Page 2 of Guarding Grace
“I don’t have time for a man.” That had been true ever since starting my business, and it needed to stay that way until the company was on a more solid footing.
“He’s a fun guy.”
“Pass.”
“Do you have time to join us after?” Serena asked. “The Hawk guys are going over to Tito’s to shoot some pool.”
I liked Tito’s, and I played darts there often, but I shook my head. “Sorry, I have an early morning tomorrow.” It wasn’t a lie, but mostly I didn’t want to chance that Terry might be there. Better to end things on a high note.
Despite Terry’s presence, I was grateful to be here this evening, and I knew how lucky I was to have my best friend still alive. Besides a car-bomb attack, a sex trafficker had kidnapped Serena—twice. But she’d survived the ordeal and had come out the other side to get to her happy place, engaged to a wonderful man.
I shivered, thinking about how terrifying those days must have been for her, then couldn’t help sighing over how lucky she was to have found a man as wonderful as Duke. I’d never had that kind of luck in my dating life.
I excused myself to use the ladies’ room. When I returned, Nick Butcher had joined the group of Hawk brothers, Duke, Lucas, and Jordy. Unfortunately, Terry was also with them.
Checking my watch, I decided it was too early to bug out and go home to work on the Sanderson design I needed to review, so I searched for Serena.
She was now talking with some EPA folks and Winston from Hawk Security.
On the way over, my phone vibrated in my clutch. I pulled the device out but clicked the screen off after seeing the name—Tyrant. It vibrated in my hand again, and I gave in, moving to the messaging app.
TYRANT: I need to talk to you.
TYRANT: It’s important
I had no problem crafting a reply.
ME: No way
“You know,” said Remy Laurent, Serena’s new boss at the EPA, “wedding planning takes a long time.”
He should know. He was planning his own wedding.
“Yeah,” Serena said wearily.
“Have you decided on a venue?” Jacques, Remy’s fiancé, asked.
Serena shook her head. “Not yet.”
Winston looked disinterested, as most guys did when a discussion turned to wedding planning.
“And you need a dress,” Remy added. “That can take a while. And your maid of honor and bridesmaids. And flowers, and?—”
Serena held up a hand. “We have to set a date first.”
Remy looked heartbroken that this topic was closed. He and Jacques shared a look.
I turned away, and half a minute later, my phone vibrated again.
Ready to kill Terry for the constant interruptions, I answered hurriedly, “I don’t have time for you.”
Only the creepy voice wasn’t Terry’s.
“We have your cousin Elliot. Do exactly as I say, or he dies.”
My blood froze as I sought privacy behind a tall ficus tree. “Please don’t hurt him.” I kept my voice low, trying not to cry.
“You will bring your phone and ATM card. Meet me in the parking lot of the Starbucks on Langley. Come alone. Do you understand?”
