Page 20 of Forged in Secrets

“I had a panic attack,” she said, trying to smile even as a few salty tears trickled down onto her lips. There was no point denying it now. “It’s no big deal.”

Ben lifted a brow.

He already knew that she had post traumatic stress disorder, and that certain things triggered memories of Indonesia, but she still hated saying the words out loud.

“Are you absolutely certain you don’t want to get checked out? A resort this size probably has a nurse you could see, at least.”

“I’m fine,” she said again, ignoring the heat that rose to her cheeks as she forced herself to look into his eyes.

For whatever reason, his steady, concerned gaze only made the tears flow faster.

“You’re clearly not fine.”

“I’m embarrassed, okay?” she said, hating the shrill tone of her voice. “I feel like an idiot for worrying you over nothing. I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to be embarrassed about,” he said firmly. “I just–”

He paused, and she waited for the interrogation that was surely imminent.

No matter what she felt for him, she wasn’t about to explain anything else. He and his brothers knew the basics, and that would have to be enough. Wallowing in her fear by talking too much about it had only ever made her feel worse.

“Look, Grace. You watched me sob like a baby on a plane this morning. And even though you had every reason to be terrified yourself, you kept it together and prayed for everyone on that flight. And you were gracious enough not to tease me about it. If there’s anyone who’s going to be embarrassed here, it’s me.”

Ben looked out the window at the crowd of onlookers as he spoke, his words fast, as though he had to get them out before he lost his nerve.

She reached out tentatively and brushed her fingertips against his muscled forearm. His jaw softened, and he turned to her, allowing their eyes to meet.

“How about we call it even?” she suggested.

“Deal.”

She extended a hand for him to shake, and he did so, the shadow of a smile alighting on his serious face.

BEN

“Thanks, Patrick,” Ben said, squinting at the worn name tag on the security guard’s uniform to be sure he was getting the man’s name right.

“If you need anything else, feel free to contact me,” the guard said pleasantly, handing him a simple business card with the Mistflower Resort’s logo on it.

Ben thanked him again and headed out of the securityoffice, which was located in one of the smaller buildings that made up the complex. As he strolled back toward the building where he and Grace’s rooms were housed, he swung to the right and checked out the remnants of the burnt building once more.

Poor Grace. The fire had clearly brought up some rough memories, and he’d insisted that she spend the rest of the afternoon resting while he continued their preliminary investigation. After the nonexistent sleep they’d had the night before, he wished that he could do the same, but instead he’d spoken to the fire department.

They had assured him that the fire was caused by nothing more nefarious than badly maintained wiring. It was one of the oldest buildings on the property, and the oldest one still used to host guests. Apparently, the adobe exterior was more of a facade, with the rest of the building structured with wood framing. It hadn’t taken much for a small fire to grow out of control.

After that, Ben had grabbed a quick lunch at one of the resort’s cafeterias, and had spent the last couple of hours going over the details of the case with the head of security, Patrick O’Day.

The man had shown greater concern for Katie than Detective Hayles. However, there was only so much he could do on his own authority, especially since the resort manager was out of state. Ben had initially found this odd, considering how busy spring break must have been for business, but Patrick had only laughed and told him that was precisely why his boss fled the island every spring. Evidently, he trusted his team to handle the place.

Ben hadn’t found out anything else of use, but at least Patrick had been able to confirm what the police had told him. He’d set up a meeting with Jade later that evening,and he couldn’t help but to hope that they’d catch her in some kind of lie or inconsistency.

If they didn’t, he had no idea where the next clue would come from.

With a final glance at the dusty black corpse of the old building, Ben continued toward their hotel. It had been quite a while since lunch, and he was starving. The investigation could wait until later, and in any case, he’d promised Grace he’d wake her up before dinnertime.

He’d never seen her so afraid before, and he hoped he’d handled it okay. He was used to happy, bubbly Grace, the light of Forge Brothers Security. Not the person who had post traumatic stress disorder and dark memories she’d locked away.

Maybe her bright personality was a wall she put up to avoid further hurt.

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