Page 37 of Chasing Grace
“Uh, in case you hadn’t noticed, after you shot at her, she threw herself off a fucking cliff.”
“Yep.”
“And torpedoed a car into a ravine.”
“Yep.”
“Am I missing the self-preservation piece?”
“Nope. But she is. That’s why I need your help.” Sam hitched his thumb over his shoulder. “You hungry? There’s a fantastic diner about twenty minutes up the road.”
In the backbooth of a retro diner on the outskirts of Seattle, Sam finished off his seafood stew while Grant Kincaid eyeballed him like he’d lost his mind. “So, will you do it?” Victor Bodak wanted Grace Emerson—bad. To keep the fucker from taking matters into his own hands, Sam needed him to think they were hot on the heels of the missing photographer.
“You keep a trace on your sister?” Kincaid indicated the folded square of paper on the table between them with a wave of his mug.
“Tracker in her watch.” Done with his meal, he set his spoon on his plate, tossed his crumpled napkin in the bowl, and pushed the whole thing aside. “She has a tendency to fall off the map.”
“No shit.” Kincaid shook his head and set his coffee down. “You pointed a gun at my head.”
“What are we, twelve? I’m asking you to protect my sister. I had to know where you stood. Will you do it?” Well aware of Gray’s willingness to throw herself in front of speeding trains, he needed to make sure she stayed with the people who could keep her safe from Bodak and his dick lickers.
That’s where Kincaid came into play. He adhered to a code of ethics not found among many guns for hire, and his willingness to disregard Sam’s orders at the risk of his own life had proven two things.
He put others before himself.
And he had balls bigger than the average wannabe hero.
Sam had no proof, and Kincaid hadn’t done anything to give himself away, but the man had to be former military. His instincts, how he conducted himself, the way he moved, all of it combined hinted at years of training and experience acquired for the sole purpose of defending life, liberty, and country.
Kind recognized kind, and sure as shit, Grant Kincaid belonged to a specific subset of the human race. The subset that ran toward danger, while the rest of the world ran away. Why he’d thrown in with Sam and Victor Bodak, he’d figure out later. For now, keeping his sister safe and out of Bodak’s hands was the only thing that mattered.
A loose cannon with a faulty fuse, Gray had the potential to destroy several years of work. Until he figured out how she factored into the events going down, he needed to keep her contained—no matter the cost. “Look. I’m willing to double your salary and throw in an extra fifty thousand as a bonus once my sister’s out of danger. Does that work?”
“Bodak footing the bill?”
“Hundred percent.”
“Jesus.” Kincaid shook his head, wiped a hand over his stitches, and muttered something about being terminally stupid. When he finished, he looked Sam dead in the eye and grinned. “Yeah, I’ll do it, just to fuck with Bodak. But I want a new Bruins cap too. Same as the last one.”
“Deal.” Sam pushed the paper toward Kincaid before he could reconsider the potential consequences of messing with Bodak’s plan for Gray. “Punch that code into the phone I gave you, and put in the password. Gray’s signal will come up. Don’t let her know you’re on her six, and don’t let her out of your sight.”
Kincaid reached over and opened the slip of paper. “Your sister’s password is GroundZero?”
Sam shrugged and threw enough cash on the table to cover the bill and leave a sizeable tip. “She has that effect.”
“Do I need to swallow this, or will it self-destruct?”
“Fuck off, Kincaid.” Trust established, or at least a semblance of trust established, he stood and grabbed the Denali’s key fob, leaving his own on the table. “Take my car. It’s faster.” He nodded once and made for the door.
“Hey, Sam.”
He turned and waited for the question he knew was coming—because he’d ask the same if their roles were reversed.
“You don’t really work for Bodak, do you?”
“Do you?” Sam asked in return.
Kincaid frowned and shook his head. “Nah, man. I work for you.”
