“If you behave on the drive to the plane, I’ll take those off when we get there.”
“Don’t patronize me.” She growls, her anger turning me on more and more.
I turn the key and the engine roars to life. Grace turns away and looks out the window, as if the scenery is more entertaining than me. When my phone starts to buzz in my pocket and the ring tone comes through the car’s stereo her gaze swings back toward me and then to the screen on the center console, which is displaying Xander’s name. Shit.
Grace reads the name too, and I know it’s too late to cancel the call.
“Who is Xander?”
“Grace, I need you to be quiet while I’m on the phone. I mean it,” I warn her. “Keep your mouth shut or I swear I’ll knock you out and stuff you in the trunk. I’m not joking, not even a little bit.”
Her face pales and I know she’s finally taking me seriously.
“Okay, okay, I’ll be quiet.”
I hit the answer button on the steering wheel. “Hello.” I keep my voice monotone.
“Luke, where are you?”
“An hour south of Reno, but I’m about to get on a plane and fly back to Vegas.”
“I need you to change your flight course and come back to North Woods.” As soon as Grace hears Xander mention North Woods, I see her body stiffens. I glance over at her, placing a finger to my lips, because she looks like she might start screaming at any second. She starts shaking her head profusely, and I know it’s only going to be a short time before she starts to have a full-on panic attack. North Woods is where it all started for us, so it only seems fitting that we are going back there, even if it hold bad memories for both of us.
“For how long?” I ask, keeping my eyes on Grace’s fearful ones.
“It’s a small job but it’s time sensitive. It should only take you a day or two at most.”
“Okay, I’ll call you as soon as I land.”
Xander doesn’t say anything else, and the moment the call ends, Grace opens her mouth and starts yelling, her cheeks red with anger.
“I’m not going back there, Luke!” She shakes her head. “I worked way too hard to be subjected to this shit again. Just please let me go.” Tears glisten in her eyes, and my heart sinks into my stomach. I’ve done some bad shit in my life; killed men, destroyed lives, but nothing compares to seeing Grace cry. Never again do I want to be the cause of her pain. I betrayed her once, hurt her, shattered her delicate heart and I will never let that happen again.
“Calm down, it’s not what you think…” I start, but of course she interrupts me.
“You lied to me, again! No big surprise there, I suppose. And who is this Xander guy? Does he work with them? How can I trust you? How do I know you aren’t just taking me back to them?” Big fat tears fall from her eyes and cascade down her cheeks, and I hate myself a little more for having to hide shit from her. I remind myself that soon I’ll be able to come clean, soon I’ll confess everything to her. It’s just better this way right now.
“No, Xander is with the men who let you go and gave you money to start a new life. He’s not the enemy, Grace, he’s far from it.”
My statement shuts her up immediately. Her mouth opens as if she is about to say something, but her lips press together again. I can see her trying to figure out how this is all connected, and I know I should probably explain everything to her but I’m not ready yet. She might be mad but it’s safer this way. She’s safer not knowing anything.
“I know it doesn’t make sense right now, but just trust me, I’m doing this to keep you safe.”
She blinks away the tears from her eyes, and with her shoulder she wipes them from her cheeks. “Tell me what happened to Safe Harbor?”
“It’s gone. Burned to the ground. Your parents, if you can even call them that, are dead.”
That makes her pause. “Safe Harbor is gone? My parents are gone?”
“Yes, Xander and his men raided the place, that’s how I started working for him,” I explain.
“If it’s true, I will not mourn either. Maybe that makes me a terrible person, but after what that place and those people did to me, they were dead to me anyway. That still doesn’t mean I believe you. I don’t trust anything you say, and I never will. You broke my trust once before. I was foolish enough to believe you then, believe that you loved me, that you cared about me. I’m not stupid or naive anymore, Luke. You can’t fool me with your boyish charm. You can’t make me believe that you’re a good person when I’ve seen the bad in you.”