Hold On To Me (Welcome To Redemption)

by Netzel, Stacey Joy

  Giving her arms a brisk rub against the chill in the stale air, she cast her gaze around, searching for something to use as a weapon. Any other time she’d been there, she never dreamed of fighting back. But now that Roy had seen that picture, her life depended on her becoming the strong, resilient person she’d always wished she could be.

  This time, she would fight. She had to figure out a way to escape, or Grant would never know she loved him.

  Chapter 14

  Under the rumble of thunder, Grant carried the last trash bag out to the dumpsters in the back and dusted off his hands. There were a few things he’d boxed up for Jenny to go through, but otherwise, her apartment was clean and ready for her to move back in. He’d love to ask her to stay right were she was, in his home, in his bed, but wasn’t so sure she’d be ready for that level of commitment just yet.

  And the permanent arrangement he had in mind? The one he’d love to blame on Redemption’s water but knew in his heart was all Jenny...well, if the moving in together had to wait, so did an engagement ring. No matter how promising the past two nights had been.

  A glance at his watch had him hightailing it back into the building for his keys. He was going to be late!

  He parked in front of the coffee shop and dashed through the rain to the door. Thunderstorms were forecasted to last the night, with the potential for severe weather later in the evening. Grant smiled, thinking there was no better excuse to spend the evening in bed with Jenny after they took care of things at the police station.

  She wasn’t in the dining area, so Grant lounged against the counter as he waited for her to come out from the back. Carrie was clearing dishes from a table of cheerleaders, and Dex...

  Grant chuckled to himself. Dex was doing his damnedest to look at the cheerleaders without being obvious, and he was about to trip over a table.

  “Hey, man, watch it,” Grant warned.

  The guy caught himself in time to avoid a major spill. His ears turned beet red. “Thanks, man.”

  As he carried his tray through the swinging doors, Grant asked, “You mind checking if Jenny’s ready?”

  “Jenny left about twenty minutes ago,” Dex said before the door swung shut.

  “She went to the bank,” Carrie explained as she came around the counter. “With this rain, she should be back any minute.”

  Grant’s unease over the kid’s statement faded a bit, but didn’t go completely away. Not even when Matt came out and they talked for a few minutes about the upcoming Packer season—he may have left the state for awhile, but he’d never stopped being a fan, whereas Matt, an implant from California, was a new convert.

  Doing his best to keep growing apprehension at bay, Grant glanced toward the front door and then checked his watch. “I think I’ll head down and meet her on her way back.”

  He thought about driving, but if she’d taken refuge from the rain that soaked him to the skin under some business awning or inside, he wanted to be able to spot her. When he didn’t see her along the way, he told himself she was waiting out the storm inside the bank itself. Except the brunette teller that remembered seeing her said she’d left already.

  So where the hell is she?

  He dialed her cell phone as he ran through the downpour back to Coffee To Chai For. Ten rings and no answer. Entering the shop, he didn’t bother to hide his anxiety.

  With an impatient swipe at the water running down his face, he demanded, “She come back?”

  “No.” Even Carrie was beginning to look a little worried.

  “She’s not answering her phone.” He raked his dripping hair back off his forehead. “Dammit—something’s not right.”

  Matt pushed through the door from the kitchen, Jenny’s lime green phone in his hand. “It was in her bag back there.”

  “Sonofabitch.” Panic closed in as Grant rushed toward the entrance. “He’s got her. I know he does.”

  “Grant, slow down,” Carrie cautioned. “She probably just got out of the rain.”

  He shook his head. His gut told him it was more than the storm. The bell above the door jangled wildly as he yanked it open while pointing a finger at Matt. “Call the sheriff and have him meet me at Adams’ house.”

  He spun for his car and ran into a wall.

  Charlie growled in annoyance. “Geez, Walker, what’s the rush?”

  Grant caught his balance and bolted past Charlie to the driver’s side of his car. “Roy’s got Jenny. I’m heading over to his house right now.”

  He slammed his door at the same time the passenger side opened and Charlie jumped in. “I’m coming with you.”

  Grant didn’t argue as he started the car because it’d just dawned on him he didn’t know where Roy lived now, but Charlie did. “Gimme directions.”

  “His place is down past the Bonnie Blue Bell Motel off Sycamore—you know where that is?”

  “Yeah.” Grant threw the car into gear and barely checked his mirror before flooring the gas. A couple blocks down the road, he slammed on the brakes, almost putting Charlie into the dashboard.

  “Let’s get there in one piece,” Charlie muttered as he clicked on his seat belt.

  “The house is too obvious. He won’t go there.”

  “Then where?”

  Grant flipped a U-turn, tires squealing on the wet pavement as he cranked the wheel. “I was hoping you had some idea.”

  “Sorry, but I’ve never been friends with the guy, so I’ve got no clue.”

  Grant spotted the sign for Adams’ car dealership and took an abrupt turn into the parking lot. Charlie followed his charge into the building, where Grant demanded to see Seth Adams. Someone pointed him toward the back of the showroom floor. Halfway there, he caught Walt Fitz eyeing his progress through the glass wall of his office.

  Charlie’s I’ve never been friends with the guy echoed in his mind.

  Grant’s abrupt switch of direction left Charlie halting in confusion. “What are you—?”

  Fitz’s alarmed expression and scramble to his feet told Grant he was on the right track.

  “Where’d he take her?” he shouted as he exploded into the guy’s office.

  The pudgy weasel stumbled over his chair as he backed up. When Grant strode around the desk, Fitz made a dash in the opposite direction for the door. Charlie’s broad bulk blocked his exit, and his frantic gaze returned to Grant.

  He held up his hands as if to stop Grant’s advance. “Easy, man. I don’t even know what you’re talking about.”

  “Roy. Where would Roy take Jenny?”

  “How would I know?” His gaze shifted between Grant and Charlie, not looking either of them in the eye.

  Less than an arms length away by now, Grant reached to fist both hands in the guy’s black logoed polo shirt and slammed him against the solid wall separating the offices. Glass rattled from the force of the impact.

  “Alright—alright!” Fitz blurted. “They might be at that cabin you guys used to party at. The one way back in the woods.”

  Grant got right up in his face to make sure the guy was telling the truth. He looked ready to piss his pants.

  “I swear! It’s the only place I know of. He used to take her there when they were married.”

  A wisp of conversation from his first night back in town registered on Grant’s conscious. Fitz had brought up the cabin located in the back corner of Grant’s parents’ property, and Roy had cut him off, claiming it’d been unused for years.

  Fitz sagged against the wall when Grant dropped him, and he didn’t give him a second glance. He followed Charlie, overtaking him by the time they reached the door.

  “You really think that’s where they are?” Charlie asked as they peeled out of the lot.

  “The bastard tried to frame me for trashing Jenny’s apartment, so yeah, if he’s planning something, it makes sense he’d do it at my parents’ cabin.”

  “My cell’s in my truck. You got yours? I’ll call Chase and tell him to meet us out there.”


  Grant dug it out and tossed it over.

  “What’s the plan when we get there?” Charlie asked as he held the phone to his ear.

  “Make sure Jenny’s okay. If he’s hurt her again...I swear I’ll kill him.” His fingers gripped the wheel so hard it was a miracle it didn’t disintegrate.

  Charlie talked to the sheriff as Grant sped through the rain, wipers barely swishing the water away fast enough while he prayed over and over that she was okay.

  Returning the phone to Grant, Charlie informed him, “Chase said we should wait for him.”

  Grant snorted. “Not a chance in hell.”

  “Kinda figured.”

  The car fishtailed on their turn into his parent’s old driveway. His gaze swept over the huge, boarded up house in the gloom of the rain. It looked the same, yet completely different. And then he completely forgot it as he drove past to the old dirt lane leading to the cabin.

  The underbrush through the woods had thickened over the years, and the lane was almost impassable at times. For precisely this reason, it was more than evident a vehicle had passed through recently.

  “Sonofabitch,” his passenger muttered. “They are here.”

  A couple hundred yards before the cabin, Grant halted the car so it blocked the path. “We’re walking from here. I don’t want to give Roy any warning.”

  No protest was made as they exited into the rain. They followed the trail until they reached the small clearing that housed the cabin. Melting into the woods on the side of the lane and motioning Charlie to follow, Grant noted the black car parked near the sagging porch. Charlie moved up alongside him as he wiped water from his eyes and peered at the window facing them. Unfortunately the rain and clouds made the four o’clock hour seem more like dusk, and he couldn’t see much of anything.

  As if the occupants in the cabin had the same thought, light flared inside. A shadow figure moved near the window, but not close enough for him to determine if it was Jenny or Roy.

  A grunt sounded beside him. “How do you want to handle this?”

  Ignoring his surprise that Charlie Russell deferred to him, Grant kept his eye on the window as he spoke. “We’ll make our way onto the porch, one on either side so we can try to see what’s going on inside first. I don’t want to just bust in if he’s got a gun, that could put her in more danger.”

  Charlie nodded.

  Grant cast a sideways glance at his ally’s massive shoulders. “If we’re able to go in, I was hoping you’d take the door, and I’ll follow. See that sliver of light along the side? As old as this place is, and with all the moisture in the air, I’m guessing that door is wedged tight, as far as he could get it.”

  “I got the door,” Charlie confirmed. “And once we’re inside?”

  “Jenny’s my priority. You do what you want with Roy.”

  A grim smile curled his lips. “I’m totally on board with that plan.”

  “Great.” Grant took a deep breath. “Let’s go.”

  Chapter 15

  A draft flowed from the sliver opening by the door, and the damp chill in the air raised goose bumps on Jenny’s bare arms.

  Rubbing them for warmth wasn’t helping at all, and shivers shook her shoulders. Rain dripped from the ceiling in several spots. Some were fast, another one slow, the alternating pings barely discernible over the rain drumming on the roof.

  Roy had withdrawn the photo again, and after peering at it in the growing gloom, he raised his glittering blue gaze to Jenny’s. “Where’d you get this, and who else knows about it?”

  She debated which way to play her answer. It might be best to keep him calm, until she located a viable weapon. “I never showed anyone.”

  “And I’m supposed to believe a lying bitch like you?”

  The anger in his voice told her she had to pacify him a bit longer. “Honest, no one else has ever seen it. I developed it a few years ago, off one of those throwaway cameras I found in a box in the basement. I had planned to surprise you with the photos when you got home from work, but...”

  “Too bad you didn’t surprise me then,” he commented. “Some sort of accident would’ve been so much easier to plan than this. Then again, this might be more satisfying.”

  After he plopped the picture down on the table next to his duffle, Jenny watched him ready the grimy glass oil lamp he’d kept in the cabin from previous visits. She was so chilled now she had to clench her jaw to keep her teeth from chattering. Hearing him basically state he’d have killed her back then made her forget for a moment she was trying to keep him calm.

  “Whatever you’re planning, you’re never going to get away with it.”

  He smiled as he dug into his pocket to withdraw a book of matches. “I’ll give you one guess who owns this place.”

  She stared at him in confusion.

  “He used to live here. Thought he was better than everyone back then and still thinks it now. Go ahead, guess.”

  “I have no idea.”

  “How about the guy you’re fucking? That ring a bell?”

  The news that Grant owned the cabin surprised her, but Jenny decided silence was her best bet for the moment. With Roy by the lamp, she glanced behind her, hoping for something within reach. A thick, dark line caught her eye just as she shifted her attention back to Roy to make sure he didn’t notice her search. Risking another look back, she felt a surge of hope.

  There. The long-forgotten, rusted fireplace poker half buried in a pile of leaves and bits of mortar that’d fallen down through the chimney. If she could get her hands on that piece of iron, she could knock him out and get the keys—

  “Not even going to deny it?” Roy asked, a hard edge to his tone. “I always knew you were a slut.”

  He struck a match, the sudden flare of light casting sinister shadows above his eyes. As he lit the lamp and placed the flu over the wick, Jenny drew herself up, finding strength by channeling long overdue anger.

  “I was never once unfaithful during our marriage. Can you say the same?”

  He paused before blowing out the match, as if her comment surprised him. Did he honestly think she hadn’t known?

  Dropping the matches on the table next to the picture, he pivoted on the ball of his foot and advanced. Jenny backed up against the far wall by the crumbling fireplace.

  “So what?” he sneered. “It’s not like you were any good in bed. I had to get some somewhere.”

  She stared at him, felt her eyes widen as she truly saw his internal ugliness for the first time ever. Before now, she’d been too afraid to really look at him, but now she understood that when stripped of his false charm, his soul was as dark and nasty as his words. The realization seemed to morph his features from good-looking to repulsive.

  “Wow.”

  His gaze narrowed in annoyance. “What?”

  “I just realized why you are the way you are.”

  “You talking stupid is what makes me the way I am.”

  She shook her head, sidling to the left a bit. “No. I won’t accept that blame anymore. You bully and hit to compensate for your failures.”

  He laughed, but there was a hesitant quality to the sound. “I’ve got more money than you’ll ever dream of working at your piddly little waitress job. I’m second only to my father, and once he’s gone, that whole place is mine. You calling me a failure only proves your stupidity.”

  “No,” she repeated, her voice loud and strong. “You’re a failure in everyone’s eyes—including your own. You control and belittle people just to make yourself feel like a man. But in reality, you’re not even fit to wipe your feet on the same rug as a man like Grant.”

  “Shut your damn mouth or I’ll shut it for you.”

  Jenny met his gaze and forced her chin up in defiance. “Go ahead, hit me.”

  His expression told her that’s the last thing he’d expected. Damn it, she needed him angry, not uncertain. One strike should put her in the perfect position.

  Roy stared at her as if trying
to figure out what had happened to all his control.

  “What’s the matter?” she taunted. “Afraid you might fail at this, too? You will you know. Grant was supposed to pick me up after work, so he’s probably looking for me right now. He won’t hesitate to call the cops, and whatever you think you’re going to try to frame him for, he’ll have an alibi, and you won’t.”

  He shook his head, fists forming at his side. “As far as anyone knows, Fitz and I had a sales meeting this afternoon. He’ll back me up.”

  “Yeah...I’m sure you can bet on that.”

  In the blink of an eye, Roy lunged forward and grabbed her upper arms. “I don’t like this uppity attitude you’ve acquired.”

  Jenny gulped back her ingrained fear by channeling the desire to be held in Grant’s protective arms once more. She could never get back the past years she’d lost to the monster in front of her, but she damn sure wasn’t about to let him steal her future with Grant, too. The vivid memory of his loving kisses and cherishing caresses gave her strength to fight for the life she deserved.

  Deserved.

  Another revelation—one she hadn’t fully believed until this moment.

  She met her ex-husband’s slitted gaze and spoke with calm contempt. “You’re nothing, Roy. I can see that now. Never have been and never will be—especially when everyone finds out it was you who killed Annabel Russell.”

  His fingers dug into her skin, and he wrenched her arms up. She gasped as the muscles in her shoulders screamed in protest.

  “I told you to shut up.”

  “Love that money, Roy,” she spat through the agony. “‘Cause you’ve got nothing else. No real friends, no respect, and now, no future.”

  “No one’s ever going to see that picture. You’re the stupid one who kept that secret all to yourself. And when I’m done with you, you won’t be talking to anyone.”

  “In that case, you should know...Grant is ten times the man you’ll ever be—in bed and out.”