Page 41 of Guarding Grace (Hawk Security #2)

“The week after next, then,” Mr. Lim suggested .

“She’s busy then, too,” Terry said firmly.

“He’s right,” I said as calmly as I could. “I’m very busy right now. I do appreciate the offer, Mr. Lim, and I want to think it over. I’ll be in touch when I have some time available to give it my full attention.”

Lim stood, an unreadable expression on his face. His wife followed suit.

My belly churned, afraid that Terry’s outburst had derailed the rapport we’d built. They were cordial as they departed, but less than enthusiastic. When I shook hands with them, I could no longer tell where we stood. I handed the Lims off to Peyton to see them out.

Serena and Duke stood quietly by my office door, no doubt here because of the shooting outside, but that would come second.

Stifling my feelings, I waved to my best friend and her man before shoving Terry back into the demo room and closing the door.

“What?” he asked, as if we had been in different meetings.

“I only let you in there,” I yelled, “because you agreed to be quiet, sit in the corner, and not be disruptive. How dare you interrupt and speak for me? I run this business, and I can make my own decisions about investors.” I flailed my arms in frustration.

“You doing that gorilla imitation may have cost me that investment.”

Terry was unfazed, standing in front of me with his brawny arms crossed and a hint of a smirk.

Damn him . “You think this is funny? SpaceMasters is my baby. I built it up from nothing.”

“No. I don’t think any of this is funny. I admire your passion for the business.”

That was actually nice.

“But,” he raised his voice, “weren’t you just downstairs when we were getting shot at?

” He advanced on me and pointed a finger.

“Do you think that’s funny? Like it or not, your safety comes first, last, and everything in between.

You will not go out in public. There will be no business dinners, business lunches, or any of that shit until this crap that Elliot has brought down on you is finished. ”

I backed away. “You don’t need to yell at me.” Of course I ignored that I’d started the yelling.

He backed me against the wall. “I will not apologize for giving a shit about you.” He put his hands against the wall, caging me in.

“You follow my instructions when it comes to your safety. That is not up for debate. I will not apologize for being passionate when your safety is on the line.” Fiery eyes held mine with an intensity that matched the volume of his voice. Passionate was the right word .

Heat bloomed in my chest. We may have gone back to arguing with each other, but that was actually a really sweet sentiment. “Are you done?” I breathed in a lowered voice.

“Not quite.” His breath was warm on my face.

I licked my lips, awaiting his.

The door opened. “Hey, guys,” Serena said. “This room isn’t as soundproof as you think.”

Terry

Serena had the worst damned timing. I pulled back, releasing Grace from the wall.

“Oops,” Serena said as her eyes shifted to us.

Grace’s cheeks were flushed as she moved away from the wall. “I think we’re done with our discussion.”

“Totally,” I agreed.

Duke walked in behind Serena. “Sorry, man, I couldn’t stop her.”

I nodded. Serena could be an unstoppable force.

Jordy, Constance, and Zane followed Duke in.

Serena punched Duke in the shoulder. “I needed to make sure my girl was all right.”

Duke rubbed his shoulder, although I doubted Serena could possibly hit hard enough to hurt him. “She’s his girl first.”

I couldn’t hold back the smile. “Damned straight.” I gathered Grace against me, and she didn’t resist.

Jordy held out his hand. “Hey, I need the keys to your place.”

“Why?”

“Because of what Thomas Edison once said.” Lucas’s ice-cold voice announced his presence before he appeared. “What’s that, Duke?” It was his turn to get quizzed.

Duke hesitated only a second. “‘ Good fortune is what happens when opportunity meets with planning .’”

Lucas nodded.

“Which is?” I questioned.

Constance spoke up. “To be ready for them. Your name will be in the police report regarding the shooting downstairs, and your place could become a target. Jordy is going to link your security system into Hawk.”

“And videos of the shooting have already gone viral on the internet,” Jordy said.

“I think the best one is this clip.” He pointed his phone toward us.

“You and the rest of Grace’s team facing off against this other dude.

” It was me putting Sakman in his place, with most of Grace’s employees in the background.

Lucas stepped forward. “Sending an out-of-town hit team after Grace is a serious escalation. We’re going to be prepared if they decide to come back at you tonight, and once we figure out which group hired them, we’ll go after them. I will not allow this to stand.”

“I think it’s Elliot they were after,” Grace mumbled.

Lucas looked first to me and then Duke.

“I can’t say one way or the other,” Duke responded.

“When this whole thing started,” I said, “their plan was to get Grace in order to lure out Elliot. I think Grace is right. It’s more likely that Elliot was the target. Shooting her doesn’t advance their agenda.”

Grace cringed.

Lucas nodded. “That takes a bit of the pressure off, but we’re still not going to let our guard down tonight.

Duke, Zane, and Constance are providing backup at your place.

Winston and I are on call if you need us.

Jordy, you need to locate Amir Marku. One way or another, he’s going to hear from me.

” He pivoted to Grace. “Any idea where Elliot would slink off to?”

She shook her head. “The warehouse was my only idea.”

Serena moved next to Grace and took her hand. “I’ll be with you too.”

Grace smiled and nodded. “Thanks.”

“Let’s get to it,” Lucas announced.