Page 32 of Chasing Grace
“You really are a persistent fucker. You know that, right?”
“Yep.”
“Why?
“Why am I a persistent fucker?”
“No, dumbass. Why not let me go? I already told you, I don’t have any information that can help you find the man you’re looking for.”
“So you keep saying.”
“It’s the truth!”
“Then tell me why you were on Cougar Wall with a badass camera in your hand.”
“I’m a nature photographer.”
“What you are—Grace Emerson—is a terrible liar.”
Gray sighedand tried to pull her hand out of Chase’s iron grip.
Again.
She got exactly nowhere. Admittedly, her feeble attempt had been unconvincing, even to her. Regardless, she wasn’t getting her hand back unless he chose to give it back, and for the moment, he seemed disinclined to let her, or her fingers, go.
“I’m not an idiot, Chase. You think I didn’t know you’d look through my bags as soon as you had the chance? Like I said—mission first.” Despite her annoyance, she couldn’t contain her grin. “Did you find what you were looking for?”
“You know I didn’t.” He glanced her way, and his gaze lingering on her mouth had a tingle of excitement trying to bubble to the surface. “You see. That smile. Right there.” He lifted their hands and pointed his finger at her lips. “That’s the reason you’re coming with me. So buckle up, baby. You belong to me now, and you’re in it for the long haul.”
She snorted. “Just because I’m grinning doesn’t mean I have information. And I don’t belong to anyone, dickhead.”
“You do now.” His matter-of-fact tone and the way he brushed his thumb over her knuckles as he lowered their hands back into his lap had her heart banging against her rib cage, looking for a way out. Yeah, despite the hand-holding, no way in hell was she letting that bitch free.
Nope. Type A control freak aside, Chase Mackenzie was as married to the military as it gets. Exactly like her father. The smart thing to do was stick to plan A. Make him angry enough to let her go before they got to the plane—because once his commanding officer got a hold of her, she probably wouldn’t be surfacing for a while.
Either way, she needed to call Tara to let her know she wouldn’t make it home in time to accompany her to the oncologist appointment. Already noon in Miami, Gray had missed a day and a half of phone calls. It wasn’t unusual for her to go off the radar. Happened all the time. But Tara would worry anyway, and Gray didn’t want to burden her.
Up ahead, a sign for Carl’s Grocery caught her eye, and Chase slowed the Jeep. Letting go of her hand, he signaled his intention to pull in and found an empty parking spot between two RVs.
“I’ll make you a deal,” Gray said, turning to face him after he cut the motor. “You let me make a phone call, and I won’t tell everyone in the store you kidnapped me.”
Unimpressed by her threat, his nearly black eyes studied her face with an intensity she wasn’t accustomed to. The scrutiny made her butt wiggle in the seat.
“Your phone can be traced.”
“Yeah, but you have a secure phone, right? One call and I promise you, no shenanigans.”
He shook his head. “It’s not safe.”
“Please! There’s one person on this fucking planet I care about, and Ineedto talk to her. She’ll be worried, and I don’t want her to be. It’s not good for her health. One call and I won’t ask you for anything else—ever.”
Eyes locked in a battle of wills, her pulse ticked off the seconds of silence passing between them. “You can’t tell her where you are,” Chase said, reaching his hand into the pocket on his left thigh. “Or what’s going down.”
Relief flooded her system, and she nodded. “I know.”
He produced a phone encased in a rugged cover and thumbed in a passcode. “No details, Gray. I’m serious. Nothing about me. Nothing about where we’re headed. A quick call to say you’re fine and you won’t be home for a while—that’s it.”
Impatient to hear Tara’s voice, she bobbed her head up and down. “I know.”
