Page 79 of The Ripper

The door continued to move as I typed in the code, namely the date of my flight to Chicago. Slowly, I opened it and took out the Glock, my eyes briefly falling on the square red box it was resting on, then I closed the safe and slowly made my way back to the door.

My heart pounded in my chest as the rattling turned truly aggressive, then it suddenly stopped and the sound of running echoed in the hallway. I was about to breathe a sigh of relief when a soft knock sounded in the room.

I bit my lip to the point where I drew blood, the drop falling down my chin as I took the three steps that separated me from the door.

My heartbeat slowed as I unlocked it and stepped back.

My mouth was dry as I held up the gun and put my finger on the safety, ready to release it. I closed my eyes briefly, opening them with cold determination. Ice cold, how Grimm said I could never be.

“Come in,” I called out, sounding calm.

The door pushed open, and my eyes widened as I lowered the gun, releasing a breath of relief as I leaned against the couch, my limbs heavy as the adrenaline rush cleared.

“You scared the hell out of me,” I said, still clutching the gun.

Grimm frowned, his eyes falling on the Glock in my hand. After closing the door behind him and locking it, he stepped towards me with purposeful strides.

“What happened?”

“Why were you rattling the handle like that?”

“I just got here,” he said as his scowl deepened and a noticeable vein pulsed on his temple. “What are you talking about?”

Panic spread through me as I realized that whoever was at my door earlier ran away when they heard Grimm coming. I straightened my back, then ran and checked all the windows, pulled the blinds closed and started pacing the room, with the gun in my hand.

I usually hated guns, as they weren’t my weapon of choice, but I’d missed the weight of having one, and most of the time, they were more efficient than knives.

“I was about to leave when someone rattled the door, maybe a burglar…” I said as I opened the safe again and put the gun back, then closed it and covered it with the frame. “You must have spooked them.”

His jaw twitched slightly as his lips pressed into a straight line, his eyes narrowing on the blood on my chin, which must have been drying up.

“When did it start?” he asked in one breath as he took out his phone and sent out a text.

“It’s fine. They’re gone. There’s no need to get all worked up about it,” I said, even though my heart was still pounding in my chest.

Was it a burglar?

Was it someone in Grimm’s life who wanted me gone?

It seemed rather odd that it happened right after I had met his father, but Nikolai didn’t strike me as the type who would go behind his son’s back.

Fuck, what did I really know about his father at the end of the day? The man was crazy enough to cut himself just to get to me at my place of work.

“Would your father do something like this? To scare me? Or… test me?” I asked as I hugged myself, suddenly feeling cold in my own home.

“My father?” he frowned. “Why would you think it was my father?”

“He came into the ER today with a cut on his arm, said he cut himself shaving.”

Grimm cursed under his breath in Russian, so quickly that I couldn’t understand what he said exactly, then he sent another text and came closer. He cupped my face, making me look directly into his eyes.

“It wasn’t him, Arella. My father doesn’t hurt women, nor does he send his men to do it for him. He would never hurt you. No one will ever hurt you, not as long as I breathe. I’ll find out who did this, and I’ll keep you safe, I promise.”

He seemed so sure of himself that I believed him, so I nodded as his thumb brushed my cheek as he leaned down and, as if he was caught in a trance, he licked the drop of blood on my chin before sucking my bottom lip into his mouth.

I melted into him as he kissed me, his lips slowly moving over mine, as if to engrave his promise into me, but his tenderness didn’t last long. My entire being relaxed in his presence as I opened my mouth and granted him entrance, the metallic taste on his tongue sending tingles all the way down to my core.

He gripped the back of my neck, holding me in place as he took complete control of the kiss, then suddenly pulled away, licking his lips as he regarded me with those icicles he had for irises.

---