Trusting Danger (Danger, #2)(44)

But sadness spread through him as he turned on the coffeemaker. It would be a dark day when Claire Parker was out of his life for good.





Chapter Thirty-Four





Surprised, Claire stood her ground and watched as Grayson headed for the kitchen. If she didn’t know better, she’d swear he’d been about to kiss her.

And would that be so bad?

Logically speaking, yes, it would.

Grayson confused her. Just when she’d gotten used to him being harsh and prickly, he’d done an about-face and been kind and understanding when she’d broken down the other night.

He stayed with her when she’d embarrassed herself by throwing up in front of him, actually holding her hair back while she retched, a reaction she would have never gotten from Gabe under the same circumstances. No, Gabe would have let her handle it on her own, saying he was sure she wanted privacy, when the truth was he wasn’t a nurturing person.

Claire quietly closed the door to Grayson’s bedroom, not wanting to wake up Autumn or Camden, and changed into the T-shirt and shorts she’d gotten used to sleeping in over the past week. As she slipped into bed and turned out the light, her thoughts turned to Gabe.

Is he worried about me?

Surely, he was. She hadn’t spoken to him since she left Florida on Sunday, almost a week ago. Even as distracted as Gabe had been lately, he would have tried to contact her by now and would be upset that she hadn’t returned his calls or texts.

No, he’d be annoyed.

Claire winced as the truth of the situation hit her. She lay in the darkness, staring at the ceiling, and finally saw her relationship with Gabe for what it was . . . one-way. It had always been about what he wanted to do, where he wanted them to go. If she couldn’t drop everything at a moment’s notice and fly away with him somewhere, Gabe pouted. And if that didn’t work, he’d become angry, accusing Claire of not loving him.

Without a shred of doubt, Claire suddenly knew what a future with Gabe would be like.

Miserable.

The revelation was stunning and life-altering. As soon as this ordeal was over and she could go back to her own life, she would break up with Gabe. He would be angry and her parents would be upset, but so be it. It was time she stood up for herself and made her own decisions.

It’s time I live my own life.

The thought was exhilarating. Claire turned over, hugging the pillow to her cheek, and smiled. It was about time she only answered to herself.





Chapter Thirty-Five





Grayson was typing a report on his laptop at the kitchen table when Camden walked out of the guest room the next morning.

“Autumn still asleep?”

Camden yawned, answering with a nod. “How’s your mom doing?”

Grayson saved his document and pushed the laptop aside. “It’s bad, Cam.”

“You didn’t want to stay longer?”

He shook his head. “She sent me back. Said she doesn’t want me seeing her this way.”

Camden poured himself a cup of coffee and took a seat opposite Grayson. “Has she got enough help?”

“A home-health nurse has been coming in, but the doctors have mentioned it’s time to consider calling in hospice care. And that will be it.” He swallowed hard against the lump forming in his throat. “You should see what Aunt Mary thinks of me. It’s written all over her face.”

“You’re doing the best you can, Gray.”

“I’m not so sure about that.” He cupped a hand around the back of his neck, squeezing hard. “I should have been there more for her, taken more time off. But after losing my dad, to be honest, I just couldn’t stay there and watch her get sicker and sicker. It killed me, Cam.”

Camden leaned back in his chair, studying him. “You must be thinking of him a lot with everything that’s going on.”

“I am. My family has had some godawful luck, that’s for sure.”

His phone rang. Grateful for the distraction, he pulled it from his pocket and glanced at the screen. Eli.

“Back from the funeral?” Grayson asked.

“Yeah,” Eli said, sounding a little hoarse. “It was brutal. There was a big turnout . . . all of Jeremy’s high school and college friends, and a lot of neighbors and extended family members. The church was packed with flowers, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. It was obvious he was well-liked.” Eli’s voice turned businesslike as he changed the subject. “Look, I’ve got some news. Is Cam there with you?”

“He is.”

After Grayson put the call on speaker, Eli explained what was going on with Deck Wallace, the Wicked Disciples member who’d contracted the hit on Camden and Autumn.

“Rob visited the prison wearing a hidden body cam to show him the pictures we took, saying Regina had hired him. Wallace was pretty damn pleased and spouted off, incriminating himself on video like we wanted. With the years this will add to his sentence, it’ll be decades before he ever gets a parole hearing.”

“That’s a relief,” Camden said.

Grayson nodded his agreement. It was one less thing they had to worry about.

“And, Gray, Gabe Rogers has been arrested,” Eli said.

Grayson’s gaze shot to the master bedroom. Although the door was still closed, he took the phone off speaker to ensure Claire wouldn’t hear the discussion about her boyfriend.