Page 31 of On the Chase
“Logan Jovanovic.” Even just saying the name made her nervous. She stepped out of Hugh’s hold, and he reluctantly let her go. A feeling of vulnerability, of being watched, hunted, swamped her. “Could we go somewhere else? Somewhere private? Not so…exposed?”
Theo and Hugh exchanged a look before Theo moved away from her car. When she started to follow, Hugh held her back with a gentle hand on her forearm.
“I’ll protect you.” His tone was completely serious, and he said the words as if they were a pledge. After studying his face for a long moment, allowing the warmth of his offer to spread through her, she nodded and moved to catch up with Theo. Hugh rested his hand on her lower back, and she welcomed the comfort of it. She told herself not to get used to it, though. Saving people was his job. She couldn’t read any more into his actions than that, or she’d just be asking to get hurt. He’d protect her from Martin Jovanovic, but it was up to Grace to keep her heart safe from Hugh.
“Station?” Theo said in a low voice.
“Nope. If LT sees me there…” Hugh didn’t finish his sentence, but from Theo’s acknowledging grunt, he didn’t have to.
“My house?”
Hugh snorted. “Is a closet imitating a house. Let’s go to my place.”
“What time is it?” Grace asked. It felt like hours had passed since she’d stormed out of the diner with Hugh in pursuit. “I have to go to work at eleven.”
“You’re not going anywhere by yourself until we get this situation figured out.”
His resolute tone made her automatically balk, and she opened her mouth to tell him that he was not the boss of her—although in a slightly more mature way—when reason reasserted itself. If Martin or one of his minions was taking shots at her, she didn’t want to be alone. “I can’t ask for a round-the-clock police escort.”
“Ask or not, you’re getting one.”
“You?” A mixture of pleasure and exasperation coursed through her at the thought of being with Hugh twenty-four hours a day. They would most likely kill each other.
“Me.”
As he shot them both a sideways glance, Theo almost looked amused. “At least it’ll keep you busy and off our calls. LT will be happy.”
Hugh’s response—a rude one, judging by his expression—was cut off when Jules came running from the front of the VFW. Barreling into Grace, she grabbed her in a hard hug. “Grace! Oh my goodness! Are you okay? The cops made us stay in the viner until they gave the all clear, so I couldn’t see what was going on. Were you hurt?”
Something about the honest concern in Jules’s voice made tears rush to the surface, and Grace blinked rapidly, forcing them back. There would be no crying on her part until she was safely ensconced at the house with her head under a pillow. “I’m fine,” she lied.
“Are you sure? Did someone actually shoot at y’all? What about you, Hugh? Were you hit?” Jules’s gaze ran over them frantically, as if searching for blood and bullet holes. The realization of what a close call it had been finally hit Grace, and she swayed slightly. Hugh must’ve felt it, because he moved his hand from her lower back to her far hip and tugged her into his side. It was weak of her, Grace knew, but she couldn’t help leaning against him.
“I’m fine, Jules,” Hugh said with apbbttsound. “So I got shot at again. It’s happening to me so often lately that it’s sort of becoming old. I wish the people trying to kill me would change it up a little. You know, get creative.”
“Like use an explosion?” Theo asked pointedly. Despite his crabby expression, he reached over and took one of Jules’s hands and tugged her toward him.
“Nah,” Hugh said with a faux-casual shrug. “That’s getting stale, too. Why doesn’t someone come at me with nunchucks next time? Or a chainsaw?”
And that was it. Hugh joking so casually about getting killed made something inside Grace snap. In vivid detail, she saw the table of horrible tools, the bloodstained floor, the tortured men’s battered, swollen features. Now, though, they all had Hugh’s face. Her locked-down tears burst free.
“For goodness’ sake, Hugh!” Jules scolded, rushing to put her arms around Grace and pull her out of Hugh’s hold. “Why do you always have to make everyone cry?”
“What?” Although he let Grace go, Hugh patted her awkwardly on the back and shoulders. “I do not make everyone cry! When have I ever… Okay, so there was that one other time, but twice doesn’t meanalways.”
Ignoring his protests, Jules started to usher Grace toward the VFW entrance. “C’mon, sweetie. Let’s go inside.”
“We need to talk to her.” It was Theo’s turn to protest.
“Besides”—Hugh stayed right next to them—“I have to stick with Grace. Wherever she goes, I go.”
For some reason, those words brought forth a fresh round of sobs. Each time she thought things couldn’t get any worse, life laughed and then punched her in the face. Martin Jovanovic had found her, and now she was endangering Hugh. Apparently, the threat of death wasn’t enough to keep the guy away.
Even though she couldn’t decide whether she wanted to argue with Hugh or kiss him again, she did know one thing: the thought of him being killed gutted her. They’d been lucky today, but the next bullet could easily find its mark…right in Hugh’s head.
She’d never survive that.
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