Page 62 of Fatal Intent

Grant paused a beat. “I need to go check on them, but I don’t want to leave before the operation ends. I feel like I’m walking out on you.”

“According to Sorenson, we’ll be out of here ourselves soon. Go, Grant. See to your family. Watch your six, my friend. If the perp finds out you’re home, he’ll follow.”

That’s exactly what Grant feared. Not only was danger dogging his steps, but that same danger might touch his friends, family, and the woman he adored.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

GRANT SLOWED HISSUV as he crossed into Duncan’s town limits. As always, he felt nothing seemed to change in the town where he grew up. He saw the same ice cream parlor and dry cleaners in the town square. The 24-hour diner was still in operation with the same color scheme, running the same specials for the weekend. Duncan seemed caught in a time warp.

His lips curved. If he had time, he’d take Rayne to the ice cream parlor. When he was in high school, that was the place to take your dates when you weren’t flush with money.

“This is where you grew up?” Rayne’s gaze remained fixed on the view out the passenger side window.

“Yeah, it is.”

“Duncan is wonderful. It looks like someone took a photo from the cover of a magazine about small-town America and built the town to match.” She glanced at him over her shoulder. “I don’t know how you made yourself leave to enlist in the Army.”

“It wasn’t hard. I wanted to be more than a gentleman farmer like my father. I wanted to do something with my life that counted.”

“You and your teammates saved many lives with your service to our country and Ardmore, and still are serving others now with Fortress.”

Grant’s cheeks burned. “I did what I was trained to do.”

“I still appreciate your service, Grant. It mattered.”

He raised her hand to his mouth and kissed her knuckles. “You’ll find that Duncan differs from Chicago. Small-town dynamics are in full force here.”

“What do you mean?”

“If you’re a resident, everybody knows everything about your life. I couldn’t get away with anything when I was a kid. By the time I got home, someone had already told my parents about my getting in trouble at school and exactly what the trouble entailed.”

Rayne wrinkled her nose. “That’s not fair. How were you supposed to come up with a good explanation if friends and neighbors tattled on you before you arrived at home?”

He chuckled. “The adults in our town viewed that as a positive to small-town living. Me, not so much.”

“I’ll bet. In my hometown, nobody saw or heard anything. It didn’t matter if something was obviously wrong. Everyone turned a blind eye and minded their own business.”

Grant squeezed her hand briefly. “Tough to handle when you’re an abused kid and people treat you as though you’re invisible.”

“No joke. I don’t know how everyone ignored the obvious signs of abuse.”

“Your father was the mayor. No one expected him to beat up his wife and daughter.”

Her free hand fisted. “Law enforcement doesn’t get a pass. I noticed when kids on my beat showed signs of abuse, and I chased down leads. My father knew better. In fact, reducing domestic violence was one platform on which he ran for office.”

“Too bad he didn’t practice his own press,” Grant muttered.

“No kidding. His constituents believed he was the All-American father, the man to emulate when what they saw ended the moment he shut the front door.”

“I wish I could erase all that you suffered.”

“So do I. However, the childhood I endured prepared me for life as a cop and an operative.”

Figuring his girl needed a break from the emotional conversation, Grant pointed out some of his favorite places in Duncan and shared amusing stories of his escapades in a few of those establishments. By the time he parked at the entrance to the Waterfall Hotel, Rayne’s mood had improved. Her eyes sparkled, and her lips curved into a smile. Exactly the change he wanted.

After he helped Rayne out of the SUV and grabbed their gear, he and Rayne met Andre and Riley on the sidewalk in front of the sliding doors. They went in together to register and get the key cards to their suite.

The desk clerk greeted them pleasantly, registered them, and handed over the cards. “If you need anything, please call the desk. We’ll be glad to assist you.”