Page 23

Chapter

Twenty-One

GRACE

W hen I woke up it was still dark. Though I was alone, the spot where he’d slept was still warm. Stretching, I’d tried to ease the soreness between my legs and threading throughout the rest of me. I really did ache but in the very best of ways.

I lost track of how many hours Legend and I spent in bed. Even when we took breaks or he went for food, he had me stay there. Asked me, really. At one point, he’d even encouraged me to take a bath and when he’d come back he had wine and a charcuterie board.

Delight had curved through me at the board with its bits of cheese, fruit, and jams. There were little crackers and hard bread. The wine was sweet, the cheese sharp, the fruit rich, and Legend sitting on the floor and feeding it to me while I bathed was heavenly.

“Just tonight,” he said. “You need a break from everything.” While that might not have convinced me, his long sigh of, “Fuck knows I need it,” had.

So, we hid away in this room and after the bath, he took me back to bed.

We’d nap, fuck, cuddle, fuck, and basically, just savor this little bubble of escape.

At some point, I must have just crashed entirely because I slept deeper than I had in a while. There were only a couple of nights I could think of in recent weeks that I’d slept like that. They all involved multiple orgasms.

Probably something to that. Smothering a giggle at the thought, I made myself roll over and get up. Oh, I was definitely walking funny. Another giggle escaped me as I got the water going and slid into the shower.

Thankfully, the apartment was well stocked with good bath products and one of my favorites for hair care.

The bath the night before along with the wine and the food had been decadent.

The near boiling hot shower while working good product through my hair and combing out the snarls while also smoothing out frizz? That was hedonistic.

I took my time. Washing, buffing, and exfoliating in turns. I would need a laser appointment soon. That little nugget gave me pause. When was I going to get to a laser appointment?

It made me look at my nails. They weren’t painted. They weren’t even that long anymore. I’d broken nearly all of them at one point or another. Filing to keep them neat and somewhat rounded was the best I could do.

Glancing down at my toes, I wiggled them. The paint had all chipped away there as well. When would I find myself in a salon of any kind? My life had gone sideways. When I finished showering, I wiped away the steam from the mirror and studied myself.

Did I look different? I definitely felt different, but could they see those changes or was it just in my head? When my gaze dipped to the little trail of kiss-marked bruises on my neck, I blinked. He’d formed a heart out of hickeys.

I didn’t know whether to be delighted at the creativity or smack him in the head. Maybe both. I took the time to towel off and to squeeze the excess water from my hair. Bless Rachel, she even had lotions in here and moisturizer. It just felt nice to pamper myself a little.

Once I was dressed in yoga pants, a tank top, and thick socks, I shrugged on a hoodie.

Another question for the guys, how did they keep restocking me on clothes.

We lost clothes, we found clothes, but they always seemed to have new ones.

Clean underwear too. The panties were plain cotton and so was the bra, which was just fine.

The sky had lightened while I lingered in the shower. The scent of coffee hit me as soon as I opened the bedroom door. I followed the siren scent straight toward the kitchen. Two of the other bedroom doors were closed. I really wasn’t sure how many bedrooms she had.

One of the rooms had been set up as a dark room and another as an office. It really was quite the lush space here. Just as I got to the swinging door to the kitchen voices drifted out.

“She’s not ready…”

I froze. Those words came through clearly.

“Get her out.”

Their voices. Low. Serious. Like they were planning a war. Like I was the prize they had to carry out. Hadn’t we already discussed this?

“She just has to live through it.”

Bones’ flat delivery made me ache. I thought we’d moved past this. I thought…

She just has to live through it.

Curling my fingers into my palm, I closed my eyes. It hurt. There was no escaping that fact. Them having this discussion about me, without me, and making decisions like shuttling me off— hurt .

Blowing up wasn’t going to win me any battles. While Bones didn’t always explain, they often had plans and “reasons” for the choices they made. Hadn’t I already learned that?

Still pain washed through me, because trust had to go both ways. Sending me away—to where? With who? Shouldn’t that be my call?

My pulse climbed, growing louder as it thudded in my ears. Breathing was harder and my hands shook. Backing up, I kept my eyes closed as I forced myself to breathe.

C’mon—you have to breathe. If we don’t breathe, we won’t get answers. They’ll have some rational explanation. Just have to go in and get it.

Bit by bit, I regained some semblance of control.

They don’t want to hurt me. They don’t want me to hurt at all. This isn’t about keeping me. They care. Maybe too damn much.

Maybe that was what hurt the most. We had a deal.

I thought we had one.

“She’ll forgive us.”

I almost snorted. Bones sounded absolutely certain.

“You think so?” At least Legend hadn’t gone totally over to their side on this.

“No.” At Bones’ admission, I put my hand on the door. “But I’ll take that hit if it keeps her breathing.”

I pushed it inwards. They both turned to look at me. Legend’s expression gentled, but I held up a hand as he started toward me. Honestly, if he touched me right now, I might go up in flames.

We needed to discuss this and I had to keep my emotions in check as much as possible. So I studied Bones. His cool gray eyes were marred by dark shadows under them. Had he slept? The stubble on his face was practically a beard now. His hair was disheveled.

He looked like hell.

But I’ll take the hit if it keeps her breathing.

As much as I studied him, he returned the favor. What does he see when he looks at me like that?

“You’re making a call.” That was what he’d said.

He didn’t flinch. Nor did he look away. “We did.”

From the corner of my eye, I caught Legend’s faint jerk. Still not onboard with him, but not denying it either.

“So you all made it without me.” All seemed to be missing two people.

Now Bones leaned back. Face grim. Solid. “We’re trying to keep you alive.”

“And I love you for it.”

I laid it out there, for what it was, a fact.

He blinked. Once. Shock disturbed the unreadable mask he wore.

“But if you think that means you get to decide my story without me…” I shook my head slowly. “I’m not going back in a box.”

“We’re not putting you in a box.” He rose, his expression still cool but his eyes were fierce.

“No?” I didn’t bother to disguise my own doubt. “Then let me in the room where the decisions are made.”

When his eyes flicked to Legend, I glanced at him as well. He stood, arms folded and chin down. It was like he was physically restraining himself. Not threatening, just not interfering. He and Bones just stared at each other. Having some silent conversation I couldn’t understand?

Fine.

“You want to shield me. I get that. Lunchbox wants to hold me. Alphabet wants to fix me. Voodoo wants to steady me.” To heal me. They all wanted me safe.

“But none of you get to own me.”

That snared Bones’ attention and he focused on me again. “You think I don’t know that?”

“I think you forgot it this morning.” I blew out a breath, the wild tremor of my heart slowed from a run to a jog.

“I’m not walking away from a plan. I’m not discounting that we need to make one—that you need to make one.

” I moved over to the table until I stood just a foot from him. “Note, I am being reasonable…”

A flash of humor sparked in his eyes like dry heat lightning. There and then gone again.

“I’m not throwing a fit—or the coffee cup. Or the cutting board and the knives over there.”

Legend snorted a laugh behind me.

“What I am doing is what you asked me to do. I’m choosing to trust you.” Now I took a risk and I put my hand on his arm. “So trust me, too.”

For a moment, quiet invaded the kitchen so intensely that a distant car horn outside seemed loud. Bones stared into my eyes. Searching. Measuring.

God what does he see?

The brief glimpses of personality he let me have left me craving more.

Finally, he nodded and the sinking sensation fled.

“We’re going to stay dark here for at least another forty-eight hours. Rest. Everyone needs it and we need to refuel, rearm, and surveil.” He flicked a look past me. “Alphabet needs time with the intel.”

“Once we have it?” I included myself in that.

“Then we identify the soft entry points, break the chain, locate Reznik—cut that one off. Then eliminate the rest.” Eliminate. Kill.

I nodded slowly.

“Grace…” He sighed. “You don’t have to do this. We will make it happen. You can sit it out, stay?—”

“Safe while you guys risk everything?”

“You’re not going to go for it.” The muscles in his arm bunched but he put his hand over mine and held it there. “If you stay, you will follow the plan to the letter. That means there will be times you stay in the car or stay behind. Times where you have to move when we say move.”

“No questions asked.” I remembered. “But I’ll at least be a part of the plan and I won’t let you down.”

He squeezed my hand once, then shifted his attention to Legend. “Let him feed you. I probably need to eat. I’m going to roust Voodoo and Alphabet. We’ll handle the first round of planning over breakfast.”

When he released my hand, I let it fall away and he brushed my shoulder lightly before he strode out of the room. All at once, I sagged as the breath fled my body.

“Hey,” Legend was just there, arms sliding around me and I didn’t even try to pretend I didn’t need the support. “You did good.”

I huffed out a laugh that ventured dangerously close to being a sob. “I was really pissed.”

“Was?” He seemed almost hopeful.

I twisted to look at him and he just picked me up and put me on a counter so our heads were closer to level. It was irritating and adorable all at once.

“Might still be,” I said, testing the emotion. “I don’t like hearing you guys discussing getting rid of me.”

“You made that clear.” He brushed his knuckles down my cheek. “For what it’s worth, I don’t want to send you away and I’m almost certain Bones doesn’t either.”

“He just wants to protect me. You all do.”

“Guilty,” Legend said with a shrug. “Not going to apologize for it.”

“Not asking for one.” I cupped his face in my hands.

“I get that I am a liability. That I don’t have your training.

That there are things you can do that I can’t.

I understand all of that. Just don’t decide for me.

Don’t box me up for my own good without consulting me.

A cage is a cage, Legend, no matter how pretty you decorate it. ”

“Did you mean what you said to Bones?”

“That I love you for it?” The question was the right one. I hadn’t meant to confess something like that but it wasn’t just words. “I do.”

He leaned into me and I spread my legs so I could brace my knees against his hips. Pressing his forehead to mine, he seemed to be breathing me in. Or maybe that was me soaking in his nearness. The pounding of my heart had steadied and the panic in my soul eased.

“Say it again,” he ordered in a soft voice.

“I love you,” I whispered and his smile was sudden and fierce. Then my stomach growled and it was not remotely subtle. Laughter spilled out of him.

“I can make omelets if you like and I have potatoes for fried potatoes. What can I get you Gracie?”

The last time I’d said I was hungry flashed through my mind and he winked.

“You can have me anytime you want, but you do need to eat.”

Now I giggled and his expression brightened further. Love threaded through bruises and fire. That was what brought me here. Brought us here.

“You know… I’d kill for french toast right now.”