“That’s true,” I said.
“I understand why you ran out from the club.”
“It wasn’t a good vibe, Rob. I didn’t like it one bit. I was scared.”
“I know.”
“Is that what you put all your dates through?”
He shook his head. “You’re different, Lacey. I want to change. I want you to help me change.”
“Why would I do that?” I said.
“Because I have such strong feelings for you, Lacey. I’m crazy about you.”
Chapter 21
Grant
MY PHONE WAS CRUSHED TO PIECES. It couldn’t have happened at a worse time. I walked purposefully out of the club and took the sim card out of it before flinging it across the street. I drove the van a few blocks away to some higher ground and pulled over. I was on a street of abandoned warehouses. No one would disturb me there.
I got into the back of the van and powered up the equipment. It’s top of the range. I bought most of it on the black market from retired government agents. I could do anything with it, find anyone.
I typed Lacey’s cell number into a laptop that was wired to a high-powered radio receiver. Then I waited. A map of the city showed up on the screen, then the map zoomed in closer and closer on the triangulated location of Lacey’s cell.
I thought about calling it, I could make a call directly from the receiver, but then I noticed she was at Mercy hospital.
My mind went completely berserk. All I could think was that she might be hurt. If anyone had touched her, there would be hell to pay.
I had no time to spare. I climbed into the front of the van and began speeding toward the hospital. I pulled up outside the emergency room and left the van in the ambulance bay. It would be towed in minutes but I didn’t care. I pushed through the swing doors and ran straight to the desk.
“Lacey Eden,” I said to the nurse at the desk. “Was she admitted?”
“Just a minute, sir. Are you her husband?”
I hesitated. I don’t know why. The question caught me off guard. “I’m family,” I said at last. “Her brother.”
The nurse typed Lacey’s name into her computer and scrolled through the results. “Sorry, sir. No one by that name has been admitted.”
My heart was pounding. That could mean she wasn’t hurt, that she was perfectly fine, but it could also be even worse. She hadn’t had her phone. What if she didn’t have her ID?
“What if she didn’t have ID?” I said. I took Lacey’s picture from my wallet and showed it to the nurse. “Do you have any women in their thirties, blonde, who might not have been identified?”
She typed again, then looked up at me. “No, sir. It’s a quiet night. No one unidentified fitting that description.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn’t been admitted. That didn’t explain why her phone was showing up here though. I was about to turn to leave when I saw, down the corridor toward the trauma center, a blonde woman in a stripper outfit talking to a guy with a bandaged face.
I knew it instantly.
It was Lacey. It didn’t look like her, it wasn’t the way Lacey usually dressed, even the hair and makeup were different, but there was no questioning it. I’d know that face anywhere, and it was Lacey’s.
And she didn’t look distressed at all. Not one bit. In fact, she looked like she was having a heart to heart with the guy in the bandages.
I ducked around a corner before they saw me. I didn’t want to approach. I knew I should have gone up to her, asked her if she was all right, but I had to know what was going on. I was desperate. Something fishy was going on, and the best way of finding out what, was to spy. Lacey had been very clear. I was to give her space, and privacy. I was to butt out of her love life.
But she’d asked for help too. That text message. I had no doubt she’d sent it. She was getting mixed up with something bad, and my job was to find out what, even if it meant spying on her.
I hurried back to the van. Miraculously it hadn’t been towed.
“Is this your vehicle, sir?” a security guard said.
“Sorry, it was an emergency.”
“This bay is for hospital vehicles only.”
“Yes, sir, I’ll move it right away.”
I drove to the parking lot a hundred yards away and then directed the radio listening device directly at Lacey’s cell phone signature. I prayed the walls of the building weren’t too thick to get a signal. There were windows in the waiting area so I had a decent chance of picking up something.
I put the headphones on and immediately pulled them off. My eardrums almost burst from a loud screech. I adjusted the dials, turned down the volume and frequency, and put the headphones back on. I could hear the nurse at the front desk speaking on the phone. I adjusted the angle, someone coughing, a child crying, a television set, and then suddenly, a man’s voice.
“Because I have such strong feelings for you, Lacey. I’m crazy about you.”
That was it. I stabilized the signal.
Then came Lacey’s voice. “Rob, I had no idea you felt like that.”
“I’m nuts about you, Lacey. You’re an amazing woman, and you deserve everything a man has to give. You’re nothing like all the other women I know.”
“You’ve known me for such a short time.”
“And in that time I’ve learned so much, about you and about myself. You make me want to be a better man, Lacey. You make me want to do something real with my life. I’m through playing games with women. You taught me that.”
“What are you talking about, Rob? I haven’t taught you anything.”
“I want a relationship with you, Lacey. A real one. I want the whole deal. I don’t want to let you down. I want to give you what you want. What you deserve.”
I cut off the power to the receiver. I’d heard enough. At this point, it was just an invasion of their privacy. Whatever trouble Lacey had been having earlier in the night, it was the normal troubles of a girl out on a date with a guy who was trying to woo her. I was sure that was the guy whose nose I’d broken at the club and I felt bad about that now, but the best thing I could do was leave. If Lacey was trying to have a relationship with that guy, that was her decision to make. It wasn’t my place to interfere.
I climbed into the front seat and turned the ignition. I should have been happy for her. I knew that. As I pulled out of the hospital lot, I knew in my heart that I should have been happy for her. The guy sounded genuine. He was offering her a real relationship, and I’d smashed his face for it.
I figured Lacey would find out soon enough. I’d beaten up her new boyfriend and his friends. I’d jumped without looking. She’d hate me more than ever when she found that out.
I’d blown it. I’d ruined my chance with the one girl I’d ever loved. I’d hesitated, I’d failed to offer what she deserved, and now some other guy was stepping up to the plate. My breath caught in my throat. I tried to take a deep breath but I couldn’t breathe. I pulled over and took off my seatbelt, then I leaned forward in my seat and gasped for air.
Chapter 22
Grant
I’D LIKE TO TELL YOU that everything went fine from then on. I’d like to say Lacey was happy. I’d like to say she was going out with Rob, and that he was a great guy, the guy she’d always been dreaming of. I’d like to say he was the kind of man she deserved, the kind of man who would look after her. I’d like to say I was happy for her.
But I can’t. You know why? Because fuck Rob Crawford.
I’m not saying Lacey was my girl, because I know I never offered her what she wanted. But this jerkoff? Please. I didn’t like the way he treated her one bit. He said she’d taught him how to be a man, how to treat women properly, but from what I could tell, he just wanted a piece of eye-candy he could bring to parties and use to woo potential clients. He was constantly trying to get her to do things to enhance her appearance, whatever that meant. As if she wasn’t the most beautiful creature God ever created already. He was u
sing her as an advertisement for his clinic.
I watched her get ready for her dates with him, I watched the way she changed her style, the clothing she wore, even the way she spoke. Fuck, it was the longest two weeks of my life. She was meeting up with him practically every night, going to fancy parties in the city, or black tie events at his clinic. I hated watching her leave. I knew it was my own fault. I hadn’t claimed her. She was free to do whatever she wanted with whoever she wanted, but fuck, I didn’t have to like it.
I tried to ignore it, but I couldn’t. For those two weeks, every time I saw her get ready for a date with Rob, I felt like I was watching my own wife get dressed to go out with another man.
Is that crazy? Is that the kind of domineering bullshit that people don’t approve of any more? If it is, I don’t care. It’s how I felt, and I’m not going to hide it.
I was glad I broke his nose. The more I saw, the happier I was that I’d had the opportunity to plant my fist in his face. If I ever got a chance to do it again, if he fucked up and broke Lacey’s heart, I’d put him right back in that hospital, and it would be more than a few stitches before he got out.
And then, you know what Lacey did next? Me with all this emotion bubbling under the surface, and she tells me she wants me to meet the guy. I was working out in our basement gym when she told me. I was literally benching like three-fifty, the weight of the bar pushing down on me, when she chose to tell me. She always had great timing.
“I’m having Rob over for dinner.”
I glanced at her, just for a second, and then my arms gave way. The fucking bar came crashing down on my chest with the force of a small automobile behind it.
“Fuck, Lacey,” I cried.
She hurried over. I didn’t usually need a spotter for that much weight, but Lacey had a real fine way of breaking my willpower. She pulled at the bar but it was no good. It was far too heavy for her. I couldn’t breathe. It was crushing my chest, painfully forcing down into my muscle.
“I can’t lift it, Grant.”
I shut my eyes and put my will into it. I got the bar up and into the locks.
“Shit,” she said. I knew she meant it because she rarely swore. “Sorry. I didn’t realize you’d have such strong feelings on the issue.”
“I don’t,” I lied.
She smiled at me. “I just watched you drop six plates, practically on your neck. You’ve got feelings.”
“I don’t, Lacey.”
“Then you won’t mind joining us for dinner. I really want you and Forrester and Grady to meet Rob.”
“Why? We never meet your boyfriends. You like to keep your love life private from us.”
“Yeah, well it’s not so private anymore, is it, Grant? Not after what you did to me in the barn.”
“What I did to you? From what I remember, you were just as into it as I was,” I said.
“I only did it because you begged me,” she said.
“Yeah, right.”
“I did, Grant. I’d never agree to a one night stand with you otherwise. You know that. You can see how awkward it made everything between us.”
“So you only agreed to it because I begged?”
“You really begged. Plus you had my pictures up there, hidden away. It was … endearing.”
“Endearing?”
“Yes.”
I laughed. “You craved me just as much as I craved you, Lacey. Don’t even bother lying about it. It just makes it more obvious.”
I was wearing nothing but a pair of shorts and I saw her eyes glance over my rippling muscle.
“Does your boyfriend look like this?” It was a lame thing to say but she was infuriating.
She rolled her eyes. “No, Grant. You’ve got bigger biceps than my boyfriend. Do you think I should dump him for you?”
She was always at her sexiest when she was being sarcastic. I looked over her delicious little body. God, she could turn me on. She was the only person in the world who could make my body crave her while simultaneously making my emotions want to get as far away from her as humanly possible.
“I don’t know, Lacey. Do you want to?” I didn’t know what I was saying. I couldn’t think of a witty response with her standing over me like that, looking so sexy.
She had on a tight pair of black yoga pants and I could see every curve of her butt and thighs perfectly. She may as well have been standing in front of me naked. I was pretty sure I could even make out a hint of the shape of her pussy through the fabric.
My cock throbbed. Fuck. Not now.
I started to get up but Lacey did something that really surprised me. She leaned down, put her hand on my chest between my pectorals, and pushed me back down.
“Is that a pencil in your pocket, Grant?” she said, a wicked smile on her lips.
I lay there and looked up at her. “Why don’t you climb on and find out?”
She looked at me for a second, we both looked into each other’s eyes for an intense moment, and then she turned and left.
“Dinner’s tonight. Please be there. I’m serious about this guy and I want him to meet my family.”
I watched her leave, her delicious buns swaying left and right in those yoga pants. My cock was completely rigid, pulsing with desire, eager for her pussy. But it wasn’t getting her pussy. It crossed my mind that if things worked out between Lacey and Rob, I’d never taste her pussy again.
The idea hit me all of a sudden, like a freight train. It shouldn’t have been a shock, but it was. What if I never had another chance with Lacey? What if she married this guy, Rob Crawford? What if I lost her forever?
How would I live with that?
I guess, somewhere deep in the back of my mind, during all the years I’d secretly lusted after Lacey, I’d always known that there was a chance. A relationship between her and me was never as hopeless or as impossible as we both pretended. I’d known it could happen at any minute. She was single. I was single. Sooner or later, she’d fall into my bed. I’d lived my life secure in that knowledge. Now, for the first time, I was beginning to see what my life might be like if that possibility was gone.
And I didn’t like it. In fact, I couldn’t fucking stand it.
I got up, put another plate on each side of the bar, and pumped iron like I’d never done in my life.
Chapter 23
Lacey
YOU WANT TO HEAR ABOUT awkward? Picture this.
Forrester, Grady, Faith, Jackson and Grant, sitting around our dining table, all dressed up, waiting for Rob. I’d gone the whole nine yards, brought in the best wine from Jackson’s vineyard, made roast beef, gravy, vegetables, mashed potatoes. I’d been in the kitchen all day. The candles were lit. The table was set beautifully. Classical music was playing in the background.
Everything was perfect. Except for the fact that it was really awkward.
“This looks beautiful,” Jackson said.
Grant glared at him.
“What?” Jackson said, responding to Grant’s glare. “It’s nice.”
Grant wasn’t one bit happy, and I’m going to be honest with you right now. That was the whole plan. I’d done all that work, got everyone I loved around the table, just as a way to provoke Grant.
It wasn’t very mature of me. It wasn’t honest. I’m not proud.
But I was desperate. I’d been dating Rob for two weeks, and I could tell things weren’t going to change. The way things were with Rob was the way they would always be. It wasn’t hell. I mean, he hadn’t tried to pressure me into another threesome with Duke or anything. He’d at least meant it when he said he’d realized how stupid he was being treating me like that.
But on all the little things, I knew he’d never change. He just couldn’t. He still thought I needed to make an effort to be more beautiful for him. He still encouraged me to try the various, drastic treatments that were available at his clinic. He didn’t say it, but deep down, it made me feel like he didn’t think I was beautiful enough. He said he wanted a woman like me
, someone intelligent who was willing to stand up to him and challenge him, but I think what he really wanted was a twenty-year-old supermodel with tits the size of watermelons.
“Thanks for coming, everyone,” I said.
“Of course, Lacey,” Faith said. “We’re a family. If you say this guy is important to you, we’re all here to welcome him, aren’t we, Grant?”
Grant took a deep breath. I watched him carefully. Faith knew what I was doing, of course. She knew I was still hung up on Grant. She knew I needed to force him to make a decision, take a stand, and she was hoping as much as I was that Grant would do something tonight.
What was holding him back? Did he really just not want me? That was my biggest fear in the world.
The doorbell rang. I got up but Grant beat me to it.
“What are you doing?” I said.
“Getting the door.”
“Sit down,” I said, making it clear I wasn’t kidding.
Grant shrugged, as if he didn’t know what the big deal was, but he knew.
I met Rob at the door and for the briefest of seconds, I was sure I saw a flash of disappointment in his eyes. It was because I was dressed in my normal clothes. I knew he preferred me dolled up like a bimbo, he’d made that amply clear, and I’d even tried to dress the way he liked, but I just couldn’t do it tonight. I couldn’t dress that way in front of Faith and the brothers. They’d never let me live it down.
The truth was, I was ashamed to dress that way. I mean, there’s nothing wrong with looking like that if that’s the way you want to look, but they’d have known I was only doing it to please Rob, and that was humiliating in some way.
“You look very … businesslike,” Rob managed to say, as he kissed me on the cheek.
I chose to take it as a compliment even though it was seriously lacking. “Thank you, Rob. You look rather dashing yourself.”
The annoying thing was that he did look dashing. He always looked great in a suit.
I led him into the dining room, where he was greeted warmly by Faith, Jackson, Forrester and Grady.
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