Page 100 of Grayson’s Challenge

Then he walked to the bed, and she sat up and pulled him into her arms. “You came. You saved me.”

He hugged her tightly to his body, and a sob tore from his chest. Monique stroked her hand over his hair.

“It’s all over now,” she murmured and kissed him.

Hungrily, he kissed her back, and she could feel his heart settle into a more normal rhythm. He severed the kiss and looked into her eyes. “I was so scared thinking I would lose you. I love you, Monique. More than life itself.”

“Always,” she said. She loosened her hold on Grayson and looked past him at Isabelle. “Isabelle, do you think you could find me something to wear? I’m afraid Rufus shredded my clothes with his claws.”

“Of course,” Isabelle said with a smile and left the room.

Grayson turned to Cooper and Patrick. “Get him out of here. Watch him. We’re not done with him. And have the others do a sweep of the property in case Abel had more men than the five we got.”

Monique watched as the two hybrids dragged Abel out of the room. “Is William dead?”

“Yes,” Grayson said. “We couldn’t risk him making a sound. Striker staked him. The other three vampires on Abel’s payroll are dead too.”

“Good. They all deserved it.”

Grayson pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I think it was fate that we blood-bonded. Or I would have never been able to find you so quickly.”

Before Monique could agree with him, Isabelle appeared in the doorframe, a few items of clothing hanging over her forearm. “I found these in the laundry room. Somebody must have forgotten them in the dryer.”

“Thank you, Isabelle.” Monique took the clothes that were far too large for her.

Isabelle left the room, and Grayson helped her get dressed and handed her the shoes she’d been wearing earlier. When she stood up, he pulled her into his arms, squeezing her tightly.

“You want to finish him yourself?” Grayson asked.

“I have to. I need this nightmare to end.”

Grayson took her hand, and together they left the room. Zane and Striker came down from the stairs.

“Nobody else here,” Zane said.

“Thanks, Zane, Striker,” Grayson replied.

In the living room, Cooper and Patrick were keeping Abel restrained. Robbie and Conrad, the guards she recognized from the Woodford household, joined them.

“Perimeter is clear,” Robbie said.

“Garage too,” Conrad added.

“Thanks, guys,” Grayson said.

Monique approached Abel. His face was a bloody mangled mess, every bone in it broken, every blood vessel ruptured.

“Finally, you look as evil on the outside as you’re on the inside,” she said, tipping her chin up toward him.

Abel grunted. “If you’d been there that night…” His voice broke, and he coughed, before he continued, “I would have had you already.” He lashed her with a defiant glare.

She walked closer and stopped only a foot away from him. Cooper and Patrick were holding him up.

“Careful,” Grayson warned.

Monique looked over her shoulder. “He can’t hurt me anymore.”

“So how did he do it?” Abel asked, his voice hard to understand. He glanced past her. “How did you find her?”