Page 16 of Lure

I almost didn’t jump this time when he fired. Almost. And maybe I was a glutton for punishment, because I didn’t look away. The back tire on the motorcycle went up in flames and the vehicle pitched forward, sending the rider flying.

He was also on fire.

I saw everything before I closed my eyes and lowered the binoculars. Goblin scooted up along my side and whined. Turning, I rubbed the top of his head and let him lick me. The tears I’d fought earlier escaped, and my heart raced so fast, I thought I was going to throw up.

“You did good, Gracie-girl,” Alphabet said in that low silken tone. He also ran a hand over the top of my head. Okay, maybe he was petting me and Goblin both. “Real good.”

Chapter

Six

VOODOO

Ipulled the covers over her bare arm. The exhaustion she’d been fighting since we hooked up with her and Alphabet knocked her out. The paleness under her tan seemed to stand out even more than after the accident that sent us tumbling down the hill.

Alphabet had been sketchy on the details—well, we all had been—and she hadn’t volunteered any. We needed a debriefing and we needed it yesterday. I’d still wanted to do a full assessment of her injuries. The bruises on her throat had been darkening all day as we traveled.

You could almost make out the shape of the hand that had been there. Alphabet had already eliminated the target, but he shouldn’t have been allowed to get that close to her in the first place. Her lashes fluttered up once. Thankfully, there was no surprise in her eyes when she focused on me.

“Shh,” I murmured. “Just keeping watch.”

A yawn had her stretching her jaw. The faint pop just told me how tired she was. “You have to go talk about stuff…” The mumbled words made me smile.

Lifting a length of dark hair away from her face, I tucked it behind her ear. “Go to sleep, Firecracker. No one is going to hurt you again.”

“Can’t promise that,” she told me even as she turned away. “No one can.”

The empty acceptance in her voice pissed me off. Clamping down on the temper, I blew out a long breath.

“Sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up.” I hadn’t intended to stay here, she deserved her privacy if she wanted it. But nightmares were often a byproduct of trauma. I’d rather be on hand if something went sideways and not try to clean up after it.

“Fine,” she huffed before another yawn cracked her jaw. “Tired…”

I didn’t answer because I didn’t want to give her a reason to keep fighting the sleep I’d thought had already swept her under. Only when her breathing deepened, then evened out did I make myself walk away.

Despite the fact I’d done it earlier, I did another check of the exits—particularly the windows. They were secured and we’d already added another set of alarms at the top. Just because we couldn’t fit through them didn’t mean someone else couldn’t.

She highlighted a weak spot for us. Never let it be said we didn’t learn when opportunity presented itself. I pulled the blackout drapes closed over the blinds. There was a soft light on in the back of the bathroom. Enough to let her see the room, not so much it would bother her.

It had to be enough for now.

I needed to add some listening equipment in here. I’d talk to Alphabet. If we set it to a certain decibel level, it could activate if she was in trouble. That would still respect her privacy.

Until then, I’d just crash in here. The bed was big enough for both of us, but there was also a chair and I could sleep on thecarpet. The floors in here offered palatial comfort compared to some of the places I’d had to sleep.

Lunchbox straightened from where he leaned against the wall as I closed the door behind me. Concern reflected in his eyes. “How…?”

“She’s sleeping, hopefully she stays that way. Let’s get the debrief done. I want to be back up here before she wakes up or a bad dream does.”

Mouth flattening, he glanced past me to the door. Sorry, brother. I already called dibs for the night. You could try to get it tomorrow. Not that I was remotely apologetic for my choices. Nor voicing it aloud for him.

“Did she tell you…”

I shook my head once as he followed me to the stairs. The absolute lack of sound below was almost as telling as the worry carved into Lunchbox’s expression. Lunchbox and Bones could easily have briefed Alphabet without me. The only thing they would have waited on was his debrief for us.

That said, Lunchbox waited and the quiet? Yeah, no one was talking. The cold glare Bones and Alphabet favored each other with had made the air crackle with all the tension popping. As long as Grace was awake and with us, they shut that shit down.

Now that she was in bed?

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