Safe at Last (Slow Burn #3) (30 page)

He needed to get some sleep so he could catch his early morning flight back to Houston, but he already knew sleep would be a long time coming. He’d never sleep another night until Gracie was back in his arms for good.

TWENTY-SEVEN

ANNA-GRACE
sat in the nearly empty waiting room of the doctor whom she’d been referred to for her follow-up appointment. She’d been assured that this doctor was someone DSS used because he was utterly discreet and often made house calls, or, as was the case currently, if he needed access to medical equipment he arranged for times when the clinic was either closed or before it opened to the public. And, well, from what Beau Devereaux had told her, most of his patients were those who had need of complete anonymity, so he didn’t take on “normal” patients. And judging by the posh, expensively decorated waiting area, it didn’t appear that he was hurting for money.

As empty as it was of actual patients, the room was crowded with Eliza, Wade, Dane, Isaac and Coop. There were two others she’d been introduced to but she couldn’t recall their names.

And then there was one other man in the waiting room, who at first she’d assumed was just another person in her ridiculously large security escort. Well, and as silly as it sounded to be surrounded by mountains of testosterone—excluding Eliza, of course, though she was more of a badass than most men!—it
did
make her feel safer. Especially with Zack gone.

But the man had garnered suspicious glances from the others and raised eyebrows among her security detail as though they had no liking for his presence.

But he was inconspicuous and didn’t pay any heed to the rather large contingent of fierce-looking men surrounding him.

Arrogant bitch. The whole lot of them think they’re invincible.

Anna-Grace’s head snapped up, her mouth dropping in surprise at the sound that had popped out of nowhere, but not a single person in the room reacted in any way to the terse, angry statement. In fact, they acted as if they hadn’t heard it.

So smug. They think they can get the best of us. They have no idea of our resources or what we’re capable of. And the ballsy bitch who works for them needs to be taken down a notch or two.

There was a sound of triumphant glee that accompanied the next statement.

She’ll soon find out that she’s not as invincible as she thinks she is. It’s a lesson I’m very much looking forward to.

Gracie’s graze swept over the occupants of the waiting room, convinced that someone was having a cell phone conversation and not being in the least concerned with being overheard. But again, she saw nothing to indicate anyone
using
a phone. Not even the hands-free kind.

And then her gaze settled on the other side of the waiting room, where the man she’d been observing hadn’t changed position. He stared intently at Eliza, his jaw ticking with agitation, while the others all were expressionless and seemed bored.

Was she going crazy? Was she ultra-paranoid after her attack and the traumatic sequence of events of the last few days? Had she reached her emotional limit?

It was almost as if . . . She shook her head. No, that was even crazier. She had lost her ability to read minds twelve years ago and hadn’t missed that gift in the least. Clearly she was imagining it all.

All went quiet in her mind and she was convinced that she’d imagined the entire thing but then she was instantly flooded with images—horrifying images of Eliza lying on her back with some sort of cloth over her face and someone pouring water over it.

She couldn’t keep the revulsion from her face, and Dane immediately picked up on the change in her demeanor. He was sitting closest to her and leaned over, concern flaring in his eyes.

“What’s wrong, Gracie? Are you in pain?”

She shook her head, unable to formulate the words to explain her reaction. How could she? Instead she put up her hand to wave him off and carefully schooled her expression so that he’d know she was okay.

To her profound relief, the door opened and a cheerful-looking young nurse motioned for Anna-Grace to come back. She stood so quickly that she nearly fell over, and would have if Dane hadn’t lunged for her, wrapping one strong arm around her to steady her.

“Careful now,” he murmured. “Take it nice and slow.”

Eliza stepped to Anna-Grace’s other side. “Do you want me to go back with you?”

Unspoken was the question of whether she’d feel more comfortable with another female in the exam room with her instead of a man or men she didn’t even know.

She nodded because she was suddenly besieged by the desire to have Eliza close, not because she herself was scared, but because the terrifying images she’d had involving Eliza made her fear for Eliza.

Dane frowned. “Of course, we won’t go into the exam room with you, Gracie, and yes, I do think it’s a good idea for you to have Lizzie there with you, but someone will be posted outside the door as well as at any exit and entry points.”

“That’s fine,” Anna-Grace said faintly. “You can let go now, Dane. I’m all right. Truly. I just stood too quickly. I can make it on my own.”

Dane looked doubtful but he relinquished his hold on her and shot a look at Eliza that clearly said, “Help her.”

Eliza kindly curled her arm around Gracie’s waist and eased her to where the nurse stood in the open door. As soon as they were through, the nurse started to close the door but not before Dane and Wade pushed through the door too, startling the nurse.

Then Dane turned and secured the lock so no one could gain access.

The nurse started to open her mouth to protest but was silenced under Dane’s chilly stare. “She goes nowhere without us. We will take position outside the exam room. I trust there are no windows or alternative entries or exits from the room she’ll be in?”

The nurse vigorously shook her head and stammered out a no.

Dane nodded. “Good then. Show Gracie to her room so we can get this over with and get her back home so she can rest and recover.”

The doctor briskly and efficiently checked her over and proclaimed that she was fast on the mend with only bruises to show for her ordeal. He said it in a tone that suggested she was lucky. Forgive her, but she didn’t exactly feel lucky to have been beaten senseless by a bunch of thugs, regardless of whether they’d
intended
to kill her or not.

Fifteen minutes later, they were on their way and Gracie anxiously looked for the man who’d been in the waiting room with them. But he was nowhere to be seen. Had the nurse called him back to a room after she’d called Gracie?

She couldn’t shake her sense of unease, nor did the imprint of those voices—thoughts—leave. They were still strong in the waiting area, and she shivered involuntarily, which only made Dane frown harder.

“Did they even check her for a fever?” Dane demanded, though he directed his question to Eliza, not Gracie herself.

“They gave her the full physical,” Eliza responded, a hint of amusement in her voice.

She looked at Gracie with a sympathetic look only females shared when encountering a forceful, dominant man. Then she rolled her eyes, and Gracie had to choke back her laughter.

Dane scowled. “Then why the hell is she shivering? She looks like she’s freezing to death.”

“Well,” Eliza drawled out. “It could be the weather. It’s a might chilly today. Or it could be the fact that she was only recently brutally attacked, is not only still hurting from that attack but is scared shitless that she isn’t in a more secure place and not out in the open.”

She shrugged her shoulders. “Or maybe she’s just afraid of you and your broody-ass expressions. Take your pick.”

Gracie bit into her bottom lip, wondering how she could possibly find humor in something as macabre as her situation. And leaning on the very last people she would have ever accepted help from. Zack’s friends. Acquaintances. Coworkers or whatever he considered them. That he had a connection at all with them should have sent her on the run after that very first encounter with Zack.

But Wade had talked her down, ever the reasonable, unflappable one. And coldly dangerous. However, she’d known that had she not seen the light and realized that Wade was right about her needing to stop running and to embrace the life she’d made for herself, he would have helped her if she’d truly wanted to relocate somewhere else. All she would have had to do was ask.

Perhaps it was the stubborn streak in her. And . . . well . . . recent events had her questioning every single thing she’d been made to believe for the last twelve years. Zack had been utterly devastated and so enraged that in that moment she truly did fear him. Not that he’d hurt her. And that was insane enough after what he purportedly did. No, she feared he would kill every last man who had a part in her rape. And that gave her no joy. No sense of justice. Because it meant that Zack would have to pay the price, just as she’d had to pay the price for more than a decade, and she wouldn’t wish that on her worst enemy. Whether he’d betrayed her or not.

She opened her mouth to ask a question and froze because she sounded too . . . eager. And she wanted to remain indifferent. As if none of this mattered. Particularly Zack. She knew enough about herself to know she’d never love another man as she’d loved Zack. Sixteen or not, she’d know—known—that he was it for her. Every time she looked at him, she saw forever in his eyes and when she read his thoughts. God, they were bursting with love. So much love and pride. And possession.

She had belonged to him. The only person she’d every truly belonged to. And he’d belonged to her.

So what had happened?

None of this was adding up!

There was no faking the gut-wrenching grief and regret in Zack’s face when she’d told him what happened. He hadn’t been able to speak and when he had, tears had rolled down his cheeks and he’d crawled to her, unable to stand. A proud, arrogant, dominant male, crawling to her just so he could gently touch her face. So he could apologize and beg forgiveness for something he’d sworn to her he hadn’t done.

None of this made any sense in her already senseless world. The only question that stood out to her during this whole thing was . . .

What if he hadn’t done it? And what if because she ran from him twelve years ago without hearing his side of the story, he now hated her every bit as much as she’d hated him?

She closed her eyes and warm tears slid soundlessly down her cheeks. That one word held a wealth of meaning. Capitulation. Surrender. Admittance of wrongdoing. God. Was she crazy?

She had said she’d hated him. Past tense. As if that were no longer the case and she loved him still. Did she? Had she ever truly stopped loving him even in the darkest moments of her grief and despair? It was a question that disturbed her on many levels.

But the one thing that kept creeping into her consciousness, despite her best effort to keep it at bay, was the fact that he’d been so vehement in his denial that he’d had any part in her rape. And God, he’d seemed so sincere. What if she’d been wrong? All these years?

Nausea and unease churned in her stomach.

“Gracie?”

Eliza’s soft voice interrupted the volatile mix of Gracie’s thoughts. “I know you’re upset, but please just give Zack a chance. He’ll be home in a few hours. His flight was delayed and he was furious because he wanted to be here for your doctor’s appointment. But he’s coming.”

Gracie’s thoughts immediately shifted to Eliza as overwhelming fear and anxiety swept over Gracie. Should she tell Eliza what she’d “heard”? And had she heard anything at all except her own scrambled imagination?

She bit into her lip, not knowing what she should do. Wondering if she was losing her mind after so long trying to keep it together and survive.

“Gracie?”

This time it was Wade who softly spoke her name. There was concern and a slight edge to the softness. She glanced up to see his eyes sharp, taking in every aspect of her appearance, almost as if he were reading
her
thoughts.

But he didn’t need her gift to read people. He was very discerning and had an uncanny knack for reading people. Their intent. Whether they posed a threat or not. And given that she was the only person he’d allowed close, to her knowledge, she must have some way passed his scrutiny.

Several things came to her at once. Voices. Random echoes. It overwhelmed her and she clamped her hands over her ears as if to somehow shut out the barrage of thoughts around her. Oh God. She wasn’t crazy. It was coming back.

She closed her eyes tightly, because given a choice between the two, she would have preferred to be crazy.

TWENTY-EIGHT

GRACIE
paced the interior of the safe house, tension growing increasingly more difficult to bear. Her palms were sweaty, her pulse raced and her respirations were rapid and light, making her dizzy.

Where was Eliza?

They’d split off several hours ago as they’d left the clinic. Eliza had stated she needed to retrieve her laptop from her home, run by the office to do some digging and then she would be back at guard duty at the safe house. She anticipated an hour and a half, two at the most. That had been four hours ago.

Gracie had a very sick feeling that she wasn’t crazy. That she had recovered some of her powers and that everything she’d “heard” in the doctor’s office was indeed directed at Eliza.

She glanced Isaac’s way. He’d been given guard duty in Eliza’s absence. He didn’t seem unruffled or worried in the least. Wade, however, wore a grim expression and seemed deep in thought. Was he worried like Gracie was? Or was he contemplating something altogether different?

There was at least one other DSS agent outside the house. Where, she wasn’t sure. But she knew he was carefully watching the house. It should make her feel safe, but she couldn’t rid herself of the horrible feeling that she was no longer even a target and that the focus had now been shifted to Eliza.

What if she was already in the hands of the people who’d abducted and beaten Gracie, and by account, had also taken and done grievous harm to Ari, Beau Devereaux’s wife?