Trusting Danger (Danger, #2)(39)

One of the officers took off. The other stayed put and at Grayson’s request radioed in, asking backup to look inside the house for Jeremy.

“She all right?” the officer asked as he lowered his radio.

“Yes.” Grayson squeezed Claire’s hand. “Think you can walk?”

When she nodded, he grabbed her arm to steady her as she rose.

“What about me?” The cuffed man groaned as he sat up, clutching awkwardly at his side. “I’m bleeding to death here!”

The officer tugged off the man’s mask, then pulled him to his feet before shining a flashlight in his direction. The man was Grayson’s height with a muscular build and brown hair, but his face wasn’t familiar. The officer propelled the man through the trees toward the street, and Grayson and Claire followed.

A chill ran through Grayson as he thought of what would have happened to Claire had he arrived any later. Those men had been about to drag her to their vehicle.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, tightening his hold on her as they moved forward. They’d reached the street and were under a streetlight when he finally got a good look at her. Claire’s eyes were wide with fear, her face deathly pale.

“It’s going to be okay,” he told her as they returned to the house.

But as an officer came out of the safe house, walking slowly toward them with a grim expression on his face, Grayson knew the words he’d just spoken were a lie.





Chapter Twenty-Eight





A bone-chilling numbness seeped through Claire as she lay on top of the covers in bed at the safe house, a blanket covering her.

First-responders had been swarming the first floor when she and Grayson had walked inside. A serious-looking man wearing a dark jacket with a phoenix logo had walked past carrying a clear plastic bag containing what looked to be a baseball cap. Splotches darkened the blue fabric, and Claire’s knees had given way when her brain processed what she’d just seen.

Jeremy’s baseball cap, drenched in blood.

Grayson had held her close, keeping her from falling, and steered her upstairs, his intent to shield her from further trauma obvious. But the scene had still registered clearly; whatever had happened to Jeremy was grave.

Grayson had been gone for several minutes before he reentered the room.

“Is he dead?” she whispered.

Grayson opened his mouth as if to speak but closed it again. He studied her for another few seconds before nodding, his expression bleak. “He was knifed. The bastards must have taken him by surprise and didn’t want to risk waking the whole neighborhood with a gunshot. He fought them, apparently, but had bled out by the time the medics arrived.”

Claire clutched the blanket around her and tried to suck in a breath. With the shock compressing her chest, it was nearly impossible.

“Easy, Claire.” Grayson’s strong arms came around her as he took a seat on the bed. “Breathe. You need to breathe.”

“His family,” she choked out. “His poor mother. She’ll be devastated.”

Grayson looked grim as he gave her a nod. “Eli will notify them. And he’ll escort Jeremy’s body home for the funeral. It’s what we do.”

Tears filled her eyes. “But how did they find us?”

“They tracked us somehow.” His gaze went to her suitcase in the corner of the room. “We’re going to have the lab see what they can find. Maybe we missed something.”

Nausea unfurled alongside Claire’s misery. “You think they tracked us through something I have?”

He winced as if he regretted what he’d just said. “It’s only one possible explanation.”

She squeezed her eyes shut. Even if they hadn’t been tracked through her things, Jeremy’s death still had everything to do with her. Had he not been guarding her, he’d still be alive.

Grayson’s voice firmed as he said, “We’re going to be leaving here.”

Her eyes flew open. “Where will we go?”

“Until another safe house opens up? My place in DC. My apartment is leased through an LLC I set up. No one will be able to find us there.”

Claire fisted a hand until her nails dug into her palm. “You have to tell me who you think is behind this. I deserve to know.”

When Grayson didn’t answer, her stomach rolled. Then rolled again. She shoved off the bed and ran, making it to the bathroom just in time.

Grayson was behind her as she threw up into the toilet. His touch gentle, he pulled her tangled hair back with one hand, rubbing soothing circles on her back with the other. When she was done, he stood up to retrieve a washcloth from the cabinet and wet it under the faucet.

Claire slumped against the tub, using the cloth he’d handed her to wipe at her mouth. “I just can’t believe he’s dead.”

Grayson sat on the floor beside her and frowned when he touched her hand. “You’re freezing.”

Shocked by his compassion, she didn’t object as he drew her against his warm chest. With a tenderness she never would have expected from him, Grayson simply held her and rocked gently as she cried, weeping for a good man gone too soon.





Chapter Twenty-Nine





Seeing Claire like this gutted Grayson, compounding the shock and fury swirling inside him over Jeremy’s murder. Her grief and terror made his insides seize up. He didn’t want to let her go, but forced himself back to study her face. She looked slightly calmer now.