Courtney popped the last chair on the table before doing a final wipe down of the counter.
Usually, she loved her job. No, correction—she freaking adored it. But today, she’d been counting down to her three p.m. finish. Counting down the minutes until she could go home, put on her comfiest never-be-caught-dead-in-these pants, and collapse on the sofa.
Shame she had a pile of paperwork to do before she left. Oh, and she needed to message Grace. Again.
It had been a few days since she’d been carried out of The Grind and rushed to the hospital. And Courtney had worried about her every minute since. Particularly because the reaction had occurred in her shop.
God, when Blake had told her the sesame seeds had been in the machine, she’d almost felt like she was in the twilight zone. He’d been light on the details. Something about a guy from Grace’s past.
It had to be that guy Grace had mentioned the other week.
Argh, Courtney was furious just thinking about it.
She shot a quick glance out the window. Yep. Aidan was still there, parked right in front of the shop. It had been a different guy each day since the incident.
Was she in danger now? And why the heck weren’t they sharing any details?
Dropping the cloth in the sink, Courtney headed outside, walking straight over to Aidan’s car. He smiled as she bent down, elbows going to the open window. “Hey there, handsome, plan to watch me all night?”
A brow rose on his face. “You don’t like being watched by handsome men?”
“Hm, probably depends on why the handsome man is watching me. Am I in danger?”
She said it with a smile and a hint of humor but, damn, she would like an honest answer.
Aidan gave her a knowing smile. “We’re just being cautious. This guy from Grace’s past is dangerous and we want everyone to remain safe.”
So, everyone was in danger? Or just everyone who knew Grace? “Well, I hate to break it to you, but I’ll be here for a tad longer doing paperwork. Possibly hours. Oh, and I’ll be stuffing my face with comfort food. Aka, donuts.”
The new supplier was amazing. Courtney had been eating the stuff like there was about to be a donut drought.
He chuckled. “That’s okay. I’ll be here. With no one else around, I can hear if you call for me.”
Really? Lord, the man was a living, breathing superhero. “Want a donut to keep you occupied? A strudel? There’s plenty left.”
“Nah. But thanks for the offer.”
Nodding, she headed back to the shop.
That man’s smile could break a million hearts. But it didn’t come close to making her own heart pound like Jason’s. His smile. His dimples. Gah, Jason was gorgeous.
Moving to the door at the back of the shop, she walked through the kitchen and into the connected office, grabbing a stack of paper.
Fun, fun, fun.
Her feet stopped halfway into the kitchen at the feel of a light breeze on her face. Then…what was that? It almost sounded like a slight shuffling.
She was turning her head even as someone suddenly shoved her from behind, right into the wall beside the walk-in freezer. The papers fell from her fingers, a hand coming over her mouth. Then something else pressed against her—something sharp, right against her side.
Ice shards ran up her spine. Her throat felt sealed, so much so that she could barely groan, let alone attempt to talk beneath his palm.
The knife pressed a little harder. For a second, her breath caught as she assumed he would pierce her skin. Panic bubbled to the surface, a lightheadedness almost blinding her.
He ground against her, his hardness pressing into her backside, his face nuzzling her hair. Oh, God, she thought she might be sick against his hand.
Then the knife disappeared.
She stood so still she barely breathed as his hand slid into her back pocket. She frowned as his fingers slipped around her phone, taking it out.
Was that all he wanted? The phone? God, she’d have handed it right to him if he’d asked. Heck, she’d have thrown in her credit card and the till.
The man stepped back, pulling her with him. Hand still covering her mouth. Then his hand went to the freezer door.
The second it opened, the light inside flicked on—and her stomach dropped. Her skin went clammy and her eyes grew wide.
Was that…a woman?
It took a moment for Courtney to recognize that not only was the woman totally still and lying on the floor of her freezer, but her open eyes were completely lifeless.
“I hear these are soundproof,” he whispered so quietly, the words barely met her ears. Then he shoved her inside, where she tumbled on top of the dead body. The door closed with a resounding click and plunged Courtney into darkness.
That’s when the scream released from her chest.
“Grace, I don’t want to be here.”
Grace remained calm as she watched Lizzie on the screen. She sat in the conference room at Blue Halo while Logan worked in another room. Lizzie was her last patient for the day. “Why is that, Lizzie?”
“Because I only trust you. I wish you were here.”
Their sessions had not been going well, and today was no exception. In fact, today, Lizzie seemed to be even worse than normal. “He doesn’t know where you are. You’re safe.”
“I’m not just scared of him.” Tears glistened her eyes. “I’m having these thoughts that just keep getting louder and more regular. This tingly numbness that creeps all over my skin and into my head. My mind fogs and my heart pounds so hard against my ribs it feels like my entire body is jolting. It doesn’t matter how often I tell myself to calm down, my body doesn’t listen! My brain and my body feel disconnected.”
Grace’s heart hurt for the broken woman in front of her. She was describing the beginnings of a panic attack. “Lizzie, when that happens, I want you to remember the coping strategies we’ve gone through. You are in control of you. Not the anxiety.”
She nodded slowly. “The only good thing is that the panic always ends. But I know it will come back again.”
“Are you keeping up with your medication?”
All the women had been prescribed medications for their anxiety, some on higher doses than others.
“Yes.”
“That’s good. And remember, you can call me as often as you need.”
Lizzie nodded miserably. They talked for another half an hour. When they were done, Grace sighed, leaning back in her seat.
They needed Kieran caught now. The woman needed family support. She needed a therapist who could be there for her. With her. She needed more than Grace could give her at the moment.
Standing, she moved over to the window. From up here, she could see Cradle Mountain in all its beauty. She could also see almost the entire town. It wouldn’t surprise her if the view was the reason the guys had chosen this location.
Hopefully, once this was all over, her father could come and see Cradle Mountain and meet Logan. She’d spoken to him only a few days ago. It had been a long chat. She’d told him about Logan. About her feelings for him. And also about Kieran.
Her dad was worried, but he was also relieved that she had Logan and his team protecting her. Hopeful about the possibility of Kieran being caught soon.
What happened to Grace had almost killed him. And she knew that Kieran still being out there weighed as heavily on him as it did on her. But if anyone could eliminate the guy once and for all, it was Logan and his team.
Grace turned and headed down the hall. She could hear Logan’s deep voice from his office as he spoke to someone on the phone.
Shooting a look at the wall clock, she noticed it was just past three.
Stepping into the workout room, she ran her fingers along the punching bag. Once upon a time, she’d taken boxing lessons. That felt like ages ago. Back when she was almost a completely different person. She’d done the lessons at her therapist’s recommendation. It had been one of many methods she’d tried on her path to healing.
She’d been terrible at it. Grace almost laughed at the thought. The experience had been very effective in helping her get the anger out, though. Some days, her rage had consumed her, taking all her energy and leaving her exhausted.
The boxing lessons had only lasted a couple months. When she’d discovered the power of music, that was it. Music had been her magic pill. Until Logan.
Like he’d heard her thinking about him, two strong arms wrapped around her waist.
She gave the smallest jolt of surprise.
“Sorry.” Logan’s mouth was close to her ear, grazing her skin. “I should have made a noise when I approached.”
She leaned back into him. “You move very quietly for such a big guy.” Silently, in fact.
“We were trained to be silent so that our enemies wouldn’t hear us coming.” He pressed a kiss to her neck. A shiver rocked her spine. “Have you hit a bag before?”
She was so focused on his lips that she had to replay his words in her head a couple times before they made sense. “A bag?”
He chuckled. It vibrated from her neck, right down to her toes. “A punching bag.”
“Oh. Yes, I have. My therapist suggested I try it. I was…angry for a while. She thought it might help.”
“Did it?”
Gosh, that breath on her neck…it had all her hairs standing on end. “At first, yes. But it didn’t calm me. I needed peace, not exhaustion.”
His hands trailed down her arms, fingers entwining with hers. “Maybe lessons with me would be different.”
Oh, she was sure they’d be different.
Turning in his arms, she finally looked at the man, almost getting lost in his magnetic gaze. “I suppose lessons with you don’t sound terrible.”
“Hm.” Leaning down, he pressed his lips to hers. Even though he’d kissed her not that long ago, she craved it like she’d been away from the man for days.
When they eventually separated, they made their way down to his truck. It wasn’t until they were partway home that Grace’s phone rang. She frowned at the unknown number before answering.
“Grace speaking.”
“Grace, it’s Steve.”
Steve? Why was he calling her? “Is it one of the women?”
“The guard I have on Lizzie just called. The woman’s losing it. I put a female guard on her, but it doesn’t seem to matter. She wants you.”
Grace dropped her head into her hands. The poor woman. “I want to help her.”
“Want” wasn’t really the right word. She needed to help her in whatever way she could.
“Based on Lizzie’s instability, we placed her safe house the closest to Cradle Mountain.” Really? Grace had assumed all the women were at least a plane ride away. “She’s not far. I’ll send a car now—”
“I’m coming too,” Logan interjected, loud enough for his voice to carry through to Steve.
Steve sighed. “I was counting on it.” Then the phone went dead as he hung up.
