Page 25 of Guarding Grace
Terry
I answeredLucas’s call as I drove. “Hi, boss.”
“What’s the status?” he asked.
Grace surprised me by speaking up from the backseat. “My cousin is in deep trouble and needs my help is what the status is.”
“Grace got ambushed because she went to meet Elliot on her own. Two guys, a black Suburban partial plate eight mike echo lima. Her cousin took off.”
“I’ll have Jordy run the plate. Grace, that wasn’t very smart.”
“So I’ve been told,” she responded, like a smartass.
“Were these the same guys as last night?”
“No,” she answered.
“Stay with her, Terry.”
I was way ahead of him on that score. “Roger that.”
“He’s right,” I told her after ending the call.
“You’re mad at me,” she said as we neared her building.
“Damned straight. You almost got yourself killed.”
“What was I supposed to do?”
“First, you should have waited for me like you were supposed to. Second, you should have known better than to meet Elliot by yourself, and third, you should carry some protection, like a Taser.”
“That’s dangerous,” she objected.
“You’re obviously in a dangerous situation, so yes, carry something dangerous—pepper spray if you don’t like a Taser. I can provide whichever one you want.”
“I’ve got my darts in my purse.”
“What are you going to do? Wave them and give him a pinprick? You need more than that.”
I’d known Grace was a dedicated dart player and carried her set around with her, but those wouldn’t stop guys with the kind of weapons she’d been up against last night or today.
Shaking her head, she ignored my logic. “I said no.”
Typical Grace, she’d rather fight me than accept my help.
“I’ll bring you a Taser later.”
“I won’t use it.”
“Goddamnit, woman. You have to fight back. Do not go quietly. Fight with whatever you have. The heel of your shoe, even a pencil can be a weapon. A Taser is just a tool. It’s not inherently dangerous.”
She didn’t acknowledge me one way or the other and was quiet for the rest of the drive to her building.
I parked as near to her door as I could manage. After exiting, I grabbedneedle-nosed pliers and my small first aid pack from the back before opening her door to get her out.
“I want to walk,” she complained as I pulled her from the car and picked her up.
I kicked the car door closed with my foot. “Remember about movement making it dig in deeper?”
