Page 38 of Beast

His wife snapped a picture of us, the flash momentarily blinding me. The gentleman turned his attention to Isa. “You must be a special young lady to be with a man like Grady.”

I sat back down and the waitress brought our food. Isa was glowing.

“Wow, how cool was that? People worship you.”

“He’s probably a vet. I was happy to take a picture with him, but I really hate the attention.”

“Oh, I understand. I used to hate it too, but I guess I eventually became used to it.”

I wanted to finish my food and get out of here before my anxiety heightened and I freaked the fuck out. I sipped my beer, hoping no one else would recognize me.

After we shared a peach cobbler, I was ready to bounce. I called the waitress over and asked for the bill.

“That gentleman took care of your bill. He told me how you saved all these lives in Iraq.”

Wow, that had never happened to me before. I turned to thank the gentleman, but he’d gone. I threw down a tip and walked out with Isa.

We looked into a gift shop, which was randomly filled with patriotic toys so I bought her a Marine Corps bear that sang the Marine Hymn. I checked my watch and realized we needed to get back to the lake house before sunset.

I’d been avoiding sunsets since Iraq, unable to handle the triggers that reminded me of the night my life, as I knew it, ended.

I opened the truck door for her, and she climbed in. Before I closed the it, she wrapped her arms around me. “Thanks, Grady, for bringing me here. It’s so beautiful.”

She was so beautiful. I was stretching my comfort zone for her, but I couldn’t shake the sense that our next public outing wouldn’t be so easy.

22

Grady

I opened Isa’s door the next morning and watched her sleep. Her chest heaved and she made these cute little sighs. I didn’t want to sleep next to her, afraid something would startle me and I’d wake up with my hands wrapped around her throat, thinking she was an enemy. I hadn’t allowed myself to sleep next to a woman in years.

Isa stretched in the bed and opened her eyes. Her lips widened into a smile when she saw me. “Good morning.”

“Good morning, sexy.”

The doorbell rang, and Isa jumped.

“Are you expecting anyone?” she asked, her voice weak.

“Nope.” I stood up and walked over to the security cameras. Some young, cheese-dick-looking guy stood outside. Despite the fact that it was eighty degrees, this douchebag wore a black V-neck shirt, skinny jeans, and a fitted leather jacket. Once his face came into focus, I recognized him as Pasha, Isa’s ex partner.

Isa came over to me and peeped over my shoulder. “That’s Pasha, my old partner. What on earth is he doing here?”

I gritted my teeth. “How does he even know you’re here? Do you still talk to this guy?”

Isa’s eyes widened. “No.” Her face turned blush. “But . . . I did see him recently. I went to the studio to ask Benny, the producer, if he could help get me on the show so I could pay for my tuition but he wasn’t there. Pasha was though. He said there was no way, unless some celeb requested me.” She paused and I was certain she was keeping something from me. “But that was before I asked you about my dad writing your memoir. I haven’t spoken to him since that day.”

So had she been able to get on the show, I probably would’ve never seen her again. She asked me about the book because she was desperate and had no choice. Fine, I refused to let that bother me. We were here now, and I was going to try my damnedest to make her happy.

“Don’t worry, babe, I’ll handle him.”

I opened the door. His skin was tight and my first thought was that he resembled an alien. It immediately struck me that his pale blue eyes seemed hollow. His mouth stretched into a sleazy smile, and he immediately eye-fucked Isa. Hell, no. I wanted to deck him, but I controlled my temper.

He stuck out his hand to me. “It is the pleasure to meet together with you, Grady. I’m Pasha Gravilov.”

I shook his hand, noting that his grip was weak and insincere.

He embraced Isa in an awkward hug, and she quickly escaped his grasp and clung to my side.