Page 72 of His Saving Grace

“There is no ‘not exactly,’ Grace. It’s a yes or no question.”

“We had sex whenever he wanted, whether I wanted to or not.”

“Jesus. No always means no, Grace.” His words were full of quiet menace, his fingers light where they brushed her jaw.

She wanted so, so badly to lean into his touch. But she didn’t dare. They were balanced on a precarious edge. Any little shift could send them tumbling over.

“How’d you get out?” The question was softly spoken, but there was a hard edge to the words just the same.

“After he hit me, I came to my senses and realized things were never getting better. So, I started planning. I was already stashing money away, because I didn’t like having to ask him for it. I gave up my morning tea, stopped buying lunch with my allowance.”

Just saying the word sent a spiral of shame through her. Her eyes prickled, more tears right there, threatening to spill at any moment. But she refused to let them fall. “I kept the money in my desk at work. I scrounged for bottles and cans to cash in. I hocked my mom’s jewelry.” The rough, scratchy wordssqueezed past the lump in her throat.

That one hurt the most. It had been her last connection to her mom, and David had forced her to sever it. If for nothing else, she’d never forgive him for that. The only thing that gave her any comfort was that her mom would have wanted her to do it.

“How long?” Mason pulled his hand away from her face and dropped his arms to his sides. He curled his fingers around the edge of the table. The wood creaked under his crushing grip. He leaned forward, moving into her personal space, leaving her no room to move, to flee, to breathe.

She wrapped her arms around herself and inched back into the softness of the sofa. “If you mean, all together, just over five years. If you mean before I could get out, eight months, seventeen days, fourteen hours, and nine minutes.”

Mason’s jaw clenched at the exactness of her answer. “How?”

She took a deep breath, readying herself to finish. “I stole some drugs from the clinic I worked at. Nothing too bad, just something to knock him out and keep him under long enough to get away. I already had a bag packed, so when he came home that night, I was ready. I spiked his dinner and then waited for the medicine to kick in. He finally fell asleep, and I grabbed my stuff and left.”

She paused, staring into his handsome, unreadable face, and wondered what exactly he was thinking. Nothing good, she’d bet. She should have been honest with him from the beginning, especially when their relationship changed. She’d been afraid, of so many things. And look where that got her.

“I tried to make the money last as long as I could, but honestly, it didn’t go very far. And it’s really hard to get a decent paying job with no identification. For the last six months, I’ve scraped by, and I was afraid to stay in one place too long, in case someone recognized me. I didn’t know for sure, but I figured David would be looking for me.” She glanced at the flyer on the floor. “I guess I was right.”

A knock on the door had her gaze shooting to Mason’s.

“That’s Declan. He has some questions for you. If you’re up for it.”

Grace sighed and ran her hand across her face. “I figured he might.” She tried to smile but couldn’t. It was all too much.

Mason stood and strode to the door. Sadness for what could have been hung heavy in her chest. She never should’ve gotten involved with him in the first place. It had been stupid and reckless and… the best thing that had ever happened to her. Mason made her feel alive for the first time in forever, and she’d destroyed it.

Bella jumped back up on the couch and gave a little whine. Grace scratched the soft fur on her head. The dog leaned against her, gave a quick lick on her upper arm, and then curled up next to her. At least she had one ally.

Mason opened the door and Declan walked in. They had a whispered conversation she tried desperately to overhear, and then Mason nodded. Declan stepped around him, into the living room, and Grace’s stomach dropped into her knees. He was intimidating in his uniform.

Over Declan’s shoulder, she saw Mason glance back at her. Their gazes locked for a dizzying, heartbreaking moment. She got nothing from him. He snapped his gaze away and stepped onto the porch, pulling the door closed behind him. The soft click of the latch was like a dagger straight through her heart.

Mason pulled the guest house door closed behind him. What he wanted to do was slam it as hard as possible. He wanted to hit something so badly, he was shocked he hadn’t gone bat-shit crazy back there.

He leaned his hands against the porch railing, taking a couple of deep breaths. It didn’t help. He was so amped up, he was practically vibrating.

What he really wanted to do, what would make him happy, would be to punch David Parker in the face so hard, the asshole never woke up.

He stepped off the porch and walked in the direction of the main house. How could someone do that shit to someone they were supposed to love? He’d never do anything like that to Grace.

That thought made him stumble, but he caught his footing before he went down in the middle of the yard.

Was he falling in love with Grace?

He didn’t know, and he wasn’t in the right frame of mind to figure it out right now. He started walking again. What he did know was he’d never felt this way about anyone before. She was sweet and funny, beautiful and charming, not to mention sexy as hell. She drove him crazy just by walking into the room.

She’d also lied to him.

Okay, so it hadn’t been a lie, per se, but she had kept the truth from him. While he could understand why, it still hurt that she hadn’t trusted him enough to be honest. Yeah, their relationship had been quick and unexpected, but he’d hoped they were at a place where they could be open and honest with each other. He hadn’t wanted to force the truth from her, had hoped she would come to him on her own.