“Mel’s doing good,” she said as Jax fixed her a cup of coffee. She looked up at the display above the stove. It was almost one, so she and Jax had gotten about four hours of sleep before Brendan showed up.
“You going to see her?” Jax asked as he handed her the mug.
“Yeah, and Grams said they had to leave some stuff at the funeral home last night.” She settled into his side. “So I’m going over there to pick it up.”
“I need to go down to the station. See what’s going on,” Jax said as he slid an arm around her.
“I hope they lock those two assholes up and throw away the key,” Brendan said.
“Got to catch them first. And those two are as slimy as they come,” Jax said, his grip on Grace tightening as he kissed the top of her head.
* * *
Jax dropped Grace off at the funeral home at three to get her car, but she didn’t go inside to grab the stuff from the café. She was too anxious to see Mel. Besides, the funeral home was on the way back from the hospital so she was just going to swing by and grab everything before she went back to Jax’s.
Mel was sitting up in bed watching TV when Grace walked into the room. Her arm was in a sling and her curly hair was piled on top of her head. Grace dropped her purse on the chair and hugged Mel as tight as she could without hurting her.
“I’m so glad you’re okay.” Grace sniffled as more than a few tears slid down her nose. “I was so scared.”
“Me, too,” Mel said, holding on with her one good arm.
They stayed that way for a little while before Grace pulled back, running her fingers underneath her eyes.
“No more crying,” Mel said as she wiped at her own.
“I’ll try.” Grace sat down in the chair next to Mel’s bed.
“So you and Jax are back together.” Mel grinned.
“How did you know?”
“Harper.”
“Of course.”
“And,” Mel pressed, waving her good hand in the air. “What happened?”
“He told me he loves me,” Grace said, chewing on her bottom lip.
“Oh, Grace, that’s wonderful. But what’s with the nervous lip biting?” Mel frowned.
“While you were off getting shot I was getting back together with my boyfriend.”
“Okay,” Mel said, shaking her head. “Enough with that. I’m going to be fine, and life goes on. I couldn’t be happier for you.”
“I’m really glad you’re okay.” Grace was unable to stop her eyes from welling up again.
“What did I tell you about crying?” Mel asked sternly as her eyes started to water.
The two women finally composed themselves after another couple of tear-filled minutes.
“Apparently word travels fast,” Grace said, eyeing Mel’s goodie pile as she threw a tissue in the trash. On the table next to Mel’s bed sat a teddy bear, four different flower arrangements, multiple boxes of chocolates, and a bouquet of balloons reaching for the ceiling, drifting back and forth in the current from the AC.
“Most of that’s from my students.”
“Nice,” Grace said, pulling a pint of cookie dough ice cream from her purse.
“Ice cream? You’re officially my second favorite.”
“Who’s number one?” Grace asked, feigning offense.
“Well, I really like the teddy bear.”
“Who got you that?” Grace asked as she dug around for the two spoons.
“Bennett,” Mel said softly.
Grace stopped digging in her purse and looked up at Mel. “He came back?”
“He didn’t leave the hospital until about eleven this morning.”
“What?” Grace asked. “What’s going on between the two of you? Have you been holding out on me?”
“No,” Mel said, shaking her head. “I haven’t been holding out because nothing is going on. I mean the man is gorgeous, there’s no doubt, but really what chance do I have?”
“You’re gorgeous, too. Have you looked in the mirror lately? Well, I mean not today,” Grace said, letting her mouth twitch.
“Oh, thank you. You’re making me feel so much better.”
“Seriously, Mel, you’re beautiful. What makes you think you couldn’t get him?”
“It’s nothing, Grace. We’re just friends. I find him attractive. End of story.”
Oh, Grace was fairly sure this wasn’t the end of the story. It was just the beginning.
“Really? So your voice gets all warm and dreamy when you talk about all your friends?”
“It did not,” Mel protested.
“It so did, ‘Bennett’” Grace simpered.
“Shut up and find the stupid spoons,” Mel snapped.
“Well, no need to get crabby or anything,” Grace grinned as she went back to her digging.
Huh, Mel and Bennett. That wouldn’t be a bad thing at all.
Not. At. All.
* * *
Jax stopped by King’s Auto after he dropped Grace off. He was more than slightly nervous as he got out of his truck and walked into the shop, but really it was now or never.
“Didn’t I just see you?” Brendan asked as he came out from behind a car.
“Yeah, you got a minute?” Jax asked, nodding toward the office.
“Yup.” Brendan pulled his gloves off.
“Well, if it isn’t the man of the hour,” Oliver said as he stood up and rounded his desk. He pulled Jax into a hug and slapped him affectionately on the back.
“I didn’t do anything,” Jax said, shaking his head as Oliver pulled back.
“Nonsense,” Oliver said, waving off Jax’s words. “Brendan told me that as soon as you found out what was going on you drove like a mad man to get to my granddaughter.”
“Did Bennett tell you that?” Jax asked, looking over at Brendan.
“Yup, he said he was scared for his life.”
Oh, Jax was sure that Bennett was scared, but he was pretty sure it had nothing to do with Jax’s driving.
“I was scared for mine, too. I had to get to Grace. As it turns out, I’ve always been trying to get to her. I know that now,” Jax said, looking at both men.
Brendan’s eyes narrowed, but a slight smile curved the side of his mouth. Oliver just looked at Jax, his expression neutral except for the twinkle in his eye. Jax took a deep breath before he continued.
“I messed up with her before. Messed up when I let her doubt for a second how I felt about her.”
“And how’s that?” Oliver asked.
“She’s it for me. I love her and I want to spend the rest of my life with her. And I’m hoping the two of you will be okay with that.”
“Uh, I’m sorry, son,” Oliver said. “I’m not okay with that.”
Jax’s stomach promptly fell down somewhere to the region of his feet.
“Me, either,” Brendan said, and shook his head.
“Thrilled would be a better word,” Oliver said, looking at Brendan.
“Or elated,” Brendan offered as his mouth split into a huge grin.
“Ecstatic.” Oliver nodded and smiled. “Jax, you’ve always been part of our family. You falling in love with Grace is a gift.”
Jax breathed a sigh of relief and shook his head. Falling in love with Grace sure as hell was a gift, and Jax was going to treasure it.
* * *
Grace stopped by the funeral home just after six that evening. She’d wound up staying with Mel longer than she’d expected to, so when she pulled up in front of the funeral home it was empty, everyone having gone home for the night. But Grace had a key so she could let herself in. She really wouldn’t have bothered stopping by, but she was going to have to go into the café early the next morning to make up for the day she’d missed, and some of the stuff she needed had been left behind.
The funeral home was an old, two-story Victorian house. It might’ve been creepy if it wasn’t painted a cheerful butter cream yellow. Grace didn’t see the place as creepy, but she didn’t want
to be locked in after hours. There were still dead bodies in there after all. But the sun was still clearly in the sky and she was only going to be inside for five minutes.
Grace unlocked the front door and made her way to the beeping panel to disarm the alarm. She flipped a light switch and the hallway that led to the kitchen filled with light. She put her keys down on the counter and as she reached for the first pile of café items, cold metal jabbed into the side of her head and a hand came up and covered her mouth.
Chapter Twenty
Out of the Frying Pan and Into Hell
There are so many things I want to do to you.” Chad’s hot breath slapped against Grace’s ear, making her stomach heave. “So many things,” he said as he pressed his body into hers and forced her to move out of the kitchen and up the stairs. “But there isn’t enough time for all that fun at the moment.”
“Just put the bitch somewhere where she won’t be in the way,” Hoyt called out from a room down the hall on the second floor.
“That’s what I’m doing,” Chad snapped back as he threw Grace into the supply room. She fell forward into the shelves, her hands fumbling for purchase, but it was useless. She hit the shelves and a sharp pain radiated through her head. “You scream and I’ll shoot. Understand?”
She nodded. She’d never been more terrified in her life, and if she opened her mouth she’d probably throw up.
“Hold out your hands,” he said, pulling a roll of duct tape from the shelf.
She stuck them out and they shook as Chad wound the tape around and around. He tore off a thick piece and slapped it across her mouth before he pulled her down the hallway and threw her into the bathroom.
* * *
A few new developments had been made in the burglary cases. Hoyt and Chad had definitely had a source on the inside of Lock and Load to figure out the logistics to the systems. Too bad Judson had no idea what information he’d been supplying. Judson had been brought in again, and this time it appeared that Judson was telling the truth when he said he wasn’t involved.
Chad and Hoyt still hadn’t been seen by anyone, nor did anyone have any information on the pair. The sheriff’s office was putting in all available resources to look for the assholes, but they’d probably hit the road the night before. All Jax could hope for was that there might be one last thing that they’d need to take care of. One last thing that would get them spotted. One last thing that would get them caught.
Jax stopped by Shep’s house on his way back from the station. Things were still a little rocky between them, and Jax knew he was the one who needed to fix it.
Shep didn’t say anything when he opened the door and saw Jax on the other side. He just opened his door wider so Jax could step in.
“I’m sorry,” Jax said when Shep turned around. “I’m sorry for hitting you. And for thinking you would ever sleep with Grace. And for what I said about you sleeping with anything in a skirt.”
“Water under the bridge,” Shep said, shaking his head. “I heard about the shooting. I stopped by and saw Mel. Glad she’s okay.”
“She’s lucky it wasn’t worse. We’re all lucky it wasn’t worse.”
“Did you fix things with Grace?” Shep asked, folding his arms across his chest.
“Yeah,” Jax repeated. “I—” his voice caught and he stopped. Jax cleared his throat and tried again. “I’m going to ask her to marry me.”
“It’s about damn time.” Shep grinned. “Congratulations, man,” he said, and held out his hand. When Jax grabbed it, Shep pulled him into a hug. “You deserve her,” Shep said when he pulled back. “You deserve to be happy, too.”
“I’m beginning to realize that.”
Jax and Shep talked for a couple more minutes before they both headed out the door, Shep to the bar, and Jax home to Grace. Just that very thought made him so freaking happy.
He was halfway there when his phone started ringing. He pulled it out and answered.
“Anderson.”
“We have a problem,” Baxter said. “Hoyt and Chad were seen going into the funeral home.”
“It’s after six, no one should be there,” Jax said as he turned and started heading toward the funeral home. If Chad and Hoyt were armed and someone was there, they’d have a hostage situation on their hands.
Baxter hesitated for just a second, the last second Jax had before his entire world came crashing down.
“Jax, Grace’s car is parked outside.”
The world was spinning and Jax couldn’t take air into his lungs, which was a problem considering the fact that he was driving.
“I’m three minutes away.”
“Meet me in the back,” Baxter said before he disconnected.
After the longest three minutes of Jax’s life, he pulled into a parking lot across the street from the funeral home.
Jax snuck around to the back of the building and tried to focus on what he was doing, tried not to let the fear choke him. But that was hard to do when Grace was in that building with two men who wouldn’t hesitate to hurt her. He had to get to her. Had to make sure she was okay.
God, this couldn’t be happening twice in less than twenty-four hours.
When Jax got to the back, Baxter was waiting for him.
“I called Mr. Adams,” Baxter said. “He met me down the street and gave me the keys. I figured a quiet entrance was our best bet. Neal is on his way.”
Jax just nodded, unable to move his jaw.
Baxter unlocked the door and opened it quietly. Jax walked into the room, gun drawn, as Baxter followed with his own gun out.
They walked through the room and opened the door into an empty hallway. They made their way through it and passed the kitchen. Jax looked inside to make sure it was empty. The light was on and Grace’s keys were sitting on the counter. A sharp pang hit Jax in the chest, but he pushed past it.
A floorboard creaked overhead and voices traveled down from the second floor. Baxter nodded his head toward the other end of the hallway.
Back stairwell, he mouthed as he went off on his own.
Jax nodded as he continued toward the front of the house. He edged along the wall until he got to the funeral home’s main viewing room. He checked to make sure it was empty before he moved past it. He eyed the stairs, praying he could get up them without alerting Chad and Hoyt.
He put one foot up and breathed a sigh of relief when it didn’t make a sound. He continued up, one painful step at a time. When he reached the top he saw Baxter coming down the hallway from the left, checking the rooms as he went. Jax went right and headed toward the noise coming from the next room.
Hoyt had his back to the door as he ripped at the lining of one of the coffins. Hoyt’s gun was laying on top of the closed coffin next to him and within reaching distance.
“Put your hands up and turn around slowly,” Jax said as he came up behind Hoyt, angling himself so that he had the doors to the room within his line of sight.
Hoyt froze and did as he was told.
“So you found us,” Hoyt said through a look of sheer loathing. “Well, one of us at least. Too bad you didn’t find Chad first as he’s the one who’s taking care of your whore.”
“Get down on your knees,” Jax said.
“Funny, that’s what Chad was planning on making her do, too,” he said as he slowly got down.
“Lie down with your hands behind your back.” Jax still had his gun leveled on Hoyt when Neal came into the room.
“I got him,” Neal said as he pulled his cuffs out of his belt.
Jax went back out into the hallway and stopped dead. Chad was coming out of a room, using Grace as a shield as he held a gun to her throat. There was duct tape around her wrists and across her mouth, and tears were streaming down her face.
Black dots clouded Jax’s vision as he felt like he’d been ripped in half. So this was what dying felt like.
“Let her go,” Jax said.
“I don’t think so,” Chad said, shaking his head. “Y
ou see, you have what I want and I have what you want.”
“And what do you want?” Jax asked.
“To get out of here with the stuff I came for. But you’re currently blocking my path.”
Hoyt and Neal were in a room in the front of the house, but the back of the house had a balcony that ran across the second floor. Out of the corner of Jax’s eye, he saw through the window in the room to his left. Baxter was currently crossing the balcony, most likely headed for the room that was next to Chad.
“So if I let you go, you’ll let her go?”
“Like that’s going to happen,” Chad said, shaking his head.
“If you don’t hurt her, I’ll let you walk out of here with whatever the hell you want.”
“What if I want her, too?” he asked, sliding his hand down to her breasts.
Grace winced as he touched her, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath through her nose. Jax wanted to launch himself across the room and rip the fucker’s arms out of their sockets.
Come on, Baxter, he mentally pleaded.
“Let her go, Chad,” Jax repeated.
“No,” Chad said, shaking his head.
Something creaked in the room next to Chad and he moved automatically. As his body turned, he lowered the gun from Grace’s throat. Chad was about twenty feet away, and Jax had shot at much smaller targets from a much farther distance. Jax pulled the trigger once, and Chad’s gun fell to the ground only a second before he did, cradling his shoulder and screaming.
Grace pulled forward and fell against the wall. She tried to scramble away from Chad into an empty room, but her bound hands didn’t let her get very far.
Baxter came out of the room and grabbed the gun that Chad had dropped. Since Baxter was taking care of Chad, Jax went to Grace.
“Are you okay?” Jax asked as he pulled Grace farther into the office.
She nodded, tears still streaming down her face, and her entire body shaking. She was breathing hard through her nose, and Jax was pretty sure she was about to pass out.
Undeniable (A Country Roads Novel) Page 29