Page 79 of Chasing Grace
“Yes, sir?”
“Adam’s sending you Bodak’s financial info now. You know what to do.”
“Yes, sir.” Jay added his load to Cody’s, and muscles working overtime, he disappeared out the back exit.
More interested in the conversation going on behind the closed door, she attempted to tune in the rumble of deep voices. A lost cause, she couldn’t make out a single word. Didn’t matter. They could discuss it all they wanted. She was going to Savannah. They had to know it by now. One man couldn’t watch her twenty-four seven.
“…and I need a secure phone for Grace.”
Hearing her name, she decided to pay attention to the only conversation she could hear.
“Security level?” Jay asked.
“Level one will do. And put Kincaid back online.”
“No problem. Level three for Kincaid?”
The colonel nodded once. “We’ll be in the kitchen. Bring us the phone when you have it ready.”
Gray’s heart quickened. If the colonel wanted Grant Kincaid back online, it meant he’d need to be connected to the JTT. For whatever reason, her father knew she’d be heading for Savannah soon. Relief made her head swim, and a film of moisture blurred her vision. The fight nearly over, she could have hugged him—almost.
Oh God, Tara, I’m coming. Wait for me. Please, just wait for me.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-FOUR
When Chase got backto his room, Gray’s semi-stuffed duffel sat on his bed, zipper spread wide. He could see the jumbled results of her hasty packing and a new JTT secure phone tossed carelessly on top. His stomach twisted.
He’d tried his best to stop her. Then he’d tried his best to have his orders changed. If she had to go to Savannah, he wanted to be the one to bring her. The colonel had refused, citing operational requirements before reminding him of his responsibilities to the JTT.
As an escort, Kincaid made sense from an optics perspective. If anyone saw Chase at the warehouse, the JTT’s cover would be blown. Sending Tak in advance to scope out the location before Gray arrived had eased Chase’s worry. Some. Not much. Not enough.
Not nearly enough.
Jesus. If anything happened to her.
He’d known Gray would insist on going to her friend’s side the moment she found out. He loved that about her. Loved that she put Tara’s needs first. But it had also scared the shit out of him.
And yeah, he’d fucked up. Didn’t take a degree in psychology to recognize he’d floated himself up a creek, and he wasn’t in a boat, never mind the bit about a paddle.
Kincaid was right.
Chase had been an idiot to try to stop Gray from going to Savannah.
Thinking it might be safer to face her without a fully loaded weapon strapped to his waist, he drew his gun. The sound of metal scraping against hard plastic reassured in its familiarity. He did a rapid safety check out of habit before putting the Glock in the empty drawer between the beds.
He undid his belt clips and took it off, the ripping sound of separating Velcro loud in the room as the shower turned off. Feeling oddly naked, he tossed the empty holster and belt beside her bag and waited. He had some things to say to Gray. And she’d bloody well hear them before either one of them left this room.
She emerged from the bathroom dewy skinned with her hair piled on top of her head. A couple of loose curls clung damply to the side of her neck. Sporting nothing but her Oscar the Grouch T-shirt, her Rolex, and a pair of black underwear, the sight of her made his testosterone surge.
His mental groan rang loud in his head. Right this very second was not the ideal moment to be gassing up the engine on his outboard motor. Unfortunately, these days, his schlong had a mind of its own.
Like a deer in the headlights, she froze when she caught sight of him. Her gaze fixed somewhere in the middle distance between them, she stubbornly refused to acknowledge his presence. No doubt about it. She was a category five hurricane about to make landfall.
He took a deep breath and braced himself. “I’m sorry about Ta—”
Toothbrush in hand, she threw up her palm, cutting him off. “Don’t,” she spat, her eyes finally meeting his and flashing with the force of her anger. “You don’t get to say her name.”
“Gray, listen to me,” he said, and the storm that was Grace Grayson broke over him hard and fast.
