I glanced over her shoulder to find Booker staring at Henley, malice in his gaze. He wasdefinitelypissed.
My focus returned to the girls. I wasn’t sure how to answer that. I didn’t know how many bullets came from who. “It’s a lot to explain. I’m just so relieved you guys are okay. If you two had gotten hurt because of me, I’m not sure what I would have done.”
All night, I’d shoved the guilt away. While the man might have been after me, I hadn’t drawn him there purposefully. Yet their lives being in jeopardy because of me was still a hard pill to swallow. All I’d ever wanted was to have girl friends, and right when I’dbeen starting to feel like McKenna and Brynne liked me, I got the feeling I should take a step back for their safety.
“We can handle ourselves, Grace. But you were hurt,” Brynne said, pain in her voice at my suffering.
“Which is exactly why we need to know what the fuck is going on,” Booker spoke up, his voice carrying across the room.
Henley stepped up beside me, hands shoved in his sweatshirt pocket. “If I had known they were going to be in danger, I would have told you before I left.”
My brow creased. “Left?”
“I was at the ranch when I saw your texts,” Henley clarified.
I thought back to yesterday, the crease in my forehead deepening. “I never texted you. Matter of fact, I never told you what I was doing yesterday.”
His lips were a firm line before he simply said, “I forwarded your texts to my phone.”
My mouth dropped open. “What the fuck? Why?”
He looked at me with a sort of pained expression before Booker had the audacity to interrupt. “That’s not the damn problem right now. Why the fuck is a man following you into a spa with a gun, Grace?”
I blinked rapidly, my brain having a hard time computing any of this. “It’s a long story.”
Booker waved a hand to the loveseat. “Take a seat if you must. But you’re not leaving here until we know every detail.”
Henley stepped forward, his shoulder blocking part of me. “You can’t keep her here.”
“Booker,” Brynne warned, gaze narrowing on her boyfriend.
Booker’s eyes turned to slits. “She’s not our goddamn hostage, but you could have beenhurt, Brynne.Killed. If this is going to be an ongoing issue, I don’t want you around her?—”
Brynne stepped closer to me. “Grace is my friend. I’m not leaving her when she needs me most.”
Booker dragged a large hand down his face, like his patience was dwindling. Meanwhile, Austin and McKenna seemed to be having some sort of silent argument as she crossed her arms and jutted her hip out in response to his glare.
“She’s a killer for hire,” Henley stated.
I gritted my teeth, tugging my jacket back up to cover my shoulder and wishing I could disappear into it.
“Holy shit,” McKenna whispered, her hard facade instantly dropping, only to be replaced with an incredulous look shot my way.
“She’s a goddamn what?” Austin asked, more shock than anger in his tone.
Henley slid aside, giving me space to get a good look at all the eyes on me. Or maybe he was moving out of the line of fire.Asshole.
“I’m hired to kill bad people,” I clarified, simply so they didn’t think I was running around murdering innocent people. Though I think the concept was bad in and of itself.
“What does this have to do with someone targeting you?” Booker asked. The man hadn’t moved a muscle, biceps bulging where he still had his arms crossed. How’d they even reach across his chest?
Henley smiled. “She was hired to kill me.”
More confused looks spread about the room.
This was going great.
Austin laughed. “So why are you still standing here? And why carry her, bleeding, out of a spa? Why not let her die if she’s out to end you?”
