Page 70 of Chasing Grace
Persistent fucker.
She’d expected him to make himself at home when his watch ended, practically on top of her by necessity. To say she’d been disappointed when she woke up alone wasn’t stretching the truth. How messed up was that?
He broke her cardinal rule when it came to men. So why was she looking for the married-to-the-military fucker like she needed a fix and he was her drug of choice? As she approached the colonel’s office, she heard his low rumble, and her heart skipped ahead a few beats.
“Adam’s source said her name is Tara Pisani,” Chase said.
The bottom dropping out of her stomach, Gray froze out of sight in the hallway.
“What can you tell us, Jay?”
“She’s a friend of your daughter’s, Colonel. They met at the Mount Sinai Cancer Center. She lives with her parents in Miami Lakes and works part-time as an executive assistant in an insurance firm. She has no record, no partner, and no connections to Wright or Bodak.”
“You sure?”
“Positive, sir. She’s not connected to this at all.”
“Shit,” Cody said, “How’d she end up in Bodak’s hands?”
Oh God, Tara!The blood drained from Gray’s head so fast her ears rang.
“A couple of his goons snatched her from Gray’s condo in South Beach. Adam didn’t know anything about it until an hour ago,” Chase replied.
“Where’s he keeping her?” Tak asked, his voice low and intense.
“The warehouse in Savannah.”
“Tell me we’re going in to get her,” Cody growled.
“No,” her father said, and she had to cover her mouth with both hands to keep from crying out. “Her injuries are fatal. Adam’s source said she’s not likely to survive the next forty-eight hours. We can’t risk our objective for a recovery operation.”
Gray’s heart stopped beating. The pain in her chest unreal, she pressed a fist to the center of her sternum.No. No. No.This couldn’t be happening. Anger burned a vicious path through her veins. How dare her father prioritize the mission over Tara? She had nothing to do with this. Any of this. Gray should be the one in that warehouse. Not Tara.Oh God. Not Tara!
“What about sending me in solo, sir? Maybe there’s something I can do?”
“I can’t risk it, Doc. I’m sorry.”
“What do we tell Grace?” Tak asked.
“Nothing.” Chase’s voice sounded grim. “She—”
Fucking bastard!Gray didn’t stick around to hear the rest. Slipping from the hallway as quietly as she could, she stabbed at the tears collecting in the corners of her eyes. She needed to keep it together. She was going to Savannah, one way or another. Bodak wanted her. Fine, he could have her. But no way in hell would she let him keep Tara too.
Gray burst out the kitchen door into the light of a beautiful day, startling Canker Face. He froze beside a van, keys in hand.Thank you, God.Rearranging her face into her most sincere, “you-da-man” expression, she marched up to the passenger door and yanked it open. “I need girly stuff from the pharmacy. The colonel wants you to take me into town on the lunch run.”
“Aw, man. I always get the shit jobs.” He got in, not the least bit pleased with her father’s order, and slammed the door.
CHAPTERTHIRTY
Parkedat the side of Palo Pinto’s only pharmacy, Grant leaned against the passenger door of Adam’s Shelby, arms and ankles crossed. To the casual observer, he looked like he waited with the long-suffering patience of every man who ever waited on a woman in a store.
Closer inspection, however, would reveal his hand inside his open jacket, palm curled around the butt of his gun. Eyes scanning the street under the curved peak of his Dallas Stars cap, he stayed on high alert despite his appearance to the contrary.
Gray was on the move, and based on the fucknut she had with her, Grant would bet good money she’d snuck out under unsanctioned circumstances. And he never gambled with his money. Stupid JTT assholes had let her get away.
He didn’t pick up anything out of the ordinary from his visual sweep—just business as usual in Palo Pinto’s sleepy market square. There wasn’t much vehicle traffic to be concerned about, and even fewer people on foot.
Past noon on Saturday, he assumed most of the town had abandoned the local shops for the mall in the next county over. The lack of visible threats didn’t put him at ease, however. Francisco and Ryerson were still MIA.
