Page 55 of Hart of Hope
I waved a hand in front of her, but she didn’t blink.
Fran had had nightmares in middle school, but I was pretty sure Grace wasn’t having a nightmare. Fran woke up from them. Grace seemed to be trapped in a constant state of terror.
My pulse pounded in my ears, sounding like several bombs being detonated in rapid succession. I turned on the light on the nightstand then attempted to wake Grace by gently touching her shoulder.
“Baby girl,” I whispered. “It’s me, Brian.”
She yanked away from me before she threw a punch in my direction, narrowly missing my nose.
Think, man.The problem was I couldn’t.
Grace sighed, closed her eyes, and lay on the pillow.
I hung my head, relieved that whatever fight she’d been having had stopped.
Duke had told me about her nightmares, but he never witnessed one. That award went to Dillon when Grace had lived with him and his wife, Maggie. I padded out of the room, leaving the door cracked open, grabbed my phone, and called Dillon.
It was after eleven p.m., so he might be in bed, but I didn’t care.
The line rang twice before he answered. “Brian?” Surprise coated my name.
Understandable, since I’d never called Dillon at this time of night. Duke, for sure.
I blew out a breath. “Your sister is with me in my hotel room in Connecticut. She came to Fran’s banquet. It’s not what you think.”
“Dude, just tell me.”
“She woke up fighting and screaming, with fear in her eyes. She was looking at me but not really. I hear you’ve witnessed her nightmares.”
“Fuck,” he said, groaning. “They’re not nightmares but rather night terrors. Extremely intense. It’s best not to wake her. Otherwise, she could get more agitated.”
“Like try to punch me.”
He laughed, albeit nervously. “She had quite a lot of them early on when she first escaped captivity. But something is going on with her, and she’s not telling me, Duke, or Ted.”
“Yeah, Duke thinks she’s afraid of something or someone. I heard she asked about Miguel Rivera.”
“We find it odd that she did after all these years.”
I peered through the small opening in the door. “She’s asleep now. But if it happens again, what should I do?”
“Let her ride it out. She won’t remember anything. I would recommend lying next to her while she’s in a calm state of sleep and comforting her in some way. That always seemed to help when she was living with us. Maggie and I would take turns. Also, on occasion, she’s been known to sleepwalk.”
The fuck. “Has she gotten medical help for this?” Duke had mentioned a time or two that Grace had seen a doctor.
“A therapist can only do so much,” Dillon said. “I know she’s in good hands with you. But Brian, if you ever have more than friendly feelings for her, please don’t hurt her. Because Duke, Denim, and I will beat you to a pulp.”
“Whoa! Where did that come from? She’s in my hotel room because I didn’t want her to drive back to Boston in the snow and all the hotels in the area are booked.”
“She has a thing for you, man. She always has. I’m cool with you two, but?—”
I recalled Grace mentioning exactly that.
“Duke isn’t.” I growled low. “I’m glad to hear that I have your blessing.”
“One more thing,” Dillon said. “Detective Hughes talked to Grace the morning she was brought in after she shot the frat kid.He heard her mumbling about blaming herself for someone’s death. When I asked her about it, she deflected. Can you talk to her? I think she’ll open up to you.”
“I doubt that. She asked for my help the first day I came to Boston, which was also the first time I’d seen her since Thanksgiving. She threw me off my game. But I told her I didn’t keep secrets from Duke. But after things got tense between us the other day, she said she didn’t need my help anymore. Whatever is bothering her, she refuses to ask you and your brothers for help.”
