Page 50 of Saving Grace

“Back off,” Troy bit out.

“I think you should direct that order to your men behind me,” Matt advised softly, but with a hint of menace. He knew he was inviting physical confrontation with every single biker in this room.

Troy shoved him against the bar and used his massive forearm to subdue Matt right below the neck. The biker boss brought his furious face close to his, while he returned Troy’s glare with lazy amusement. “You’ve got a death wish, Foster?” the biker snarled, baring his teeth. “What the hell are you trying to prove?”

They locked eyes in a stare down for long tense seconds. Finally, Troy backed away and muttered, “Crazy fuck.”

Straightening from the bar, Matt addressed the entire biker crew. “Grace is mine. I’m fucking serious about keeping her as mine, and I don’t give a shit if I have to fight every single one of you to prove it.”

“This is not over, Foster,” Troy said coldly.

Matt shrugged. “I didn’t think it was. Thought I’d be honest with my intentions so we could cut through all this shit.”

The biker grinned, his eyes gleaming. “You know, if you weren’t such a pain in the ass, I might actually like you.”

“Same here, Troy,” Matt muttered as he turned to leave. “Same here.”

After Lucas and Cassie had left, Matt sat at his kitchen table, contemplating his whisky. Actually, he was thinking about his next move with Grace. To say that these past three weeks had been an exercise in frustration was an understatement. He tried his best to get through to her after Holden left, but there was only so much rejection a man could take. A twinge of guilt tweaked his chest. It had been his pride. He’d already been kicked out of his bedroom and she’d been finding excuses not to be alone with him, refusing his lunch invitations, and preferring to hang out at Millie’s under the guise of research. In the evenings, she’d find an excuse to stay at the diner. Matt would sometimes join her, but Kyra’s sudden neediness limited his venture into Millie’s restaurant. He didn’t know what gave Kyra the idea that he’d like to hook up again. Like he told Grace, he hadn’t been with another woman since she arrived in Misty Grove.

And now Grace was pregnant.

A flutter of joy started in the pit of his stomach, and Matt could feel the corners of his mouth kicking up. Sure, he’d panicked at first, but it was because he was worried about Grace, and second, he had no idea how to be a father. Even if there was a possibility that the baby was Troy’s, Matt was prepared to face the consequences if it meant Grace would be his. It was his own damned fault she turned to the biker anyway. He swallowed the rest of the whisky, enjoying the burn of the alcohol down his throat. His gaze drifted to his closed bedroom door. Tomorrow night Matt would be in that bed with Grace. He had no idea how to accomplish this yet, but it was going to happen.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Grace

It was infantile—poking my head out my bedroom door to check if the coast was clear. The loft was dimly lit from the morning sunshine poking through the slits of the closed blinds. Normally, Matt got up at six in the morning and would stay gone until eight, when he’d return from the gym or a run to take a shower. At seven that morning, I had not heard signs of life in the apartment. I texted Millie earlier to ask if she was already at the diner, and if I could come hang out as usual. She texted me back to come right over.

I settled my backpack containing my laptop behind me. Elliot had started giving me low-level access to DEA databases. As far as I was concerned, it was total bullshit because the information was easy to search for on the internet. I had a nagging feeling that it was simply a ploy to humor me. An even worst feeling plagued me that something big was being kept from me. As the days turned into weeks, and with my memories far from my reach, I still didn’t trust many people except the citizens of Misty Grove. I quietly made my way across the living room. Before my hand could wrap around the entrance doorknob, I heard a soft creak behind me.

“Going somewhere?”

Nearly jumping out of my skin, I whirled around at the owner of the voice. “Don’t you know it’s bad to startle pregnant women?”

Matt swung his long-muscled legs from the couch and lounged back in a sit. He was wearing boxer briefs, and thankfully, had on a shirt. I didn’t know if I could take seeing his naked chest. I surely couldn’t blame my hormones this early in pregnancy, but good Lord, this man was fine. More than fine. And he had been inside me.

His gaze tracked me from head to toe, deliberately taking in my appearance. I felt self-conscious and wished I had taken more care with how I looked that morning. I had dressed in a bulky sweater and worn-out jeans, my feet encased in sneakers. Even as I berated myself about caring whether Matt thought I was beautiful, I couldn’t help myself. After our argument the day before, I wasn’t sure where we stood with each other. I tossed and turned that night, unable to sleep, which was the reason for the bruises under my eyes. As if the discoloration on my cheekbone from my encounter with the stairwell pole wasn’t enough to add to my insecurity.

“Millie’s,” I replied, twisting the knob quickly and yanking the door open.

“Don’t even think about it.” Came the quiet command.

A pulse throbbed between my thighs at the same time the devil in me craved to defy every word coming out from this man’s mouth. I turned to look at him, my breath quickening as he got up and stalked toward me. My eyes widened as I spied the bulge at his crotch.

“Morning wood.” His mouth twitched. “Ignore it.”He dragged me away from the entrance and shut the door. “Let me throw something on and we can catch breakfast together. Are you too hungry? Can you wait?”

“I …”

“Please?” He flashed me the most charming smile I’d ever seen grace his face yet, and he knew it. But the sincerity in his voice was what got me.

“Okay.” I found myself responding.

He kissed the top of my head and led me to the couch. “Five minutes.”

Exactly five minutes later, Matt and I left the garage and crossed the street to the diner. He had slung my backpack on his right shoulder and, with his left hand, linked our fingers together tugging me along beside him. It was … sweet. What I thought should feel awkward, felt so right, which led me to question if I’d been fighting my attraction to Matt too much. As we entered the diner, he led me to a corner booth—the same one I had always used whenever I came in early enough. There were regulars already eating breakfast. One of them was John Crowder who owned the Crowder General Store located adjacent to the diner. From what I’d heard, after almost eight years of pursuing Millie, John finally convinced her to give him a chance. His eyes widened when he saw me and Matt slide into our booth, then he smiled knowingly.

I felt another pair of eyes on me that made me feel uneasy. The source wasn’t hard to find. Over at the drink refill station stood Kyra. She was looking at us with so much enmity, it was rolling off her in waves. I tried to scoot closer to the wall taking me further from Matt. He swore under his breath and squeezed my hand.

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