“You’re such an asshole!” Her eyes flashed at him angrily.
“Nothing I haven’t heard before.”
“It’s because of Grace, isn’t it?” she yelled shrilly. When he didn’t reply, she added, “She’s Troy’s woman, Matt.”
“Do I look like I care?”
Kyra laughed sarcastically. “Oh, my God, you can’t mean to steal another man’s woman.”
“Lie. Cheat. Steal …” he muttered. Whatever it takes. He needed a drink and should probably stop at Mike’s Roadhouse, then he’d drive over to Troy’s compound and do a stake out. Grace was coming home with him whether she liked it or not.
“Look at you,” Kyra scoffed as she followed him back to his pickup. “All bent out of shape. All for what? For a woman who doesn’t remember you?”
Grace did remember, though not the memories favorable to him. Matt wanted to hit something. He didn’t know why he wanted Grace. He just did. He wanted to be in her orbit. It killed him to give her space this past three weeks, and if she thought he’d let Troy have her, she had another thing coming. He might have led her to believe otherwise this morning, but the thought of letting her go to another man made him want to commit murder.
“Kyra, do yourself a favor and move on,” Matt said in irritation as he started the truck.
“We’re not done,” she declared, her fingers gripping the side of the vehicle.
“We’re not done because we never started. Jesus Christ, woman, you’re delusional!” He backed out of the driveway so fast, the back of his pickup skidded a little. Just then, his phone vibrated on the dashboard. He picked it up and swiped the screen to answer.
“Matt? We’ve been trying to call you,” Millie’s voice was a pitch below her panic mode.
“What’s going on?”
“Grace and Axe are in the hospital. They got—”
That sent Matt in full-alert mode, but years of training had him keep his wits about him. “Which one?”
“Edington General.”
He checked oncoming traffic and his rearview mirror before swinging his pickup around. “I’m on my way. Tell me what happened.”
His voice was calm, but his insides were anything but.
Matt had trouble keeping his nerves in check when he strode into the ER. Millie gave him the CliffsNotes’ version of what had happened, but he couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that The Reaper actually had the guts to show up in Misty Grove—much less, break into his loft. He’d thought keeping Grace in a town protected by former assassins would deter a hitman, but he’d been too complacent.
His hackles rose when he spotted Troy and his crew standing off to one side. Roger was talking to Trent and one of his deputies.
“How are they?” Matt asked.
“Axe will need stitches on his head,” Roger said grimly. “The bastard struck him with a wrench. Grace is fine, but a bit banged up.” He sighed. “Again.”
“Where is she then?”
“She hit her head but she swears she didn’t black out. Because of her recent concussion, doctors wanted to run additional scans.”
Matt nodded briefly, his jaw tightening. “Millie’s with her?”
“You know it, man,” Roger replied.
“How did The Reaper get to her?”
Roger flinched and looked at Trent who’d been listening intently. “I was at Millie’s.” His mechanic explained what had happened. Matt listened, wanting to smack his friend for not sticking to Grace’s side as he had ordered, however, his friend appeared to be beating himself up for it, so he held his tongue. His no-filter mouth had hurt Grace so many times, he decided this once he was going to put a cap on it.
“The sheriff’s department will have to get involved in this,” Trent informed him. “I’m going to have to take Grace and Axe’s statement when they’re ready. Why haven’t you mentioned The Reaper to me before?”
“I didn’t think he’d be stupid enough to show his face in Misty Grove,” Matt replied. “Christ, I hope Grace still trusts me to protect her.”
“Has she mentioned what he’s after?” Trent asked.
“Negative,” Roger answered.
“I have feeling Troy deLamar knows,” Matt said nodding over to Troy’s group. The biker stiffened and narrowed his eyes at them. They hated getting tangled up with the law, but with the terror attacks on Atlanta, and The Reaper descending on Misty Grove, all bets were off.
Troy exhaled deeply in resignation. The biker might be morally ambiguous with most of his dealings, but if Matt would place him on the spectrum of good and evil, he’d lean more toward the good.
“But this is not a discussion for the hospital waiting room,” Matt pointed out.
“I agree,” Trent answered as he walked over to the biker group.
“This is becoming a big mess, boss, to be involving the sheriff,” Roger observed.
“He’s family and you know it,” Matt responded tersely. This was a wake-up call. Grace had weapons and self-defense training as a DEA agent, but she was not as skilled in fighting as they were. She was lucky she had something The Reaper still wanted because Matt couldn’t imagine what the cartel’s assassin would do to her when she became dispensable. Before her, all Matt cared about was his family and immediate friends, and since all of them were badass in their own right, he never worried much about them defending themselves. His mind right now was going into overdrive thinking of how to protect Grace, and Trent was the first person that came to mind. Cassie’s husband used to be a security consultant and had previously offered to wire his garage. Matt would be taking him up on that offer.
More than an hour had passed. Trent and his deputy had left, and Matt was getting antsy. Axe was about to get discharged but still no word from Grace or Millie.
“What’s taking them so long?” Matt growled. He stalked toward the nurse triage station to inquire.
“Are you family, sir?”
“No, but she’s in my care.”
“Your name?”
“Matt Foster.”
The nurse looked at her computer. “I’m sorry. I can only give information to Millie Cross.”
“Well, Millie is with her, and—”
“Matt …”
He turned to the entrance to the ER rooms and saw Millie. Finally.
“How’s Grace?”
“She’s on her way to radiography,” the diner owner said. She had a strange look on her face, almost like she was dazed, and it took a lot to rattle the woman.
His gut clenched with worry. “I thought they took her an hour ago.”
“No. They had to wait for the blood work.”
Matt nodded impatiently. They had to do blood work in Atlanta too, because Grace had no memory of her past, and they wanted to make sure they didn’t prescribe any treatment or script that she would show any adverse reaction to.
Millie was biting her lip, as if not knowing what to say next.
“What?” Matt asked, even if he was afraid to find out the answer. “Did they find something wrong with Grace?”
“I need to talk to you and deLamar,” Millie said, turning from him to call the attention of the biker. “Troy, a moment, please.” She gestured toward a deserted area of the waiting room.
This suspense was killing him. Did they find something wrong with her? Did she remember something, and she needed to tell him and Troy the information before she—
Matt wasn’t going to think that way. Grace was going to be fine. He repeated the mantra in his head.
When they were as far from everyone else as possible, Millie crossed her arms over her chest and split a penetrating gaze at him and Troy.
“I want both of you to be honest,” Millie said. “It’s no secret Matt slept with Grace. But did you, Troy?”
Troy frowned. “With all due respect, Millie, I don’t think it’s any of your business.”
“Oh, but Grace has made it my business because she’s not handling the news very well.”
“What news?” The moment the question left his mouth, there were two suspicions that crystallized in his head. Either Grace had an STD, which she couldn’t have gotten from him because he was clean, or … shit.
“Assuming both of you had sexual relations with her, did you use protection?”
“Fuck,” Matt whispered. Scenes from that night crashed through his mind. The shower. He didn’t use a condom when they were in the shower, but Grace said she was clean and was on birth control. In the heat of the moment, they’d both been careless. Matt had never gone without a condom before—only with her.
Troy looked shocked at the question, wheels turning in his head and had arrived at the same conclusions Matt had. “Oh, shit. But yes, of course I did.”
Red hazed Matt’s vision. He lunged at the biker.
“Liar,” Matt growled, gripping him by his cut. “You never had sex with her. Admit it, dammit!”
“What’s your problem?” Troy growled back. “You were the one who treated her like shit, she chose me …”
Matt never let him finish his sentence but clocked the other man on his jaw, sending him a couple of paces back.
People in the ER screamed. Troy’s crew started toward them, but the biker boss held his hand up. Roger looked at them in apprehension.
Matt glanced back at Millie who had a ghost of a smile on her face.
He swallowed hard. “She’s pregnant, isn’t she?”
“Yup.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Grace
Pregnant.
I reeled from the news. I felt like the entire universe was laughing, and the joke was on me.
First, I was in a terrorist attack which caused amnesia, basically erasing everything I had known in my adult life.
Second, a Mexican cartel assassin admitted to having some complicated obsession for me.
And then this?
A bitter laugh escaped me. I didn’t even know who the father was. And worse, I got pregnant and I wasn’t even sure I enjoyed the process of getting pregnant. An inner voice told me that I did if the flashes of sweaty, entangled limbs were any gauge of how it happened. Still, because of the darkness of the memories, I didn’t have a clear picture of my partner.
But the shower. God, now was not the time for me to remember that erotic scene. Matt’s hard body against mine, his fingers deep in my pussy driving me wild. If that was just a preview of what sex with him was like … No. I needed to put those thoughts aside and think clearly.
I couldn’t even face Matt or Troy at that moment, and I was glad Millie offered to break the news to them because I had to know if it had been just them. Had I been the type to have random hook-ups?
It was ironic that my request for the birth control shot prompted the doctor to suggest blood work since I had no recollection of my medical history. I found birth control pills in my purse, but I didn’t think to continue them because I had missed a couple of them following my amnesia. The doctor said if I had had unprotected sex up to five days before my missed pill that would explain the pregnancy. My times with Matt and Troy fell within that time frame.
A nurse came in holding a clipboard. “The radiologist reviewed your MRI and all looked normal. You’re all cleared to go.”
Go where? I wanted to ask.
The nurse left again and I mulled my options. As I put my clothes back on, there was a rap on the door.
“Okay to come in?” Millie asked.
“Yup.”
She stepped partially in, looked down the hallway for a second longer before entering the room. The expression on her face was not promising.
“How did it go?” I asked anxiously.
“Troy admitted to having carnal relations with you,” Millie stated bluntly.
I winced.
“Matt didn’t take that announcement well,” she added.
“Oh, no,” I whispered.
“He nearly caused a brawl in the ER waiting room.”
“He did not!” I gasped.
“I said nearly,” the diner owner qualified. “I had a hard time convincing Matt to let you come home with me.”
“I promise to be out of your hair in a few days.”
Millie looked at me carefully. “You can stay as long as you want, sweetie.”
“After what happened tonight, I don’t want to put anyone else in danger.”
She looked offended, folding her arms in front of her, and cocked her head back. “You do realize who you’re speaking to?”
Millie Cross, aka Black Viper, a legendary assassin for the CIA.
I sighed. “Yes, but you’re facing El Segador, the legendary assassin of the Carillo Cartel. According to Matt, he’s ruthless.” And had a sick obsession for me, I didn’t add.
The older woman’s eyes turned shrewd. “Did something else happen at the loft, Grace?”
“He just threatened me, that’s all. I wish I knew what he wanted.” I looked around the room, evading her searching gaze. “Let’s go.”
Millie and I were quiet as we left the ER and headed for the parking lot.
“Stubborn man.” I heard Millie hiss and I looked up, following the direction of her sight. My heart leapt to my throat. Matt was leaning nonchalantly against a BMW station wagon which I immediately recognized as Millie’s car. I felt his eyes track me in the dark. The open parking area lit only by overhead lamps cast a sinister shadow across his face, masking his expression.
“Matt, I told you I’ve got her,” Millie said when we were a few feet from the car.
“Stay out of this, Millie.”
“I will not! I won’t have you upsetting Grace in her condition.”
Matt turned concerned eyes on me. “Are you okay?”
I threw up my hands in exasperation. “For heaven’s sake, I’m pregnant, not on my death bed. I’m not going to break with a little confrontation.”
“Oh, yeah?” Matt responded. “So, why are you avoiding me?”
“I’m not avoiding you, I just want to be fair to you and Troy.”
“That’s my kid you’re carrying,” Matt stated with conviction.
“We’re not sure without DNA testing,” I rebutted. “I didn’t peg you as the type to be so eager for fatherhood.”
“Me neither,” Millie murmured.
Matt glared at the other woman before leveling his gaze at me. “You’re coming with me. No arguments. You’re carrying the first ES offspring and that puts you at risk in more ways than you can imagine.”
“That certainly changes the game,” Millie confirmed. “Why didn’t you mention this earlier?”
“Enhanced Soldiers are not something you want to talk about freely in an ER waiting room,” Matt defended.
“There’s that, although I think you just came up with that excuse just now,” the diner owner said.
His smirk confirmed Millie’s suspicion. “That’s settled then. You’re with me, Grace.”
“What happened to Kyra?” I asked as Matt helped me into his pickup truck.
“Jealous?”
I bristled. “Like you, I don’t have time for bullshit. Nor do I have time for a cheater.”
He slammed the door and took his time rounding the front of the vehicle before getting into the driver’s side. Starting the car, he pulled out of the parking lot.
“Cheating would imply we’re in a relationship,” he said after a while. “Are we?”
My cheeks burned in embarrassment. “I thought …” I looked out the window, staring into the night and blinked back tears that burned the back of my eyes. “Never mind. My mistake.”
“I’m not in a relationship with Kyra.”
“You don’t have to explain—”
“Let’s cut the crap, shall we?” he said. “You want to know if I had sex with Kyra when I took her home.”
“It’s none of my business.”
Matt cursed so violently that my eyes snapped to his face in time to catch him shooting me a glare. “You better make it your goddamned busin
ess, because I’m claiming you and the baby.”
“And I don’t have any say in this?” I asked incredulously.
His hands gripped the steering wheel. “Damn right, you don’t. I gave you space and look what happened. You got hurt. I should have been with you. I shouldn’t have left you alone.”
“So why did you leave with Kyra?”
Matt sighed heavily. “She needed help with her car.”
I gave a disbelieving sound.
“Look, I’m not denying that she’d been trying to get me back into her bed.”
“So, you’ve slept with her before?”
“Yes,” he answered without hesitation.
I stiffened, not liking what I’d heard, but I couldn’t really blame him for his past sex life.
“This was before us,” he told me softly. “I haven’t touched another woman since you breezed back into town last year.”
“You haven’t?” I whispered.
“Believe me, I tried,” he laughed in self-derision. “But I couldn’t bring myself to touch someone else when all my dick wanted to fuck was you.”
“Wow, you’re so charming,” I said with sarcasm. Then I remembered his parting words from that morning. “Are you sure I’m worth the trouble now?”
Matt winced. “I was angry when I said that.”
“And whenever you’re angry I’m supposed to just take it?” I retorted. “No thanks.”
The silence was protracted, but I could hear the cogs turning in his head and see the tic of his jaw. He was struggling very hard not to let his no-filter mouth get him into trouble again.
“You think I’d have gone after you in Atlanta if you didn’t mean that much to me?” he finally spoke.
“What are you trying to say?”
“You matter to me. Never doubt that,” he enunciated the words. “But I have a bad track record of pushing people away, especially when they’re getting too close. You should never give me a pass on my bad behavior. Call me out on it.”
“Oh, believe me I will.”
Matt grinned. “That’s my girl.”
“I’m not your girl.” I was feeling pretty sassy.
“If you’re looking for hearts and flowers though, you’re not getting it from me,” he said. “Unfortunately, that’s a moot point for you because I’m it for you, babe.”
Saving Grace (Misty Grove Book 2) Page 10