Grace shot another look at her phone as she drove to the river. She’d missed two calls from her father that morning. Two! Once when she’d been in the grocery store and again while in the shower. He never called twice. And it made her nervous.
Usually, if she missed a call, he’d call the next day. Two calls almost in a row had to mean something was wrong, didn’t it? And if there was something wrong, was it wrong on her end or his?
Her gut clenched at the thought of her father being in trouble. She would put herself in danger over him in a second.
She’d tried calling him back each time, but both calls had just gone to voicemail.
Taking a steadying breath, Grace paused at an intersection before turning left. The further she drove, the fewer buildings she saw and the more trees. She was now surrounded by nature. The trees swayed beyond her windows, exposing the heavy wind.
“Beautiful,” she said quietly under her breath.
A few miles later, Grace slowed the car, pulling onto a short dirt road before parking at the end in a small clearing.
Climbing out, she was immediately greeted by the sound of water flowing in the river. Of birds chirping in the sky and the rustle of leaves on the ground. Sure, it was cold. Really cold. But there were no car horns. No construction sounds. Just the tranquility of nature.
Closing her eyes for a moment, Grace sighed. It was peaceful. Something she could definitely use more of.
After locking her car, Grace briefly scanned the area, quickly noticing hers was the only vehicle. Logan hadn’t arrived yet.
Fine with her. She had a few moments to take it all in on her own.
Moving toward the water, she wrapped her arms around her waist. Was Logan’s offer to join her today a small step toward forgiveness? Lord, she hoped so. When she looked at him, she saw anger, frustration…but not cruelty. Which made what she’d done to the men seem even worse.
When the breeze rushed over her skin, her body gave an involuntary shudder. Okay, she was starting to understand why everyone had looked at her like she was crazy for hiking without the appropriate clothing. It was proper cold. And she doubted any amount of layers or walking would keep her warm without a thicker jacket.
Rookie error.
Stopping at the water’s edge, Grace admired the daylight reflecting off the surface. So dang beautiful. Maybe one day she’d build a home in the middle of a forest. No neighbors. No car engines passing her house. Just her and the trees.
She almost laughed out loud. Maybe not. Wasn’t that how most horror movies went? Woman alone in the woods gets skinned alive by axe murderer?
At the feel of her phone vibrating in her pocket, she couldn’t get the thing out quick enough. “Dad?”
Crackling sounded over the phone, the line cutting in and out. Her father’s muffled voice sounded between strings of silence.
Dammit.
“Dad? Can you hear me?”
More crackling and broken voice.
Pulling the phone away from her ear, she groaned out loud. A single bar of signal.
Dang it to hell.
“Dad, hang on, I’m going to move around and see if it helps. Please don’t hang up.” She knew if she took too long, he would.
Walking up the river, she kept one eye on the path in front of her and the other on the phone, begging the signal bars to increase.
When that didn’t work, she raised her arm, and for the first time, an extra bar came up. Yes! Height. That’s what she needed.
Her gaze shot around the area, landing on some large boulders bordering the river. If she could climb up there, would that give her the signal boost she needed? Worth a shot.
“Hang on a sec, Dad.” She had no idea if he could hear her. He probably heard what she did, bits and pieces broken up by the line cutting out.
Pushing her phone into her pocket, Grace ran over to the boulders and began to climb. Even though there were plenty of edges to grab, the rock itself was slightly damp, and her cold fingers did nothing to help the situation. But, dang it, she was determined.
When she got to the top of the boulders, she steadied herself before pulling the phone from her pocket. She sighed in relief when she saw that not only was her father still on the line, but she had another full bar of signal.
“Dad?”
“Gracie, are you okay?”
The line wasn’t completely clear, but she could hear him. He sounded anxious.
“I’m fine, Dad. What’s wrong?”
“Kieran’s fingerprints were found.”
Her breath caught in her throat. Over the last eight years, there hadn’t been a single sign of the guy. He’d just disappeared.
“Where?”
“Phoenix, Arizona.”
The air eased out of her chest. So, not close to her.
“It was a few days ago. He attempted to abduct a woman. She managed to fight him off and, in the process, one of his gloves came off. When she grabbed her gun, he fled, but touched her doorknob. That’s how his prints were lifted.”
Grace gnawed at her bottom lip. “But she was okay?”
“She’s safe, Gracie. I just wanted you to know so you can be careful.”
The man had disappeared without a trace eight years ago. This was the first piece of evidence confirming he was still very much alive…and still hurting women.
The idea had Grace’s chest hurting. A small part of her had hoped Kieran hadn’t been found because he was dead.
“I will. Thanks, Dad.”
“Have you left Cradle Mountain?”
She scrunched her eyes shut. Should she lie? No. She couldn’t. Not to him. “I haven’t, but I’m safe. I’m keeping my head down and the reporters haven’t identified me as Grace Castle. Or as anyone else.”
“You need to disappear, Gracie. All it takes is one reporter to snap a photo.”
She knew that. She also knew she shouldn’t have come. “I will, Dad. I love you.”
“Love you too, baby. Stay safe.”
Safe. Something her father wasn’t because of her. Because of how he’d helped her. His danger was different to hers though. It wasn’t the physical kind. It was the lose-everything-you-have kind.
A pang of guilt snaked its way up her spine as she hung up the phone. She’d told her father why she’d spoken to the reporter in Marble Falls. He knew she hadn’t had a choice. Not if she wanted both her and her father to stay off Kieran’s radar.
Grace was stowing her phone when she heard the voice.
“What the hell?”
The booming question had her spinning around so fast, her back foot slipped from beneath her on the damp boulder.
Pain radiated through her skull when it collided with rock before she tumbled toward the ground. She scrunched her eyes, expecting to feel the pain of hitting hard-packed dirt.
Instead, she landed in strong, warm arms. She didn’t have a chance to feel fear from his touch because he immediately eased her to the ground.
“Are you okay?” His deep gravelly voice penetrated the gray specks trying to hedge her vision.
“My head.” She touched it, eyes shuttering, feeling liquid on her fingers.
Logan cursed under his breath.
At his touch in her hair, her eyes snapped open. That’s when her focus involuntarily shifted. From the ache in her skull to the way he hovered over her. Crowding her.
A familiar panic bubbled to the surface. A panic that had nothing to do with hitting her head against a rock and falling from almost ten feet high.
Her heart rate increased, breaths shortening.
Logan frowned. “Grace? What is it?”
She swallowed, attempting to push herself up.
Logan’s hands went to her shoulders. “Whoa, I think you need to give yourself a second.”
His touch made it worse. So much worse. It convinced her mind that he was holding her down rather than helping. Dread crawled up her throat, stealing her breath. “I need—I need to sit up!”
And she needed him to not touch her while she was beneath him.
His brows drew together, his brown eyes darkening in their intensity. Just as black dots began to hedge her vision, his hands shifted behind her, urging her into a seated position.
The second she was upright, his hands dropped. And finally she could breathe again.
Closing her eyes, she let the soothing sounds of nature bring her back to the moment. Back to reality, rather than the ugliness that her mind tried to recreate.
When she finally looked up at Logan, it was to see the intense look on his face remained. Had he seen more than she wanted him to? Did he see all the old cracks inside that she’d worked so hard to seal?
“Sorry. I panicked.” She didn’t offer any more than that. She couldn’t.
Logan’s eyes held hers for a beat longer before they rose to her hair. “Can I check out your head?”
The dull throb radiating through her skull was still there. Not only that, but nausea was starting to build in her stomach.
Nodding slowly, she remained still as Logan parted her hair. She barely felt his touch.
He swore softly under his breath. “We need to get you to the hospital. I’m pretty sure you’ll need stitches.”
Great. That was just what she needed.
Logan rose, moving a few feet away before returning and handing something to her.
Oh, crap. Her phone.
She took it lightly from his fingers and tried pressing some keys. Nothing happened. Sighing, she pushed it into her pocket and was about to get to her feet when Logan’s hand went to her arm. His touch was so light that she easily could have broken away from him.
“I think I should carry you to the car, Grace. I’m pretty sure you have a mild concussion. Your head’s bleeding and it doesn’t look good.”
Her heart tried to drum in her chest, but she took steadying breaths to calm herself. She just needed to remind herself that she was safe with Logan.
As if reading her thoughts, he lowered his voice. “You’re safe with me.”
Something shifted in her chest. She wasn’t sure if it was because of the look on his face or the calm in his tone, but suddenly, she wanted to trust him. And trust herself to feel safe with him.
Maybe that’s why she nodded. Why she didn’t stop to question why he’d felt the need to say those words so gently.
Logan wrapped one arm around her back and the other under her knees. Then he stood, lifting her as if she weighed nothing and carrying her toward the car.
Panic almost bubbled to the surface again, but she reminded herself that she was safe about a dozen times in her head. Focused on the calming sounds around her and the warmth of his chest. Heat just about radiated off him.
When a gust of wind blew past, Grace curled toward him, not thinking about anything but hiding from the icy breeze. She didn’t miss how Logan hunched his body around hers, shielding her from the worst of it.
When they reached the cars, Logan walked straight past hers, instead depositing her into his truck. “I can get one of the guys to drive your car back to your motel,” he said.
He hesitated, and for a second she wondered what he was doing. Then, slowly, he reached across her body, and connected her seat belt.
Her breath caught in her throat—but this time it had nothing to do with her past.
Straightening, Logan closed her door and moved around the car.
God, the man must think she was a shipwreck. Falling off the rocks. Panicking at his touch.
Over the last few years, she’d barely spared a thought to the way a man’s touch still sent her into a fit of fear. Mostly because she’d gotten good at not putting herself in a position where she’d need to. Avoiding the touch of a man had become second nature.
Until Logan.
