Page 54 of Maverick

“He was following us, right?” She shook her head. “He had to be, but then why didn’t he do anything? Why didn’t he make a move?”

That’s the same question I had. “Hang on.” I pulled out my phone and called Slate, sharing the new info about Trent’s whereabouts. “The free clinic. He was there this afternoon.”

“About three o’clock,” Grace offered in a shaky voice.

“Around three, so an hour on either side of that, and all the traffic lights between my house and the clinic.” I ended the call and turned back to Grace, who was still trembling with fear, and wrapped her in my arms.

“Why?” The question came out on a sob, and I held her even tighter while she cried to my chest.

“Because he’s an asshole who realized too late what he had in you.” I kissed the top of her head. “Where is Sophie?”

“She’s in her room drawing. I kept it together as much as I could on the drive back from the clinic and then sent her to her room, so she has no idea.”

“Good. That’s real good, Grace.” I held her until she stopped trembling and then I held her a little longer just for me, which was stupid because now that she was calm, my body started to respond to her nearness.

She gasped and pulled back, looking up at me with a question in her eyes.

I shrugged like it didn’t matter. “I’m a red-blooded man with a beautiful woman in my arms, it happens. And I’ve made no secret that I want you, Grace.” There was heat and desire in her eyes, but I knew that wasn’t what she needed right now, so as much as it killed me, I stepped back. “How about a drink?”

She nodded, her gaze fixed on my face. “Sounds good.”

“Keep looking at me like that and I won’t be responsible for what happens, Grace.”

Her lips curled into a sexy smile. “Got it.” She blinked and looked away, turning towards the cabinet to grab two glasses. “Ice or no ice.”

“None for me. Ice for you.”

She turned to me with one brow arched. “Why?”

“Trust me.”

She shrugged. “I do.”

Those words were exactly what I wanted and needed to hear, but they were also a warning that I needed to keep this woman safe. I had to. “Good.” The word came out like a grunt as I reached for the bottle of bourbon on top of the fridge. “I’m about to do something I really don’t fucking want to do.”

Her eyes widened but she nodded and squared her shoulders before she took a seat at the kitchen table. “Um, okay.”

I sighed and took the seat beside her, pouring two healthy gulps in each glass with my gaze focused on her face. I took a long sip and smacked my lips. “Okay, tell me about Trent.”

She blinked. “That’s not what I was expecting.”

“Whatever you can tell me, I can use it to keep you both safe. So even if it doesn’t seem important, tell me anyway.”

“You sure?”

“Fuck no. All I want is to hunt him down and put him in a grave, but this is how I’ll get to him. Talk.”

Grace nodded and took one small sip and then another. And one more for courage before she started to speak. “I met him just days after I graduated from college, and he was handsome and charming. He swept me off my feet. The first time he hit me was on our honeymoon.” She looked away and placed a hand on her cheek. “He was angry I didn’t know about some band in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.”

“Son of a bitch.”

She nodded. “After that it didn’t happen for a few more months, but over the first year he found more and more reasons. It got worse after I got my first real job, which I kept for about five months.”

“What happened?” This wasn’t exactly the way I wanted to get to know her, but nothing about us together was conventional.

“He beat me so bad one weekend that I couldn’t go to work for more than a week and they fired me.”

“I’m going to kill him, Grace.”

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