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My life as a Knight was dangerous. And with how much heat we had been under lately, I couldn’t bring a woman into this situation. Having Grace at Fort Marshall was bad enough. The Russians had infiltrated Devil’s Creek only a few weeks before Grace arrived. We’d lost a few Knights over the past year because of The Lucaya Group.
Grace made my job harder.
She was too tempting, far too distracting. I was afraid I would slip up once and fail her. That couldn’t happen, not on my watch.
Friends.
That was all we could ever be.
After I dressed in a button-down shirt and slacks, I headed to Grace’s room. She sat on the bed, hands clasped on her lap and staring at the floor.
I knocked. “Ready to eat?”
Her head lifted a few inches. Then, she nodded, using some of her hair to shield her eyes. She was so quiet. Some days, I barely heard her voice. And when I did, I couldn’t get the beautiful sound out of my head for hours.
I offered my hand to Grace. “C’mon, we have a reservation.” She slipped her fingers between mine, and I led her out of the bedroom and down the hall. “You’ll love this place. They have the best seafood on the coast.”
We had a reservation at Cafe Lacroix, a restaurant in town on the water. It overlooked Devil’s Creek and Beacon Bay. The two towns were practically on top of each other. Except there was a significant difference in wealth among the residents.
Devil’s Creek had more billionaires than any city in the country. Beacon Bay had some millionaires but not many. Most of their residents worked menial jobs that catered to tourists. Each summer, people visited the area to see what it was like to live like kings.
But most people didn’t discover Devil’s Creek was gated until after they arrived. We didn’t have hotels or any rental properties. The Founders didn’t allow anyone to rent their home for security reasons.
After I helped Grace into my Ferrari, my cell phone beeped with a new text message from Drake. I stopped outside the driver’s side door and sighed at my cousin’s message.
Drake
Come to my house after dinner.
Cole
Give us two hours.
Drake
No, just you. Grace isn’t safe here.
ChapterFive
GRACE
Never in a million years did I think I would be eating dinner at a fancy restaurant with a gorgeous man at my side. I had envisioned a lot of things, even hoped for them. But I never thought I would have this kind of freedom.
We sat on the outdoor patio at Café Lacroix, where by the looks of it, half the town dined. And I could understand why. The food was incredible, some of the best I’d ever eaten.
A few people said hello in passing as the waitress guided them to a table. Cole seemed to know everyone, even the girl who glared at me like I stole her boyfriend.
“Did you date that girl?” I asked Cole in a hushed tone.
He lifted an eyebrow, confused, and followed my gaze to the table on our left. “Not exactly.” Cole laughed. “Cynthia has had a crush on me since we were kids. She was my girlfriend in first grade. But that was just stupid kid shit. Our parents thought it was cute and pushed us together.”
“So that’s it? You never dated her after that?”
He shook his head, chewing the rest of his steak before he said, “No, she’s not my type.”
“What is your type?” I blurted out and instantly regretted it.
To occupy my stupid mouth, I took a bite of my gourmet burger that didn’t have cheese on it because the chef refused and said it would ruin the meat. So I slathered it with a pound of ketchup, which slid down my chin as I bit into the thick burger.
