“I think he wants to control you and I think he wanted to hurt me because I replaced him, but I don’t think he’s going to go after other people.” He kissed the top of her head. “Why don’t you pack up some things? We’ll go to my place, lock the door and get some rest. You belong with me, anyway.”
“No.” She pulled away from him. “No, that’s not how I want my things to end up at your place, Grant.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I don’t want to just bring my things to your apartment because I need a place to stay and then just not leave. That’s not how I want this to happen.”
“Wren, now is not the time for this.”
“It is the time because I spend half my time at your apartment anyway. What do you think’s going to happen if I bring my things there with me? I don’t want to live with you because you thought it was a good way to make me feel safe. I want it to be because it’s what we want.”
“I had your ring picked out,” he said in a quiet voice. He was tired of pretending this newly dating thing was ever going to work. They had a history and it wasn’t going away.
The color drained from her already pale face. “What?”
“I had your ring picked out and I was only a paycheck or two away from having enough saved to buy it when you told me we were done.” He had to stop and clear his throat. “We’re not a new couple, Wren. We’re not just getting to know each other. I was going to ask you to be my wife.”
She pressed her fingertips to her mouth as tears ran down her cheeks.
“I’m sorry that hurts you,” he continued. “It hurt me, too. And it hurts me when you stand here and make it sound like you spending the night at my place is some kind of shortcut, because I was at that place. I was ready. But if it makes you feel better, just shove a pair of clean underwear in your pocket and grab your toothbrush. Leave the rest here.”
“I don’t know what to do,” she said, her voice so small he had to strain to hear it. He was surprised he could hear anything, really, with the way his heart was thumping in his chest.
“You’re not going to be alone tonight, Wren. The people who care about you—because I’m only one of them—are not going to let you do that to yourself. You can stay here, you can stay with Gavin and Cait, or you can come home with me.”
Her indecision was painfully clear in the way she chewed at her lip and clenched her fists.
“I want you with me,” he said softly. “You don’t have to bring your stuff if it’s too much right now. I just want to know you’re okay. But it’s up to you.”
“I want to be with you.”
“Good.” He smiled and smoothed her hair back. “Get whatever you need and then we’ll go. But you’re going to have to drive.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Wren woke with a start, her heart racing and her hairline damp with sweat. It was dark and Grant was snoring softly next to her. He shifted a little when she sat upright, but he didn’t wake up.
She was surprised she’d even fallen asleep. Long after Grant had drifted off, she’d lain awake and tried in vain not to think about Ben out there somewhere, looking for her.
He could be standing out front right now, watching their window. Waiting.
She thought about Tommy Kincaid, having a heart attack while trying to put out a fire Ben had started just to get to Grant. She worried about the women at the salon. The thought of Mr. and Mrs. Belostotsky being in danger made her stomach hurt. Patty. Carter. Anybody connected to her.
Grant.
An image of Ben swinging a pipe and hitting Grant from behind in the storage room played through her mind constantly, like a horror movie she couldn’t turn off.
Grant kept assuring her they were safe. Gavin, Cait and Patty all seemed willing to accept the risks having her in their lives brought. But they didn’t know. To them, he seemed to be no more than an ex-boyfriend who was still hung up on her and had some control issues.
They hadn’t stood, helpless, and watched what he did to her brother. The beating he’d given Alex had been brutal and Ben hadn’t cared about the consequences. He hadn’t cared that the neighbors were calling 9-1-1. He hadn’t cared about her screaming and then sobbing so hard she vomited.
Ben had wanted to make a point about what happened to people who tried to come between him and Wren.
Grant was between Ben and Wren. And all the people in her life who knew where she was but probably wouldn’t tell him if he knocked on their doors were between them.
When her stomach rolled, she got out of bed and hurried to the bathroom, but nothing came up. Sinking to the floor, she leaned her head against the door of the linen closet and closed her eyes. But no matter how hard she squeezed them shut, she couldn’t stop the tears.
She had no idea how long she sat there, feeling nothing but fear and uncertainty. Until her body started to ache from the cold tile and her head hurt from trying to cry silently.
