Deadly Surrender

by Reus, Katie

  She probably shouldn’t have reacted the way she had, but him telling her that he loved her and wanted to marry her in a tiny bathroom directly after she’d told him she might be pregnant had felt so fake and forced. She knew he cared for her, but love and marriage were a big step.

  When she got married or if they ever got to the point where they admitted they loved each other, she wanted it to mean something. And she didn’t want it to be because of obligation.

  She wanted it to be real, to be his number one priority. Not something he said out of pity or charity.

  As she turned out of his neighborhood, her phone rang. For an instant her heart leapt when she thought it was him calling her. Yes, she’d told him she needed space, but she was still human.

  When she saw Sierra’s number on the screen instead, she contemplated not answering only because of where her headspace was. But she missed talking to her friend. She pressed the call system on her car. “Hey, what’s up?”

  “Hey yourself. I heard you guys are home free. I miss you and wanted to see when we can get together.”

  “Oh, I don’t know, anytime is great.” For some reason her voice cracked.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. Everything.” She ordered herself to stop crying but it was too late. And Sierra was one of her best friends. If she couldn’t be vulnerable with her friends, then what was the point?

  “Where are you right now?”

  “I’m headed home.”

  “Well Hayden got called into work last minute. Some security issue. He’s going to be there all night and probably most of tomorrow. You want to come over and have a girls’ night?”

  “This feels a little made up and a lot like pity.”

  Sierra snorted. “I’m not making it up. He really is gone. And it’s definitely not pity. We have so many leftover desserts from Christmas. Come save me from myself.”

  “Come save you from all the desserts you baked?” she asked laughingly even as she turned back in the direction of Sierra’s house. The thought of going home was too depressing.

  “Absolutely. I’m completely out of control. So that’s a yes?”

  “Yes. I’m headed that way already. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

  As they disconnected, she felt a little bit better. But not much. Grace felt lost and there were too many things out of her control right now. Like the fact that she might be having a baby.

  For now at least, she was going to drown herself in desserts and sugar and try not to obsess over the argument she and Logan had just had.

  Chapter 21

  “Are you moping out here?” Taylor plopped down in the seat next to Logan as he stared out at his pool.

  He had a beer on the table next to him that he hadn’t touched in the last twenty minutes so it was likely lukewarm by now. He didn’t care. “Just relaxing.” That was a lie, but what else was he going to say? That he was feeling sorry for himself? Grace had texted him a while ago to let him know she was at Sierra’s and would be staying there for the night.

  Even though the threat was gone, it still made him feel better to know she wasn’t alone tonight. He just wished that they were together, that he was in her bed. Or she was in his. No, he wished they’d never gotten into an argument at all.

  “Talk to me, goose.”

  He snorted and looked over at his sister-in-law, a woman who’d been a godsend for his serious brother. “You’re feeling chatty tonight.”

  “It’s all the eggnog. It’s gone to my head. Come on, what’s going on? I know you and Grace had a fight or something. No way she would have left like that otherwise.”

  “Or something.” His mom hadn’t said a word about it to anyone and he’d made an excuse about Grace having to hurry off.

  “Come on,” Taylor continued. “I also got a text from Sierra telling me Grace is over there and crying.”

  “She’s crying?” Now he felt like shit. Well, even more so.

  “I doubt you made her cry. So what’s up?”

  “I know I can trust you with anything,” he said. It was true; his sister-in-law was like a vault. His brother had gotten incredibly lucky finding her. And the two complemented each other in a way Logan had never thought he would have for himself. Until he’d met Grace. “But I’m going to preface this by saying we are in a trust circle right now.”

  She giggled slightly. “A trust circle? Seriously?”

  “Grace uses the phrase at work.” She’d used it once with him, then explained how she used it with the kids at school. Nothing left the trust circle.

  “I know, I’m just messing with you. So what’s up?”

  He filled her in on the brief version of everything that had transpired in the bathroom. He also ignored her little winces as he talked. “So what’s the verdict?” he asked once he’d finished.

  “Look, there’s no bad guy right now. You guys had your first official argument. You’re just getting to a different and new place in your relationship. And telling a woman that you love her and want to marry her because she thinks she’s pregnant? I mean, I get the thought process behind it because I know you, but…a bathroom probably wasn’t the best place to drop all that on her. She’s very likely trying to process that she might be pregnant. Not to mention you guys just went through a whole lot with that guy literally trying to kill you. Multiple times. And it just happened.”

  He turned away and looked back out at the pool. “I know. I know it in my head. I just… I meant everything I said.” He looked over at Taylor to see her reaction. Because yeah, he loved Grace. And she hadn’t believed him. That struck deep.

  Taylor didn’t look surprised at all as she took a sip of her eggnog. “I know,” she said, setting the glass on the table between them. “I’ve also known Grace a long time. Her ex really messed with her self-esteem. And I know you don’t know her and her mom together, but let me tell you her mom is a piece of work too. Grace will never say the words, but it’s like she doesn’t feel worthy of being loved. I guarantee she didn’t believe you when you told her that you love her.”

  He scrubbed a hand over his face. He’d gotten that feeling too. “So should I call her?”

  “Yeah, but not tonight. She needs to process this in her own time and she’s probably asleep now anyway.”

  He scowled. “That’s not very helpful at all.”

  “Please, I am a wealth of wisdom.”

  Despite his dark mood he found himself laughing lightly. “Is that what you tell Roman?”

  “Every single day I remind him how awesome I am.” Grinning, she took a sip of her eggnog and leaned back.

  He shook his head even as that knot twisted in his gut. Damn, he missed Grace already. But Taylor was right—he wasn’t going to call her tonight. He would text her though, tell her he was thinking about her.

  And the next time he saw her, he was going to make it clear that he did love her. He was pretty sure he’d already shown her, she just needed to believe it. And baby or not, he loved her and wasn’t walking away. That wasn’t changing. He loved everything about her. As far as a baby? He wasn’t sure how he felt. And yeah, he figured that was ironic. Grace didn’t know how she felt either so of course she would need time to wrap her head around it.

  Though he wanted to call her, to push to see her, he held off. He could give her a little space. For now.

  Chapter 22

  She wasn’t pregnant!

  Grace wanted to shout it from the rooftops. Or at least from her front porch. She’d texted Logan minutes ago as she left her OB’s office telling him she wanted to talk to him in person whenever he was free.

  They hadn’t talked since their belated Christmas party, which, granted, was only two and a half days ago, but it was Monday afternoon and she missed him. And she felt bad for the way she’d reacted.

  She’d kept expecting him to call but maybe he’d had to work. She thought Mr. Christiansen had let him off for a while but maybe he’d been called in. Or maybe he was givi
ng her the space she’d asked for. Ugh. Now she wished she’d never asked for it.

  Either way, the relief pulsing through her right now was incredible. She wasn’t ready to think about having a baby and all that entailed. She and Logan had literally just started a relationship.

  Or maybe they didn’t even have one anymore. She hadn’t left things on great terms, so who knew at this point? He’d told her he loved her and she’d practically thrown it in his face, unwilling to believe him. At that thought, her brief moment of joy was doused.

  But when she turned into her driveway and saw Logan’s borrowed truck there, surprise jumped inside her.

  She was so happy to see him. Always. And she was always thinking about him. No matter what, it was like he was hanging out in the back of her mind, this wonderful man she didn’t know what she’d done to deserve. She just hoped she hadn’t pushed him away with her fear.

  She quickly threw her car into park and jumped out.

  He stepped out of the truck in jeans and a black sweater, looking good enough to eat as usual. He clearly hadn’t shaved since Friday and had some serious scruff that somehow made him look even sexier. He wasn’t smiling, but he didn’t look angry either. That had to be a good thing.

  “I’m not pregnant,” she blurted as he shut his door behind him. “I wanted to tell you in person.”

  He looked mildly surprised as he approached her. “Okay.”

  “Okay?”

  “I don’t know how I feel about that. Honestly, I wouldn’t have been sad if you had been. And I figure this is the kind of thing I need to be honest about. I’m not ready for kids right now but if you’d been pregnant, then we would have made it work.”

  Now it was her turn to blink in surprise. “I’m not ready for kids, just FYI. I want them eventually, but for now it’s too soon for me.”

  He stood a foot in front of her, looking nervous, and she hated that.

  “I’m sorry,” she blurted at the same time he said the exact same thing.

  Just like that, it was as if the tension eased out of both of them.

  “Look, I really am sorry about Friday,” she continued. “And I feel like a lunatic for leaving like that. I was just having a really hard time processing everything, and it turns out I didn’t really handle the whole attempted murder thing too well.” She hadn’t been sleeping at all because of it. She’d wanted to reach out to him, but had been too afraid of rejection.

  His expression softened slightly and he stepped closer, gently putting one of his big hands on her hip in a possessive way she melted at. Okay, so maybe she hadn’t screwed things up between them.

  “I kind of figured it was going to take a while for you to adjust to everything. Did you have nightmares?”

  She nodded. “I kept dreaming that we were running, but this time the monster caught up with us.” She shuddered at the remnants of the nightmares still lingering inside her. “I know time will make it better but it sucks right now. I don’t know how you dealt with… Well, all you’ve dealt with.” Because she wasn’t sure what he’d gone through overseas. Not exactly.

  “Therapy,” he said, all serious. “I talked to someone for about a year after I got home. And before we go any further I need to say something. I’m sorry I basically told you that we were getting married instead of actually asking. When I’ve thought about proposing to you—”

  “What?”

  He didn’t smile as she expected him to. Instead his expression remained serious, his dark eyes pinned to hers. “Yes, I’ve thought about proposing. Not in the near future, but this is serious for me. Apparently I haven’t been as forthcoming as I should have been. I thought giving you time to adjust to us dating was the smart thing to do, considering the way things ended with your asshole ex. But I’m serious about you, Grace. I see a future with you. And I love you. I didn’t just say that because you thought you might be pregnant. I do love you. I’ve known that for months.”

  She stared up at him in shock, her heart expanding. “I—”

  He gently flexed his hand on her hip, his expression softening just a bit. “You don’t have to say it just because I did.”

  “I know. But I do love you. I’ve been denying it even to myself for a while. I feel like a mess sometimes, like I’m never going to get that happy ending other people get. But I love you so much, Logan.” It felt liberating to say the words.

  He cupped her cheek with one hand. “Why don’t you think you deserve a happy ending?”

  “I don’t know,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around him. “I know I deserve it just as much as anyone else. I guess I’m just afraid it’s not going to happen for me.”

  “Well I’m not walking away from you, Grace. If you’re not serious about me, you need to tell me right now.”

  She tightened her grip around him. “I just said that I love you.”

  His lips kicked up, the mischievous Logan she knew well in full view. “I know. I just wanted to hear you say it again.”

  All the tension inside her eased. “Was this our first argument?”

  “I think so. But I also think making up will be—”

  Suddenly he turned, shoving her behind him.

  She stumbled in her sneakers, falling against the side of his truck. “What the—”

  Her breath caught in her throat when she saw a fit-looking man in his thirties wearing jeans and a dark hoodie pulled up over his head, holding a gun low at his side, pointed right at them.

  “Start walking to the house,” he said quietly.

  Grace’s throat tightened with pure panic. Across the street her neighbor was unloading groceries, and two doors down she could hear another neighbor’s kids playing in the front yard. Dear God, what was going on? Who was this guy?

  Logan shoved her behind him.

  “Hands where I can see them,” the man snapped out.

  “You don’t want to do this.” Logan kept his hands slightly out, palms up so the guy could see them.

  Grace was frozen in place, half behind Logan, unable to move as she stared at the gun. Her phone was still in her car and so was her pepper spray. Not that pepper spray was going to do a hell of a lot of good at this distance against a man with a gun.

  “Don’t tell me what I need to do. You ruined my parents’ marriage. You destroyed my dad.” His voice was quiet, but rage filled every word, his expression dark.

  Oh God, no. This had to be Austin Brister’s son.

  “Why don’t you put the gun down and walk away? You won’t get away with this.” Logan’s voice was calm while Grace’s heart raced out of control, a fast, erratic beat.

  “You have no idea what I’ll get away with,” the man snarled. He took a menacing step forward. “I’m not going to tell you twice. Get in the house.”

  Grace peered around Logan and somehow found her voice. “My keys are still in the car,” she whispered. She didn’t want to go into her house but she also didn’t want to be shot in her front yard. Maybe if the guy was distracted, they could…

  No, he kept his weapon trained on them as he retrieved her keys, and her neighbors didn’t notice anything strange going on. They were so involved in their day-to-day lives, which was normal. Because people didn’t expect random gunmen to show up and hold their neighbors hostage.

  The man tossed the keys to Logan, who caught them in one hand, his reflexes lightning quick.

  “You open the door,” he said to Logan. “And then you come back here with me.”

  Logan kept his hands out so Grace could move around him. “Look, she’s not part of this, just let her go—” He stopped as the man took another menacing step forward, his face tightening.

  “Inside now or I’ll shoot you both right here. Then who knows, maybe those kids across the street might get hit too.”

  Grace took the decision out of Logan’s hands and stepped around him.

  “Open the door.” She understood that this shooter wanted Logan in front and she was supposed to remain behind him as a
sort of buffer, ensuring Logan wouldn’t attack the guy.

  It was smart and terrible.

  But if they could just get him away from her neighbors, away from innocent kids and into an enclosed space, maybe Logan could take the guy out. She knew he had the training, and at this point, this was the only chance they had. They just had to take the upper hand.

  Somehow.

  Feeling numb, mind racing, she stepped toward the man as Logan walked up the little steps of her cottage-style house. As Logan opened the front door, her security alarm started beeping.

  “Disarm it.” The man shoved her slightly and she stumbled forward through the door.

  Heart racing, she moved around Logan and started to plug in the emergency code—the one that would actually silence it but still send out a distress call. But Logan must have seen an opening.

  Out of the corner of her eye she saw him lunge at the other man. She fell against the wall as the two men rammed into her. The gun fell, clattering to the floor.

  Her head slammed against the security pad of the alarm under the impact of their bodies. As the alarm kept beeping, she rolled out of the way, watching Logan slam his fist into the guy’s gut.

  But the other man was clearly fit and got a shot in, punching Logan in the face.

  Grace scrambled to her hands and knees, heart racing. The gun! She had to get to the gun.

  Chapter 23

  Logan was in a fight for his life. For Grace’s life.

  He had to stop this guy. He’d seen the file on Brister’s family and this was his oldest son, Steven—who was supposed to be working in London right now.

  Not that it mattered. The only thing that mattered was getting him down and keeping him down.

  Logan dodged another blow to the face, coming up with a left uppercut to Steven’s jaw as the alarm started full-on blaring.