Page 68 of Erased
“I wasn’t worried so much about me,” she said. “I worried about anyone they might target as a lesson to me.”
Grant slipped his arm around her and pulled her close. “I’m glad you survived.”
She was glad they’d both survived. She prayed that the man on the ground was the one responsible for the deaths of the three women. But he wasn’t the only hitman who’d been displaced in the raid. What if there were others gunning for the agents involved? What if they came after Grant to get to her?
Calling him to help her might have made him their next target.
Chapter 13
Grant stayed with Avery as the first responders arrived. Sheriff Taylor showed up shortly after, followed by Agent Bradley and Avery’s twin, Bree.
“I’ll have a deputy guarding him at the hospital twenty-four-seven until he comes to,” the sheriff promised as the paramedics loaded the man into the ambulance. He had a deputy follow the ambulance and one stay with the crashed vehicle to wait for the tow truck to take it to the county impound lot.
Grant and Avery filled the others in on what they’d been doing earlier, having struck out on finding the location where the killer had held the victims before killing them.
“We might get answers when he wakes up,” the sheriff said.
“We spent a few hours at the library going through microfiche copies of old newspapers dating back to the nineteen twenties,” Melissa said.
“My eyes are crossed from staring at the screen for so long,” Bree pinched the bridge of her nose. “We found only a couple of arrest reports of individuals accused of bootlegging and wrote down the names.”
“If this hitman is the killer, we’ll still need to locate the place he held his victims,” Avery said.
“We can cross-reference what you found with what we came across,” Melissa said.
Grant glanced at Avery in the light from the various vehicles. The dark circles beneath her eyes reminded him she was only days from having been in a coma. “It’s getting late,” he said. “We can go over the data in the morning.”
“Not tonight?” Avery’s brow dipped low.
“I’m tired and a little beat up from the wild ride in the ditch. I could use some rest before we go looking for his lair.” He met and held her gaze. If he had to, he’d play the coma card in front of the others.
Eventually, Avery nodded and rubbed her hand across her chest. “I am a little sore from the seatbelt.”
“Can you make it back to town in your car?” Bree asked.
Grant nodded. “It made it out of the ditch fine, no damage to tires or the engine.” His lips twisted as he slid an arm around Avery. “The body of the rental...? Well, that’s another story. I probably won’t get the deposit back.”
Avery leaned into Grant. “That’s what insurance is for.”
“Go,” Melissa said. “Get some rest. We’re right behind you.”
Grant helped Avery into the rental car and drove back to town at a sedate pace, well past the exhilaration of chasing down a hitman. All he wanted to do was take Avery back to their room, climb into bed with her and hold her through the night.
When they reached the hotel, he half-expected Avery would stop at the desk and ask for another room, now that the killer was in custody.
She didn’t stop, but proceeded straight for the elevator. They rode up to their floor without saying a word. He ran the key card over the reader and went in first. Although they were pretty sure they had the right guy, there might be more out there.
After he cleared the room, he waved her in. “You can have the shower first.”
She stood for a long moment in the middle of the room, unmoving.
Grant went to her and pulled her into his arms. “Are you all right?”
She wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned her forehead against his chest. “I will be.”
“Are you sure? Running off the road bounced us around a lot. I’m sure it didn’t help after recently coming out of a concussion and coma.”
“Shhh,” she said. “Just hold me.”
