Page 8 of Nick
Gracie spun around, finally noticing them. Her eyes widened for a second before her gaze swung to her retreating assistant. Shaking her head, she faced Rafe.
“What’s going on?”
“Let’s sit down and—”
“Rafe, just spit it out. I can tell something’s happened. What?”
Rafe reached forward, taking both of Gracie’s hands in his, and Nick fought the instinct to reach over and snatch them out of the other man’s hands. Wow, he’d never had that kind of reaction before. He needed to rein in these feelings right now, because he couldn’t let anything steal his focus from finding the man who’d shot Antonio.
“Gracie, Alvarez called.”
Nick watched as all the color drained from Gracie’s face, leaving her pale and unsteady. Rafe gently eased her onto a chair and pulled out another to sit across from her. Tessa rose from her seat, and only stopped when her sister placed a hand on her forearm, shaking her head no.
“Is he out?” Gracie’s words were barely above a whisper and pulled all of Nick’s attention straight back to her. The palpable tension in the room sent a shiver down his spine, and kicked all his protective instincts into overdrive.
“Not yet, hon, but he’s up for parole. Alvarez talked to somebody on the parole board, and it looks like he might get approved. Early release for good behavior.”
Gracie’s laugh was filled with derision. “Good behavior? Please. Jeremy wouldn’t comprehend what good behavior was if you hit him over the head with a dictionary.”
Jeremy? Who’s Jeremy and what had he done to Gracie?
“Well, apparently he’s behaved well enough for the guards to agree he’s been a model prisoner since his last attempt at parole. It’s not only possible, but probable, he’ll be approved this time. Alvarez wanted to come and tell you in person, but he’s in the middle of a case and can’t leave. So, he called me to make sure you got the heads up.”
“In case I want to run again, you mean.”
Rafe’s silence at her words caused an itch on the back of Nick’s neck, especially when Gracie’s words sank in.Run. He didn’t get the impression she was in witness protection; she was too open, not withdrawn or secluded. Interacted with the community around her. Heck, she owned her own business, not something most people in hiding did, because paperwork was easily traceable, especially if you had a good hacker available.
“I’ve told you before, Gracie, you don’t ever have to run again. Let me make some calls, talk to a couple of my contacts in San Antonio. Antonio can talk with Williamson, get the FBI working on this unofficially. We’ll make sure you are protected, I promise.” Chance knelt in front of Gracie as he made the vow.
Gracie shook her head, and at her forlorn expression, Nick wanted to stride the few feet separating them, and pull her into his arms, give his own promise to protect her. And wasn’t that a kick in the head? He didn’t know this woman from Eve, and yet he felt like she was his to protect, to make sure that no one ever threatened her again.
“Chance, you can’t make that promise. Nobody can. Jeremy Brewster will get out of prison, that’s a given. And when he does, you and I both know the first thing he’s going to do is come looking for me.”
“But things are different this time, Gracie.” The female voice sounded from behind Nick, and he glanced over his shoulder to spot Tessa, followed by Beth and Camilla. Rising from their seats, they walked over to surround Gracie, a show of strength and support for their friend. While they made a cute shield, Nick doubted the three women would be much help against somebody coming out of the Texas penal system, especially if he was a violent offender bent on revenge which was the impression he was getting from the overheard conversation.
“That’s right. You’ve got all of us to watch your back.” Beth rocked Patrick against her shoulder and reached out with one hand to gently squeeze Gracie’s shoulder.
Camilla chuckled, before adding, “Yep. I don’t know about your past, and I don’t care. Whoever this Jeremy person is, if he comes after you, he’ll soon be running away like a dog with its tail between his legs when he finds out you’re protected. Gonna have a wall of Boudreaus around you, and honey, there is nothing on God’s green earth stronger than our family.”
“And you’ve got me.” The words were out of Nick’s mouth before he could stop them. At Gracie’s indrawn breath, he wondered if he’d made a mistake, gone too far, but he wouldn’t take back what he’d promised. He’d protect her, whether she wanted that protection or not. Not because he wanted to, though that was part of it. No, he needed to keep her safe. It was a biological imperative. The instant he’d realized she might be in danger, his first instinct was to snatch her up and get her somewhere safe. Someplace where he could prevent anybody from hurting her. Knowing the Boudreaus felt the same, well that was simply an added bonus.
“It’s settled. You’re staying put. If Jeremy Brewster gets out and steps one foot anywhere near Shiloh Springs county he’ll regret it.” Rafe looked into Gracie’s eyes, as if compelling her to acquiesce with his words. Long moments later, she finally nodded, and Nick found himself expelling the breath he’d been holding.
“I’ll try, but you have to understand, if Jeremy comes after one of you—”
“He’d be an idiot to think he can get within fifty miles of you, Gracie. That’s if he can even find you.” Chance gave her a wink. “You buried your past when you moved here. If you’d like, I can have Destiny double check, see if anybody’s tried to access information from your old name.”
Old name? What exactly is going on? I didn’t think witness protection in the beginning, but now it seems there might be something to my first guess. If she’s in trouble, I still want to help, but I need to know what I’m getting into.
Nick knew he’d have to get more info from Rafe. No way was he walking away from this, not if it involved the Boudreaus, especially Douglas and Ms. Patti. He knew he hadn’t developed that kind of rapport with the rest of the Boudreaus yet. After all, he’d been gone for over fifteen years with no contact. He’d been hoping before his last visit that maybe there’d been a chance to start over, but after Antonio was shot, he was afraid that boat had sailed.
“I want to say no, that it’s okay, that I’m not afraid of Jeremy Brewster anymore. But that would be a lie.” Gracie’s voice trailed off, and she lowered her head into her hands, her shoulders shaking. Nick knew she was crying, and his chest tightened with each sob. He couldn’t stand the thought of her hurting, and there wasn’t a darned thing he could do about it. Except maybe call Calvin and have him check out everything he could find on one Jeremey Brewster, currently incarcerated at Huntsville Prison in the great state of Texas.
Though he was half a world away, there wasn’t anything Calvin couldn’t find out if he wanted. Information was king, and Grant Calvin held the title of the biggest information broker the Australian Secret Intelligence Organization ever had. And with Nick providing a little extra push, he knew Calvin would start digging.
Jeremy Brewster better decide that Shiloh Springs was a little too hot to handle, if he did manage to get paroled, because Gracie Medeiros had just gotten a guardian angel, and his name was Nick Vincent.
“Have you foundhim?”
