by Anna Blakely
The guy wore all black and a hood covered any chance they may have had to see his face.
Unbeknownst to the police, Jake had given Nate Gracie’s cell phone. His boss knew if there was something useful on there, he’d find it a hell of a lot faster than anyone on the DPD payroll. Unfortunately, there’d been nothing to find.
After working to recover her texts and emails, Nate had discovered nothing more than some conversations with Sarah and Kole.
He’d gotten excited when he’d found a few old texts their dead SEAL had sent to Gracie just before she moved here a couple weeks ago. Unfortunately, there wasn’t anything in any of those to help, either.
By the time he was done searching, Nate was so frustrated he wanted to throw the damn thing against the wall, too.
Needing a break, he got up and walked through the kitchen to the sliding door. Opening it, Nate stepped outside for some fresh air.
He inhaled deeply, filling his lungs with as much oxygen as he could before letting it out slowly. The sky was cloud-covered, and the cool breeze let him know rain was on the way.
Nate looked over to the space they’d all sat the night of the barbeque. A week ago, today.
He pictured Gracie smiling and joining in on the conversation with ease. Though, she’d only just become a part of R.I.S.C., it felt like she’d been there all along. Like she belonged with them, and now, she was gone.
Where are you, sweetheart?
Sarah’s soft, exhausted voice broke through his thoughts. “I started more coffee. Figured you might need some.”
Running a hand down his face, Nate turned and smiled.
“Thank you.” When she yawned, he put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. “Come on, honey. You need to get some rest.”
Shaking her head, Sarah argued, “I’m fine. I need to stay up in case we find her.”
Damn, she was breaking his heart. The poor woman had been doing whatever she could to help, which wasn’t much.
Keeping herself busy, she’d played the good hostess, making sure they had enough coffee and food to keep them going. Even when Cam, a friend from Sarah’s work, stopped by to check on her, she’d put on a brave face and offered to make him lunch.
Through it all, she’d remained amazingly resilient and positive. But, Nate could tell she was teetering on the edge.
None of the guys had said anything until now, knowing it was her way of coping with everything. But the others were gone, and it was time she got some rest.
“I promise you when we find Gracie, you’ll be the first to know.” Nate purposely didn’t say if, because it wasn’t a matter of if. He would find her. “But you’re not going to do your sister, or anyone else, any good if you pass out from exhaustion. At least go lay down for an hour or two and recharge.”
“He’s right, baby.” Kole came up behind Sarah and wrapped his arms around her. Kissing the top of her head, he rested his cheek against it. “You have to take care of yourself.”
“I know, but…” Sarah turned in Kole’s arms. “I just don’t want to miss anything.”
Kole cupped her face. “I swear to you if we get even the smallest hint of where she could be, I will wake you up immediately.”
Nate watched while Sarah considered this. “Promise? Even if it’s…” Her voice broke, so she cleared her throat. “Even if it’s bad news? You swear you’ll wake me?”
Kole gave her a sad smile. “Cross my heart.”
“Okay. But don’t let me sleep too long.” Turning back around, Sarah stepped out of Kole’s embrace to give Nate a hug. “Thank you.”
He squeezed her back. “Don’t need to thank me, honey. Gracie’s one of us, now. And even if she wasn’t, she’s your sister. I’m going to keep doing everything I can to find her and bring her back home to you.” He pulled back to give her a smile. “To all of us.”
Resting a hand on Nate’s cheek, Sarah smiled and whispered, “I know you will.”
Behind Sarah, Kole gave him a nod of thanks then escorted her back to their bedroom. Nate returned to the dining room and began checking on the programs he’d set up to run. He hadn’t gotten any hits so far, but he damn sure wasn’t giving up.
Several minutes later, Kole returned looking nearly as tired and worn down as Sarah.
“How is she?”
He shrugged, then chuckled silently. “She was actually arguing again about how she should be out here doing something to help as she fell asleep.”
Nate grinned. “I’m glad she’s finally getting some rest.”
“Well, the sleeping pill I crushed into the tea I gave her earlier may have helped a little.”
Nate felt his eyes bug out. Keeping his voice down, he half-whispered, “Dude, she is going to be so pissed.” Then, he shook his head. “You know what? Doesn’t matter. I’m just glad she’s finally sleeping. She looked like hell.”
“Watch it, asshole.” Kole’s words were harsh, but his tone held no bite, and one corner of his mouth was curved upward.
“You know what I meant.”
“Yeah,” Kole sighed. “I do.” Stretching his arms above his head, he yawned before sitting down in the chair next to him. “I still can’t believe this is happening.”
Nate hesitated a few seconds before asking his next question. “I hate even thinking this, but is it possible Gracie was involved in something illegal? Could she have gotten mixed in with the wrong crowd back in Maryland, maybe?”
He’d known the answer before he’d even asked the question. But, they still had to consider the possibility.
Kole looked at him like he was stupid. “Gracie? Hell, no. That woman’s a saint. Fuck, you heard her. She even volunteered at the VA hospital on her free-time. How many women you know, especially ones her age, do something that selfless?”
Nate threw his palms up. “I know, man. I just…I had to ask.”
His friend’s expression softened some. “I get it. This whole thing just blows donkey balls, you know?”
“Big, hairy ones. Yeah, I know.” Nate thought for a minute. “Hey, you bringing up the VA reminds me. So, Craig Wyatt—one of the patients at the hospital where Gracie volunteered—gets murdered, then she goes missing a few days later. They’ve got to be connected, don’t you think?”
Kole perked up. “Sure is one hell of a coincidence if they’re not.”
“Exactly.” Nate rubbed his eyes. “I’m going to do some more digging on Wyatt. See what I can come up with.”
“You know, what we told Sarah holds true for us, too.”
“What’s that?”
“We need to get some rest, man. We’ve both been going non-stop since we landed. You, more than anyone. Go home. Get some sleep. You’ve got the spare key, so come back whenever you’re ready.”
Nate considered this. “Everything’s already set up, here. I’ll just crash on your couch again.”
“You and I both know you don’t sleep for shit when you’re not in your own bed.”
His friend was right. Not that he couldn’t sleep somewhere else. Hell, during his time in the Navy, he’d actually mastered the art of sleeping while sitting up in his computer chair. But he always felt like shit after.
“Come on, man. Let your programs do their thing. I’m a light sleeper, so if it dings or buzzes…or whatever the fuck it’s supposed to do when it finds something, I’ll hear it.”
Nodding, Nate relented. “Fine, I’ll go. I’ll set up duplicate programs on the computers I left at my apartment. That way, if one of us misses something, hopefully the other will catch it.”
Nate grabbed his keys and sunglasses and both men walked to the door. Sliding the glasses onto the collar of his V-neck, he said the one thing he hated to admit.
“I’ll keep checking, but…” Nate glanced back toward the closed bedroom door at the end of the hallway. “Tomorrow will be a week since anyone’s seen Gracie. You know our chances of finding her alive are—”
“I know,” Kole cut him off. Grimacing, the man sw
allowed hard and said, “But we can’t give up.”
“Never going to happen,” Nate assured him. “I just want you and Sarah to be prepared in case this whole thing ends badly.” God, he prayed that wouldn’t happen.
“I understand.” Kole nodded. “Unfortunately, so does Sarah.”
Nate turned and opened the door, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.
“Listen. About all that shit I said.”
Confused, Nate looked back at his friend. “What shit?”
“About you and Gracie. I know you’re a good man, Nathan. I never meant to imply otherwise.”
“None of that shit’s important, right now, Kole. What matters is finding Gracie. Let’s focus on that, yeah?”
Kole bobbed his head in agreement. “Yeah. Thanks.”
Nate’s heart hurt for the pain he saw in the other man’s eyes. “It’s what friends do, man. I’ll be back first thing in the morning, unless I find something before then.”
With a shared look, Nate left and headed home. Once there, he got everything up and running and took a quick shower. Knowing he wouldn’t get much sleep anyway, he sat in one of his two office chairs and watched the monitors closely.
For the next hour, he remained diligent. Checking program after program, Nate prayed with everything he had that something would pop up and tell them where Gracie was.
But there was nothing.
Her credit cards were useless, since her purse had been left behind. Her phone was in shambles, and what had been recovered was of no help whatsoever. It was as if she’d simply vanished into thin air.
“Goddamn it!” Nate’s arm flew out across his desk, knocking several papers and his empty travel mug onto the floor.
Shoving his chair back, he stood and locked his fingers behind his head, pacing the short length of his office. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt this helpless.
Gracie was out there, somewhere, and he couldn’t stop the barrage of questions rolling through his mind.
What had happened to her? Was she okay? Had she been hurt? Did whoever broke into her apartment decide to ki—
“Nope.” Nate spoke the word aloud, refusing to let his mind go there.
He was a man of facts and data, and nothing they’d found so far indicated Gracie had been harmed in any way. That was what he chose to focus on. Otherwise, the what-ifs were going to drive him fucking batshit.
His stomach growled, reminding him he hadn’t eaten since early that morning. Sadly, minus a few beers, his refrigerator was essentially bare.
Glancing at the clock, he decided to run down to the corner to Chu’s for some takeout.
Knowing his phone was set up to alert him of any new data found in the programs he had running, Nate grabbed his black leather jacket and keys.
The night air was unusually cool for this time of year, plus, the jacket would hide his gun.
While waiting in the restaurant for his order, Nate couldn’t help but think of that night here with Gracie. He smiled as he remembered the way she’d blushed when he’d called her out on texting Sarah about going to his place.
He then thought about the way she’d looked in his shirt. The damn thing nearly fell to her knees, but she somehow still managed to make it look sexy.
The memory of that moment at her car came next, those fleeting seconds when he’d come so close to kissing her. Regret filled him to the core as he wondered if he’d ever get that chance again.
He was still mentally beating himself up for not going for it when someone called out his name.
After paying the man at the register, Nate grabbed the white, plastic sack and headed for the door. It wasn’t until then that he realized it had begun to rain. From the looks of things, it wasn’t stopping anytime soon.
“Fanfuckingtastic.”
Doing his best to pull his jacket collar up to cover his neck, Nate bit the bullet and went outside. Raindrops poured down on him in sheets as he made his way toward the alley.
Some of the cold drops ran down into the neckline of his shirt, making Nate curse Mother Nature as he picked up his pace.
Half way to his apartment, the hairs on the back of Nate’s neck began to stand on end. And it wasn’t from the cold, wet weather.
This was something different. A feeling he got when he knew someone was following him.
Nate instantly went on full-alert. Not wanting to spook whoever it was for fear they’d freak out and do God knows what, he continued on as if he were none the wiser.
The sound of footsteps made its way past the pouring rain, their pattern becoming a little louder as the person’s pace increased.
Waiting for the perfect moment, Nate let them get closer and closer. Then, he made his move.
In one, fluid motion, Nate dropped the bag containing the food, spun around on the ball of his feet, and reached out for the person wishing him harm.
Growling, he shoved his assailant back into his apartment building’s brick wall so hard, he knocked the wind out of the piece of shit.
As he did this, Nate inadvertently bumped into some bulging bags of trash that had been stacked near one of two dumpsters placed there. Keeping a strong grip on the guy’s shirt, he ignored the stench of rotting garbage and kicked the bag that had toppled into his path out of the way.
Whoever this guy was, he was of a smaller build. Wearing a pair of baggy jeans and an oversized, grey hoodie, his face was obscured by the hood.
Nate couldn’t give a shit what the guy looked like. He just wanted to go home, eat his food—which had probably spilled out of the container and into the bag when he dropped it—and go to bed.
Knowing this was most likely just some punk-ass kid trying to make a quick buck by robbing him, he decided to try and scare the kid into never pulling a stunt like this again.
Stepping in closer, Nate shouted above the rain. “Listen, asswipe. I’ve had a long fucking week, and I am not in the mood to deal with this shit. So take your skinny ass back home to your mamma. Or, better yet, go find a real fucking job and quit trying to steal from innocent people.”
When the kid shook his head beneath the hood, Nate decided he needed to take things a step further.
Pulling his gun from his waistband, he shoved it against the kid’s chest. Hard.
“I’m not going to tell you again, dipshit. Get the fuck out of here and don’t come back. You got it?”
A soft whimpering reached his ears, taking him by complete surprise.
“What the hell?”
Nate yanked the hood roughly off the kid’s head. When he saw the face hiding behind it, he felt as though his breath had been stolen.
“Gracie?”
She tried to smile up at him, but she was shaking too badly.
“H-hi.”
A few more seconds passed before his mind caught up with what his eyes were seeing. The woman he’d been searching for, the same one who’d been missing for a week, was standing right in front of him.
Her hair was pulled back and tucked into the hoodie’s collar, and her face was void of any makeup. The bruises beneath her eyes made her appear as though she hadn’t slept in a week.
Rain continued to fall onto her long, beautiful lashes, and she stared back up at him as though he was the answer to her prayers.
God, she’s beautiful.
“I d-didn’t know where else to g-go.”
Hearing her quivering voice again was like a slap to the face. “Shit,” he muttered, remembering he was still holding her at gun point.
Nate pulled the weapon away from her chest and tucked it back into his waistband. Then, without giving it a second thought, he pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her.
“Jesus, Gracie.” He held her tightly. “It’s so fucking good to see you.”
She said something in return, but her words were muffled against his chest. It didn’t matter. She was here, and she was safe.
Realizing she was shivering because she was cold, Nate pulled away j
ust enough to look down at her face. “Come on, sweetheart. Let’s get you inside and out of this rain.”
Relief that broke his heart filled her worn and weary eyes. “Okay.”
Picking up his food, Nate used his other hand to grab one of hers. He didn’t think about the why, he only knew he couldn’t stop touching her right then if his life depended on it.
Back inside and out of the rain, Nate sat the bag with the surprisingly still-closed container onto his dining room table and shrugged out of his dripping jacket. Hanging it on the back of one of his chairs, he pulled his phone from his pocket.
“Wait!” Gracie practically shouted. “Who are you calling?”
“Who do you think? I’m calling Kole. He and Sarah have been worried sick about you.” Nate licked his lips and swallowed hard. “We all have.”
“You can’t call them, Nate. They might be listening or something.”
This gave Nate pause. “They? They, who? Gracie, who’s after you?”
“I-I don’t know.” She shook her head.
When she did, a few wet strands of hair stuck to her cheeks, and Nate resisted the urge to pull them away.
“All I do know is some guy broke into my apartment the night you left, and he knew my name. Said he’d be back.”
“You talked to him? Who was he? Did he hurt you?” Without giving her a chance to answer any of his questions, Nate started running his hands down her arms, looking her over for possible injuries.
“No.” She pushed his hands away. “H-he didn’t see me. I overheard him talking on the phone to someone.”
Nate started to ask what the guy said but stopped himself. “Okay, let’s back up a few steps. I need to let Kole and Sarah know you’re okay.”
Gracie’s face filled with alarm. She started to argue again, but Nate held up a hand to cut her off.
“Just listen a minute. I can call him on our secure phones. The ones we take with us when we go on an op.”
She still looked unconvinced, so he asked, “You trust me. You must, otherwise you wouldn’t have come to me, yeah?”