“Oh, the gun range, huh?”
“Yeah, you ever shot a gun?”
“Once or twice,” she says with a shrug.
“That’s surprising. I didn’t think city girls did that kinda thing.”
She smiles. “I’m full of surprises.”
“I bet you are,” I reply, sliding my empty plate toward the bar.
She winks at me before she looks back at the TV. My emotions are all over with this one. I’m torn between wanting to fuck her—because look at her—and wanting to be her best friend.
She seemed so uptight earlier, but maybe I saw her wrong. Or maybe this is her happy place and I’m getting to see a side of her that most don’t.
She’s carefree here. A part of me feels like she isn’t like that very often.
One thing is for sure. I’m liking everything about her.
Chapter Seventeen
Harlow
Hours before
Walking into my apartment, I can’t stop thinking about Grocery Store Guy and the odd feeling I’ve seen him before. Not at Red or anywhere out in public, but I’ve seen his face. It bothers me so bad. I place my grocery bag onto the couch and walk over to my desk. My chest aches, and I’ve got this sick feeling in my gut. I flip open the folder sitting there and scan my eyes over its contents.
Grant, Bryce
Thirty-three-year-old Caucasian male
Owner of Red in Atlanta, GA
Adopted at thirteen
Birth Parents. N/A
Suspected of running an illegal gambling operation
Younger brother: Grant, Jace
Twenty-six
Army
My heart stops, like literally packs its shit and walks out the door.
I flip through the pages, and there he is staring back at me.
Jace Grant.
How did I not see this before? I guess with the phone call interrupting us, I didn’t put two and two together.
Oh my God.
And I’m about to go on a date with him!
Slim jumps up onto the desk, wanting me to pet him.
“This is not cool, Slim. What am I going to do? I’ve invited him to the local hangout, too.” I sit down and place my hand on my head as I lean back. My eyes look to the ceiling and then back in front of me where the photos of Chloe’s case are.
This is what’s important. Finding her, not some cute guy I met at a grocery store.
My mind runs and I get a pinch of hope in my chest. “This is my way in,” I say to Slim. “This is how I’m going to bust Bryce Grant. I’ll use his brother to do it, and the faster I get it done, the faster I can get back on Chloe’s case.”
I look at the email again, reading over the words. Little rabbit.
I know what I have to do now. A part of me feels bad it has to be this way. Why does he have to be Jace Grant?
What? Were you thinking about making this more after the first date? You’re busy all the time. Your job requires you to work eighty hours a week sometimes, and how are you going to focus on finding Chloe if you’re falling for a guy? my brain chimes in.
“We don’t have time for that, do we, Slim?”
He meows and my eyes go down to my watch. Shit, I’ve got to get ready. I jump up and head for the shower.
Afterward, I slide into a good pair of jeans and one of my Braves shirts. I didn’t have time to wash and dry my hair, so I run the curling iron through it to get some waves before putting a baseball cap on. I hurry out of my room to grab my phone and call Hudson Grille.
Chris, the bartender, answers, “Hudson’s.”
“Chris, it’s Harlow.”
“What’s up?” he asks.
“So, look, I’m on a new case, and I need your help.”
“Sounds interesting. What can I do?”
“I need you to act like you don’t know me as well as you do. Also, my name is not Harlow. It’s…” I look up for a moment. “Michelle.”
“Michelle?” he says. “Are you undercover or something?”
“I need you to take this seriously, Chris. This is important. Don’t mess this up.”
“I got you.”
“Okay. Save two seats at the bar near the TV. I’ll be there soon. Don’t let anyone sit there. The guy I’m with will have a buzzed cut and blue eyes. He’s really cute.”
“Yeah, yeah,” he says. “I’ll save the seats.”
“Thank you,” I reply before hanging up.
I take a deep breath. “You’ve got this, girl. Just put on some charm and make this boy yours. All you gotta do is get him to trust you.”
Yeah, because it’s that simple to lie to a person and act like you’re someone else.
I shake my head.
Please, don’t fuck this up, Dalton.
___________
I step out of my car, the night air slipping down my shirt and warming my skin. Looking around the parking lot, I wonder if he’s already here. I called Davy on the way over and told him what was going on.
He’s happy about this. Says it’s a good plan.
Jesus, let him be right.
I pull open the door, seeing Jace already down at the bar. I hear Chris ask him if he’s with Michelle, and I speak up when Jace looks confused. He turns to me, his eyes doing a once-over down my body, his lips lifting. Good. He likes what he sees.
It’s showtime.
Chapter Eighteen
Harlow
“Nah, Adams literally walked around with a hole in the back of his pants and underwear. You could see his ass as clear as day.”
I throw my head back and laugh. “Why would y’all do that to him?”
Jace shrugs. “We had the firecrackers, and he was there. He only had a few burns on his ass. To pay us back, he made us look at it until our drill sergeant caught sight, and then we all had to do a hundred push-ups.”
“Oh my God,” I snicker. “That’s terrible.” I pick up my water and drink from my straw.
“Yeah, good times,” he says. He looks down for a moment, his mind seeming to go elsewhere. I tilt my head slightly as a frown shows on his face. We’ve been here for hours now. Most of the place is empty, the game long over.
“You okay?” I ask, putting my glass down.
He snaps his head up, his lips still frowning, but like he didn’t just go off into his own world, he gives me a smile.
“Yeah, just realized I haven’t talked about any of the guys in a while.”
I search his eyes. Dark blue around the rims with bits of light blue throughout. They almost look like a swimming pool. A very inviting pool of water, with the sun glistening off the top. Behind the beauty, I see a hint of pain. Reading people is part of my job. This boy is hurting, and I want to know why. I look away, because I realize he’s been staring at me, too, and I have my own secrets.
Like the fact I’m not who he thinks I am.
Get your shit together, Dalton.
This is a job.
Nothing else.
I clear my throat, deciding I need to ask some questions.
“So your brother owns Red?” I ask, looking back at him as I mess with my straw.
“Yeah,” he replies. “But that’s enough about me. Tell me about you.”
Shit.
“What do you want to know?”
“Bar is closing soon, folks,” Chris says. My eyes go to my watch and I realize it’s nearly midnight.
“Oh my God, I didn’t know it was so late.”
“Well, you got out of that,” Jace says with a smirk. He sits up and pulls out his wallet, tossing enough down to cover everything.
“I can pay for my own,” I say to him.
“I got it,” he says. “This was my idea anyway.”
I bite down on my lip and look over at Chris who’s wiping out some glasses. He gives me a sideways glance. “Thanks,” I say to Jace as he stands up.
“Thank me by giving me your number,” he says.
My heart thumps.
“Okay
,” I reply. He hands me his phone after he unlocks it, and I enter my contact info, almost forgetting and putting Harlow instead of Michelle.
Damn, this isn’t going to be easy. I need to go home and refocus. Jace has been great all evening. I haven’t had fun like this in a long time.
A really, really long time.
I stand up and adjust my shirt, not really sure what to do now.
I mean, I know we walk to our cars, but do we hug or anything?
That seems odd, right?
Was this a date?
He paid for my drink and food and he asked me here. Well, I told him where we’re going. I can be a little bossy, I guess.
I’m just used to doing my own thing.
We walk out and I give Chris a wave behind Jace’s back and mouth a thank you. He nods and we exit the pub.
The moon is hanging high and it’s full, covering everything in a bright glow.
“This was nice,” I say to Jace as I head to my car.
“Just nice?” he asks with a smile.
This man smiles a lot. Good thing he’s got a beautiful one. His teeth shine bright, and his eyes glisten. I have the strongest urge to rub my hand across his five o’clock shadow.
I have other urges, too, but let’s not think about those.
He looks at my lips when I grin back before glancing at my eyes again.
“A little more than nice,” I counter.
He balls his fist and whispers, “yes,” like his favorite team just scored a run.
I laugh and pull out my car keys, unlocking the doors with the key fob.
I reach for the handle and pull the door open. Turning around, I rest my hand on the edge of the door as Jace slides his hands into his front pockets.
God, why does he have to be Jace Grant?
Does the universe hate me this much?
This man is gorgeous, funny, and a breath of fresh air for me.
I want him to kiss me.
I want him to so badly, I can feel it in my stomach. I haven’t wanted anyone to kiss me in a long time.
He studies me for a moment before slowly backing away. “I’ll call you, okay?”
I swallow. “Okay.”
He looks me over one last time before turning and heading down to the only other car parked here. It’s a truck.
I release my disappointment with a hard exhale. Shaking my head, I climb into my car and head home.
It’s a short drive. I was telling the truth about living close to Hudson’s. Just a few blocks away. My mind replays the evening, and I think about how many times I almost messed up.
When Jace called me Michelle and I didn’t answer.
I almost spilled that the boys from the Bureau come here and hang out. I covered that quickly, though, acting like I was talking about my dad’s friends.
I wasn’t prepared when he asked me my last name.
I came up with the librarian job because I’d just talked to Monroe and he mentioned the library. It was fresh on my mind.
I need to go home and get my story together. If I’m going to be spending a lot of time with that man, I need be prepared to tell him about myself.
I don’t have to lie about everything, though. I can talk about my family, just leave out a few key details.
I can show him where I live. I just need to clean up a bit. I can still tell him I went to college, and we can talk about how I grew up.
Maybe I can do this.
Maybe it won’t be so hard.
I climb out of my car and head inside. After I step off the elevator, I walk to my door, my mind still on Jace and still wishing he would have kissed me. I wonder what his lips taste like, how his hands would feel as he touched me.
Am I not supposed to sleep with him?
I’m sure that’s something I don’t need to do. I already know I like the guy, so sleeping with him would complicate things. I lean back against my door after I shut it.
One night.
One long evening talking and laughing, that’s all it was.
Then why do I feel like it was something more?
I hit my head on the door and look down at my phone.
I might not be able to sleep with Jace, but I’ve got to do something to ease this ache I now have.
I unlock my phone and shoot Malcom a text.
Busy?
I push away from the door and walk to the bathroom as I wait for his response. Removing my ball cap, I gather my hair and put it into a messy bun before brushing my teeth. My phone chimes.
I look over at it.
Nope. Be there in a minute.
I spit and rinse my mouth before unbuttoning my jeans and removing them along with my panties. Lifting my shirt, I toss it onto the chair and unclasp my bra because this is what it is, and there’s no need to pretend like it’s anything else.
It’s a lay.
Not a romance.
A knock sounds on the door. I grab my robe and head out of the bedroom, checking the peephole first, making sure it’s Malcom. He stands on the outside looking down. I unlock the door, and he tilts his head up.
“Hey,” he says.
“Hey,” I reply. I move out of the way and he steps inside.
As soon as the door is shut, we grab each other and I close my eyes, pretending it’s Jace the whole time.
I know I’m messed up.
I know I’m truly fucked.
Chapter Nineteen
Jace
Weeks slip past us, like only time knows how to do. It’s stealth. You almost don’t even pay it attention. Summertime is almost over but keeps reminding us it’s not when we head out. Bryce and I have come to a free concert downtown and we’ve run into Harrison. She’s with some friends, and I can tell my brother is falling hard for the girl.
It’s an odd, happy thing to witness. The man has been alone for so long. Hell, he didn’t even date when we were growing up. He’s always preferred it that way, but I can tell his whole world is changing. And it’s all because of this girl sitting beside him.
My phone vibrates and I check the screen.
You lost. Michelle texts.
I smile to myself. We had a bet going that she couldn’t go a whole week without eating nuts. The girl is a nut freak. I mean, peanut butter, sunflower seeds, pistachios. She’s always eating them when we talk on the phone. It doesn’t even annoy me.
I don’t think anything she does annoys me.
You went a whole week? I respond.
Yep. You lost and you owe me now.
What do you want? I text back.
It takes her a minute to respond, so I put the phone back and listen to Harrison’s friends talk about the concerts and how hot it is. But my mind stays on the girl I can’t seem to get enough of.
She’s beautiful, down-to-earth, not into anything flashy, and she’s starting to have this hold on me.
It’s exhilarating.
I’ve even chilled out on partying. It’s crazy. I’ve been going to the ranch a lot and working. It feels good to have a purpose.
I still have my wild nights out occasionally, and I’m still sleeping with other women, and Michelle does her own thing.
I fucking hope she isn’t sleeping with anybody, but I can’t tell her not to. We don’t even know what’s going on between us, and it’s only been a month. My phone vibrates again, and I grab it.
Cook me dinner. She replies.
Done. I’ll even do it at your place so you don’t have to get out.
Okay!
Her place… Could this mean we can take things farther? I’ve never in my life gone this slowly with a chick before. It’s fucking killing me. Being around her is like seeing the ocean for the first time.
That feeling that something is so much bigger than you.
“What are you smiling about?” Bryce asks from beside me.
I put my phone down. “Nothing,” I respond. My brother doesn’t know it, but he isn’t the only one who’s catching feelings.
______
______
I’m due at Michelle’s in a little while to cook, but I wanted to stop by Bryce’s and talk to him for a minute. He didn’t answer his phone, so I’m hoping he’s here and alone. I know he’s not the best person to give me advice on relationships, but I want someone’s input on this. I really like this chick, and I don’t want to fuck it up. Besides, he’s my brother. Our relationship hasn’t always been the best, but we’ve been getting along well lately. I value his opinion, and he’s obviously doing something right. Harrison is sticking around.
I exit my truck, walk inside, and head up to the top floor. Yeah, my brother has the penthouse. A whole floor just for him.
It’s over-the-top, if you ask me, but whatever. I step off the elevator and use my key to walk into the apartment.
“Harrison,” I say when my eyes land on her standing in the kitchen, and then I look to my right.
What? I feel my face pale.
“Mom?” I can’t believe what I’m seeing. This isn’t right. Why is Mary here? What the hell is Mary doing here? What the fuck is going on?
I slightly shake my head and run a hand over it as I narrow my eyes in utter confusion.
“Jace, my boy,” she says and runs over to me with a hand over her mouth. She knocks me stupid when she throws her arms around me, and I look to Harrison before looking down at the floor. Has she ever hugged me? Like, really hugged me.
I don’t dare touch her. My arms splay out, like Jesus on the cross.
This is too much. This is insane. I haven’t seen this woman in over twenty years. A bomb filled with pain bursts inside my chest, sending tiny sharp fragments throughout my bloodstream, slicing tissue and making me bleed, but then something else happens.
I remember.
I remember it all.
Anger. Pure, utter anger seeps from my pores.
I step back from her. “What are you doing here?”
Her arms come to her sides with her elbows bending. “Your brother invited me here.”
I laugh, because that’s ridiculous. “He invited you here?” I ask unbelievingly.
“Yes,” she says lowly. She looks down, and is that guilt I see?
Give Me Redemption (Give Me Series Book 4) Page 8
