Page 11 of Ever After
“My place. You’ll be safe there.”
She shakes her head and reaches for the door. “No, I’ll be fine here. I’m not staying with you.”
I pull the car out of the spot, heading north, and she falls back in her seat, letting go of the door handle.
“That’s not a request. It’s an order. Tell me about the call.” I’m doing my best to pay attention to the road, but I have a strong urge to pull her into my arms—let her know she’s safe. She’s shaking like a leaf, so the call must have been bad. I place my hand on her thigh, and she drops her petite hand on top of mine. Her fingers are cold, and it helps rein in the anger I feel.
“It was short. Just that I’m sticking my nose where it doesn’t belong and that I’m walking a fine line.”
“Shit,” I mutter.
She looks over at me but doesn’t say anything. She’s waiting for me to say more. I want to tell her about the tracker, but I’m trying to figure out the best way to do so without scaring her more. Food. I’m going to order some food and give her a drink or two, then when she’s calm, I’ll break it to her.
“How about some pizza and beer for dinner?”
She sighs and shakes her head slowly. “How long am I your prisoner?”
I let out a hearty laugh. “I promise I’ll bring you back later if you want. You were shaking like a leaf when we got to your place. I want to make sure you’re fine.”
She forms an O shape with her mouth and mutters, “Thanks.”
“So, pizza and beer?”
That earns an honest smile from her. “Yeah, that sounds great. Thanks, Grayson.”
“I’m really not as bad as you remember. I promise.”
The rest of the ride is silent, and I help her out of the truck when we get to my house on the north side of town. It’s a small green bungalow, with black shutters and a few small bushes in front of the front porch. It’s nothing special, but it’s the perfect size for me. She smiles as she looks at it, and for some reason, that makes me happy.
I order a pizza and pull a few beers out of the fridge. She sips hers slowly while I guzzle the first one down fast. I open another bottle and take a small sip before putting it on the coffee table. God, I wish she would drink the beer. This would be a lot easier if she was a little drunk.
“You already know I added a tracker to your car—”
“Which I’ll be removing tonight when I get home. Thank you for that.”
I roll my eyes and sigh. “When I went to place it, another one was already there. I’m not the only one tracking you.”
The color drains from her face, her eyes widen, and her body trembles again. She wraps her arms around herself and swallows hard. She stays silent as she processes the information. “How long?” she whispers.
She looks so helpless. I want to pull her into my arms and make everything better. I want her to feel safe and protected. “I have no idea, and I don’t know who it belongs to. We can remove it, but that might trigger something to happen if this person knows you are on to them.”
“So, you just want me to leave it alone?” Her voice raises an octave, the panic setting in. “I need to figure out who would want to do this to Nick. He has never been anything but nice and generous. I have so many more years of notes I can go through, so much more I can uncover if I just have the time.”
I hold her face gently between my rough hands, so she has to focus on me. Her wild eyes dart back and forth between mine as I try to keep my gaze light and reassuring. “Finley, it’s going to be okay. I’ll protect you, but you need to stop getting involved in anything that involves Nick Genova. Don’t talk to people, don’t review notes, don’t question things. Can you do that for me?”
I nod my head slowly, and she follows the action the best she can with me still holding her face. She places her hands over mine, and the warmth radiating from her fingers settles in my groin. She leans forward, places a tender kiss on my lips, and pulls back as I blink at her in surprise.
“What was that for?”Not that I minded in the least. If I had my way, it would be much longer.
“For making me feel better. Would it be all right if I stay here tonight? Not sure I like the idea that these people know where I live.”
I’d like nothing more than to have her share my bed with me for the night, but I’ll set her up in the guest room. “Sure.”
Chapter Six
Finley
Grayson drops me off at my condo around nine in the morning so he can get to work. I’m happy to get away from him and cool down. I didn’t sleep well at all, knowing he was in the other room all night. It was also difficult as I slept in one of his t-shirts and smelled him all night. I woke a few times and thought about sneaking into his room but then thought better of it. I crossed a line last night with the kiss, and I don’t want to seem desperate, even though I’m teetering on the edge of being so.