Trusting Danger (Danger, #2)(28)
Claire’s relief flagged slightly but she gave him a smile of thanks. His solution was still a lot better than what Grayson had begrudgingly offered. Given the way he felt about her, he had probably thrown her note away, anyway.
Jeremy picked up his second sandwich and bit into it as Claire watched. The man was built like a linebacker and could really put away a meal.
“Have you ever played football?” she asked.
“In high school and college.” Around another mouthful, he added, “Had a full ride to Notre Dame before I blew out my knee my sophomore year.”
“Are your brothers athletic too?”
He nodded. “You name the sport; all of us played it.”
“So, you’ve got your mom and brothers in Chicago. Do you have a girlfriend there too?”
His face fell as he set down his sandwich. “Ex-girlfriend.”
“How long since you broke up?”
“A year. I travel a lot for work, and it really messed with the relationship.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Me too.” He sighed. “I’ve been missing her a lot lately. I’m thinking of calling her when I’m home next.”
“I bet she’ll appreciate that.”
Claire studied him, wishing she had a sister she could introduce to Jeremy. Young and handsome with blond hair and blue eyes, he was big and imposing on the outside but a teddy bear on the inside, a sweet and considerate person.
Jeremy would make some girl very happy someday, and he’d certainly made Claire’s time here more pleasant. Unlike Grayson, who’d set off her temper with nearly every conversation. Which was strange, because she didn’t consider herself a difficult person. In fact, she usually tried too hard to please.
Jeremy focused on his plate as he asked, “You have a boyfriend, right?”
“Yes, but he doesn’t know about any of this.” She gestured around the room. “I should have begged Grayson for another call.” As she looked down at the diamond bracelet Gabe had given her, an idea came to mind. “Would your admin be able to call him for me too?”
Instead of readily agreeing as Claire expected, Jeremy seemed hesitant. A few seconds later, he said he’d see what he could do.
Chapter Nineteen
Grayson awoke abruptly and rolled out of bed at dinnertime that night after only a few hours’ sleep, his heart pounding and his body covered with sweat. The insomnia had worsened since he’d been back from Scranton. Between his worry over his mother and the stress of protecting someone who bucked him at every turn, he was at the end of his rope.
Surprised by the fervor of Claire’s demands that morning, he’d driven to Georgetown and dropped off her note at the law school before his nap. Based on the background information they’d received on her, Grayson was under the impression she was going to law school on a lark, not taking it very seriously. Her attendance record was spotty, although her grades were decent. She lived alone in a ritzy condo, obviously purchased by her parents, and drove a brand-new BMW. Her father was a senator, although since he came from old money, he probably spent his way to victory. She had a rich boyfriend who was a con artist, and she’d just come from Florida, where she’d been helping him “entertain” clients.
In Grayson’s mind, all of it added up to a spoiled rich girl with no ambition, values, or convictions, and that simply pissed him the hell off. He’d worked too hard for what he’d accomplished and had no patience for self-serving, entitled trust-fund babies.
He rested his palms on the bathroom counter as he studied his face in the mirror, grimacing at the dark circles under his eyes. If he weren’t on protective detail, he’d consider taking a sleeping pill, willing to endure the awful headaches the pills gave him in exchange for some rest. But being on the job meant he’d have to suffer through; there was no way he’d risk being groggy from medication with someone’s life in his hands.
Even a trust-fund baby.
He shook his head at the thought and threw on a T-shirt and a pair of sweats, laced on his running shoes, and slipped downstairs and out the front door with only a quick wave to Jeremy. A good five miles before his shift would clear his head and get his adrenaline pumping, which would go a long way toward easing the turmoil inside him.
Remembering Claire asking him earlier in the day if she could go on a run, he felt a quick twinge of guilt. If she weren’t a protectee—and a major pain in the ass—he’d ask her to go with him. But he’d been serious when he told her it wasn’t safe. The last thing he needed was to parade his protectee around the neighborhood, making them a target.
The neighborhood was quiet as he ran, cars in the driveways and lights starting to come on here and there as the sun went down. Brightly lit windows revealed families sitting at dinner, and a loneliness he didn’t expect sent a sharp pang slashing through him. Grayson took a deep breath and ran faster, focusing his attention straight ahead, ignoring the tableaus he passed.
The temperature dropped as darkness fell, cooling the sweat on his body. His shoes slapped on the pavement, the soothing rhythm emptying his mind and eventually loosening the tension that locked up his muscles every time he thought of family, of his mother.
Frustrated, he turned his thoughts to work. Eli had called earlier to report the team had finally identified which retailer had sold the burner phone Gibson had been texting. They’d requested the store’s surveillance footage, hoping to get an image of the buyer good enough to run through facial recognition.