Page 25 of Grayson's Angel

He grabbed the box and threw it up on the shelf.

The waitress had a few dishes in her hand as she wiped down the closest table. He had already taken a few steps toward the bathroom when her words stopped him. “Sorry. I almost forgot. The lady you were with told me to tell you she would meet you at the ranch. She had an emergency.” When she turned to move away, not waiting for his reply, Grayson reached for her arm. It must have startled her because she dropped the dishes she’d been holding. They fell to the ground, causing a crashing noise to echo through the restaurant. All the patrons turned to watch them.

“You need to let go of my arm, sir.” Her voice was low and demanding.

Grayson immediately dropped his hand from her elbow and stepped back. “I’m sorry, ma’am, but you turned too quickly, and I had a question.”

She nodded her head tightly. Her back was stiff as if she were preparing to be hit.

“Did she leave with someone? Which way did she go?”

When it looked like she wouldn’t answer, Grayson added, “Please, I need your help. There was a man after her, and we thought he’d left town. She could be in great danger. Please.”

The waitress wrung her hands in front of her. “She told me to stall you, and the woman with her said you were here to hurt her.”

He didn’t recognize Wendy from his previous visits to the diner. He had no clue who she was or if what she said could be trusted. Their conversation was drawing an audience. Another waitress came over to clean up the mess on the floor.

“Can you sit with me for a second? I will call Hank Patterson. Do you know who that is?”

“Yes, he’s a hometown hero.”

“He is one of my really good friends.”

Grayson slid back into the booth where he and Kara had been a few minutes ago. Every minute he spent trying to get information out of this lady meant Kara was another minute farther away.

He grabbed his phone and dialed Hank immediately. Grayson didn’t look up to see if the waitress had followed him to the booth. The creak of the old leather seats was the only confirmation he needed. Grayson put the phone on speaker and laid it on the table between them. It rang twice before Hank’s deep voice boomed through the line.

“What’s going on, Gray Wolf?”

“I’m at the diner, and there has been a situation. I need your help. I’m sitting with…” Grayson didn’t remember the woman’s name.

When he looked up from the phone, she responded. “Wendy.”

“Hey, Wendy. How—”

Grayson cut him off before Hank had time to ask how the woman was doing. “Hank, someone kidnapped Kara from the diner. They told Wendy they were running from me and to tell me a few minutes after they left. Kara left with a woman. Can you tell Wendy I’m the good guy?”

In the background, running footsteps indicated that Hank was on the move, probably heading for the diner.

“Wendy, you need to tell us everything. Grayson is one of the good guys. The woman that took Kara wants to harm her.” Hank was breathing heavily from running to his truck. “I’m on my way to the diner. I’ll have Bear and Taz meet us there.” The phone went dead.

When Grayson looked up from the smartphone to Wendy, she had tears running down her face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I thought I was helping her.”

Grayson pinched the bridge of his nose. He couldn’t fault this woman for wanting to protect his angel, but she was protecting her from the wrong person. After taking a couple of deep breaths, Grayson gave Wendy his full attention.

“What did the other woman look like?”

Wendy wiped the tears from her eyes. “She had to be in her late thirties. Her clothes looked old and dirty. I’ve never seen her here before. They both seemed so desperate. I’ve been hurt before, and when she said you hurt her, I wanted her to get away.”

Grayson would get his brother on the phone to see if he could help figure out who took his angel. He didn’t care what satellite Noah would have to hack so he could find his woman. He repeated the words in his head. His woman. That sounded good, and he had to get her back.

Rovshan had said he was done and didn’t want to deal with the hassle of taking Kara as a bride. Or it could have been the money Noah drained from his account. Grayson didn’t think it was Rovshan coming after Kara this time. He had a feeling this had to do with her father. They needed all the information they could get on her dad and anyone he dealt with.

“I don’t know who that is. Can you tell me every word that was spoken? Even if you think it has nothing to do with her leaving.”

“When I walked around the corner to the kitchen, they were standing by the back door. I couldn’t hear what they were talking about because they were whispering. I told them they needed to go out front because the area they were in was for staff only.”

He nodded, showing he wanted her to continue.

She blew out a long breath. “The woman spoke up.”

“Kara?” When Wendy looked confused, he said, “The woman who was with me. Her name is Kara.”

Wendy nodded. “Kara said she could no longer be with a man like her father. She said you were abusing her and the woman with her was trying to help her get away.”

Grayson’s jaw clenched. Kara was probably trying to save the day by keeping him safe. When he got his hands on her, he was going redden her ass. She wouldn’t be able to sit down for days. Why would Kara say Grayson was like her father? Unless she was sending a clue.

“The woman said to wait five minutes and then let you know they went out the back. I was supposed to distract you and not let you back there.” A sob burst from her throat. “I’m so sorry.”

He was about to respond when the doors to the diner flew open. Hank entered, followed by Bear and Taz. They would help him find his woman.

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