Page 53 of On the Chase
It’s not about being a chicken, she thought, biting back the retort that wanted to escape.It’s about self-preservation.Bantering with Hugh was fun and invigorating and addictive, but she needed to call a halt. It was too dangerous to continue down the road they were on. Once people stopped trying to kill them, this—whateverthiswas—would be over. She’d return to LA, and he’d stay in Monroe, helping other people like he’d helped her. After all, that was his job.
She almost snuck a peek behind her, but caught herself just in time. She knew what she needed to do. Now she’d find out if she had the willpower to resist the many charms of Officer Hugh Murdoch.
Chapter 15
“I never thought I’d be happy to come back here.” Grace turned in a full circle in Jules’s kitchen.
Hugh watched her spin, her straight, dark hair fanning out behind her, and he couldn’t help but smile. He knew he should look away, that his staring was bordering on creeper mode, but he wasn’t able to do it. She was incredible. As he started to get to know her, her energy and strength and sheer Graceness shone through, just adding to her beauty. “You’re just saying that because you saw Theo’s place.”
Abruptly turning away from the apparent amazingness of Jules’s kitchen, with its mismatched, thrift-store table and chairs, its ancient appliances and crooked or missing cabinet doors, Grace looked at him. He met her gaze and immediately felt warmer. “I can’t believe how tiny it is.”
“I visited with Otto once—never again.”
“I can’t imagine how all three of you fit,” she said. “It’s like a dollhouse.”
Hugh gave a belly laugh. It was perfect.Shewas perfect.
Immediately, he poked himself in his sore thigh, and the jolt of pain centered him. He had to stop thinking about how incredible she was, how amazing she felt, how beautiful she looked. The only reason she was in Monroe was because Jovanovic wanted her dead. As soon as it was safe, she’d run back to LA, back to her glamorous life and glamorous friends and glamorous guys. He couldn’t keep her. All he could do was make the most of the short time he had with her and try his hardest not to get too attached. He had to keep things casual.
Even as he thought it, his heart laughed at his wishful thinking. Another harder poke at his thigh sent a heavy jolt of pain through his leg, distracting him.
“Why are you jabbing at your leg?” Grace asked, frowning.
“What? I’m not. That’s crazy talk.” When she opened her mouth, as if to argue, he quickly continued. “Agent Shankle’s in town.”
“The FBI guy?” All the humor disappeared from her expression, and she sagged a little. Guilt seeped through him for his part in putting that look on her face.
“Do you still want to call your boyfriend?” The last word tasted bitter as it left his mouth. “If you do, Shankle could help set that up safely.”
“Ex-boyfriend, and not even that, really. Maybe for about two seconds, when I thought he was a Disney… Never mind.” For a moment, she was quiet. He wouldn’t have even known she was anxious except that she was drumming her fingers against her pant leg. That was her tell. He mentally filed away that fact in case he ever played poker with her. “Yes,” she finally said. “I do. Well, I don’t, but I want it to be over.”
He winced before he was able to stop himself.
“Not you,” she corrected quickly. “I don’t wantthispart to be over. Just the almost-getting-killed part.”
That startled a laugh out of him. “Yeah, it would be nice not to be shot at every five minutes. Maybe not, though. We might get bored.”
“Right. If that happens, we can always go play paintball or have a water fight or something a little less deadly.” She grinned at him, and he quieted abruptly. Her beauty was like a kick to the chest. Ever since he’d first met her, Hugh had known she was gorgeous, but sometimes he was startled by just how breathtaking she really was.
When she cocked her head, looking at him curiously, he realized that he was staring. Quickly, he cleared his throat and hunted for a comeback. “What’s the fun in that?”
She rolled her eyes and then turned as Jules, Theo, and Viggy came into the kitchen. Jules still looked a little green around the edges every time someone mentioned Ty’s skill with a rock, but other than that, she seemed to have bounced back with impressive resilience.
“Okay,” Jules said, plopping down on one of the chairs. “The kids are upstairs and under threat of painful dismemberment if they try to listen in to our conversation, so let’s talk. How do we get people to stop trying to kill Hugh?”
“Aww, you care,” Hugh said, keeping his tone teasing, even as he fought the urge to peer out the kitchen window, looking for guys with guns hiding in the woods. He pulled out a seat for Grace and then took the one next to her. Stretching out his arm, he let it rest on the back of her chair. Although he wasn’t actually touching her, he was reassured by the warmth of her shoulders and the occasional silky brush of her hair.
Theo didn’t sit. Instead, he prowled around the kitchen, his frequent glances out the window making it obvious he was feeling as paranoid as Hugh. “I’m not happy you’re involved in this.”
“Yeah, I’m not too excited to be involved, either.”
“I was talking to Jules,” Theo growled, glaring at Hugh.
He deserved it, Hugh knew. Guilt that had been sitting in his stomach in a growing dark mass expanded, making it impossible to maintain his joking facade. “You’re right,” he said seriously, looking at Jules and then at Grace. “I’m going to get someone else killed. You need to stay far away from me.” He turned toward Theo. “All of you.” From Theo’s set expression, he wasn’t going anywhere. Hugh’s guilt multiplied, threatening to choke him.
“So you can become a one-man army and figure this out yourself?” Grace scoffed. “Please. We don’t even know for sure that it’syouthey’re aiming at. It still could be that Martin Jovanovic sent these guys after me. Self-involved much?”
Despite his dark mood, that made him snort. “No. They’re after me.”
