Page 7 of Grind
I ease back in my seat and glance over at her again.
She is safe, I repeat silently. Each word is punctuated with a tiny pause.
My mouth goes dry as my thoughts drift to another woman who isn’t safe, that I couldn’t protect. Claire.
Just the name still brings an agony I can barely crush down.
My cousin Claire, with her bright eyes and the freckles sprinkled across her nose. A happy girl with a fast laugh and a quick temper. My mind races on, matching my car for speed as I gun the engine. Images flash of our childhood, and what happened to her as young woman: After she met that O’Dooley asshole. After the first black eye. After she disappeared.
After my father and I tracked him down.
I can’t think about this now. Ava is not Claire. She’s here, she’s safe.
And the protective instincts this woman stirs up – whatever they are – are definitely not familial.
Long minutes pass, and then I can’t help but take her all in. She’s gorgeous, with big green eyes, long dark hair and curves that I shouldn’t be noticing right now.
We take another sharp corner too fast, and I growl in pure frustration. Aggravation makes my skin hot. I’m not a creep that preys on vulnerable women.Ever.But I’m definitely attracted to this woman and that’s a fact I’m going to have to deal with.
Now.
In less than five minutes, we’ll be at my place. I don’t bring women home, not even for sex. Especially not for sex – but not for any reason either.
And I’m definitely not going to sleep with Ava. I’m just going to keep her safe tonight. My muscles tense again at the imagined threat, even as resolve steels itself in my spine.
The crazy protective instinct that she’s bringing to the surface leaves me unnerved. I’m a businessman, not a goddamned bodyguard.
Brooks fucking Stacy. The little shit’s been in my club once, and we threw his ass out for getting too handsy with the bartender. What my Dad had told me, and what I’d seen and heard around the city wasn’t good either, and from the level of fear that Ava shows, I know everything I need to about this guy.
Not just an entitled idiot, but a violent one too.
The kind of guy that finds himself paved under a parking lot, for example. Or going for a swim at night off the bow of a Gloucester fishing boat with 300 pounds of concrete encasing his feet. Our family has lots of friends at the local sand and gravel pit.
He’s a problem, and I have to take care of it. But I’ve got more pressing issues to take care of tonight.
Like the one in my passenger seat.
The timing isn’t good for complications in my life. And I need to watch myself. Keeping her safe? That’s one thing. Getting emotionally involved? That’s the kind of distraction that I just can’t afford.
A minute later, my car slides easily into its space in the garage. Ava’s eyes snap open wide, and her posture says she’s ready to bolt. Her eyes focus on my face and her shoulders drop, the frightened look melting away as she realizes where she is and who she’s with. That feels good and drives that protective feeling even harder into my core.
“We’re home,” I say, adding quickly, “At my place. Come on up.”
I open her door, and then it’s a short walk through the garage and into the elevator that opens right in front of my loft. She’s trying to stay a little bit behind me. But I find myself standing closer than I should, putting a hand to the small of her back to guide her through the maze of my South Boston apartment building.
I just want to touch her. When we make contact for even a second, an electrical jolt runs through my entire system.
Unlocking the door, I stand back to invite her in. She steps cautiously into the loft ahead of me, and her breath catches. Her eyes sweep the place, taking in the chrome, marble, and leather. Stepping in behind her, I close the door.
She spins around as it clicks shut, a panicked look crossing her face as I throw the bolts.
“Easy, Ava.”
Quickly, I put my hands out in front of me in what I hope is a disarming gesture.
Bringing her here is crazy but she was so wild with fear I didn’t know what else to do. Just taking her to a hotel and paying for the bill felt like abandoning her. And another part of me wants her here. Wants to keep her close.
That’s where I can keep her the safest.
