Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 128307 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 642(@200wpm)___ 513(@250wpm)___ 428(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128307 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 642(@200wpm)___ 513(@250wpm)___ 428(@300wpm)
I nonchalantly shrug, still confused. “When I went to confront who I thought was Piper and Shaw, Shaw’s jacket flapped out enough to expose his badge. I meant to tell you, but…” I stop. He knows how diversely things flipped on their head in the minutes after the Lamaze class. “Still, running agents off the road to stop them from assisting in a case is criminal. He should face charges, or at least have IA ride his ass for the next six months.”
“I believed the same,” Grayson admits, still eating. “Then I had a change of heart.”
I drop my fork when he tosses open Kendall’s file and then drags it across the counter until it sits in front of our smeared plates. The man photographed in surveillance images that were never a part of Kendall’s file looks oddly similar to the man I stood across from yesterday. He’s just years younger, and his eyes are no longer blue. They’re green.
If I had to guess, I would say the unnamed detective is ten to twelve years younger in the image Grayson presents.
“Because the timeline of Kendall’s abduction was misconstrued”—he meant to say since I lied, I made things difficult for the agents working her case—“investigators only traced Kendall’s movements back seventy-two hours instead of the standard week.” His eyes float over the man’s profile in the photograph. “He went to MIT, so he could only visit his girlfriend once a month.”
My eyes snap to his. “Kendall had a boyfriend?”
He brushes his hand over my cheek like it’s wet before jerking up his chin. I more snatch than merely accept a photo of Kendall and the unnamed man from Grayson’s grasp when he finds it beneath a stack of many more, but I’m too shocked to act cordially.
“She looks happy,” I murmur, my voice nearing a sob.
“She was.” Grayson wipes away an actual tear this time. “She planned to introduce Crew to you during summer break, but she was—”
“Kidnapped before she could.”
Grayson smiles softly before jerking up his chin.
As I recall my exchange with Crew earlier, the pieces of the puzzle slot together. “He’s looking for her. After all this time, he’s still looking for her.”
Again, Grayson nods. “And considering he’s here, we’re in the right spot too.”
My heart patters in my ears as I contemplate how close I am to bringing my sister home.
Grayson’s shirt mops up a rogue tear I didn’t realize had spilled when he pulls me into his chest and whispers in my ear, “We will find her, Mace. I promise you we will.”
I almost issue him the same pledge until I remember the person he’s seeking is no longer missing. She’s right here, in this state, still shutting him out and breaking his heart.
That needs to stop.
“Grayson?”
“Yeah?”
I inch back when I hear his reply through his chest instead of his lips, and then I peer up at him. “That thing you did… when you held my stomach—you should try that with Cameron.” He appears divided, even troubled, yet I persist. “She needs to feel safe, and that is the perfect way for her to experience that.”
I know this firsthand because that night was the first time in a long time that I felt safe. Protected. It was the first time I felt whole.
Grayson balks, surprised, then slowly nods. “Okay. Thanks, Mace.”
I smile, but inside, I brace myself for heartbreak. I’m praying my heart won’t be utterly annihilated. How could it be when I’m breaking it for the greater good? That should be an automatic grant of reprieve.
Furthermore, I’m not pulling back because I believe I deserve better. It is because I know Grayson does.
Though I’m not convinced Cameron deserves him, either.
Ugh! Why did all this have to happen now, while I’m heavily pregnant and overrun with hormones? I’d have a better chance of making sense of everything if I could take my emotions out of the equation.
I should look at this case as a seasoned agent, not a lovestruck woman who’s hoping karma will reward her for her sacrifices. It’s just hard when you’ve always believed karma is the balance sheet of all the good and evil you’ve done.
Grayson was the good that came from my sister’s abduction, and now I’m close to losing him forever.
Needing time to process everything, I fake a yawn. “I should probably go to bed. It’s been a long day, and I’m exhausted.”
“I’ll do that,” Grayson says when I place my plate into the dishwasher.
I can’t look at him, so I keep my chin tucked into my chest while murmuring, “Night.”
It feels like the earth circles the sun a hundred times before he eventually replies, “Night, freckles.”
30
GRAYSON
After flashing me a tired smile, Macy leaves the kitchen as if she’s about to snuggle under the sheets and get a solid eight hours. I know better. She has no plans of sleeping. Don’t get me wrong. She looks exhausted, but I don’t see sleep pulling her into subconsciousness anytime soon. Not after the day she’s had.