Page 14 of Fatal Intent

Vince led them to a black Fortress SUV and unlocked the doors with a click of his remote. While he sat in the driver’s seat, Grant opened the back door for Rayne and climbed in beside her.

Vince waited until he turned onto West Main Street before he said, “I don’t know what the detectives have on you, Ms. Weatherly, but you should be prepared for them to come after you hard. Those boys think you killed Grant’s former girlfriend.”

CHAPTER FOUR

HOW DID SHEland in this much trouble simply by going for a run? Rayne shook her head, disgusted by the morning’s turn of events. As bad as she felt about the drama, she should have gone home to shower instead of agreeing to talk with Grant at his home before they drove to Fortress headquarters for training. She wasn’t in the mood for a chat.

“I’m sorry.”

She spun to face Grant, who had no expression on his face. Immediately, she went to him and cupped his face between her palms. “No. You don’t get to blame yourself for this. It isn’t your fault.”

“If I hadn’t dated Selena in the first place or perhaps handled the breakup differently….”

“Grant, stop. This isn’t on you.”

“Yeah, babe, it is. If nothing else….”

“Don’t say it,” she snapped.

“What?”

“You know what. Don’t say you should have stayed away from me.” She shoved her hands through her hair and turned away to pace. “Seth and Noah said as much when they were fighting to protect themselves and their wives. You’re smarter than to say something that will make me want to punch you for your own stupidity. It’s bad enough that they did it. Prove you’re smarter than they are.”

His jaw flexed. “You deserve better than to be dragged into the mud because of me.” He cut her off when she tried to protest again. “You know it’s the truth.”

“What I know is we all have things in our past we’d like to keep hidden. What’s true is that secrets always come to the surface, no matter how deep we’ve buried them.”

When she paced by Grant again, he reached out, snagged her wrist, and hauled her into his arms. “Rayne, stop. Please.”

She buried her face in his neck. “Whatever is buried in your past isn’t nearly as bad as mine,” Rayne whispered.

His laugh was short and hard. “You don’t know me that well.”

Rayne glanced up into his pain-filled eyes. “That’s something I intend to change as quickly as possible.”

“Are you sure you want to do that?”

“Positive.” What if Grant rejected her after he learned what she’d done? “If you’re willing to give me a chance.”

Grant cupped her nape. “Baby, if we’d had this conversation last week, I would have been the happiest guy on the planet. To have a chance with you is a dream come true.”

“But?” She knew it was coming.

“It’s not fair to you.”

“How did you reach that conclusion?”

“Several reasons. First, I’m not like my teammates. My family wants nothing to do with me. Second, you can do better than me any day of the week. Third, I don’t want to drag you down with me. Fourth, apparently my taste in women is questionable.”

Amusement swirled through Rayne. “First, I’m not attracted to Seth, Noah, Elias or Andre. I’m attracted to you. Second, my family disowned me. Third, you aren’t dragging me anywhere. I’m walking with you voluntarily. And fourth, I think your tastein women is impeccable since you’re interested in me.” She sobered. “At least for the moment.”

“You expect that to change?”

“It’s possible.”

Grant slid his hand from her nape to her hand and threaded their fingers together. “Come with me.”

“Where are we going?”