Echoes at Dawn (KGI #5)(43)

Decker, Alton and Browning were on patrol, or so Diego had thrown out when he’d passed through the kitchen.

Rio looked up from where he stood in the kitchen chopping vegetables on a cutting board. It was amazing how this badass warrior looked so comfortable doing such domestic things like puttering around the kitchen. And one thing she’d quickly noticed was that he was meticulous in his care of all of his things. Whether it was a towel hanging correctly in the bathroom or fingerprints being wiped from the refrigerator.

He never let anything just sit out. Furthermore, it was as if he had his men trained according to his expectations because they carried their weight. The team reminded her of a well-oiled machine. Smooth. Seamless. Almost as if they read one another’s minds.

The thought made her smile. Maybe they were the ones with telepathy. Wouldn’t that be a kick?

“Grace?”

She blinked and refocused on Rio, who was staring expectantly at her. It was obviously not the first time he’d said her name, judging by the look on his face. While she’d been analyzing him and his men, he’d been trying to get her attention.

“There you are,” he said when she found his gaze.

She flushed. “Sorry. What did you say?”

He shook his head in amusement. “You asked me what we were going to do. I merely asked what you were referring to.”

She frowned a moment, not really remembering what her point had been. But then as she reflected on all she’d observed with his men and the fact that everything seemed so ordinary and everyday, she realized that was the point.

She waved a hand, gesturing around the room as if somehow that would signify her thoughts. “I was asking what we do. Now, I mean. We left the U.S. We came here. What now? When do I see Shea? You mentioned safe, but will I ever be safe? As much as I appreciate what you and your team have done—I’ll never forget—you can’t keep me here forever in some bubble. You have a life. I don’t have much of one, but one day I’d like to.”

Rio walked around the counter. She thought he was going to come over to where she saunimame, judgt, but he simply leaned his back against the bar, thumbs tucked into his jeans pockets as he studied her.

“It’s a good question. I’m not entirely certain yet.”

Her brow furrowed. That hadn’t been what she thought he would say. But then he hadn’t lied to her. Not once. He hadn’t shielded her from the truth no matter how harsh it may be. He didn’t offer false hope and he didn’t talk around issues.

She hugged one of the pillows to her chest and leaned forward until her chin rested atop the harder edge of the cushion. “Are we leaving again?”

Somehow the thought of leaving this place made her anxiety level rise sharply. Which was stupid considering she’d been there less than twenty-four hours. But she felt safe here. And safe hadn’t been a word she could use to describe her feelings in a long damn time. She’d forgotten what it felt like to be able to relax her guard for five minutes.

Rio shook his head. “No. At least not yet. I have some feelers out. I’m calling in a few favors. Right now what I know is that Titan is after you. I warned Sam so he could make sure that Shea is safe and they’re prepared for anything.”

Her brows came together in a scrunch. “Sam. He’s your boss, right? The one who kind of runs KGI? Isn’t he Nathan’s older brother?” And then a completely unrelated thought occurred to her. It blindsided her and momentarily paralyzed her.

She glanced up at Rio, her fingers knotted into tight balls. “Is Shea married already? You said she and Nathan were together. That he loved her.”

The idea of having missed her sister’s wedding was more than she could bear. It took everything she had not to break down into a torrent of tears. The only thing holding her back was the knowledge that if she started, there would be no stopping. It would be the last straw. Further proof that she and Shea led completely separate lives now.

This time Rio did move to the couch where Grace sat. He eased down, brushing her knees with his thigh. He took one of her hands and gently uncurled her fingers. Then he reached over, slid his hand up her cheek and brushed his thumb across the corner of her eye as if checking for tears. The movement forced her to look up again and meet his gaze.

“She wouldn’t get married without you,” he said in a low voice. “You’re all she’s thought about. She went back to that damn house you had no business going back to because she knew you’d been there, knew you were in trouble, and she would have done anything to save you.

“She felt guilty because she was in a safe place, surrounded by people who cared about her, and she had no idea where you were. If you were scared and alone. Hurting or in danger. She reached for you constantly. When I volunteered to lead my team to find you, she begged me to keep you safe. All she wants is you home. With her.”

Tears burned but she smiled through the anguish, knowing too well how fierce Shea was when it came to people she loved. Shea had been so protective, though Grace was the older by a year. But in a lot of ways Shea was more…Grace wasn’t sure what word she was searching for. The events of the last year had changed Shea dramatically. She was no longer the sweet, naïve, soft woman who wouldn’t hurt a fly. She was harder and more cynical, and Grace had worried endlessly over those changes.

“Tell me about Nathan and his family,” she said, the ache still in her voice. In her very soul. “Are they good to her? Is she happy? I just want the best for her. She deserves so much. I said some unforgivable things to her when our parr wy sents were killed. But if it hadn’t been for her, I doubt we would have made it out of that house alive. I just want her to be happy. And loved.”