An Unforgettable Lady (An Unforgettable Lady #1)(100)

"Good-bye, Grace."

And with those two, simple words, he left.

She took a deep, shuddering breath.

Blindly, she began shuffling papers on the desk, pulling out sheets from files at random, making a mess. Faster and faster, she rifled through them, searching for nothing at all.

The tears fell from her eyes onto her father's desk, leaving water spots on her memos and contracts, policies and reports.

She was still crying silently twenty minutes later when Kat buzzed.

"Yes?" Grace cleared her throat. "What is it?"

"That man is still here," Kat said quietly.

Tiny. Vic. John's partner. Another hard man with a gun. "Well, he can sit and rot for all I care."





chapter

24





After talking with Tiny about the Gala, and hearing the man decide to let Grace go ahead with attending the event, Smith hopped in a cab and went to her home. On the way there, he was thinking that Tiny was probably right. The risk to her was small, especially with Marks's men there, and Tiny promised to cover her like she was the president of the United States, the Pope, and Nelson Mandela all rolled into one.

As soon as Smith opened her front door, a compelling urge not to leave her kicked off a wave of self-doubt that had him cursing. Rushing through her home, he gathered his things while doing his damnedest to ignore the subtle smell of her perfume lingering in the air. Before he left, he took a last look at the photo of her and her father.

Then he put his key on a side table, activated the alarm, and walked out.

When he got to the street, he hailed a cab and asked to be taken to the hotel down on Wall Street that was so close to the Hall Building. The minute he got to his room, he picked up the phone and dialed Senator Pryne's private line. He needed to confirm locations and do a little cyber legwork and he was hoping both would distract him.

It rang only once before he hung up.

Sitting down on the bed, Smith put his head in his hands.

Everything felt wrong. The hotel room. The whole idea of flying off to a different part of the world. His goddamn duffel and his metal briefcases.

When he lifted his head, he caught himself staring back in the mirror over the dresser. Looking at his face, he saw a man who was missing his woman. A man who, quite possibly, would always feel lost without her. A man who was making a mistake.

She was right. He did love her.

So what the hell was he doing leaving?

But he had to let her go, he told himself. To keep her safe.

In a flash, he heard Grace calling him a coward.



Or was he just keeping himself safe?



* * *



The next thing Grace knew, Kat's voice came over the speaker. "I'm going down. Are you ready yet? "

Grace glanced at her watch. Hours had passed and she was close to being late for her own party.

"I just need to get dressed. I’ll meet you in the atrium."

She changed quickly into the gown she'd brought with her, not really caring how she looked. In the bathroom, she slipped a ring of diamonds around her neck, clipped a pair of earrings on, and touched up her makeup.

After spraying on some Cristalle, she stepped out of her office and was surprised to see Tiny still in the waiting area. She'd forgotten the man was even there and the reminder of John brought fresh tears to her eyes.

Tiny got to his feet like he was coming to attention and nodded, stiffly. He'd changed into a tuxedo.

"You need to leave," she told him.

He just shrugged. "Nowhere to go except here."

"So get creative. This town is full of tourist attractions."

"Sorry, Countess, I've got my orders."

She squared herself and sent him a withering glance. "Not from me you don't and I run this place. You are not welcome here."

"I've got a lot of experience not being welcomed places,"

"I imagine that's true. But you still need to leave."

Before he opened his mouth again, she went over to Kat's desk and dialed security's number. She knew she was being extreme but, with a suspect in custody, she could see no reason to torture herself by keeping the other man around.

"I have an intruder up in my office," she said in a half-dead voice. "Please come immediately."

When she hung up, Tiny was giving her an indulgent look. "Do you really think that's necessary?"

"If you leave now, it won't be."

Moments later, her head of security and three other men flew down the hall. What happened next was a blur. The Foundation's officers swarmed around Tiny only to be sent down to the floor or over against the wall, hard. John's partner was a whirling dervish of fists and legs and it was obvious he was going to win even though he was outnumbered.

As she was watching the melee, and wondering how many of her men were going to need medical attention, Grace remembered Eddie's present. Reaching into her evening bag, she pulled out the Mace just as two men grabbed onto Tiny's shoulders. She felt conflicted about using it but then decided he'd already done enough damage to her security detail. Tiny was showing no signs of tiring and she worried that someone was going to get hurt.

"I'm sorry to do this," she yelled over the din. All of the men briefly stopped moving and she took advantage of the opportunity, letting a stream off, right into Tiny's face.