Page 14 of Oath
Far from chastised, Grace rolled her eyes but it was hard for her to hide the hint of a smile on her lips. She might be pissed at us, but it was more about the moment.
I could work with that.
As for Doc’s girl, she just snorted. “I’d like that—being a little dancer and all—I need my little walks.”
Alphabet huffed a laugh even as Gracie grinned. Right. Those two didn’t need to become friends. We had enough trouble keeping Gracie’s sassy mouth out of trouble. Doc lifted his chin as he guided the dancer back inside the security of their residence and Grace folded her arms as she faced us.
“I’m not apologizing,” she informed me after Doc and Emersyn were secure and I could focus on her.
“Fine.” I shrugged. I’d taken worse hits. “You being here is bad for me.”
She frowned. “AB mostly explained that.” It wasn’t an apology so much as an acknowledgment. “But you should have stilltoldme rather than sneak out.”
“Accepted.” I nodded once. “Tactical error. Won’t make the same one again. Doesn’t mean I’ll ever apologize for wanting you to be safe.”
“Fine,” she said, the soft bow of her mouth pursing into the hint of a smile as she mimicked my earlier tone.
“Excellent,” Alphabet said as he slung an arm around Grace’s shoulders. “You’ve seen him and lodged your complaint. Time to go, Gracie.”
She tilted her head back to look up at him, but he wasn’t playing. In fact, he was deadly serious. As much as I wished hehadn’tdragged her right into the middle of this, I got it.
“Okay,” she answered in a low tone before she glanced at me. “Do you need anything? Before we go? Food? Drinks?”
“Back massage?” It was a tease and I had to remind myself to keep my head on a swivel rather than just stare at her like I wanted.
“Hmm, you’ll have to earn that reward.” The invitation to play was right there in her voice.
“Yeah, I made her coffee and got a kiss.” Alphabet grinned. “You’re lagging behind.”
I just flashed him a middle finger without taking my gaze off Grace. “I just need you to be safe and secure so I can keep my mind on this job. I’ll talk to you when I’m back and I promise, if you’re asleep when I plan to leave again, I’ll wake you up.”
It was a concession and based on the very real relief sliding through her eyes, I wanted to kick myself.
“Alphabet?” I asked in quiet undertone.
“I got it. Take five,” he gave Grace a squeeze then pressed a kiss to the side of her head. “You be nice. He’s taken his punishment like a good boy.”
Her snort in no way detracted from her smile. Even as Alphabet took the perimeter, I narrowed the distance to Grace further and cupped her face in my hands.
“I’m sorry if I worried you,” I said. “While I’ll never apologize for putting your safety first, I shouldn’t have hurt you to do that.”
She covered my hands on her face and let out a shaky breath. “I know I’m not easy.”
“Don’t see any of us asking for easy, do you?”
“No.” Her tremulous smile wavered. “I just need to do something and to feel useful.”
The itch in my brain started up again. “Or you feel guilty because you’re basically sitting still.”
“And Amorette seems to get farther and farther away.” She licked her lips. “I’m not saying we need to drop helping Doc or these people and leave. You have been helping me look for and protect my family. I meant what I told AB, I want to help you with yours.”
“But you’re not doing anything.” Yeah, fuck, I could see that. Looping an arm around her waist, I picked her up so we could be face to face. That and I loved the feel of her pressed right up against me. “I get it, Gracie. Waiting is the hardest damn thing any of us does. You may think you’re doing nothing, but you’re not. You’re staying secure so we can focus on protecting them and digging up the assholes who killed his sister and are threatening his girl.”
“And you guys don’t want me around…” She waved at the warehouse.
“Yes, but none of us want to have to choose who we protect, you or them.” Because I loved Doc like a brother and I would do anything, but I wasn’t losing Grace to do it.
“Don’t come at me with your passion-fueled logic.” She wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me. “I am sorry I slapped you so hard.”
