“I’mnotgoing to tell you again, dipshit. Get the fuck out of here and don’t come back. You got it?”
A soft whimpering reached his ears, taking him by complete surprise.
“What the hell?”
Nate yanked the hood roughly off the kid’s head. When he saw the face hiding behind it, he felt as thoughhisbreath had been stolen.
“Gracie?”
She tried to smile up at him, but she was shaking too badly.
“H-hi.”
A few more seconds passed before his mind caught up with what his eyes were seeing. The woman he’d been searching for, the same one who’d been missing for a week, was standing right in front of him.
Her hair was pulled back and tucked into the hoodie’s collar, and her face was void of any makeup. The bruises beneath her eyes made her appear as though she hadn’t slept in a week.
Rain continued to fall onto her long, beautiful lashes, and she stared back up at him as though he was the answer to her prayers.
God, she’s beautiful.
“I d-didn’t know where else to g-go.”
Hearing her quivering voice again was like a slap to the face. “Shit,” he muttered, remembering he was still holding her at gun point.
Nate pulled the weapon away from her chest and tucked it back into his waistband. Then, without giving it a second thought, he pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her.
“Jesus, Gracie.” He held her tightly. “It’s so fucking good to see you.”
She said something in return, but her words were muffled against his chest. It didn’t matter. She was here, and she was safe.
Realizing she was shivering because she was cold, Nate pulled away just enough to look down at her face. “Come on, sweetheart. Let’s get you inside and out of this rain.”
Relief that broke his heart filled her worn and weary eyes. “Okay.”
Picking up his food, Nate used his other hand to grab one of hers. He didn’t think about the why, he only knew he couldn’t stop touching her right then if his life depended on it.
Back inside and out of the rain, Nate sat the bag with the surprisingly still-closed container onto his dining room table and shrugged out of his dripping jacket. Hanging it on the back of one of his chairs, he pulled his phone from his pocket.
“Wait!” Gracie practically shouted. “Who are you calling?”
“Who do you think? I’m calling Kole. He and Sarah have been worried sick about you.” Nate licked his lips and swallowed hard. “We all have.”
“You can’t call them, Nate. They might be listening or something.”
This gave Nate pause. “They? They, who? Gracie, who’s after you?”
“I-I don’t know.” She shook her head.
When she did, a few wet strands of hair stuck to her cheeks, and Nate resisted the urge to pull them away.
“All I do know is some guy broke into my apartment the night you left, and he knew my name. Said he’d be back.”
“You talked to him? Who was he? Did he hurt you?” Without giving her a chance to answer any of his questions, Nate started running his hands down her arms, looking her over for possible injuries.
“No.” She pushed his hands away. “H-he didn’t see me. I overheard him talking on the phone to someone.”
Nate started to ask what the guy said but stopped himself. “Okay, let’s back up a few steps. I need to let Kole and Sarah know you’re okay.”
