Her Forever Hero (Unexpected Heroes #3)(66)

“No, they aren’t, you stupid whore! They are consensual sex as far as the public will see it. I made damn sure of that. Your beautiful little face was posed just right—I placed your fat lips over my cock!”

“It’s not that I have fat lips, Jimmy; it’s that you have an incredibly small penis,” she said.

“That’s it. I’ll show the world what you really are.”

“You go ahead and do that. And then you’ll see exactly what I’ll do to you!”

The other end of the line was silent as Jimmy considered. She didn’t care. Finally, she was able to tell this scum he held no power over her.

“No one will believe you. They never believe the woman,” he spluttered.

“Oh, no, Jimmy, it’s not a lie. It’s the full-blown truth. And if you’re the one breaking into my place, trying to scare me into doing whatever you want, though I don’t know how you could think I could be scared of you, considering how pathetic you are, I suggest you stop. I won’t stop until you’re destroyed.”

“You can’t do a damn thing to me, you trashy rich bitch!” He was losing it more and more by the second.

“Oh, I can, Jimmy, because, unlike you, I have friends—very powerful friends who don’t like to see me get hurt. You’ve broken the law, you’ve tried to scare me, and you are the one who will pay. You’re not coming after me, you pathetic excuse for a man,” she told him grimly. “I’m coming after you!”

“You won’t get away with this! I guarantee you.”

“I already have, Jimmy. If you so much as call me again, I will have you in jail so fast your head will still be spinning a week later. Stay the hell away from me, from my friends, from my town, from my life. Or pay the consequences.”

Grace hung up the phone to the sound of Jimmy spluttering on the other end of the line. And as she sat back on her friend’s couch, she smiled. A feeling of freedom filled her unlike anything she’d felt in a very long time.

Somehow she knew Jimmy would be too scared to retaliate against her. She could finally go home. So much had been happening to her in such a short period of time that she hadn’t even had a chance to analyze how she felt.

Cam was back in her life, or had been until their last fight. Was she ready to give that up again? Was she ready to let go of the hurts of the past? Maybe it was time she did exactly that. First, she had to get a clear head, and she needed to be alone to do that.

But it seemed her troubles were over.





“Open the door, Grace!” There was no response, so he pounded with his fists even harder. “Open the damn door or I swear I’m going to break it down this time.”

When the door came flying open, Cam nearly fell forward. He caught himself at the last minute and then found himself standing with Grace inside her house. They were both wearing scowls.

“I’ve told you all week that I need time to think, Cam—that I don’t want to talk to you right now.”

He hadn’t seen her in nearly two weeks, because a week before she’d moved back to her house—and that had really irked him—she’d been avoiding him over at his brother’s house. He was done with being avoided.

“You look stunning,” he said, taking a step forward.

“Don’t you dare sweet-talk me and expect to get not only into my house but into my pants as well.”

“You’re not wearing pants,” he pointed out, which only made the heat in her eyes go up another ten degrees.

“Get out right now, Cam, or I’m calling the sheriff.”

“Good, call him. I need to talk to him about a case he’s a witness for,” Cam said smugly as he sat down on her couch and made himself at home. “You know the sheriff and my dad go fishing just about every Sunday when the weather permits.”

“Yes, remind me of all the connections you have. I don’t care. You’re still trespassing.”

She sat down across from him, folding her arms and glaring, letting him know in every possible way that he wasn’t welcome in her place.

“That wasn’t what I was doing at all, Grace. I was just reminiscing.”

“I told you I needed time to figure things out, Cam. I’d appreciate it if you would give me that time.” Some of the anger drained and he spotted the fatigue enveloping her.

“I’m sorry, Grace, but this couldn’t wait any longer. I have a lead in your case.”

The last of her anger vanished right before his eyes and she looked so vulnerable at that moment, he couldn’t help but rise and move toward her.

“Don’t, Cam,” she said, but without any heat this time.

“You need to be held, even if it’s just for a few moments,” he told her, and pulled her from the overstuffed chair she’d sunk down into.

She fought him for only the briefest of moments before she allowed him to capture her in his embrace, and she rested her head on his chest.

“It’s okay to not always be the strongest person in the room, Grace. You’re strong, and that’s admirable; but you’re also a real person, and contrary to what you were taught, we all need others in our lives. We don’t have to fight our battles alone, and we don’t have to figure it all out by ourselves. Let me take some of your stress and pain on my shoulders. They’re wide and strong and waiting to hold your burdens.”