Page 46 of On the Chase
Theo’s expression immediately turned from grim to smitten, and he gave Jules a gentle smile as she detoured to kiss his cheek on her way to the table. Right before her lips connected, he turned his head, meeting her lips with his own. The peck turned into something a little more intense, and Grace looked away. She met Hugh’s gaze, and they smirked at each other.
“Hi, Theo! Hi, Hugh! Otto!” Dee bounced over to give Otto a side hug before dropping to her knees to pet Lexi, who thumped her tail against the floor in response. “Hey, Grace. We brought you some clothes. Can I go see the animals? Where’s Viggy?”
“Yes. And in the exercise yard.” Otto answered both questions while giving Dee a gentle pat with his huge hand. Grace looked on, fascinated. He was such a big guy that it was odd and endearing to see him be so careful with the little girl. At the kennel, he’d been like that with the shy dog, too. “Stay away from the new horse in the back paddock, though. He’s still scared.”
“Okay. Thanks!” Dee ran out the way they’d just entered.
The twins exchanged a glance, and Ty nodded as if Tio had said something out loud. “We’ll watch her,” Ty said as the two jostled each other to be the first out of the door.
“You too, Sam,” Jules said a little breathlessly, having reclaimed her lips. When her brother gave her a look, she returned it. In that moment, Grace could see the resemblance between brother and sister. “We’re going to be talking about things the twins don’t need to be involved in. You know they’ll have at least one ear pressed against the door any second now.”
After another moment of holding his stubborn expression, Sam gave an amused snort and shook his head. “An ear? T-t-too low-t-tech. T-Tio pr-probably has the room b-b-bugged.”
Jules laughed. “Yeah, you’re right. Now will you please go keep them from listening to our conversation? And, while you’re at it, don’t let them blow up anything.”
“F-fine,” he grumbled, and headed outside.
“Okay,” Jules said as the door closed behind Sam with a thump. “So will someone please tell me why Grace can’t live with us?”
“Martin Jovanovic is after her,” Theo said with a growl in his voice as he jerked a chair away from the table with enough force to make Grace jump. He looked at Jules and waited until she’d settled into the chair before taking the seat next to her. It was only then that Grace realized the angry chair movement had been a courtesy. Turning her head, she met Hugh’s amused gaze, and she bugged her eyes out at him. In response, he smirked and gave a tiny shrug that she translated as “That’s just Theo.” Holding back a snort of laughter, she refocused on the conversation.
“So?” Jules was saying.
“The FBI guys in Denver have briefed us on Jovanovic. He’s a dangerous guy.”
Grace barely kept from rolling her eyes at the understatement.
“But everything that’s been happening—the shooting, the falling deck, the explosion—have been targeting Hugh, right?” Jules pressed. “This Jovanovic guy still doesn’t know where she is.”
Theo’s jaw set. “We don’t know that for sure.”
“Is there any sign that he does know where she is?” Jules was obviously not going to give in to Theo without an argument. Amused, Grace glanced over at Hugh and saw that his gaze was focused on her. She couldn’t read the look in his eyes. For some reason, that made her feel shy, and she dropped her eyes, returning her attention to the debaters.
“If he does find out”—Theo was leaning toward Jules, his mouth set and a muscle twitching by his eye—“she’ll be dead, and so will anyone who gets in Jovanovic’s way.”
The raw truth of that made Grace flinch. It was true, but hearing it out loud made it so much more horrific. This was her life now. Anyone who was around her would be in danger until Martin Jovanovic was stopped. Hugh took her hand, making her start and look down. His bandage scratched her palm a little, but she could still feel the heat of him through it. It reminded her that she wasn’t alone in her nightmare anymore. Hugh would protect her with his life. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze, hoping it didn’t hurt his rope burns.
From the way her mouth turned down, Jules didn’t like Theo’s statement, either. “So it’s not okay for Grace to be around us, but it’s okay for Hugh to be around her when he has that big target painted on his butt?”
Hugh flinched before dropping her hand.
“Okay,” Grace said, trying to keep her voice calm. Everyone turned to look at her. “Enough playing the who-will-get-whom-killed game. I actually have an idea about how to get rid of Martin Jovanovic.” That sounded so threatening, as if she was going to put a hit on him, too. “A nonviolent idea.”
With all eyes focused on her, Grace shifted. The plan, which had come to her the previous night before she’d fallen asleep, seemed flimsy now that she was about to say it out loud. “Martin’s nephew, Noah Jovanovic. Do any of you know anything about him?”
There was an exchange of blank glances before Hugh spoke. “Haven’t heard of him. Why?”
“I…ah…dated him.” There was an actual growl to her right, and she rolled her eyes at Hugh. “For about five minutes, until the whole uncle-tortures-people thing made me flee the state and killed the whole deal.” When Hugh didn’t look appeased, she shrugged, winced at the ache in her shoulder, and continued. “I don’t think Noah’s involved.”
Hugh snorted, for once sounding unamused. “Of course not. I’m sure he’s completely innocent.”
“Maybe I’m wrong, but it’s worth a shot, right? I mean, he has access to his uncle’s properties. If it ends up that he doesn’t know what his uncle does, he’d be able to get us proof, something we could use to put Martin in prison.”
There was a silence, but it felt thoughtful, rather than like the others were trying to come up with a kind way to tell Grace she was crazy.
“What are you thinking?” Theo finally asked, and Grace let out the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.
“Maybe a phone call, just to feel him out?” she suggested. “An untraceable phone call, of course.” Grace frowned. “Are untraceable phone calls something you can do?”
