Page 52 of On the Chase
“Grace tackled him and got his gun.” Dee pointed to the spot where Ty had ambushed the gunman. “Ty snuck up there and dropped a rock on him. Now he’s grounded foryears.”
“You tackled him and took his gun,” Hugh echoed, his body tensing against Grace’s as his hold got even tighter. “Where’s the gun?”
It was Jules’s turn to point, this time in the direction of where she’d tossed the weapon. “I threw it off the cliff.”
Hugh and Theo stared at her, and Hugh’s mouth finally relaxed slightly, even quirking up a little. “You…threw it? Off a cliff?”
“Yes.” Jules glared at Theo and then Hugh.
The absurdity of the situation caught up with Grace, and she felt hysterical giggles pushing to break free. She swallowed them down again as Jules repeated, “I threw it. Off a cliff.”
Hugh snorted, relaxing the tiniest bit. “The crime scene people are going to be cursing your name.”
“Sorry. It seemed like the best thing to do at the time.” When Hugh just smirked at her, Jules gave a little shrug.
Grace decided it was a good time to change the subject. “Where’s Otto?”
“We left him with the other two”—Hugh paused for a moment as he flicked a glance at the kids—“bad guys. Speaking of them, we should get back.” He reluctantly released Grace, and she fought down a protest. Being held so tightly against him had pushed away the fear. She stayed silent, however, knowing that she needed to behave like an adult now, rather than a needy child.
Hugh moved as if to reach for the unconscious man, but Theo shouldered his way between them.
“Jules.” Although Theo usually made Grace a little nervous, with his scowls and clipped words, she had to admit that it was cute how soft his tone was when he spoke to his girlfriend. “Take Viggy?”
With a small, but genuine, smile, Jules stepped over to hold the dog’s leash. She gave the unmoving stranger a wary glance and speedily returned to her original spot, although not before Theo ran a reassuring hand down her forearm. Once again, Grace was touched by the sweetness of the gesture. For some reason that she didn’t want to examine too closely, she darted a quick glance at Hugh, and then immediately looked away when she saw he was watching her.
Theo hauled the unconscious man over his shoulders with impressive ease, and Hugh helped him adjust the dead weight. Theo started retracing their steps from earlier, with a still-pale Jules, her siblings, and Viggy falling in behind him. Although she told herself she was just being polite, Grace knew that she was letting the others go first so she could be by Hugh. Everything was so scary and topsy-turvy, and she felt safer with the big cop close by.
“Gracie? Where’d you go?” He was watching her, looking amused, and she realized that she’d been staring at him as the others continued down the trail. Even Lexi was eyeing her in what seemed to be a knowing way, although Grace tried to dismiss the thought. Lexi was a dog. Dogs did not mock. At least they shouldn’t.
Shaking off her distraction and her embarrassment at being caught ogling, Grace hurried to catch up to the others. As she fell in behind Sam, she felt a bandaged hand cup the back of her neck, and prickles made their way from the spot where Hugh touched her all the way down her spine.
“What were you looking at back there, hmm?” he asked quietly, his mouth much too close to her ear for comfort. The prickles turned into full-body shivers. Overwhelmed by his proximity, Grace scrunched a shoulder and scooted forward until she was away from his mind-melting whispers, but it was only seconds before he was right behind her again. He sounded even more amused than before. “Could it have been…me? Were you thinking of how sexy I looked? Thinking how much you’d like a piece of me, only not in a punching way? More of a kissing and hugging way?”
Air escaped her in a laughing gasp. “No.”
“Liar.” It was like he was a mind reader.
“Am not. Why would I want to hug and kiss you?”Because he’s beautiful. Because he saved my life a bunch of times. Because he makes me feel safe.
“Because I’m super fine.” The edge of humor gave his words a self-deprecating cast that just added to his appeal. Grace had a soft spot for guys who could make her laugh, and Hugh could definitely do that. “And adorable. And as huggable as a puppy in a teddy bear suit.”
She couldn’t stand it. He really was too cute. “Eh. I’m not really that into you. A puppy in a teddy-bear suit, though…”
With a teasing growl that made her stomach do a somersault, he poked her in the ribs. “You know you love me.”
It hit her then, like a punch to the gut. He was right. It might not be full-on love yet, but she was headed in that direction. In fact, the love semitruck was tumbling down the mountainside at high speed with no brakes, about to run her over, flatten her on the pavement and leave its Hugh-shaped tire tracks all over her heart.
She frowned at the mental image. As melodramatic as it was, she knew Hugh could hurt her horribly, worse than she’d ever been hurt before, worse than she could evenimaginebeing hurt. He was a good cop, a good man, and he was feeling protective. That was probably all it was on his side. While she was hurtling down the love mountain on her way to disaster, he was, most likely, just doing his job. She hated the thought that she was simply a duty to him. He didn’t mind kissing her, but there was no way he felt anything stronger about her than that…was there?
He gave her another poke in the ribs that was more of a caress than anything, and she was reminded that she hadn’t answered him.
With a wheezing, sad, little laugh that was not at all convincing, she forced out, “You wish.”
He chuckled, and she fully deserved it. “I do.” It was a gravel-filled purr, and she couldn’t stop the goose bumps spreading over her skin. “I do wish.”
A rock caught her toe, making her trip and jolting her out of her Hugh-induced daze. She had to get away from him, from his warmth on her back and his all-too-sexy whispers in her ear. Hurrying forward a few steps, she fell in behind Sam…rightbehind Sam, who gave her a wary look over his shoulder. Grace smiled at him, but she must’ve looked a bit manic, since his frown deepened before he turned to face front again.
Although he stayed a few strides behind her, Hugh’s soft laugh caught up to her, bringing the goose bumps back. “Chicken.”
