Page 81 of Flare Up
But Wren knew where he was. She could feel it in her gut, and it made her sick. He was in Boston. He’d come for her. And just like before, he’d hurt somebody she loved.
“He called me at the salon again yesterday,” she managed to say. “I was going to tell you, Grant, but then you got hurt and... I should have called you. I should have called you as soon as he hung up.”
“Did he say anything?” Gavin asked.
“Just my name. And then I told him my name was Kristen and that Wren quit and he hung up, but I don’t think he believed me. I should have called you right that second and maybe you would have been careful. Maybe he wouldn’t have hurt you.”
Grant squeezed her hand. “Even if you’d called me, I wouldn’t have been looking for him at a scene. Especially since it was the bar and we were all worked up about it, plus Tommy having a heart attack. It wouldn’t have changed anything that happened.”
“I knew he’d hurt you. That’s why I left the first time.” She could hear the rising panic in her voice, but she couldn’t do anything to control it. Ben had hurt Grant just like he’d hurt Alex, and he wouldn’t hesitate to hurt anybody else in this room.
“Wren, you need to stop,” he said quietly. “We’ll figure this out.”
“I can’t stay here anymore.” It was the only coherent thought she had. “I have to go.”
“You need to slow down and take a deep breath,” Patty told her. “You’re not going anywhere until we’ve talked about this.”
“There’s nothing to talk about.” She jerked her hand free and left the kitchen. “I have to go before he hurts you, too.”
* * *
Grant followed Wren up the stairs because he knew she wasn’t thinking clearly. She was being driven by blind fear, and as soon as she got in that room, she was probably going to start packing her stuff. Or maybe she’d just leave it. She’d take her keys, her purse and her phone and go.
He wasn’t going to let her do that. Not again.
Once they were in her room, though, she stopped and just stood there. He closed the door softly behind them and walked around her until he could see her face. Tears were streaming down her cheeks.
“Wren, you’re safe. Everybody’s safe right now and you need to take a few minutes and then we’ll figure out what to do next.”
“He hurt Tommy. He hurt you, so don’t try to tell me he won’t hurt Patty or Carter or anybody else.” She looked as if she was struggling to breathe and he knew he needed to calm her down somehow. “What if he knows we went to New Hampshire, Grant? Your parents...”
“I called Dad already. I told him everything and he’ll tell Mom and my brother. It’s very unlikely Mitchell will leave Boston as long as we’re here, but they’ll be vigilant, just in case.”
“I didn’t want this.” She could barely get the words out, and it was starting to scare him. “This is what I didn’t want to happen. This is why I ran.”
“This is not your fault. None of this is your fault and you are not alone. Do you understand me?” When she didn’t answer, he tipped her chin up so she looked at him. “You’re not alone. You’re not going to be alone because you’re not going to run. We’ll get through this together.”
“I’m so scared, Grant.”
He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair. “I’m not going to let him hurt you. Or anybody else.”
She stilled for a moment, and then she spoke. And when she did, her voice was clear. “You can’t stop him.”
Her certainty chilled him. “The police are looking for him. We’re all going to be watching for him now that we know he might not be in Virginia.”
“If he’d caught you alone, you might have ended up like Alex.”
“No, I wouldn’t, because I’m not that easy to take in a fair fight. He sucker-punched me, basically, but he won’t get the drop on me again.” She was trembling, but at least her breathing had slowed. “Why don’t you grab some things and come home with me tonight?”
“What about Patty and Carter?”
“The police will be patrolling this area and her neighbors are nosy as hell. This isn’t an easy neighborhood to be sneaky in. And to be honest, he’s a coward, Wren. He couldn’t even confront me face-to-face. And he didn’t go in the salon. He just kept calling.”
“But Alex...”
“I’m going to take a wild guess here. Alex has your build and isn’t really a tough guy?”
“No, he’s not, but—”
