Page 38 of Give Me Redemption

Army

My heart stops, like literally packs its shit and walks out the door.

I flip through the pages, and there he is staring back at me.

Jace Grant.

How did I not see this before? I guess with the phone call interrupting us, I didn’t put two and two together.

Oh my God.

And I’m about to go on a date with him!

Slim jumps up onto the desk, wanting me to pet him.

“This is not cool, Slim. What am I going to do? I’ve invited him to the local hangout, too.” I sit down and place my hand on my head as I lean back. My eyes look to the ceiling and then back in front of me where the photos of Chloe’s case are.

This is what’s important. Finding her, not some cute guy I met at a grocery store.

My mind runs and I get a pinch of hope in my chest. “This is my way in,” I say to Slim. “This is how I’m going to bust Bryce Grant. I’ll use his brother to do it, and the faster I get it done, the faster I can get back on Chloe’s case.”

I look at the email again, reading over the words.Little rabbit.

I know what I have to do now. A part of me feels bad it has to be this way. Why does he have to be Jace Grant?

What? Were you thinking about making this more after the first date? You’re busy all the time. Your job requires you to work eighty hours a week sometimes, and how are you going to focus on finding Chloe if you’re falling for a guy? my brain chimes in.

“We don’t have time for that, do we, Slim?”

He meows and my eyes go down to my watch. Shit, I’ve got to get ready. I jump up and head for the shower.

Afterward, I slide into a good pair of jeans and one of my Braves shirts. I didn’t have time to wash and dry my hair, so I run the curling iron through it to get some waves before putting a baseball cap on. I hurry out of my room to grab my phone and call Hudson Grille.

Chris, the bartender, answers, “Hudson’s.”

“Chris, it’s Harlow.”

“What’s up?” he asks.

“So, look, I’m on a new case, and I need your help.”

“Sounds interesting. What can I do?”

“I need you to act like you don’t know me as well as you do. Also, my name is not Harlow. It’s…” I look up for a moment. “Michelle.”

“Michelle?” he says. “Are you undercover or something?”

“I need you to take this seriously, Chris. This is important. Don’t mess this up.”

“I got you.”

“Okay. Save two seats at the bar near the TV. I’ll be there soon. Don’t let anyone sit there. The guy I’m with will have a buzzed cut and blue eyes. He’s really cute.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he says. “I’ll save the seats.”

“Thank you,” I reply before hanging up.

I take a deep breath. “You’ve got this, girl. Just put on some charm and make this boy yours. All you gotta do is get him to trust you.”

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