Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 54817 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 274(@200wpm)___ 219(@250wpm)___ 183(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54817 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 274(@200wpm)___ 219(@250wpm)___ 183(@300wpm)
As I store our bags and lock the truck back up, I pull out my cellphone and dial Grunt.
“Thought you were with your old lady. Why are you calling me?” he asks. I grin, liking that he’s already calling Grace mine. She is.
“Got something for you to look into for me.”
“Whatcha’ need?”
“Grace has a grandmother. She raised her. I want anything you can find out about the bitch.”
“Grandmother?”
“Yeah. I want to know everything, and I mean everything. Actually, find out any info on her parents too. You may have to turn some rocks over to find the grandmother, but I want to know if the bitch is still breathing free air.”
“Damn. I’ll get on it.”
“Good.”
“You coming back today?”
“Yeah. Grace needs to get back to Asher.”
“Ford, man, I hate to bring it up, but we’re going to have to head back to Virginia soon.”
“I know. I may send you guys back after I drop Grace off today. I would like to stay for at least a few more days. I doubt I can talk Grace into coming back to Virginia right away, but I want more time with her before I have to leave.”
“You going to do long distance?”
“Until I can convince her otherwise, yeah. I’m not letting her go.”
He lets out a whistle. “Better turn up the charm. Jasmine likes surprises. Maybe try that route.”
“I was thinking about stopping and getting her some roses on the way home,” I admit.
“I was thinking more along the lines of pulling over to the side of the road and surprise her by letting her ride your face. That’s my woman’s favorite.”
“Asshole,” I grumble.
“Hey, just stating the truth. My woman is perfect.”
I shake my head, fighting my laughter. Dumbass doesn’t need encouragement. “Check in as soon as you get the information. I want to deal with Grace’s grandmother sooner rather than later.”
“You got it. Is it safe to call Jasmine and tell her that her man is coming home tonight?”
“See what you can find out for me. We’ll talk when I get there, but yeah, you can leave after that.”
“Sounds good,” he says, hanging up.
I put my cell back in my pocket and walk inside. I go to the coffee place and then take a chance on her being back in the room. After checking the shopping area and still not finding Grace, I’m starting to panic.
I spot Vector and his old lady along with his second ahead of me, sitting at a table. “Hey, have any of you seen Grace?” I call out, doing a poor job of keeping my voice even. Vector looks confused for a second, but I notice him and Roman both look at Sloane.
“Yeah, a bit ago. She was going to the bathroom, calling her son, then upstairs to meet you,” she responds, standing up. “I’ll go check the bathroom.”
Vector pushes his chair back to rise, holding a hand up to stop Roman. “Settle the bill for us.”
I follow Sloane, Vector beside me as she walks to where I assume she last talked to my woman. She turns down what appears to be a service hall between the mall and the hotel lobby.
Tension is ratcheting up inside of me. When Vector tells his woman to go wait for Roman, I figure he feels it, too. I mostly tune the asshole out. I don’t know what he did to my woman, but I can gather that whatever it was, it hurt Grace. That means he’s not my favorite person right now. The only reason I haven’t demanded to know and decked him is because I’m halfway thankful to the man for screwing up and giving me a chance to claim Grace for my own. That’s only going to give him so much leeway though—especially if he is the reason she seems so broken at times. I take a deep breath and casually open the bathroom door—not wanting to alert anyone that hell is about to rain down on them if they are hurting my woman.
Anger curls up inside of me, clashing with fear when the room appears empty. I kick open the stall doors, calling her name. “Grace! Grace, baby, are you in here?” When the stalls are empty, my guts churn. “Motherfucker,” I growl.
I stomp out of the room, Vector right there. We walk towards Sloane, who has Roman with her now. I ignore them. I spotted an exit door ahead. I want to make sure there’s no sign of her there. I don’t think Grace left—at least not willingly. Nothing I’ve discovered tells me that the Korslovas would come after her, but I can’t discount it either.
The door has a red sign that shows an alarm will sound if you try to exit through it. Good, let everyone come to me. If I can’t find her, I want to see all the security footage available. My anger threatens to boil over when the alarm doesn’t sound as I thrust the door open. The only thing worse is the bone chilling fear that blooms inside of me. I’m trying not to overreact, but the problem is, I don’t think I am. I feel like something is wrong.