Page 13 of Guarding Grace

“You’re not the boss of me. Those days are over.”

Her acting like a ten year old changed nothing. “There are guys that carry guns and knives after you, and you’re my responsibility.”

“Whocarry guns and knives,” she corrected.

“Whatever,” I snarled. “My place, not yours.”

“That’s right, you tell her,” a guy on the other side of the curtain said.

“You keep out of this,” Grace snapped, slapping at the curtain.

“You sure got a wild one there,” the guy continued.

I grabbed her arm as she went for the curtain, probably to pull it back and tell the guy off to his face. “We’re leaving, and you’re staying by my side.”

“You’re impossible,” she said, stomping out of the little exam area.

As she swept past me out of the space, I caught a whiff of her lemony scent. Carrying her, seeing her bare back, touching her, now smelling her—it was all going to drive me insane. I followed her wordlessly because the nurses at the station down the hall were all looking our way. Our argument would play out better in the car than here in public.

“You’re limping,” I observed as I followed her.

“Sore hip from the fall.”

“No aspirin for you,” I noted.

“Thank you, Captain Obvious. I know that. This isn’t my first…” Her words trailed off.

“There she is,” Serena said as we pushed through the doors to the waiting area. “They said one person at a time, so they wouldn’t let us back to see you.” She gestured to Duke next to her and engulfed Grace in a big hug. “My God, you look like you lost a fight with a bulldozer.”

When the girls parted, I instinctively moved next to Grace.

“The guy was big,” Grace admitted. “But Terry here took care of him like he was a ten year old.” She made two punching moves with her fists. “Pow, pow, and he was down.”

Duke nodded with a smile.

“Mild concussion,” Grace explained to Serena. “They don’t want me to be alone for twenty-four hours, soooo…” She drew out the word. “Could I spend the night with you guys?”

“Sure.” Serena squealed. “Sleepover time. We’ll keep an eye on you, right, honey?”

“Of course,” Duke agreed.

I rolled my eyes. The minx had just outmaneuvered me. “I’ll pick you up in the morning to go to work,” I told her.

“Whatever.” Grace didn’t even look my way.

I pulled her phone from my pocket. “I think this is yours.”

She snatched it with a smile and a nod. “Thank you. I need that.”

All the way to my car, I berated myself. Sure, I needed to protect Grace, but could I have been more diplomatic about it? Sure. Would it have made a difference to her? Given her disposition, probably not. But I was also suddenly envious of Serena and Duke.

Back home,I climbed out of the rental tux, noting the bloodstains. I hoped it could be cleaned. But if I’d been a minute later, Grace would have been hurt even worse, and there would be a stain on my soul that nothing could clean.

Our boss, Lucas Hawk, was as tough as they came, a former member of both Delta Force and Omega Section. His connections in the spec ops and intel communities ran deep. His reputation was legendary. Men who underestimated him could be found in graveyards around the globe.

I needed a quick shower to rinse the blood spray from my hair, and also the stink of near failure from my body. I turned on the water and waited for it to heat.

At Duke and Serena’s tonight, Grace would be safe and secure. Duke would see to that. Plus, I wouldn’t be tempted to check on her in the middle of the night. That thought had me hard, so I turned the water to lukewarm. It didn’t help that my mind returned to her in that damned sex-goddess dress tonight. What would I have said if she were awake when I opened her bedroom door to check on her?