry.”
He gently probed further along the bone. Grace swallowed hard and Kara came over to take her hand.
“Does this mean you actually have to get a cast this time?” Kara asked.
Grace started to shake her head just as the paramedic nodded. “I’m pretty sure they’ll insist on it.”
“It’s okay,” Kara said. “Probably only six weeks, right?”
The paramedic stood. “Somewhere around there. We’ll take you in and they can get X-rays.”
Grace started to get up. Kara held tight to her arm. “What are you doing?”
“I have to wait for Riley. He’ll be worried.”
She saw Nathan coming over and met his eyes.
“It’d be best if you got this checked out now,” the paramedic said.
“Nathan.” Grace scooted off the edge of the ambulance. “You’ll take me to the hospital later, right?”
“You should go now. I can come with you if you want.”
“Look, Elliot’s here. Riley and Maddy will be here soon.”
Kara got out of the ambulance and hurried to his car.
“Please, Nathan, let’s wait.” She eased herself to her feet and tried not to wince at the sharp stab of pain in her foot.
Nathan sighed, wrapping his arm around her waist. “You should go now. I can see how bad it hurts, Grace. Please.”
“After Riley gets here. I promise.” She reached up and kissed him on the cheek. “Where’s Lewis?”
“Still talking to the police.”
“I’m glad he was here.”
“Me, too.”
Elliot came over and nearly knocked Grace over with his hug. “I’m getting gray hairs because of you, you know.”
She smiled and returned the hug. “You can’t tell in the dark.”
He chuckled, pulling back. “What happened?”
“Wait until Riley and Maddy get here,” Grace said. “We can tell you all together. But everyone is okay.”
He raised his eyebrows and looked down at her foot. “Doesn’t look okay to me.”
Grace heard another car coming up the road. A policeman started toward it. “That’s Riley and Maddy.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Kara said, moving in that direction again.
Grace saw the paramedic had wandered back to the house with his partner and they tended to Dan, who’d regained consciousness and sat on the porch with a few policemen as well.
She leaned against the ambulance and Nathan quickly took her arm. “Here.” He led her to his truck and opened the front door, helping her get inside and off her foot.
“Grace!”
She looked past him to see Maddy and Riley hurrying in her direction. Nathan backed away but said, “We don’t have to go over all this tonight. Grace has to get some rest. And her ankle–”
“He’s right,” Kara said. “Grace needs someone to look at her ankle.”
After Riley hugged her, he said, “I’m going to talk to Lewis real quick.”
“Me too,” Maddy said, linking her arm with his.
Nathan watched them go and then murmured something to Kara. Grace saw her nod and pull Elliot away several feet.
“What did you say?” Grace asked when they were alone.
“I wanted a minute alone with you.”
She gave him a tired smile.
When he leaned closer, she let him wrap her in a hug. “Elliot was right about that gray hair comment, you know,” he said.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m sorry,” she murmured, tucking her arms close as a breeze picked up.
“It’s not your fault.” He reached into his back seat to retrieve a jacket. He pulled it around her and she slid her arms into the sleeves.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He stepped close again and tilted his forehead against hers. “I love you, Grace.”
“I love you, too.”
“I’m probably never going to get tired of hearing you say those words.”
“I’ll try to say them a lot,” she assured him with a smile.
“And it’s probably going to be really hard to let you out of my sight for a long time.”
She gave a small laugh. “That might be a little harder to manage.�
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“Maybe you could just…” He took a quiet breath, then met her eyes. “Just promise to spend the rest of your life with me…and that would take care of the problem.”
Grace’s heart fluttered at the words. She knew exactly what he was talking about. And for once it didn’t make her want to run.
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “I promise,” she whispered. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Nathan. I love you.”
He tightened his hold and buried his face in her neck. “That’s the best thing I’ve heard all day.”
Grace nodded, shivering as the wind picked up.
“You’re cold,” he whispered.
She put her hands into the pockets of his jacket. “I think we can go soon and–” She broke off when her hand collided with something in the left pocket. “What’s this?” Her stomach jumped when she felt metal.
He frowned. “What?”
Grace pulled the object out slowly and they both looked down. In the glow of a high, white moon, with red lights swirling all around them, it felt like they were alone. And in her hand, a heavy metal object.
The star.
Her breath caught.
Nathan wrapped his hand around hers and pulled it closer so he could see. “Is that…?”
“The star,” she whispered, amazed. “We just found the last piece of the star.”
Chapter 34
When Grace arrived at Serendipity, Nathan barely let her set aside her crutches before he pulled her into his arms. She exhaled a laugh. “Nathan.”
His lips found hers before she could say anything, sinking in deep and letting himself get lost in her for a moment. He cupped her cheeks between his hands. “I’m glad you’re here.”
She smiled. Simple and sweet. She looked rested, and happy, and beautiful. She still had to get her cast in a few days, but at least she’d gotten some rest.
“Me too.” Grace smoothed her hand over his cheek. “But something is wrong, isn’t it?”
His brow furrowed. How could she tell?
“It’s over now,” she said softly.
“Is it?” he asked, guiding her to a chair in the coffee shop.