Page 48 of Grim

“Follow us, Jesse,” Grim ordered as he slid in next to me. The driver didn’t wait for instructions. He eased out of the parking lot and drove off. My stomach visited my throat and dared the alcohol to come back up.

“What happened back there?” Grim asked calmly as he sucked on his joint, and the smoke filled the space around us.

“Noth—”

He cut me off. “Don’t lie to me.”

“It was an old client,” I lied, trying to curb my panic. “Didn’t end the best.”

Grim reached behind me and angled his body in my direction.

“You know Trigger and I have been friends for years.” He studied the way the paper burned down the joint. “One thing we have in common is the ability to spot a lie.” His gaze moved to mine. “I’ve looked into you, and you don’t have bad blood with clients, you don’t back down from anything remotely reckless,” he tisked with annoyance, “and when something’s going on, either Minnie, Rail, or Morgan step in to help you out.” He held up the joint as an offering. I took it, as I needed something, anything to calm my nerves. “They know nothing, which means whoever you ran from back there is a big problem.”

He watched as I wrapped my lips around the pencil-thick joint and inhaled the drug deep into my lungs. He tipped my jaw up, and I held the smoke in. His eyes burned into mine as he tried to read the last ten minutes of my life.

I gave him nothing. Over the years, I’d become somewhat of an expert at hiding my fears and disappointments. It came with being a member of the Tame family.

I broke eye contact and blew the smoke away from his face.

Lord, that was a strong hit.

I held the joint up to give it back, but he pulled my hand to his mouth and took a drag from between my fingers. The smoke encircled my hand as he inhaled the perfume from my wrist. These were the moments where I felt myself slip with Grim. Everything he did was incredibly sexy, from the way he touched me, smelled me, even the way he tried to order me around. He drew something out of me that I couldn’t fathom.

When I tried to define this man to myself, I felt like he might be on the verge of losing himself with me. Though there were times I pushed back for sport, it was also in defense because I could see that if I gave in to Grim Gates, he might totally consume me. I already had that in my father, and I certainly didn’t need another man who wanted me under his control.

“Let me help.”

“No,” I whispered the truth, “you can’t.”

“Do you know who I am, Kenna?” His hand moved to my shoulder, traced my collarbone, followed my strap down to where my breasts were barely covered by a fringe. “That night I found you in Secrets, I had just taken care of some Stripe Backs. We hunted them down and tortured them for information.” With two fingers, he spread the fringe and revealed my nipple. He rubbed his thumb over it with a hiss. “The man who attacked you that night was a mere inconvenience.” Not to me, he wasn’t. “So, tell me, sweetheart,” he kissed my shoulder as we stopped at a light, “who do I need to kill so I never have to see that look on your face again?”

I felt his pull with my whole body. How could you fight someone in your mind while your body turned traitor and screamed for him to tear your dress off and do whatever the hell he wanted?

I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to focus. His lips were soft, and his tongue was hot. I forced my mind back to the reality of the situation I was in and knew I couldn’t bring that to him. This was much bigger than he realized, and I was afraid of Grim’s reaction if he knew the truth.

“He’s an old client,” I repeated, and I felt him stiffen with anger. I could almost hear the boxing bell go off in my head.

Round two.

“Jesus, Kenna,” he growled, “I’ve never met someone who turned me on yet pissed me off just as much in my entire life.”

“I never asked for your help, Grim.”

“I didn’t see you deny it either,” he shot back. “The panic was all over your face. You needed me to save you. What would you have done if I wasn’t there?”

“Ran.” I fixed my dress, and he scowled at me.

“Have you learned nothing from the last time you walked back from Minnie’s?”

I pulled away from his arm as I realized we were about to enter the hotel parking lot.

“Tell me one thing, Kenna. Does this guy have anything to do with the blood on your sketch book?” My face fell as I blinked at him. “Nothing gets by me.” His brows went up.

“That was from the guy you killed.” I jumped out the second the car stopped, but Grim was right on my heels. Jesse blocked my path as Grim turned me around.

“Wrong answer. Your sketchbook was too far away at the time to get blood on it.”

This entire night had flip-flopped on me, and I fought to think straight.

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