Page 71 of For Love & Torture
Chapter 31
Grant
One day later
The sound of thunder wakes me up as it rumbles outside. Bell is sleeping like a baby in my arms. Once she fell asleep, she fell hard.
Moving as little as possible to pick up my cell, I see the time is half past four in the afternoon. We’ve slept all day long. And now it’s time for me to get up.
I have things to tend to.
Rubbing my eyes, I wipe the sleep away and sit up. I throw my legs over the side and stand up. Stretching out, I find my body is well-rested and so is my mind. Now, time to make things happen.
“Hey, where are you going?” her sleepy voice drifts out from under the blankets.
“Just putting on some clothes. I have a few phone calls to make.” I turn and slip back into bed with her, staying on top of the blankets so I don’t get too comfortable.
Her doe-like eyes gaze at me as she runs her hand over my bearded cheek. “I’m getting up too then. I don’t need to spoil myself too much with all this sleep.”
“We can get ready and go get something to eat if you’d like.” I push her hair back and kiss her forehead. I don’t seem to be able to stop touching her. “I need to call Betty and have her take Bart off the member’s list immediately and have her alert security. If he does come, I want him picked up. And I suppose I should call Detective Jones, although he’s not exactly the best of help.”
Her brows furrow. “Why not?”
“He thinks you wanted to go with Bart. He thinks our lifestyle is what got you where you were.” I roll away from her and get up before I’m too tempted to stay there the rest of the day. My cock’s already twitching as I look at her sleepy, beautiful face.
“Well, that’s not true at all. The reason Bart stalked me is because of something else altogether. Something supernatural. Something not of this world. But I bet you’re right. The cops can’t help me. Maybe a priest or something like that, but not the law. Bart is above the law. When a man can just disappear, there’s not much the law can do to him.” She rolls out of bed and pads to the bathroom. “I want a cheeseburger and some curly fries and a huge chocolate shake.”
Chuckling, I can’t believe she can say all that about Bart and still have an appetite. But my Bell isn’t a normal woman. She’s far more than that.
After making the phone calls and getting dressed, we head out in the car to get my woman something to eat. The rain has eased up as the sun is about to set.
“Would you look at that sky, Grant.” She rolls down the window on the Jag to get a better look at the orange sky. “It was dark all the time where I was. No light except what came from the fires.”
“The fires?”
She nods as she continues to look at the marvel in front of her. “Yeah. There were these giant fireplaces with enormous fires burning in them. They were in the rooms I was taken to. And there were these really tall, gorgeous women too. Like his slaves or something. But they were there because they wanted to be, or so he said.” Her gaze turns to me, and she looks at me with a quizzical expression. “Why do you think he wanted me when he had so many gorgeous women at his disposal?”
“Because you’re one of a kind, baby. And I’m not letting him have you. So I don’t want you to worry, okay?” I take her hand as I take off down the road and hold it right there on the console between us.
I don’t say a word to Bell about anything I found out during my calls, but Betty is history. She didn’t do any of the background checking on Bart that we require for all of the potential members of the club. She also didn’t check the background of his lady friend either. Tad is having Betty escorted off the property as soon as she arrives for work tonight.
If anyone wants a contract tonight, they’re just flat out of luck. Isabel is staying right by my side tonight, and we’ll be staying home. Tomorrow is soon enough for Bell and me to get back to work.
As I pull into the parking lot of the café Bell loves, I see my brother, Jake’s, car parked in front. “Look who’s here.”
Bell nods at the car I was looking at. “Isn’t that Jake’s car?”
“It is.” I turn when I hear her opening her door and grab her arm. “No ma’am. You wait for me to let you out. I don’t want your feet on the ground unless I’m right there to protect you.”
She smiles and blushes. “I feel like you’re spoiling me, Grant.”
“I am.” Getting out, I go to her side of the car and get her out, then wrap my arm around her. For all I know, Bart could send flying monkeys to pick up my woman. If he does, they’ll have to get through me first, and that won’t be easy.
When we get inside, we find my little brother sitting at a table for four with a pretty young lady. I walk up behind him, looking at the woman he’s taken out on a date. “Hey, little brother. What’s up?”
Jake looks at me and smiles then gets up. “Hey, you guys. Sit down. Join us. We haven’t ordered yet.” He looks at the hold I have on Bell and laughs. “If you’ll let your lady go, I’d like to hug her hello, Grant.”
I let her go and they hug, exchanging pleasantries. I eye the woman he’s got with him. Offering her my hand, she shakes it as I introduce myself. “Hi. I’m Grant, Jake’s oldest brother. And you are?”
