by Reus, Katie
Setting her mug down, Grace rounded the island and pulled him into an unexpected hug. “I’m sorry you have to miss Christmas with your family.”
He was sorry too, but… “At least I get to spend it with you.” He kissed the top of her head, subtly inhaling her vanilla scent. Everything about the situation sucked but he would be with Grace at least.
That was the only silver lining.
She knew he wanted more from her, and even though their date had been interrupted, he was going to take advantage of the time they got to spend together. He was going to show her exactly how serious he was.
Because with Grace he couldn’t just give her words. He had to use action. She’d been burned by a man who’d claimed to love her, who’d proposed to her. No, words wouldn’t do for her.
Chapter 13
Grace held on to Logan’s hand as they stepped off the elevator onto the fiftieth floor of the Serafina. She’d never been up here before and he’d had to use a specific key card to access the floor, bypassing all others. She felt a little out of place as they passed various men and women wearing sharp-looking black pants, black jackets and crisp white button-downs. Though none of them wore overt nametags saying they worked here, it was all very uniform.
In contrast, she was wearing jeans, ankle boots, and a long-sleeved peasant blouse with oversized hoop earrings and a jangle of bracelets. She’d left her jacket in Logan’s rental truck.
As they approached two glass doors in the middle of a whole wall of tinted glass, they immediately swished open, letting them into what turned out to be a huge security area.
She looked around in fascination at the wall of video screens as a low hum of voices filled the air. She’d known that of course the casino had something like this, but seeing it in person was even more impressive than she’d imagined.
Iris Christiansen—a fierce and tall, stunning woman who Grace knew was the head of security and one of Logan’s bosses—strode up to them and gave Grace a small smile. “Grace, good to see you again, though I wish it was under different circumstances.” She briefly shook hands with Logan before motioning that they should follow her.
Moments later they were in a huge office with a wall of windows overlooking the city, making the space seem even bigger than it was.
Vadim looked up from the bank of computers at his desk—which had a cute picture of Angel and him on their wedding day—and nodded at Logan before smiling warmly at Grace. He stood from his desk and gave her a quick hug, which seemed to surprise Logan, if his frown was any indication. She wasn’t sure why though—Logan knew they were friendly.
“It’s good to see you,” she said as he sat back down. “Angel texted me a picture of what you got her for Christmas. It’s beautiful.” The man had given his wife a gorgeous necklace with an angel charm made of diamonds and rose gold. Apparently he hadn’t been able to wait until Christmas. Which made him that much more adorable.
He rubbed the back of his head. “I’m just glad she likes it.”
“Oh she loves it. She’s been showing it off to everyone.”
This seemed to please him more. He cleared his throat and motioned toward his desk. “I looked into what you told me,” he said to Logan before focusing all his attention on the screens and his keyboard.
Grace watched in fascination as various images popped up, both of her ex, Kevin, and of Austin Brister.
“I can’t find anything on Brister here in Vegas. Though to be more specific, no images here in Vegas but also no images anywhere else recently. So it’s possible he’s holed up somewhere and going on a bender like his people in Montana seem to think. It’s hard to fall off-grid completely and not get picked up on any cameras.”
“What about Kevin?” Logan stepped closer, his jaw tight as his gaze swept over the screens.
“Well, this is pretty interesting.” An image popped up of her ex-fiancé leaving a strip club with a tall, dark-haired woman who looked a bit like Grace.
“This is the last image I have of him. Through some digging I found out who the woman is so I’m going to send someone by her house,” he said, motioning to the screen. “See if we can get eyes on him. He could be at her place, or it’s possible they hooked up and now he’s sleeping it off in a cash-only motel. There are a lot of cameras in Vegas and I haven’t captured his image on any in the last six hours, which tells me he’s lying low in one place as of right now. Hell, he could be in another strip club.”
Logan nodded and stepped back, taking Grace’s hand in his again. She liked that he was publicly claiming her like this, as if he was proud to be with her.
“Thank you for that,” Logan said. I’ve got my phone on me and so does Grace. We’re heading out of town but we’ll be available if you need anything.”
“Stay safe. Are you taking extra precautions?” Vadim stood, pushing his chair back.
“Of course.”
Grace wondered exactly what extra precautions he meant, though she had an idea. She knew Logan had a concealed weapon permit for his job and that he often carried a weapon. It was kind of weird for her, but she understood it was his job.
“Good. Call if you need anything,” Vadim said, looking between her and Logan.
“I’ll walk you guys out,” Iris said as Vadim returned to his desk.
Grace wasn’t sure where they were going, but knowing that the people Logan worked with were working on this mess, as well as the police, made her feel a whole lot better.
She just wanted this nightmare over, wanted to go back to her normal life. The only silver lining in all this garbage was that she’d get to spend time with Logan.
* * *
“You don’t have to keep turning around,” Logan murmured. He knew Grace was edgy but soon they’d be out of the city limits and away from the threat. He hoped that during this time together he’d be able to solidify their relationship.
Even though he wanted a more active role in bringing down whoever was behind the two attacks on them—and his money was on Brister—his priority had to be keeping Grace safe. The police were good at their jobs and Vadim was a magician. Logan had to trust the process.
Sighing, Grace turned around in the passenger seat and faced forward. “I know. I’m just feeling off-kilter, I guess.”
“I get it. But I’ve been keeping an eye on the rearview mirror and haven’t seen a car for the last five miles. And Iris had one of our team scan my rental truck for any sort of trackers while we were up talking to Vadim. Trust me, no one knows where this place is.”
“Including me.” There was a slight touch of humor in her voice. “So where is this place, anyway?”
“A house out in the desert. Not exactly off-grid, but a few miles away from any main roads. Not in a neighborhood, and about twenty minutes away from anything resembling a grocery store. A buddy of mine owns it and he’s currently overseas.”
“Okay, that sounds pretty nice. Maybe we’ll even be able to put up a little Christmas tree or something?”
He heard the wistfulness in her voice and was glad he’d packed a few extra supplies in the cab of the truck. He wanted to surprise her, however, so he didn’t tell her what he’d brought. “Sounds like a plan. So how are you dealing with everything? Seriously.”
“Good enough. And I honestly don’t want to talk about it. I’m trying to sort of mentally process it all first, and I’m a big believer in distraction. So tell me what’s going on with you and your family. What do your parents say about all this?”
He lifted a shoulder and took a left-hand turn. “They don’t like what’s going on, obviously, but they really are fine with us leaving. They’re concerned for us more than anything and just want us to stay safe. They know this is the best option right now. I just hate worrying them.” His parents had done that enough, considering both their sons had been overseas on many deployments.
“I bet. So whatever happened with Brister’s wife? Have you found out where she ended up, how she’s doing?” Grace asked.
“She decided to leave her husband and is officially divorcing him. Apparently all her kids are out of the house now and she’s staying with her sister. Her daughter is nearby too. Wyatt let me know yesterday that the divorce is going to be proceeding accordingly. She wants a settlement, but nothing to do with the ranch. In the end they’ll both get a lot of money. So really, he’s not getting screwed.”
He lifted a shoulder even as his rage ratcheted up.
“I wish the guy would get taken to the cleaners, but that’s not how life works. And it sounds as if she just wants to be free of him, not to ruin his life—which is pretty generous, if you ask me. I don’t understand why he would want to come after me when he’s the one who beat his own wife.” And he was keeping his damn ranch, his money. Sure, he’d lost his wife, but that was his own fault. Brister had hurt the woman he should have been protecting.
Grace snorted softly. “You’re an easy target. An actual physical one. And you’re easy to blame. He doesn’t want to look at himself in the mirror and take responsibility for his own actions. Coward,” she muttered.
“Yeah, I know the reasoning. I just can’t wrap my head around it.”
“If more people would take responsibility for their actions, the world would be a better place,” Grace murmured.
Wasn’t that the truth. “So you really don’t think your ex is in Vegas for anything to do with all this?” he asked quietly. He hated bringing the guy up, but since they were on the subject of Brister, he figured he might as well. It made him feel more in control to be focusing on the threats, and maybe there was something Grace hadn’t thought of yet.
“No. I mean, I can’t understand why he would, to be honest. But I am surprised that he potentially ditched his wife for a stripper in Vegas. It feels like such a cliché.”
“The guy is a walking cliché,” Logan muttered. He really would love to punch the guy in the face. Or the dick. “The woman from the video had a similar look to you, not his wife.”
Grace simply shrugged. “So? Look, after things imploded between us, I found out he’d been hooking up with a woman he worked with, who looked nothing like me or his wife. Because he wasn’t cheating with the woman he’s now married to. The woman he worked with reached out to me on social media and confessed everything. I think she felt bad about the wedding falling apart. I’m not sure and I really don’t care. Allegedly he always used condoms, but I still got checked out. Thankfully he didn’t give me anything.”
“Yep, I really want to punch him in the face,” he muttered, seething inside.
“What?”
“Sorry, didn’t mean to say that out loud.” But he did mean the words.
Grace snickered, the sweet sound making his heart flip over. He loved it when she smiled or laughed. The woman could light up a room. “Well, he would be no match for you, that’s for sure. And in the end he did me a favor. Cheating aside, because I never would have put up with that if I’d known, we never would have lasted. And I would have been miserable trying to fit myself into this mold of what he wanted instead of actually being myself.”
The more she told him, the more Logan wondered why she’d even been with the guy in the first place. “Do you mind if I ask why you were with him at all? You’re one of the most independent, smartest women I know.”
Her cheeks flushed slightly. “Thanks,” she murmured. “And it’s not really one thing. He was very charming. He really knew how to turn it on. Especially in the beginning. But he had this way of making me feel bad about myself even when complimenting me. It was like I was constantly struggling to get his approval, which in hindsight is stupid because I don’t need it. I never did. But…” She shrugged. “As you know, humans are very complicated. I’m just glad I got out before we actually got married. And if he hadn’t blown off our wedding…I might not have even gone through with it. I was having a panic attack the morning of the wedding.”
“Seriously?”
“Yep.”
“Your instinct was telling you to run.”
“Oh yeah. And I like to think I would have listened to it.”
He was so damn glad he’d met Grace, so glad she was rid of that loser. Logan couldn’t imagine his life without her.
“How much farther is this place?” she asked. “Not that I’m not enjoying the company.”
“About ten minutes out.” He subtly glanced in the rearview mirror now, the tension banded around his chest easing. Still no one on the road.
Soon he’d have Grace safe and away from the threat. This place had no link to either of them. They should be able to relax and just be together. And then he hoped to convince her that he wanted more than just dating. He wanted forever.
Chapter 14
Grace waited in the foyer as Logan looked around the house. He’d disarmed the security system but he’d still wanted to do a quick sweep of his friend’s home. He was very thorough, she would give him that.
And at that thought, an unexpected rush of heat spread through her as she remembered exactly how thorough he’d been a month ago.
Glancing around the open space of the foyer, which connected right into the wide-open living room, she loved how much natural light was flooding in. Everything was wood and stone and she loved the rustic-looking beams that ran the length of the living room ceiling. Not to mention that the huge bay of windows lining one wall made her feel like she was outside with nature. Since it was cold she was glad she wasn’t actually outside, but it was a pretty incredible design. His friend was clearly doing all right for himself.
“The place is good,” Logan said, stepping into the living room. “I’m going to grab our stuff from the truck. There are two bedrooms straight through there,” he said motioning to the left of the living room where a short hallway shot off. “The second one is bigger, so you take that one. But feel free to join me in my room any time you want.” Despite the situation, he gave her one of his wicked signature grins.
After what they’d been dealing with, she was feeling bold. And she was done not going for what she wanted. Maybe she’d get her heart broken, but she had to take a chance. “Why don’t we both take the bigger bedroom?”
He stopped in his tracks, staring at her for a long moment. Instead of looking smug, he went all hot and smoldering. He looked as if he wanted to say more, but only paused before he headed out of the house to grab their stuff.
Well, good. Because she hadn’t been kidding. Maybe she would regret the offer if she gave him her all and things didn’t work out, but she didn’t think so. She wasn’t sure how long they were going to be here, and screw it—she wasn’t sleeping alone tonight. She wasn’t going to deprive herself. Or Logan, for that matter. They’d crossed into more-than-friends territory a month ago and she was going to have to risk her heart at this point. Even if she was nervous.
Since he’d already cleared the house, she decided to go exploring and check everything out.
The kitchen was the same as the living room area with lots of wood and stone and sturdy quartz countertops. And again with the huge windows overlooking the snowcapped mountains in the distance. It was so gorgeous and felt so isolated that she couldn’t believe how close they were to Vegas. It was like they were in the middle of nowhere in this desert space. She easily imagined that at night it would be gorgeous with the stars and moon overhead. And with a fire crackling and a sexy man to enjoy the evening with? Yeah, pretty damn nice.
As she glanced around the kitchen, she realized she hadn’t thought of food. So she hoped Logan had remembered to bring something. Because she was terribly unprepared; all she’d thought to grab was a bag of clothing and toiletries. She’d also brought her laptop so she could keep in touch with her boss if necessary, but she really hoped this mess was over before school started back up.
“Everything’s in the living room,” Logan said as he stepped into the kitchen, a couple bags in hand. “And I just got off the phone with Roman—they’ve installed cameras at your place.”
&
nbsp; She blinked in surprise. “Seriously?” That fast?
“Yep. It was an easy install. All wireless, so basically he just had to screw the cameras in place and program them to the app.” He started pulling out foodstuffs—thankfully he had come prepared—so she helped him unpack the various boxes and bags. “He’s going to keep an eye on my place and your place in case anything happens. I’ll get you the app info so you can download it to your phone and you can check on the cameras anytime you want to. Whoever is behind this will pay.”
There was a bite to his tone that reminded her he had a whole lot of training to back up his words. It was sexy and intimidating. “So I know we didn’t talk about it, and I know Vadim is apparently really good with computers, considering all that stuff he did earlier,” she said. “That was all…super illegal, right?”
Logan simply snorted. “Let’s just say I’m glad I’m friends with him. If he wanted, he could destroy someone’s life.”
“That’s a little terrifying. I guess I always viewed him as this mushy teddy bear because I’ve only ever seen him with Angel up until today. He seemed so much more serious and intense in his office.”
Logan laughed now. “A mushy teddy bear. I’m totally going to tell him that.”
Grace didn’t care because Vadim was sweet and she loved the way he was with Angel. It was so clear to anyone who saw them together how much he loved his wife.
“So I guess we’re just sitting tight, or can we explore a little and go hiking around here?” There didn’t seem to be much nearby except rugged red rocks, tons of cacti and a lot of thick, green and brown underbrush. Even so, she liked the desolate beauty of the land surrounding them.
“Before dark I actually do want to scope out the land,” he said as he shut the refrigerator. “I’ve been here before but I still want to refresh my memory and check things out.”
“Sounds good to me.” She knew they were going to be here for a while, at least until whoever was behind everything was caught. Plus…she knew that as soon as Logan made the move they were very likely going to be having sex. A lot of it, if history was going to repeat itself. She’d told him what she wanted so it was up to him at this point. Her boldness only went so far.
