Guarding Grace

by Rebecca York

  Chapter Fourteen

  When the phone didn’t ring, Brady shook his head. “John was always cautious. And mistrustful, come to that. I think we’ve got to hope he thinks through his situation and contacts you.”

  Cam gave him and Grace an appraising look. “Both of you need to decompress. Why don’t we all get some rest and reconvene in three hours? Unless we hear from him sooner.”

  There were nods of agreement around the room.

  “We have overnight facilities here,” Cam told Grace, “because some of our researchers stay for extended periods. And we’ve also had guests who needed a place to hide out.”

  Brady stood up. “I guess you’d better tell us which rooms are free.” He glanced at Grace. “After we check out the hole in her arm.”

  They went to the infirmary, where Brady got out antiseptic. Carefully, he removed the dressing that Grace had slapped over her wound.

  “It’s healing fine,” he said as he inspected her skin. “No infection. You did a good job.”

  Jed, who had come with them, agreed. He gave Grace an admiring look. “You took that thing out yourself?”

  “Yes. But I didn’t have any choice.”

  “You could have chickened out,” Brady said as he replaced the dressing with a flat, waterproof one.

  Their next stop was a room that could have been part of a small department store. One side had racks and shelves of women’s clothes in various sizes. The men’s section was smaller, but adequate.

  “Grab a couple of outfits,” Brady told Grace, then got himself some jeans and T-shirts, along with the underwear they hadn’t had a chance to buy.

  He smiled as he watched Grace make a careful selection. Even when they were on the run, women had to think about clothing.

  Looking up, she saw both men watching her. “What?”

  “Take your time.”

  “I’m finished,” she answered, snatching up a dark blue T-shirt.

  With the clothing selections finished, Jed led them down a corridor to the bedroom wing.

  “Are you staying together?” he asked.

  When Grace hesitated, Brady answered the question with a decisive yes.

  Jed led them to a room, then left them.

  They stepped into a comfortable space that looked like a room in an upscale hotel. There was a queen-size bed, a bureau, a flat-creen television—and a luxurious bathroom with a spa tub, a shower and an array of designer toiletries.

  “I can’t believe this place,” Grace said, her voice a bit shaky as she set her clothing on the dresser. “It’s not like any research facility I’ve ever heard of.”

  “Cam and Jo’s guests have often had…shall we say, harrowing experiences. They need to relax.” He was happy she’d have a chance to pamper herself, if only for a few hours. “I think we should take advantage of their hospitality.”

  But she looked overwhelmed and unsure of herself.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “I told you a lot of stuff that must be hard to digest,” she said in a low voice.

  “Not as hard as you think,” he answered.

  “You haven’t had time to absorb it all. I mean, I could tell how much you hate Barbara Frazier.”

  “You’re not her.”

  “A lot of people would say I am.” She swallowed hard. “Actually, I was horrified to find out who I was.”

  He reached for her and folded her into his arms as he murmured, “Are you worried that I’m going to turn away from you because I can’t see the difference between you and Barbara Frazier?”

  She answered with a small nod.

  “You’re nothing like her,” he repeated, stroking her back and shoulders.

  “I have the same genes.”

  “Yeah, well, didn’t you give me a lecture on nature versus nurture? She was raised by parents who kept telling her that she wasn’t good enough.”

  “How do you know?”

  “John talked about her. And I did some research of my own because one of my jobs was keeping tabs on Ridgeway Consortium employees and their families.”

  “Nice.”

  “John was cautious. Like Kevin, remember.”

  She nodded.

  “The parents who raised you were thrilled to get you and happy with their daughter. They didn’t give you the nasty, angry edge that she has. You have all her good traits and none of the bad ones. You’re smart and sexy and resourceful. You care about other people—otherwise, you wouldn’t have agreed to Karen’s plan. But you don’t have Barbara’s blinding ambition and her absolute disregard for anyone but herself.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Being with her gave me a sick feeling.”

  “It would give anybody the willies to be with the person who’d bought you to have you killed if necessary. I assume she didn’t know who you were.”

  “I didn’t tell her, of course. But even though I’d had the plastic surgery, sometimes she used to give me strange looks.”

  “Yeah, when I first met you, I thought I knew you. Just like I thought I knew Karen. It’s the eyes.”

  “I guess I should have worn contacts to change the color.” She sighed. “I thought that after I faked my death and had the surgery, I was safe. I was wrong. I wasn’t safe until you told me about that transmitter.”

  He tightened his arms around her. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

  As he held her, he tried to imagine what her life must have been like over the past few years. She’d gone from feeling warm and secure with her family to hiding out because she was a marked woman. And she’d made a commitment to saving herself and others from the fiends who had come up with the clever idea of growing human beings for spare parts.

  Human beings. Well, that obviously wasn’t the way Dr. Cortez—or the Paladin—thought about the babies produced.

  Anger bubbled inside Brady. Anger at the way the plan had been conceived and carried out with no regard for whom they hurt. Not only were the clones expendable, but their parents were destined for heartbreak when their children were taken from them.

  In a soothing voice, he told her, “You need to unwind. Why don’t you start with a hot shower.” He led her into the bathroom and turning on the water. “Just get in there and relax,” he murmured.

  When he’d adjusted the temperature, he went back to the bedroom and closed the door, waiting while she took off her clothes and stepped under the running water. As he stood outside the bathroom, he was trying to imagine what it would do to you to find out that you were a copy of another person. That was bad enough, but the reason you’d been created was even worse. You’d feel as if you were worthless. But he wanted her to know how much he valued her. And he wanted her to know that now.

  Fighting not to let arousal give his intentions away, he took off his clothing, then went into the bathroom and stepped inside the shower.

  Grace had been lathering her hair with lavender-scented shampoo. She looked up, startled, then she relaxed a little when she saw it was him.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked.

  He kept his voice conversational. “I was listening to the shower, and I couldn’t help thinking how wonderful it would feel to step under the hot water and have the steam swirling around me.”

  “Yes, it’s good. I feel like I’ve been cold for days.”

  The comment was revealing. Yeah, they’d both been out in the cold, and he was going to make sure that she was warm and comfortable for the rest of her life. As soon as they got rid of a few little problems.

  She rinsed the shampoo out of her hair, then moved over to give him room under the water.

  Losing the battle to keep his body from betraying him, he had to step in back of her where she couldn’t see the erection.

  “Now that I’m here, let me enjoy myself.” He reached for the soap and lathered his hands. Still standing behind her, he stroked his slick fingers over her shoulders, up her neck, aro
und the curves of her ears.

  In response, she threw her head back against his shoulder. “That feels good.”

  “Oh yeah. But I think I’ve got the best of the deal.”

  He lathered on more soap, then slid his hands down her ribs. When he couldn’t stop himself from doing what he really wanted, he brought his hands up and inward, lifting and lathering her breasts.

  She sighed at his touch, then drew in a sharp breath when he glided his hands over her nipples.

  The last time they’d made love, he hadn’t been sure that he could trust her. Probably she’d felt the same way about him. But everything had changed. He knew what she’d been through. And he was going to make her future so much better.

  Resting her head on his shoulder, she leaned back against him, then made a low sound when her bottom came into contact with his erection.

  “Yeah, there’s no way to hide that I’m turned on,” he said. “I can’t help it with such a beautiful woman in my slippery hands.”

  From where he stood, he couldn’t kiss her on the mouth. But he could nibble at her ear and play his lips along the side of her neck.

  He’d thought that he could never love again. He’d been wrong. He longed to let Grace know that while he’d been acting as her bodyguard, he’d fallen in love with her. But he wasn’t sure she could accept that yet.

  She’d been made to feel less than human, but the good news was that she’d been part of a plan to fight back. And he was going to help her finish the fight. For her, and for all the others who had been caught in the trap created by Cortez and the Paladin.

  As she molded her body to his, he slid one hand down the front of her, stopping to play with her navel before straying lower, into the tangle of dark hair at the juncture of her legs. Then he slipped even lower, into the plump, moist folds of her most intimate flesh.

  She arched against him, and he kept up the caresses, one hand playing with her breasts and the other taking long, gliding strokes through her feminine folds.

  “Brady, I’m going to…”

  “That’s the idea, sweetheart.”

  He kept up his tender assault, pushing her up and up, until she tumbled over the edge, crying out as her body convulsed.

  She leaned against him, warm and pliant in his arms.

  “You’re very sneaky,” she whispered. “How long were you planning that?”

  “I started thinking about it the moment we got here.”

  “And you sat through that meeting like you had nothing better to do than tell them about—”

  He pressed his finger to her lips. “Let’s not bring anyone else in here with us.”

  “You’re right.” She turned in his arms, grinning at him as she reached for the soap.

  “Turnabout is fair play, don’t you think,” she purred as she clasped his erection with her soap-slick hand and began to stroke her fist up and down.

  His indrawn breath brought another grin to her lips.

  “You’re going to…”

  “That’s the idea,” she said, as she tightened her grip on him and moved her soapy hand up and down, bringing him to a rocking climax that had him calling out in pleasure.

  Then he wiped the smug look off her face with a long, passionate kiss.

  They stayed in the shower, washing each other, both of them absorbed in the delight of a very intimate water sport.

  When they were both clean and fragrant, he turned off the water, grabbed a fluffy bath towel and dried her hair and body. After drying himself, he picked her up in his arms and carried her to the bed, where he began loving her all over again.

  She rewarded him with small exclamations and with caresses that drove him to distraction.

  When they had both reached the peak again, he settled down beside her, feeling more peaceful than he could remember. He had been emotionally dead for years, and she had brought him back to life.

  It seemed as if he’d just closed his eyes when a knock at the door made them snap open again.

  Beside him, he could feel Grace stiffen. “It’s okay,” he whispered. “We’re safe.”

  She pulled the sheet up to her neck as she looked toward the door.

  “Is something wrong?” he called out.

  “We’ve located Kevin.”

  Brady sat up. “Okay. We’ll meet you in the lounge in a few minutes.”

  They both climbed out of bed.

  “He didn’t call,” Grace said, glancing at the phone she’d set on the dresser. “How did they find him?”

  “I guess they’ll tell us.”

  They dressed quickly, and Brady saw Grace make a face in the mirror as she worked to get the tangles out of her hair.

  “You look fine,” he told her.

  “I look like a mess. But I guess there are more important things to worry about,” she added.

  He watched her put on a businesslike expression to hide her emotions. He could imagine that had become a habit since she’d found out she was a clone. What had it done to Kevin Parsons? He hated to imagine it, knowing that John Ridgeway already had a boatload of problems.

  They assembled in the lounge, where food had been set out.

  As they ate, Brady looked around at the group. Some of the people he would have expected to see were missing, and he wondered if they had gone off on another assignment.

  From the way the group was dressed, he gathered that they were going after Kevin.

  And Grace was going with them, too.

  “You know Kevin,” Max explained. “If we run into trouble, we may need you.”

  She gave him a hard look. “I’m going, in any case. He doesn’t know any of you. I can reassure him that you’re on his side.”

  Brady nodded tightly. He didn’t like bringing her along, but he knew she was right. “How did you find him?” he asked.

  “We drew a circle on a map around Washington, DC, and started combing through real-estate records. We found a farm near Winchester that had been rented by Karen Hilliard.”

  “Good going,” Brady answered. “But that doesn’t prove Kevin is there.”

  “We’ve investigated the farm. There’s someone living in the house. Either it’s Kevin, or it’s a setup. Because Kevin won’t answer the phone, we need Grace to come with us and smooth things out.”

  Brady nodded, but he felt compelled to mention one more problem. “If you could find Kevin, so could the Paladin’s men.”

  “Yeah,” Max admitted. “Which is why we’d better get there before they do. We’re going by helicopter again, but we’ll land far enough away so that he won’t hear the chopper. We have cars standing by.”

  “Who’s down there?” Brady asked.

  “Alex Shane. He left from the Eastern Shore of Maryland a while ago.”

  “And what exactly is the plan?”

  “It’s going to depend on the circumstances,” Max answered.

  Brady had lost his appetite, but he drank a cup of black coffee and grabbed a cinnamon bun on the way out the door.

  As they hurried to the landing pad, he glanced at Grace and saw that her features were set. As her bodyguard and the man who loved her, he wanted to order her to stay at the Randolph facility. But he knew that success depended heavily on her.

  They took off toward the south, and as they flew, they discussed several scenarios.

  When he reached for Grace’s hand, she squeezed back, but he could see the tension on her face.

  Alex was waiting for them on the road outside the farm.

  “Any activity?” Brady asked when and they were all assembled near the entrance.

  “No.”

  “Maybe he’s cleared out,” Max suggested.

  “Not unless he belly-crawled across the fields in back of the house.”

  Brady couldn’t hold back the thought circling in his head. “What if the Paladin’s men got to him already and they’re waiting here for us?

  “The only way we’re going to find out is for me to go in,” Grace answered. “Yo
u mean us. You and me,” Brady said. There was no way he was letting her go in there alone.

  “But he won’t trust you.”

  He denied her objection. “He will if he thinks I’m putting myself at risk.”

  After donning bulletproof vests, Brady and Grace started up the farm road.

  Giving her a fierce look, he said, “Stay behind me.”

  There were open fields on either side of the narrow drive, but they had been taken over by tall weeds and grasses. Brady could hear his own footsteps crunching on the loose gravel of the road surface.

  Raising the bullhorn he was carrying, he said, “Kevin, this is Brady Lockwood, John Ridgeway’s brother. We’ve come to get you to safety. Grace is with me. If you can hear me, come to the door. We mean you no harm.”

  There was no answer.

  As they moved up the driveway, Brady imagined John Ridgeway in there, trying to figure how his brother would react.

  “Kevin, this is Brady Lockwood,” he said again. “I know you haven’t answered Grace’s phone calls. That’s why we’re here, to talk to you in person.”

  They were about fifty yards from the house, and he still saw no signs of activity. But as Brady took another step, a shot rang out, and a bullet whizzed past his head.

  Dodging to the side, he threw Grace into the weeds, then came down on top of her, protecting her with his body. There were no other shots. Perhaps it had only been meant as a warning.

  “Is it him?” she whispered. “Or did the Paladin’s men get here first?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Green light. All right to get up,” someone called out from the house, and Brady froze as he recognized the voice.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “What the hell is going on?” Brady shouted.

  “It’s all right,” the voice answered again.

  Brady scrambled up and did a double take. A man who could be a younger version of his brother was standing in the doorway, looking daggers at him. Behind him was one of the Light Street men—Hunter Kelley.

  “We got him,” he said.

  Brady gave him a hard look. “You mean, you got here hours ago, and you were using me and Grace as decoys while you got into the house and captured him?”