Page 32 of Guarding Grace (Hawk Security #2)

Terry

A little while later, still waiting to hear from Lucas or Zane, I extricated myself from Grace on the sectional and opened the folder Zane had given me.

I powered up my computer and busied myself with a deep dive on the Marku brothers.

Looking over after a few minutes, I caught Grace uncorking another bottle of wine.

She poured a glass and hummed a song to herself.

It was cute. However, this being a weekday night, I didn’t like how much wine she was consuming.

But I likely needed to cut her some slack.

At any rate, before I could decide what to do, my phone rang with Lucas’s name on the screen. “Goodwin,” I answered.

Grace returned from the kitchen, concern written across her pale face. “Millie?”

“Zane is in position, and Grace’s neighbor is fine,” Lucas said.

I put it on speaker so Grace could hear the good news. “Good to hear she’s okay. What’s the plan? Will Zane stay with her?”

The color returned to Grace’s face as she heaved a breath.

“She’s bitching about having a man in her space, but for now, yes. Another thing—Tall Tony has been out of town, and he finally called tonight to yell at me for holding his niece. Man, is she a piece of work. He should pay us for taking her off his hands. ”

“She’s a bitch,” Grace noted, slurring slightly. “Let me teach her a lesson.”

I ignored Grace. “Boss, did you suggest that?”

“I was damn tempted, but no. We have a meeting scheduled tomorrow to hand her over. I intend to get him to reel in Victor, and I’ll make it clear that he is to lay off Grace and everyone associated with her. But he needs a face-saving way to do that.”

Grace beamed and rubbed her hands together, wobbling a bit.

“I’d like you to come with me for the meeting,” Lucas added.

“Sure. We’ll need Winston to take over Grace’s protection for a while. Just let me know when and where. ”

“I will. The timing isn’t set yet. I got the impression he’s flying back from somewhere. Constance will relieve you in the morning.” He didn’t need to say any more to remind me that he called the shots.

As soon as I ended the call, Grace asked, “Will Zane stay with Millie beyond tonight?”

“We’ll see that she’s safe,” I assured her. “You heard Lucas. Tomorrow they’re getting the message loud and clear. And when Lucas goes into scary mode, people listen.”

“But you warned that Victor prick, and the bastard still sent his bitch cousin Maria to threaten me and my people.” She moved toward me, and I realized she was notably drunk.

“He put that into motion before we met with him.” I took her in my arms when she reached me. “You should get some sleep.” I kissed the top of her head and let her go.

“Come on.” She took my hand and smiled coyly with a glance at my crotch. “I could make it worth your while.”

“You’ve had quite a bit to drink.” With Lucas’s reminder that she was in a vulnerable place, on top of Constance’s warning, I shouldn’t. I would have to wait for sober Grace to reappear. She really had been through a lot. The drinking was evidence enough of that.

When I didn’t move, she lurched to the fridge and pulled out the wine again.

“You really should go to bed,” I repeated.

“Alone?”

“I have work to do.” I wanted to be in bed with her, but researching the Marku brothers had to be done, and it didn’t feel right to be with her when she was this drunk. Warnings from two people I respected had finally gotten through to me.

This being noble shit sucks swamp water.

Turning away, I went back to my research.

Grace

After refilling my wine glass, I opened my phone again. Rereading the message made me want to puke.

MRS. MONTEFINO: I’m coming to L.A. I want to see my daughter.

ME: Don’t bother.

I set down the phone and gulped the liquid memory eraser as if it could also negate the hurt from years ago. I should have written a stronger warning to stay away. Letting my mother back into my life after the way she’d left was not going to happen.

She’d left us for another man and never looked back. It had been so painful that for years our explanation had been that she’d died—and that’s how much contact we had with her.

I leaned on the granite island. I wasn’t a heavy drinker, but my life had turned to complete shit, and I needed this glass and more to dull the sensation of helplessness.

“Hey there, Kitten,” Terry surprised me from behind.

I turned with my empty glass.

“Who’s Mrs. Montefino?”

Fuck. I’d left the phone open to her message on the granite.

“Nobody,” I tried.

“Who’s her daughter?”

He’d vowed to always be honest with me, and now I felt trapped by his promise. “I am.”

His mouth dropped open. He knew our mom had left me and Pete when we were young, but not the complete story. “Sorry. Do you want to talk about it?”

“No.” That was one thing I was certain of.

“I’m here when you’re ready.”

I had nothing to say to that.

“I’m going out to check on Winston.”

“Okay.”

Once he disappeared, my mind spiraled. What if the Russo guys don’t listen to Lucas? What if they keep coming? Who else will get hurt?

I desperately wanted to snuggle in bed with Terry, but he’d made it clear he wasn’t in the mood. Drunk, my ass. So what if I need to take the edge off after all that’s happened? Finishing my wine, I walked unsteadily back to the sectional.

Opening my phone again, I called the number Elliot had used to call me this morning. It went to voicemail. “Elliot, things are getting bad,” I whispered. “You have to call me.” I stared at the phone. There wasn’t anything else to say, so I hung up.

“Grace?” Terry called. He wanted to ignore me when I needed him, so I could ignore him, couldn’t I?

I hadn’t meant to drink this much this evening, but the text threat to my neighbor had triggered me.

And now, I’d been worn down by my Mom troubles.

Returning to the kitchen, I poured the rest of the bottle into my glass.

I should have asked about tequila to begin with.

It would have gotten the job done quicker.

Footsteps sounded behind me. “You should get some sleep,” Terry’s voice came from the doorway. Talk about repetition.

I chugged the wine, set down my glass, and opened the fridge. “As soon as I get a refill.”

A second later, the glass was lifted from the island. “You’ve had enough for tonight.”

Yup, Terry was back in jailer mode. He could be so exasperating.

“I need another,” I complained. I really planned on at least two more.

“Won’t a hangover tomorrow make a poor impression with your customers? Go to bed. Now.”

“Yes, sir.” I saluted and closed the door before stomping off—and I could stomp with the best of them. It wasn’t fair to use logic against me.

Slamming the guest bedroom door closed, I searched through the things Constance had helped me unpack. Plenty of shoes, skirts, blouses, bras, and those damned thongs, but nothing to sleep in.

“That’s what you get when you have a badass SEAL pack for you,” Constance had said.

So, Zane wanted me to sleep naked. Well, screw that. Everyone was trying to force me to do things I didn’t want to do. I yanked open the door and yelled down the hall, “Do you have anything I can sleep in?”

“You can sleep in the nude. It’s healthier.”

“Arg.” I slammed the door shut. That’s when I spotted the wine bottle I’d brought in earlier.

A minute and two quick swallows later, a knock sounded at the door. “I have a T-shirt, if that will help.”

Finally, some compassion from my jailer. I hid the bottle and opened the door. “Thank you. ”

His eyes held mine for longer than it took to hand me the shirt.

I grabbed the doorjamb to steady myself. “Can you help me put it on?” I tried for seductive.

His lip twitched.

Come on, big guy, give in for once and let me win . I so wanted to cuddle after the day I’d had. The wine had helped, but what I really needed was to be in his strong arms, shielded from the shitstorm around me.

“No. You’re drunk, and I have work to do. Sleep well, Kitten,” he said before walking away.

“I will,” I snapped. Slamming the door didn’t make me feel any better. It struck me that I’d gone into the guest bedroom because that’s where Constance had helped me hang up all my things.

Terry hadn’t said he’d join me. And he hadn’t told me to sleep in his bed, asked me, or whatever. Did that mean he didn’t want me to? Didn’t want me? I sniffled, hoping that wasn’t it.

I’d never figure him out. Screw it. As much as I wanted him here, I wasn’t the begging kind.

When the room swam, I decided he was right about one thing—I needed to get in bed while I could still walk.

After brushing my teeth, I tried on the T-shirt. It swamped me, but loose was better than too tight. Clicking off the light, I found the bed in the darkness.

The flashbacks started almost immediately—the two guys slamming me against the car about to abduct me after the party, the Taser and the guy dragging me to the SUV when I met Elliot, the bitch Maria threatening to kill one of my people, the assholes shooting at us, and the message tonight threatening to hurt Millie.

Why had Elliot made my life such a shitshow? I couldn’t take it and stumbled to the light switch. It blinded me at first, but blinking, I focused on the door handle.

I’d felt safe in his arms earlier, and for a second, I considered finding Terry.

But I wasn’t drunk enough to ignore reality—it would make me feel ten times worse to be rejected again.

I could hear him in my head, “ Don’t get hysterical, Grace.

Go to bed. You’re drunk, and I have work to do. ” That would sting.

So screw the hangover, I picked up the wine bottle again. I needed more, a lot more, to get some shut-eye tonight.

Terr y

At one in the morning, I finally felt I’d gotten everything out of the files that I could, so I turned off the living room lights.