What now? “What?”
“You’re supposed to do it over the water. He’ll die out here.”
“Oh.” I got near it and kicked it lightly in the direction of the pond. The stupid son-of-a-bitch thrashed around until he was back almost to where he began. Jamie wailed.
“He’s going to die.”
It’s only a fish.
But I knew it was much more than that to him. I approached it again and tried to move it with my foot faster, so it wouldn’t have time to squirm backward. On my second attempt the damn thing landed on my boot. I raised it, juggling it like I was playing hacky sack. Lifting and kicking at the same time I was able to toss him in a long arc to the water. He splashed and swam away. It was cool to watch him do it, since he was so near the surface.
“You did it, Zaner.” He latched onto my side. “I’m so proud of you.”
I ruffled his hair. I was certain he’d heard those words on many occasions come out of Grace’s mouth. “I caught my first fish.”
“You mean you never fished before?” he asked, wide-eyed.
“Nope. My stepfather wasn’t much of a fisher.”
And even if he were, he’d never take me.
“So that’s why you’re so bad at it.”
I scowled. It seemed being with a kid kept you humble.
Grace
I was walking back to my car, congratulating myself on getting through the talk without either passing out or throwing up, and he was there, leaning against it. My heart convulsed. “What are you doing here?” I scanned the lot to see if anyone else was around, but it was empty.
“I think the real question is why are you letting some strung out rocker watch Jamie?”
Anger edged out fear. “A. He’s not strung out, and B. It’s none of your business.”
He clenched his hands, and the fear nudged out the anger again. He clearly had gone by my place and somehow found me here. “You are my business, Grace. And anyone who belongs to you.”
“Why did you come here? Why, after four years, did you decide it was time to come harass me? Shouldn’t you be at work?”
“You ask too many damn questions, Grace.” He exhaled. “I got fired from my job when they found out I wasn’t sick the day I came here. And I caught your little dance number on YouTube. In the comment section they mentioned you owned a flower shop in Jefferson City, so I came because I want you back. Then I find you whoring around with Zane Sanders.” He took some steps forward. I retreated. His voice was razor sharp. “I mean, what the hell?”
“Brad, we ended things.”
“No. You ran away.”
“Yeah. After you hit Jamie. I would never let that happen again. Never.”
“I don’t know who the hell you think you are. You can’t run out on somebody and BOOM, it’s over.”
I was getting closer to the building. If I ran now, could I reach someone before he grabbed me?
A car honked and he turned his head. I took the momentary distraction and broke into a run. Before I took a half-dozen steps, my ankle rolled again. It hurt, but I knew whatever he would do would hurt more. The back part of the building was brick, but the front had windows. If I could pound on the windows….
I got one solid knock in before he grabbed me and threw me against the bricks. I screamed. Surely I was close enough for someone to hear. He covered my mouth with his hand.
What the hell are you thinking? It’s broad daylight.
He always was aggressive, but he was careful in how he did it. This wasn’t careful. We waited, but no one came.
“They probably thought a bird hit their window.” He chuckled, his face so close I could count the veins in his eyes. “You’ll pay for what you did to me. And it’s gonna come at a high price. You can say goodbye to what you love most.”
He shoved away from me and walked quickly toward the parking lot. I leaned against the building, a few tears of relief sliding out. I waited until my shaking calmed some, and walked to the car. I called a lawyer. I took the rest of the day off so I could meet him at his office and fill out the paperwork needed to file a restraining order. After I finished there, it was almost time for me to be off, so I went home a little early. I wanted to be by Zane. Even sitting on the couch next to him would make me feel more relaxed. But I wasn’t going to tell him what happened. It was my problem and I would take care of it. I trudged up the stairs to my place, bone-weary. I took a deep breath and pressed on a smile. But when I went to put the key in the lock, I could tell the deadbolt wasn’t turned.
Odd.
I opened the door and called out, “Hi. I’m home.” They weren’t on the couch. I wondered what they were doing. “Jamie? Zane?’ When I got no answer, my heart began to race. I told myself not to jump to any conclusions, to relax, but even so, my calls became more urgent. “Zane? Jamie where are you?” They weren’t in Jamie’s bedroom. The place wasn’t that big. Brad’s words came back to me. You’ll pay. Say goodbye to what you love most.
Oh, my God. He came here. I should have called and warned Zane.
When I rushed back to the living room I saw Zane’s ripped and bloody shirt.
“Oh, God. No.” He took Jamie and Zane. Why? Why would he target them and not me? This has nothing to do with them. I clutched the shirt to my chest and had to grab onto the back of a chair for support, because my knees went out from under me. I need to call the police.
I jumped when the door swung open. “Zane!” I was nearly hysterical. Jamie wasn’t with him. “Where’s Jamie? Where’s Jamie?”
Zane turned and called down the stair. “Come on up, bud.” He looked at me, then immediately set a pair of fishing rods by the door. Jamie bolted in the door behind him.
“Jamie!” I held my arms out and he rushed into them. I clutched him to me and closed my eyes. I had to pull it together. I didn’t want to scare him, but I was shaking and having trouble breathing. Zane approached and I went crazy and shouted at him. “How could you do this to me? You took him without telling me?”
“I…we…I texted you. And I left you a note on the kitchen table. What’s going on, why are you upset?”
“You—” My head was spinning. I was being ridiculous, but the adrenaline surging through my veins was making me lose it. “You can’t just go somewhere and not let me know. I was scared. Damn it. I was scared.”
He approached me like he was approaching a wild animal. “That’s pretty clear.”
Jamie pulled his head back and peered at me with wide eyes. “Gracie. You cursed.”
“I know. I’m sorry.” I looked up at Zane and couldn’t hold back the tears anymore. I held my arm out to him. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at you.”
He got on his knees and put one hand on Jamie’s back, one on mine. “Did something happen? Why are you home early? I’m sorry you were scared, but we’re here safe and sound. Did you not trust me to take care of Jamie?”
“No. I thought he—” I stopped myself. “I…uhh—your shirt. Your shirt was torn and bloody.”
“You thought he…who?” He stared at the shirt in my lap. “It’s torn, yes, but I wouldn’t say bloody. It has some spots of blood…I hooked myself, is all.” He scrutinized me. “This reaction seems a little disproportionate to the circumstances.”
I scrubbed the tears off my face. “I know. You’re right. I’m sorry. It’s just…it’s been a long day.” I got to my feet.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
“Nothing. Nothing.”
“You’re lying, Grace.” He was angry. “I only took the boy—” He went to gesture to the rods, but when he raised his arm, I flinched. It was a kneejerk reaction. My nerves were shot. “Why did you just do that?”
“I-I….” I didn’t know what to say.
“Fire escape.”
“Wh-what?” I sputtered. “You can’t call fire escape. You don’t live here.”
He glanced at Jamie. “There’s rules to this?”
Jamie shrugged. “
We don’t let Payton—”
He whirled back to me. “We can discuss this here…” he put his hand on Jamie’s head to emphasize his point. “…or we can discuss it on the fire escape.”
I studied Jamie, who was looking from Zane to me. I snapped my gaze back to Zane. “Fine.” I fluttered my arm in the general direction of the TV. “Jamie, you can turn on the animal channel.” When I took a step toward the kitchen, pain speared through me, and I took a breath in through my teeth.
Zane observed me with concern. “The ankle?”
I nodded, shuffling forward and grabbing onto the top of a kitchen chair.
“Should we wrap it again?”
I considered it. “Probably.”
He pulled out a chair. “Let’s talk in here. We’ll keep it low.”
I nodded and gratefully fell into a chair. Zane opened a drawer and took the Ace bandage out. He rooted around before addressing me. “Baggies?”
I lifted my chin. “Next one down.”
I took a glimpse at the piece of pink paper on the table. It was from my grocery list pad.
HEY! HOPE YOU HAD A GOOD DAY! I BET YOU KNOCKED THEIR SOCKS OFF AT THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. I’M LEAVING THIS IN CASE YOU DIDN’T GET MY TEXT AND YOU BEAT US HOME. WE WENT FISHING BUT WILL BE BACK SOON. ~ ZANE
He did leave a note. I was an idiot for freaking out.
He filled the baggie with ice, wrapped a towel around it, and came to the table. He pulled over another chair. “Here.” He carefully raised my foot and put it on the chair. “Ooh. Yeah. It looks swollen. Let’s ice it for a little bit then we’ll wrap it.” He laid his hands on my leg. “Are you okay? Do you want a glass of water?”
My throat was dry. “Yes, please.”
He didn’t say anything else until he gave me the glass of water. I took a long drink. He lowered his voice. “Grace…did you really think I would hit you?”
“No. No. It was…reflexive. That’s all.”
He leaned closer. “See, I don’t think it’s that at all. I think it’s a learned response.”
I didn’t have the energy to argue with him. I sat staring at my lap.
“Has a man…hit you?”
“I don’t really want to talk about this.”
“Well, that’s too damned bad, because we’re talking about it. I bet it was that douchebag Brad, wasn’t it?”
I raised my gaze to his without saying anything. He jumped to his feet. “That son-of-a-bitch!”
“Zane!”
“Why were you losing it today when we got home? Has he threatened you?” He came closer and hissed. “Threatened to hurt Jamie? You need to tell me, Grace.”
Tears built again. “He said he would make me pay for leaving him. That he would take away what I loved most. And then when you weren’t here…and your shirt….”
He came over to me and squatted, putting a hand on the side of my face. “Hey. Hey. It’s okay. I won’t let anyone hurt you or Jamie. You have my word. I’d die first.” He ran his gaze down my leg. “How did you re-hurt your ankle? Did you see him today?”
I nodded my head rapidly. Now that he knew, I needed to tell someone. “He was waiting for me at the Chamber of Commerce.”
“Did he touch you?”
I froze. I didn’t want him to go seek some sort of stupid revenge.
“Grace, did that man hit you?”
“No. He didn’t hit me.”
“But he did touch you. What did he do?”
I glanced up. It seemed like Jamie was engrossed in his movie. “I tried to run away from him and twisted my ankle again.”
“Mm-hmm. And then what happened?”
I sighed. “He grabbed me and slammed me against the wall.”
He straightened and walked a few feet away, turning his back and putting his hands on his hips. He was staring at the ceiling for some reason. “I’ll kill him.”
Shit. “See, this is why I didn’t tell you.”
He spun on his heel and came back toward me. “If I ever see that man, I’ll rip his head off and shove it up his ass.”
“Uhh…interesting choice, but can you lower your voice? You’re going to scare Jamie.”
He stared at me with his hands on his hips, and without turning, called out, “Jamie. Are you scared, bud?”
“Nope. I want to rip his head off, too.”
“Jamie!” I was shocked, but a little amused, too. “See what you’re teaching him.”
“I’ll have you know I taught him all sorts of things. Jamie, how are you supposed to kiss girls?”
“Soft and gentle.”
“See?” Zane said smugly.
“Or hard and dirty.”
Zane’s eyes widened. “He was listening to us. I did not teach him that. I swear.”
I had to laugh. I really liked Zane’s sexy nerdy look with his glasses, his jackets, his ties and the suspenders he wore yesterday. It was unusual in a community—the rock world—where the dress code was quite different.
Zane frowned, casting a glance toward the living room. “That little stinker.” He pulled out a chair and sat, now animated. “You know what else he said to me today?”
I was relieved the subject changed. “What?”
“When I told him I’ve never gone fishing before, he—”
“Wait. You’ve never been fishing?”
“It’s not like it’s mandatory for every American citizen to go fishing. So when I said that he said, ‘So that’s why you’re so bad at it.’”
I covered my mouth with my hand to hide my laughter.
“Oh, so you think it’s funny.”
“Yeah. Kind of.”
He hung his head.
“I’m sorry. He can be quite blunt.”
“No kidding.” He lifted his gaze and studied me. “Listen. You had a long and sucky day. I’m calling for pizza, but we’re talking about this later.”
“I did file for a restraining order, after.”
“You did?”
I nodded.
“Well, that’s good. I’m staying here tonight, by the way. I’ll stay on the couch, but no way am I leaving you guys alone here.”
I reached for his face. “Has anyone ever told you you’re sweet for a rock star?”
He chuckled. “No. No one’s ever said that to me.”
I gave him a quick kiss. “Well, you are.
CHAPTER TEN
Zane
We had a nice evening of pizza, puzzles, and the planet, and by that I mean Animal Planet. Working with Jamie on the puzzles was the first time I really saw his difficulties, beyond his general childlike behavior. Grace was so patient with him. She was amazing in any number of ways, and I was only starting to discover that.
I was still seething inside about that man laying a hand on her, but I tried to keep it hidden. The thought of her being afraid…it made everything inside me hot and tight. But, between that asshat Brad and myself, she’d certainly had enough drama lately. I didn’t want her to have to worry for one evening, so I tried to make things as pleasant as possible.
While she was putting Jamie to bed, I cleaned up a little. I ran out of things to do before she got back, so when she came in, I was sitting on the couch musing.
“He probably nodded off before I even got out of the room. He was fighting it hard. I’ll come sit by you in a moment. I only want to….” She surveyed the room. “Did you clean in here?”
“Yeah. A little.”
“Well, I’ll just….” She stuck her head in the kitchen. “You cleaned the kitchen, too?”
I rolled a shoulder. “There wasn’t much to do.”
“Well aren’t you the best little rock star ever?” She crossed to me and sat on my lap. “You sure know the way to a girl’s heart.”
I smiled, kissing her. “I have other ways, too.”
She touched her fingertips to my chin on either side. “Oh, I bet you do.” She gave me one solid kiss, then eased back, running a finger along my lip. “Jamie’s asleep now.” S
he stretched back on the couch like we were doing a dip again. “You know what that means?” She crooked a finger at me and I climbed on top of her. “It means you can kiss me…hard and dirty.” That wonderful, wicked, million-dollar grin spread across her face. She laced her fingers into the back of my hair and drew me into a searing kiss. And just like that, she had me amped and ready for anything she wanted, and I hoped she wanted a lot.
I scrounged up some willpower from somewhere, and pulled my lips from hers. “Are you sure you’re not trying to make me forget about the talk we’re supposed to have?”
“No, that’s what I am trying to do. Is it working?”
“Damn straight it is.” I buried my head in her hair, nuzzling her and she ran her nails down my back, finding the tail of my shirt and trying to lift it. I extended my arms to get to my knees and rip it off. I whipped it to the ground and fell back over her, running my tongue along her neck and cruising over her collarbone, down to the buttons on her shirt. I would make this last. I know most people would wait longer to be intimate with someone, but being without a woman for several days didn’t happen with the life we led, and it felt like I’d waited a lifetime to be with Grace.
“Wait. We shouldn’t do this.” Who said that? Was it me? I sat.
“Oh, no, we should.” She scrambled up and straddled me, sliding my glasses from my face and setting them on the end table. “We definitely should.”
“What if Jamie were to walk in on us? We shouldn’t do it here.”
“But we should do it, right?”
“Hell, yeah.” I lifted her from my lap, grabbed my shirt, then reached back to take her hand. “Come on.”
We tiptoed past Jamie’s door like cat burglars and went to the end of the hall. I took the knob to her room, but turned back. “I guess I should ask you if it’s okay if I enter your bedroom before I barge in. Is it okay?”
“Oh, yeah.”
I swept her into my arms, kissing her as I backed into the room. I got déjà vu from the night we brought her home, drunk, but this was a much better circumstance. I threw her on the bed, peeled off my jeans and joined her. I half unbuttoned her, half pulled the buttons out of their holes. She had a beautiful teal bra on, with black lace. Too bad she wouldn’t be wearing it long. She was way more built than I had given her credit for. But it was simply a bonus. She could be as flat as my guitar, and it wouldn’t matter. I got on my knees and she ripped through unbuttoning and unzipping her jeans and slid out of them. Holy shit, was her body perfect.
ROCKED BY GRACE (LOVE AND CHAOS SERIES Book 1) Page 14
