Page 109 of Forged in Peril

“Ten?” Grace exclaimed. “Benjamin Forge, don’t you dare kill yourself speeding.”

“Yes, mom,” Ben grumbled. “Fine. We’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

His twin brother Asher raised an eyebrow from the passenger seat as Ben hung up the call before Grace could say anything else.

“What?” Ben asked.

“Nothing,” Asher said, still smirking. “Just funny how she always chooses you to call, that’s all.”

“We live near her,” Ben said quickly, refusing to meet his brother’s eyes. Instead, he focused on the rising sun up ahead, which had bathed their suburban neighborhood on the outskirts of San Antonio in a soft orange glow. Spring was coming fast, and the hot weather wouldn’t be far behind, but for the moment it was a mild, gorgeous morning.

“Uh, in case you forgot, Cameron and Bristol actually liveinSilver Grove,” Asher said. “Not to mention dad. I’m pretty sure she just wanted to hear your voice.”

Ben drove in silence, ignoring him and his obnoxious sing-song tone.

He wouldn’t take the bait this time.

Everyone at Forge Brothers Security seemed totally convinced that Grace had a thing for him, but he wasn’t so sure. And even if he was, he would see to it that nothing ever came of it. Grace was their office manager, and if things got complicated, which he was certain they would, there was a not-zero chance that half of their operation would fall apart.

Not to mention the small fact that she was a total pain in the butt, and drove him crazy on a daily basis.

Or that he’d already sworn off love for the foreseeable future.

Nope. No way.

He was steering clear of Grace Isabella Hinton, no matter how much his brothers pestered him. If she really did have a crush on him, it would pass, and he had no intention of hurting her in the meantime.

A few minutes later, he pulled up to an imposing iron gate.

He considered just texting Grace to let her know that they were here, but thought better of it, instead unrolling his window and hitting the talk button on the nearby security speaker.

“Ben and Asher Forge, here to pick up Grace,” he said.

“She’s waiting in the foyer. Pull through,” came a clipped voice on the other end that he didn’t recognize. Despite its rural location, Grace’s parents’ mansion had almost as much security as the FBS office did.

“Thanks,” Asher called out from the passenger seat just before Ben rolled up the window and started up the long, tree-lined lane, trying not to let his face reveal any reaction to the opulence of the Hinton family home as they approached the horseshoe driveway out front.

By the time Grace was settled in the passenger seat–Asher had insisted that a lady shouldn’t have to sit in the back–the sun had already risen well over the horizon.

“I give us ten minutes before Gabe calls and yells at us for being late,” Ben said, pulling out onto the road once again.

“I’ll take that bet,” Asher chimed in from the backseat. “Grace?”

Grace crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head, attempting to look stern. “Oh, be nice. He just wants to keep the family together. I know first-hand how hard it is to get all of you Forge boys in one place at the same time.”

“Like herding cats?” Asher joked.

Grace leaned back against the passenger seat and laughed, her curly blonde hair ringing her face like a halo.

She was pretty. He could admit that much.

Ben focused on the road ahead as his two passengers continued to chat. Usually, Grace tried to pull him into whatever conversation she found herself in, but this time, she left him alone with his thoughts until they reached Trinity Medical Center several minutes later.

“You owe me five bucks,” Asher said as he pulled into a parking space and killed the engine.

“No way,” Ben said, unable to conceal the smile that tugged at his lips. “It’s been seven and a half minutes, I checked.”

“But we’re at the hospital already and he never called!”

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