Grace watched the trees pass outside the window. The soft rumble of the engine was background noise to the music playing through the speakers.
Logan’s hand held hers tightly as they drove to The Grind. Two more days had passed since the notes from Kieran. Two more days of no progress on locating the guy. At least there’d been no more “gifts”. A dose of Courtney was exactly what she needed.
But then, she was sure she would enjoy a dose of Courtney every day of the week.
Logan pulled into the parking lot. “Time for some coffee.”
She nodded, stepping out of the car. “And a donut.”
Sugar and caffeine sounded like a great combination right now.
Coming around, he took her hand as they headed inside. “Hm, I’ll see how I feel after the coffee.”
She just smiled. The guy didn’t have a big, sweet tooth. That’s something she’d learned over the last few weeks. Every time she’d offered him anything remotely sweet, he said no. She didn’t try to understand that kind of bias.
Stepping inside, she smiled when she saw Courtney bending down to talk to a small girl. She only recognized her as Mila as she drew closer. A tall, slender brunette woman with long wavy brown hair stood beside them. Grace was guessing the mother.
She recognized her too. It was the woman who had been talking to Blake outside the shop that day.
She noticed Blake sitting at a booth, eyes on his daughter and her mother. There was a predatory protectiveness to the way he watched them.
“You sit with Blake, I’ll wait for Courtney at the counter,” Grace said to Logan.
He pressed a kiss to her temple before walking across to his friend.
Grace stopped at the counter, watching as Mila spoke to Courtney. “Thank you for my milkshake. I especially loved the sprinkles. Pink sprinkles are my favorite.”
Courtney’s smile was wide. “You are very welcome, Mila. Come back anytime. And pink sprinkles are my favorite too.”
The girl beamed.
The lady placed a hand on the girl’s back. Definitely the mother. “Thank you, Courtney. We’ll see you next time.” The woman spoke with a quiet confidence. When she looked at her daughter, all Grace saw was love.
It was beautiful.
When Willow and Mila walked away, Courtney looked up, her eyes widening slightly at the sight of Grace. She walked over, pulling Grace firmly into her arms and holding her.
When they parted, Courtney kept a hold of her shoulders, studying Grace’s eyes. “I know you don’t want to share the details just yet, which is completely fine, but just tell me one thing. Are you okay?”
“Yes.” With Logan by her side, she was more than okay.
Courtney nodded. “Good.”
Grace slid onto a stool while Courtney moved behind the counter.
“Coffee?” She was already grinding the beans.
“Please. And I’d love a donut.”
“Coming right up.” Courtney shot a quick look to the table where the guys were sitting. “You and Logan are looking very happy.”
She couldn’t stop the smile if she tried. “We are. The man just makes me happy.” Even at a time when she should be stressed and anxious, he calmed her. Brought peace into a space where there shouldn’t be room for any.
Courtney sighed. “So dang beautiful. He’s one lucky man.”
“No. I’m the lucky one.”
Courtney finished the coffees and placed one in front of Grace before popping her elbows onto the counter. “You’re both lucky.”
Grace took a sip of the hot drink before lowering her voice. “Any progress with Jason?”
She rolled her eyes. “Girl, did you see me the other day when he opened the door? I was a mess and stuttering like heck. If I’m not a silent weirdo, then I’m a blabbering pelican.”
“No.” That was not the way Grace saw it at all. “You just need to spend more time with the guy.”
“So I can embarrass myself further? The man probably thinks I belong in a loony house.” Courtney nodded toward the mug. “What do you think of today’s choice?”
Grace looked down, reading the mug.
Yes, I talk to myself. Sometimes I need expert advice.
Grace threw back her head and laughed. “Is this for me? Because I’m a therapist?”
Courtney pulled back. “No way. It’s for me. I talk to myself so much I would have to be an expert by now.”
Grace chuckled again. She was just about to take another sip when she noticed her throat felt funny. Tight, almost.
Frowning, she touched her neck.
“So, you’ve come in on a good day because I’m testing out a new donut supplier. We can try one of each flavor and call it ‘research’.”
Grace tried to listen to what Courtney was saying, but a faint buzzing had started in her ears.
What was that? It almost felt like—
Her hands released the mug so fast that coffee spilled over the edge. Rushing to her feet, Grace was immediately hit by a bout of dizziness that had her grabbing the counter edge.
“Whoa, are you okay?”
Placing a hand to her stomach, Grace frowned. “There wasn’t any—”
Before she could finish the sentence, her stomach rolled with nausea. Grace doubled over. She was sure she would have tumbled to the floor if strong arms weren’t suddenly around her waist.
She could hear Logan talking to her, but whatever he said was blocked out by the buzzing in her ears. It was getting progressively louder, like a plane landing right in her eardrum.
The tightness in her throat worsened.
Glancing up, she tried to focus on Logan, but he was a blur. She opened her mouth to tell him what she needed, but she was almost certain the words never reached the air.
Her breaths were now gasps, her stomach doing violent twists and turns while her skin felt hot and itchy.
Suddenly, she was lifted off her feet, and the air was moving around her.
“Anaphylactic shock?” Logan just about shouted the words, trying and failing to make sense of what the doctor was telling him. They stood just inside her hospital room, Blake in the hall. “I don’t keep any sesame seeds in the house and all she had at The Grind was coffee.”
The middle-aged doctor closed the folder in front of him. “She definitely had it in her system, Mr. Snyder. Remember, a single crumb is all it takes. The good news is, you got her here just in time. She should wake up soon and you can ask her if she consumed anything else. In the future, she needs to be more careful. And remind her to carry her EpiPen.”
More careful? Grace was careful. Always. There was no point in telling that to the doctor though. The guy was already out of the room.
The door was only closed for a second before Blake walked inside, a phone to his ear. “Are you sure?” he asked.
Logan could hear Courtney’s voice crystal clear from the phone. “None of my products have sesame seeds in them anymore. I don’t even keep the stuff in the shop. All she had was a couple sips of her coffee.”
“Okay. Thanks, Courtney.”
“Send her my love,” she said, voice worried, before hanging up. Courtney had wanted to come to the hospital, but Blake had convinced her to remain at work.
At the quiet rustling of sheets, Logan quickly returned to Grace’s side. She blinked a couple of times before her eyes finally opened. When her gaze landed on him, confusion swirled in their depths.
“Hey there, honey. How are you feeling?”
She took two deep breaths. “Like someone’s taken sandpaper to my throat.” She tried to swallow but grimaced. Logan grabbed the glass of water a nurse had left, placing the straw at her lips. “Am I in the hospital?”
Once she’d had some water, he put it back and sat beside her bed, taking her hand in his. “You are. You had an anaphylactic reaction to sesame.”
Her frown deepened. When she struggled to sit up, he took her arm lightly and helped her. “No, that’s not possible. I’m always careful. And all I had this morning was the coffee Courtney made me.”
Exactly. It didn’t make sense.
Her cell phone started to ring, cutting through the silence. They all ignored it.
“Are you sure you didn’t have anything else?” he asked, trying to make sense of this.
She shook her head. “Nothing.”
The phone stopped ringing, but almost immediately started up again. Clenching his jaw, he grabbed it from the bedside table, noticing it was a private number, before handing it to her.
“Maybe it’s my dad,” Grace said softly before answering. “Hello.”
“Hello, darling.”
All the color drained from her face.
Kieran. It had to be. Logan slid the cell from her fingers.
“What the hell do you want?”
The guy chuckled. “Logan, is it? Put me on loudspeaker, would you?”
“No.” Hell no. “Tell me what the fuck you want.”
“Logan.” Grace’s voice was soft but firm. “I need to hear what he has to say.”
“You heard the woman.”
At Kieran’s condescending words, Logan gritted his teeth. But it was Grace’s eyes that had him conceding. A mixture of strength and determination.
His muscles bunched as he pressed speaker.
Grace took a breath. “What do you want, Kieran?”
“Ah, there’s my girl. How are you doing? Did the doctors give you something to make you feel better?”
What Logan wouldn’t do to be able to reach into the phone and tear the guy’s throat out.
“Was this you?” she asked, an edge of wrath to her voice.
“It was so easy. To sneak into the shop, throw some ground sesame seeds into their coffee machine. I knew you’d eventually visit that friend of yours again.”
That son of a bitch.
“Why?” This time her anger was mixed with confusion. Logan took one of her hands in his own.
“Why have I done any of the things I’ve done? To prove how easy it is to get to you, darling. To fuck with you. You may think you’re safe, holed up in that house with him. But you’re not. Sooner or later, I’ll get to you. And when I do, I’ll kill that asshole for touching you.”
Logan opened his mouth to correct the man. To tell him just how fucking wrong he was. But the line went dead.
Logan took both of Grace’s hands in his. “Don’t listen to a word he says. The numbers are in our favor. We will find him. And we will murder him.”
She studied his face for a beat before nodding. “I want him so far underground that he can never hurt me or any other woman ever again, Logan.”
“Already planning on it.”
