Page 32 of The Biker’s Guilty Pleasur

“I guess. They must have been very disappointed.” She chuckled. “I guess sometimes it pays to be working poor.”

Gena reached across the desk and grabbed her wrist. “I’m not supposed to say anything, but you need to know.”

“What is it?” Grace asked.

“There was a delivery yesterday. It had a woman’s finger in it. Whoever sent it thinks we have something of theirs. I have no clue who or what or anything.”

“You think it has something to do with the break-in?”

“I don’t know, that’s why I wanted to tell you. We have to be on alert, just in case.”

Chapter Twelve

Grace was terrified, but who wouldn’t be? A severed finger? Was that the supposed electrical issue Reaper claimed to have been dealing with? If so, why did he lie about it?

“I’ll be on guard,” Grace said.

This wasn’t good. She quickly packaged her bag, and then grabbed the pen that belonged to Heidi. She was tempted to leave it on Gena’s desk, but she knew who the owner was.

“Please do.”

Gena’s phone rang, and the other woman smiled at her, but her lips looked tight, as if she was trying to control her emotions. She was stressed, and Grace could understand why.

Keeping hold of her pen in one hand, she immediately went to the staff room to store her bag in a locker. Once it was secure, she went straight through to the main building, looking for Heidi.

No one was outside, not even any of the kids, which meant the threat was very real.

Heidi wasn’t in her bedroom. There was no sign of her near the kitchen, however, she was able to find her in the tea room sitting at a table alone drinking a cup of tea. Her daughter was playing in one of the game rooms.

Grace took a moment to look at Heidi. Was it her husband that was causing all the trouble? What did Heidi know?

It didn’t matter. It wasn’t like they were going to stop carrying for her. She moved closer and stood by the table.

“Grace,” Heidi said with a smile.

“Hi, Heidi, how is everything?” she asked.

“Oh, it’s nice. Thank you.”

Grace held out the pen. “I just wanted to return this to you. I found it in my bag and realized I mustn’t have given you this back.”

Heidi frowned and shook her head. “That’s not mine.”

She looked down at the pen, and then over to Heidi. “It is yours, when I came in I didn’t have a pen, and you handed this to me.” She was a little confused as to why Heidi didn’t want to take the pen.

“It’s fine. I don’t want it. It reminds me of him,” Heidi said.

“Him?” Grace asked.

“Franklin. It was his pen. I took it from his desk because I needed it to sign for a delivery. I guess it was the last thing I took,” Heidi said. “I don’t want it back. I just want to be free of him.”

“He scares you?” Grace asked.

“Terrifies me. There’s ... he’s going to come for me. I know he is. Anywhere else, and he would already be here.” Tears filled Heidi’s eyes. “I don’t know what I’m going to do because we can’t stay here forever. I know that’s terrible, but it’s the only place we’re safe.” Heidi laughed, but she wasn’t entertained, not even a little bit. “Of course, if he decides to burn the place down, then he gets his wish, and I’ll be out. He just wants control. That’s all he does. It’s why he became a judge in the first place.” Heidi pressed a hand to her face. “I’m sorry.”

Grace felt bad for bringing these memories to Heidi. She didn’t continue to bother the other woman, and allowed her to have some space. Rather than push the issue, she put the pen back in her bag.

She began her volunteer duties, and she was there for a good two hours before Reaper finally showed up, and he didn’t look happy. He glared at her as he grabbed her arm and pulled her into the spare bathroom.