by Katie Ruggle
Jules stared at the dull black weapon in her hands before cranking her arm back and hurling the gun over the cliff. In the following silence, they heard a slight clank as it landed on the rocks far below.
“Was that wise?” Tio asked.
Jules propped her fists on her hips. “I don’t care if it was. He held that gun on us. He could’ve killed y’all!” Her voice got higher and higher as she flung the words at them. Grace understood Jules’s hatred for the gun, but she also felt vulnerable without the weapon. The man was tied up and unconscious, but she still felt like he was a huge threat.
A flash of something in Grace’s peripheral vision made her spin around, cursing herself for not keeping guard. She took a stumbling step back before she recognized Hugh, and relief crashed through her. He and Lexi charged up the trail, with Theo and Viggy close behind. They took the scene in with a glance, Hugh’s frantic gaze raking Grace up and down, and then immediately headed toward the stranger. Theo checked the man’s pulse as Hugh patted him down.
“Just him?” Hugh was using his rare serious tone. He hadn’t looked away from Grace for more than a second or two at a time.
“Yes.” Her voice came out scratchy. “That we’ve seen, at least.”
“T-t-there’s at l-least one m-more. Th-there were th-th-three,” Sam said, his gaze scanning the area as if he was expecting more men to come charging from around a rock. Grace didn’t blame him. She did the same thing as she moved closer to Hugh, who stood, meeting her halfway and pulling her into his arms. His hug was hard, almost bruising, but she didn’t complain. It felt amazing.
“I’m okay,” she said, answering his unspoken question.
Without releasing her, he turned to look at Theo. “Cuffs?”
“Good thing Otto carries two sets.” Pulling them from a case on his belt, Theo secured the stranger’s hands behind his back.
“We found the other two,” Theo belatedly told Sam, who relaxed slightly. “What happened?”
Everyone except for Theo and Hugh looked at Grace and then Ty, who gave a modest shrug.
“Grace tackled him and got his gun.” Dee pointed to the spot where Ty had ambushed the gunman. “Ty snuck up there and dropped a rock on him. Now he’s grounded for years.”
“You tackled him and took his gun,” Hugh echoed, his body tensing against Grace’s as his hold got even tighter. “Where’s the gun?”
It was Jules’s turn to point, this time in the direction of where she’d tossed the weapon. “I threw it off the cliff.”
Hugh and Theo stared at her, and Hugh’s mouth finally relaxed slightly, even quirking up a little. “You…threw it? Off a cliff?”
“Yes.” Jules glared at Theo and then Hugh.
The absurdity of the situation caught up with Grace, and she felt hysterical giggles pushing to break free. She swallowed them down again as Jules repeated, “I threw it. Off a cliff.”
Hugh snorted, relaxing the tiniest bit. “The crime scene people are going to be cursing your name.”
“Sorry. It seemed like the best thing to do at the time.” When Hugh just smirked at her, Jules gave a little shrug.
Grace decided it was a good time to change the subject. “Where’s Otto?”
“We left him with the other two”—Hugh paused for a moment as he flicked a glance at the kids—“bad guys. Speaking of them, we should get back.” He reluctantly released Grace, and she fought down a protest. Being held so tightly against him had pushed away the fear. She stayed silent, however, knowing that she needed to behave like an adult now, rather than a needy child.
Hugh moved as if to reach for the unconscious man, but Theo shouldered his way between them.
“Jules.” Although Theo usually made Grace a little nervous, with his scowls and clipped words, she had to admit that it was cute how soft his tone was when he spoke to his girlfriend. “Take Viggy?”
With a small, but genuine, smile, Jules stepped over to hold the dog’s leash. She gave the unmoving stranger a wary glance and speedily returned to her original spot, although not before Theo ran a reassuring hand down her forearm. Once again, Grace was touched by the sweetness of the gesture. For some reason that she didn’t want to examine too closely, she darted a quick glance at Hugh, and then immediately looked away when she saw he was watching her.
Theo hauled the unconscious man over his shoulders with impressive ease, and Hugh helped him adjust the dead weight. Theo started retracing their steps from earlier, with a still-pale Jules, her siblings, and Viggy falling in behind him. Although she told herself she was just being polite, Grace knew that she was letting the others go first so she could be by Hugh. Everything was so scary and topsy-turvy, and she felt safer with the big cop close by.
“Gracie? Where’d you go?” He was watching her, looking amused, and she realized that she’d been staring at him as the others continued down the trail. Even Lexi was eyeing her in what seemed to be a knowing way, although Grace tried to dismiss the thought. Lexi was a dog. Dogs did not mock. At least they shouldn’t.
Shaking off her distraction and her embarrassment at being caught ogling, Grace hurried to catch up to the others. As she fell in behind Sam, she felt a bandaged hand cup the back of her neck, and prickles made their way from the spot where Hugh touched her all the way down her spine.
“What were you looking at back there, hmm?” he asked quietly, his mouth much too close to her ear for comfort. The prickles turned into full-body shivers. Overwhelmed by his proximity, Grace scrunched a shoulder and scooted forward until she was away from his mind-melting whispers, but it was only seconds before he was right behind her again. He sounded even more amused than before. “Could it have been…me? Were you thinking of how sexy I looked? Thinking how much you’d like a piece of me, only not in a punching way? More of a kissing and hugging way?”
Air escaped her in a laughing gasp. “No.”
“Liar.” It was like he was a mind reader.
“Am not. Why would I want to hug and kiss you?” Because he’s beautiful. Because he saved my life a bunch of times. Because he makes me feel safe.
“Because I’m super fine.” The edge of humor gave his words a self-deprecating cast that just added to his appeal. Grace had a soft spot for guys who could make her laugh, and Hugh could definitely do that. “And adorable. And as huggable as a puppy in a teddy bear suit.”
She couldn’t stand it. He really was too cute. “Eh. I’m not really that into you. A puppy in a teddy-bear suit, though…”
With a teasing growl that made her stomach do a somersault, he poked her in the ribs. “You know you love me.”
It hit her then, like a punch to the gut. He was right. It might not be full-on love yet, but she was headed in that direction. In fact, the love semitruck was tumbling down the mountainside at high speed with no brakes, about to run her over, flatten her on the pavement and leave its Hugh-shaped tire tracks all over her heart.
She frowned at the mental image. As melodramatic as it was, she knew Hugh could hurt her horribly, worse than she’d ever been hurt before, worse than she could even imagine being hurt. He was a good cop, a good man, and he was feeling protective. That was probably all it was on his side. While she was hurtling down the love mountain on her way to disaster, he was, most likely, just doing his job. She hated the thought that she was simply a duty to him. He didn’t mind kissing her, but there was no way he felt anything stronger about her than that…was there?
He gave her another poke in the ribs that was more of a caress than anything, and she was reminded that she hadn’t answered him.
With a wheezing, sad, little laugh that was not at all convincing, she forced out, “You wish.”
He chuckled, and she fully deserved it. “I do.” It was a gravel-filled purr, and she couldn’t stop the goose bumps spreading over her skin. “I do wish.”
A rock caught her to
e, making her trip and jolting her out of her Hugh-induced daze. She had to get away from him, from his warmth on her back and his all-too-sexy whispers in her ear. Hurrying forward a few steps, she fell in behind Sam…right behind Sam, who gave her a wary look over his shoulder. Grace smiled at him, but she must’ve looked a bit manic, since his frown deepened before he turned to face front again.
Although he stayed a few strides behind her, Hugh’s soft laugh caught up to her, bringing the goose bumps back. “Chicken.”
It’s not about being a chicken, she thought, biting back the retort that wanted to escape. It’s about self-preservation. Bantering with Hugh was fun and invigorating and addictive, but she needed to call a halt. It was too dangerous to continue down the road they were on. Once people stopped trying to kill them, this—whatever this was—would be over. She’d return to LA, and he’d stay in Monroe, helping other people like he’d helped her. After all, that was his job.
She almost snuck a peek behind her, but caught herself just in time. She knew what she needed to do. Now she’d find out if she had the willpower to resist the many charms of Officer Hugh Murdoch.
Chapter 15
“I never thought I’d be happy to come back here.” Grace turned in a full circle in Jules’s kitchen.
Hugh watched her spin, her straight, dark hair fanning out behind her, and he couldn’t help but smile. He knew he should look away, that his staring was bordering on creeper mode, but he wasn’t able to do it. She was incredible. As he started to get to know her, her energy and strength and sheer Graceness shone through, just adding to her beauty. “You’re just saying that because you saw Theo’s place.”
Abruptly turning away from the apparent amazingness of Jules’s kitchen, with its mismatched, thrift-store table and chairs, its ancient appliances and crooked or missing cabinet doors, Grace looked at him. He met her gaze and immediately felt warmer. “I can’t believe how tiny it is.”
“I visited with Otto once—never again.”
“I can’t imagine how all three of you fit,” she said. “It’s like a dollhouse.”
Hugh gave a belly laugh. It was perfect. She was perfect.
Immediately, he poked himself in his sore thigh, and the jolt of pain centered him. He had to stop thinking about how incredible she was, how amazing she felt, how beautiful she looked. The only reason she was in Monroe was because Jovanovic wanted her dead. As soon as it was safe, she’d run back to LA, back to her glamorous life and glamorous friends and glamorous guys. He couldn’t keep her. All he could do was make the most of the short time he had with her and try his hardest not to get too attached. He had to keep things casual.
Even as he thought it, his heart laughed at his wishful thinking. Another harder poke at his thigh sent a heavy jolt of pain through his leg, distracting him.
“Why are you jabbing at your leg?” Grace asked, frowning.
“What? I’m not. That’s crazy talk.” When she opened her mouth, as if to argue, he quickly continued. “Agent Shankle’s in town.”
“The FBI guy?” All the humor disappeared from her expression, and she sagged a little. Guilt seeped through him for his part in putting that look on her face.
“Do you still want to call your boyfriend?” The last word tasted bitter as it left his mouth. “If you do, Shankle could help set that up safely.”
“Ex-boyfriend, and not even that, really. Maybe for about two seconds, when I thought he was a Disney… Never mind.” For a moment, she was quiet. He wouldn’t have even known she was anxious except that she was drumming her fingers against her pant leg. That was her tell. He mentally filed away that fact in case he ever played poker with her. “Yes,” she finally said. “I do. Well, I don’t, but I want it to be over.”
He winced before he was able to stop himself.
“Not you,” she corrected quickly. “I don’t want this part to be over. Just the almost-getting-killed part.”
That startled a laugh out of him. “Yeah, it would be nice not to be shot at every five minutes. Maybe not, though. We might get bored.”
“Right. If that happens, we can always go play paintball or have a water fight or something a little less deadly.” She grinned at him, and he quieted abruptly. Her beauty was like a kick to the chest. Ever since he’d first met her, Hugh had known she was gorgeous, but sometimes he was startled by just how breathtaking she really was.
When she cocked her head, looking at him curiously, he realized that he was staring. Quickly, he cleared his throat and hunted for a comeback. “What’s the fun in that?”
She rolled her eyes and then turned as Jules, Theo, and Viggy came into the kitchen. Jules still looked a little green around the edges every time someone mentioned Ty’s skill with a rock, but other than that, she seemed to have bounced back with impressive resilience.
“Okay,” Jules said, plopping down on one of the chairs. “The kids are upstairs and under threat of painful dismemberment if they try to listen in to our conversation, so let’s talk. How do we get people to stop trying to kill Hugh?”
“Aww, you care,” Hugh said, keeping his tone teasing, even as he fought the urge to peer out the kitchen window, looking for guys with guns hiding in the woods. He pulled out a seat for Grace and then took the one next to her. Stretching out his arm, he let it rest on the back of her chair. Although he wasn’t actually touching her, he was reassured by the warmth of her shoulders and the occasional silky brush of her hair.
Theo didn’t sit. Instead, he prowled around the kitchen, his frequent glances out the window making it obvious he was feeling as paranoid as Hugh. “I’m not happy you’re involved in this.”
“Yeah, I’m not too excited to be involved, either.”
“I was talking to Jules,” Theo growled, glaring at Hugh.
He deserved it, Hugh knew. Guilt that had been sitting in his stomach in a growing dark mass expanded, making it impossible to maintain his joking facade. “You’re right,” he said seriously, looking at Jules and then at Grace. “I’m going to get someone else killed. You need to stay far away from me.” He turned toward Theo. “All of you.” From Theo’s set expression, he wasn’t going anywhere. Hugh’s guilt multiplied, threatening to choke him.
“So you can become a one-man army and figure this out yourself?” Grace scoffed. “Please. We don’t even know for sure that it’s you they’re aiming at. It still could be that Martin Jovanovic sent these guys after me. Self-involved much?”
Despite his dark mood, that made him snort. “No. They’re after me.”
Twisting in her seat, she crossed her arms and locked eyes with him. “Not necessarily.”
“They blew up my truck.”
“Circumstantial.”
“What?” He blinked at her. “That’s not what circumstantial means.”
“Sure it is. Next flimsy argument?”
“The Rack and Ruin member said so.”
“Please.” She flicked her fingers at him. “Like you can take the word of a felon who beats up his wife.”
Jules made a tiny choking sound.
“That asshole at Otto’s place pointed a gun at you and said he was going to kill me for the money.”
With a shrug, Grace flipped her hair over her shoulder. The strands fanned out, sliding over his arm. He forced himself to focus on the argument—the insane argument. Even though he knew she was just trying to make him feel better, he couldn’t let her ridiculous assertions slide. “One guy. There were three. Maybe the other two were there for me. We don’t know that.”
“Yes, we do—”
Theo’s phone rang, and they all jumped. He glanced at the screen and then answered. “Hey, Otto.” There was a short pause before he spoke again. “Got it.” Ending the call, he headed for the hallway. “Otto’s coming down the driveway.” As if on cue, Lexi started barking from the front, where she was positioned in Theo’s
squad car. Viggy was in the kitchen with them; they’d decided Lexi would be a better alarm in case anyone trespassed.
“I’ll go let him in,” Theo added, disappearing into the hallway.
“As entertaining as this thing”—Jules pointed back and forth between Hugh and Grace—“is, your argument is pointless. We’re not going to hide and leave you to the mercy of hired killers, Hugh. We’re helping. Deal with it.”
Grace smirked at him. “Exactly.”
Even as their words warmed him, the enormity of the situation pressed down, threatening to crush him—crush them all. “You can’t endanger yourselves like that. And the kids…they can’t be involved. What if something happens to one of you because of me?”
Jules flinched as if he’d struck her, but then she lifted her chin. “We’ll figure out how to keep the kids safe. I’m helping, though.”
“Me, too.” He’d never seen Grace look so mulish. It was a surprisingly good look on her. “We’re not going to treat you like a bullet-attracting leper, Hugh. We’re going to bring this Truman bitch down.”
“Exactly.” Jules held out her fist, and Grace bumped it with her own. They both made exploding noises as they opened their fingers.
Frustration and humor warred inside Hugh. They didn’t understand that he’d rather get shot a dozen times than see one of his friends get hurt. He opened his mouth to say…he wasn’t sure what exactly, but something that would convince them to run and hide a long way away from him and the target on his back.
He was distracted when Theo returned with Otto, however. “How’d processing go?”
