by Anne Rainey
“Why? Why me?” Gracie had to know what she’d ever done to warrant such fanatical interest.
He moved away from the doorway then. With each step he took closer, Gracie’s heart beat faster. Once he was standing beside the bed, fear like she’d never before felt fil ed her. She could see it then, the vacant look in his eyes. He was completely insane.
“You know. You already know the answer to that question, Gracie Lynn.”
She shook her head as frustration started to edge out the fear. “I don’t understand any of this! Please, just let me go.” Even as the words spil ed out, she knew it was futile. He would not be letting her go. Wade would come, she thought, hope blooming. When she didn’t show for their lunch date, he would come looking for her.
“Why would you want to leave?” George asked, as if genuinely confused. “We love each other. We’re going to be married.” He picked up a white dress that had been on the bed next to her. She hadn’t even noticed it lying there. Gracie looked it over, then let her gaze travel around the room. She saw it al then. The champagne, the condoms, the pictures of her. Oh, God, there were so many. Thousands of them.
“Do you like it? I did it al for you.”
He wanted to know if she liked it? Gracie started to tel him where he could shove the damn dress and the rest of his crazy little plan, but she stopped herself. Pissing off a madman while bound was not a good plan. Instead, she lied.
“It must have taken you a very long time to do al this. I’m flattered.” Bile rose as she spouted lies. “Of course, it’s going to be difficult to put the dress on if I’m tied to this bed.” She smiled and wiggled her fingers for emphasis. “Maybe you could let me up? So I can try it on, I mean. It’s so lovely.”
“Not yet. We have a few things to discuss first.”
“Oh?”
“I’m not pleased with you, Gracie Lynn. You let another man spend the night with you. You betrayed me.”
Gracie watched as George took a gun out of the pocket in his hoodie and placed it on the nightstand. “I-I didn’t mean to upset you, George.”
“It’s his fault.” George shook his head, his voice shifting to a higher pitch. Almost feminine. “You were so perfect before. He’s tainted you.
He’s tainted my Gracie Lynn. I can’t let that go unpunished.” He pul ed a knife out of his pocket and flipped it open. “You understand, don’t you?
This is for your own good, my love.”
As he sat down on the bed beside her, Gracie started to shake uncontrol ably. “No, please.”
The point slid over her blouse, beneath the top button. He sliced, and the button fel away. “It’s for your own good. Soon, you’l be perfect again. Soon, Gracie Lynn.”
Gracie started to struggle, but the ropes had no give. Another button popped free. When she felt cold metal against her chest, she screamed.
“Jonas, go around the back. We’l go in the front,” Wade instructed.
“You’re a civilian, damn it. You’l hang back until backup arrives.”
Wade and Jonas exchanged a silent look. Jonas nodded and took off around the side of the house. Henderson glared at Wade. It was ignored. “His bedroom is down the hal , the first room on the left.”
The detective tested the doorknob, but it didn’t give. “We need to do this right. We can’t just storm in there.”
Wade’s patience snapped. “She’s in there, and he could be—” A bloodcurdling scream rent the air, cutting him off midsentence. Gracie.
Fear mobilized Wade into action. He body slammed the old, beat-up door. It gave way easily under the brutal assault. Wade took off through the living room and down the hal , barely aware that the detective was right behind him. Wade stopped at the sight inside the barely lit bedroom.
Gracie, sprawled out on the bed, blood covering her chest. It dripped down her side to the pristine bedspread. Her gaze landed on him, and tears fil ed her eyes.
Wade crossed the room in two strides. “Oh, God, baby.”
“Wade, watch out!”
Wade turned his head in time to see George Lusk standing in the adjoining bathroom, gun raised, tears spil ing down his cheeks. Reacting purely on instinct, Wade lunged across the bed, protecting Gracie with his larger body. He felt a sharp sting in his left bicep seconds before the room erupted into chaos. Wade looked up to see Jonas holding George by the throat, knife poised directly over his heart.
“You got him secured?” Wade snarled.
“He moves, he dies,” Jonas promised, his voice low, menacing.
Henderson cursed and came over to the side of the bed. “You’ve been shot, Wade.”
“No!” Gracie cried, struggling under his weight.
Wade lifted off her and went to work on the ropes securing her wrists to the headboard. Once free, she flung herself against him. “You can’t die, Wade. Please, don’t die.”
Wade wrapped his arms around her. Damn, he was shaking like a friggin’ baby. “Shh, sweetheart. I’m fine. It’s just a graze. I’ve had worse during my army days.” He pul ed back and looked down at her. Blood coated the front of her blouse. “Oh, baby. What did he do to you?”
Gracie shook her head and wrapped her arms around his neck, squeezing him tight. Wade could feel the wetness of her tears soaking the front of his shirt. They mingled with the blood, tearing another layer off his self-control. “Baby, I need to see it. I need to know how bad it is. We need to stop the bleeding.”
She tightened her hold on him and shook her head harder. “He only managed to cut me once,” she said, her words muffled by the front of his shirt. “It’s not deep, Wade.”
Not deep hel . He would see that blood on her chest in his nightmares for years to come. Wade glanced over to see Henderson untying Gracie’s ankles. She was completely free now. Wade slipped his arms beneath her knees and behind her back, then stood, lifting her. Wade spared Jonas a grateful look, knowing that if not for him, Gracie could be dead. Hel , rushing into the room the way he had could’ve gotten them al a bul et. Jonas only grinned and tightened his hold on Lusk, who continued to wail like a toddler whose toy has been snatched away. Wade had a powerful urge to cross the room and hit the son of a bitch who had made Gracie’s life a living hel for the last two months, but the man was just too damn pathetic.
Wade quickly dismissed him and turned his attention back to Gracie. “I’m taking Gracie to the hospital.”
Henderson stepped in front of him. “We’ve got Lusk dead to rights, Wade. Kidnapping, assault, and whatever else we can stick him with.
He’s going away for a long time.”
Wade glared at the detective and moved around him. “Just so you know, Lusk walks, I’l be going hunting. Remember that.”
“Guess I’l just have to see to it that that doesn’t become an issue.”
“You do that,” Wade muttered, as he walked out of the room. Gracie cupped his cheek. “I real y can walk. The cut on my chest, it’s not that bad. You’ve been shot, Wade. You shouldn’t be carrying me.”
“Hush, damn it. I’m not letting you go, Gracie. I’m never letting you go.”
Gracie relaxed against him. “I knew you’d come for me.”
“Always, angel.” He kissed the top of her head. “But be warned, after we’re both patched up, you and I are going to have a little chat.”
Gracie stiffened against him, but stayed silent.
31
“I want to see her. I want to see Gracie.”
“Just one more stitch.” The doctor stuck him again, and Wade winced. “There, that’s the last one.” He unwrapped some gauze and started to cover the dent the bul et had left in Wade’s arm. “You’re lucky that bul et only grazed you. This could have been a lot worse.”
“I’m aware of that,” Wade bit out. “It doesn’t change the fact that I want to see Gracie. Now.” He wouldn’t believe she was okay until he saw her with his own eyes.
“She’s fine, you know,” the doctor said, as if reading his mind. “That cu
t on her chest was pretty shal ow. Didn’t even need a stitch. Just a few butterfly bandages.”
Wade was fast losing his patience. “So you’ve said, but if I don’t see her soon, I’m going to get violent.”
The doctor had the nerve to chuckle and pat his arm. “You’re done.” Wade got off the bed and started for the door. As soon as he stepped into the hal , he saw the whole crew coming at him. Dean, Deanna, his mother, Cherry, and Dante—they were al converging on him. “What the hel ?”
Wade’s mother wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him tight. When she pul ed back, he could see the worry on her face, and he felt like a complete shit.
“Jonas cal ed. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, Mom.” He patted her on the back and felt her trembling. “Just a little graze on my arm, I promise. You made a trip for nothing.”
“Jonas told us you’d be fine, but I wanted to see with my own eyes that my son wasn’t lying half-dead.”
Suddenly Wade was a little kid again. He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “Sorry to worry you, Mom.”
Deanna hugged him next, then smacked his chest. “I thought you learned how not to get shot when you were in the army. What happened, big bro? Going soft?”
Wade snorted. “Love you too, sis.”
Dean chuckled. “Don’t let her fool you. She’s been worried sick about you ever since Jonas cal ed her.”
Wade quirked a brow and grinned. “Is that right?”
Deanna glared at her twin. “Big mouth.”
Dean ignored her and slapped him on the back. The jarring sent lightning streaking down his arm. “Glad you’re okay, bro.”
“Thanks,” Wade muttered, wil ing them gone so he could get to Gracie. Regardless of what the doctor said, he wouldn’t sit easy until he saw her. Cherry and Dante took their turns next. Wade’s patience final y gave way to worry for Gracie. “Look, I real y appreciate your al coming down, but I’m sort of in a hurry.”
Dean nodded. “Yeah, we heard about Gracie.”
His mother stepped to his side. “I’d very much like to meet the woman my son is wil ing to take a bul et for.”
Oh, hel . “Mom, I’m not sure—”
“I want to meet her.”
Wade had heard that tone before. There’d be no changing his mother’s mind. He sighed and caved. “Come on then.” Wade went to the other end of the emergency room where Gracie lay in a bed, eyes closed. She looked so pale, too pale. Wade moved up beside the bed and pushed a lock of hair off her forehead. Her eyes shot open. She smiled, then glanced around him, and the smile was quickly replaced by confusion.
Wade leaned down and placed a gentle kiss to her cheek. “How are you, baby?”
“I’m fine. My chest stings a little, and my head hurts from the chloroform, but knowing it’s final y over . . . it’s such a relief, Wade.”
Wade bit back a curse. “I didn’t realize he’d used chloroform. The son of a bitch could’ve kil ed you if he’d used too much.”
She nodded. “The doctor wasn’t real pleased either.” Her gaze darted back and forth among the mass of people positioned around her bed.
“Um, did you want to introduce me, Wade?”
No, he didn’t. He’d much rather have Gracie al to himself. He had things to say, and they wouldn’t wait. Wade moved a foot to the left, letting his mother come up to Gracie’s side. “Gracie, this is my mom. Mom, Gracie Baron.”
Gracie smiled and sat up straighter. “Hel o, Mrs. Harrison. It’s nice to meet you. Wel , the circumstances are unfortunate, of course.”
Wade’s mother frowned in concern. “You’ve had a rather rough go of it lately, I hear.”
Gracie winced. “Yeah, it’s been a little crazy. If not for Wade and Jonas, I don’t know what I would’ve done.” Gracie’s eyes, stil swol en from crying, looked up at him with love. At least that’s what it seemed like to Wade. Maybe he was deluding himself. Damn, he needed to get her alone and find out.
His mother smiled up at him, pride clearly visible. “My son sure knows how to keep things from getting too dul .”
“I’m sorry he was shot. It’s my fault. It never should have come to that.”
“From what Jonas told me, you were an innocent in al this.”
“I just wish it hadn’t ended the way it did.”
His mother patted Gracie on the hand. “Seems to me, it ended just right. You’re both safe, and the bad guy is behind bars.”
Gracie sighed and relaxed against the mattress. “Yes, it’s over. Thank goodness for that.”
“Hey, mind if I intrude?”
Wade looked up to see Detective Henderson at the foot of Gracie’s bed. He looked tired and in bad need of a vacation. “What’s up, detective?”
“I thought you two might want to know Lusk confessed to everything. The man spil ed his guts.”
“Good,” Wade growled. Saves me the trouble of killing him.
“And there’s also this.” He came toward Gracie and handed her a plastic evidence bag, a piece of paper inside. Gracie took it, her brows scrunched together. “Do you recognize it?” the detective asked.
She shook her head. “It looks like a raffle ticket, but I don’t remember fil ing it out.”
The detective shoved his hands in the pockets of his navy slacks. “Lusk had it in his pocket. We found it when we searched him. He went bal istic when the officer took it from him. According to Lusk, you fil ed that out at Charlie’s Market. He said you intended it for him.” The detective shrugged. “Of course, he’s off his rocker, but at least now we know how he obtained your e-mail addy and mailing address.”
“And my middle name. There was a space for it, and I’d simply fil ed it in.” Gracie said, staring at the slip of paper. “Oh, God, I remember now. The raffle was to win an e-book reading device. I can’t believe he’s had it this whole time.”
Wade took the bag and looked its contents over. The paper was so badly wrinkled, it was hard to make out the words. Hel , it looked ten years old, rather than a couple months. “The first contact,” Wade mused aloud, as he handed the baggy back to the detective. “He must have seen this as a sort of love note.”
Henderson nodded. “He said as much when we talked to him. He’s certifiable.”
Gracie wrapped her arms around her chest, tears fil ing her eyes. “Then it’s real y over.”
Wade took her uninjured hand in his and squeezed gently. “It’s over, angel.”
“It seems so . . . surreal.”
Wade’s mother spoke up. “When you get to feeling better, Gracie, I’d love it if you could come out to the house for a visit.”
“That would be lovely, Mrs. Harrison.”
She clucked her tongue and fingered the strap of her purse. “Oh, please, it’s just Audrey. Mrs. Harrison makes me feel ancient.”
Wade leaned down and kissed his mother on the cheek. “Thanks for coming, Mom.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “You’d better take better care of yourself from now on, mister.”
Wade grinned, his first real smile since seeing Gracie covered in her own blood. “I’m made of steel, or didn’t you know that?”
“Ha! Your head maybe.”
Dean stepped up and took their mother by the elbow. “You can lecture him later, Mom. We should let Gracie rest.”
“Bring her for a visit, son.”
“I wil , but no home movies. You’l only scare her off.” His mother winked. “No promises.”
Wade shook his head and watched his family leave. He could hear Deanna and his mother plotting, but Wade was simply too grateful that Gracie was safe to care what the two women had in store.
He turned to see Cherry hugging Gracie; both women had tears in their eyes. Dante stood close by, quietly watching the display.
“I’m so relieved you’re both okay,” Cherry said in a wobbly voice. “When Jonas cal ed I was so scared.”
Wade took Cherry by the shoulders and pul ed her in for a hug. “Everyth
ing’s going to be fine now. Lusk is going away for a while.”
“From the sounds of it, he’l be heading for a maximum-security psychiatric hospital,” Dante muttered.
“That’d be my guess.”
“It’s so bizarre. I mean, I thought I’d recognize him. I thought at the very least he would look familiar.”
“You don’t remember seeing him at the market?”
Gracie pushed a hand through her tangled hair. “No. He’s a complete stranger. And yet I somehow managed to attract his attention.” She looked at Wade. “How is that possible?”
“He fixated on you,” Wade stated. “Maybe you smiled at him one day or said hi. Whatever it was, however mundane, he took it as a sign that you were attracted to him. Again, he’s crazy. Don’t try to figure it out.”
“Wade’s right,” Cherry said, as she stepped backwards and into Dante’s waiting arms. “There’s no way to know for sure why he ended up so obsessed with you. Let’s just be happy it’s done.”
“Come on, little one. We should let Wade and Gracie have some time alone.”
“Of course, you’re right,” Cherry said. “And don’t worry about coming to work tomorrow. In fact take as many days as you need.”
“Believe it or not, I want to come back to work. I’m ready to take my life back. I feel as if it’s been in limbo ever since this al started.”
“I can understand that, but don’t push yourself too hard. A day of rest wil do you good.”
“I agree with Cherry,” Wade said, adding his two cents. “Situations like these can sometimes hit you al at once and leave you feeling drained. Right now the adrenaline is stil pumping.”