Going to do Prez's bidding, Keenan hoped he was doing the right thing when it came to Grace. Her attitude swung wildly both ways when the topic of her sister came up. If he could get the two women together and have the missing person report removed off Grace, there would be no stopping her from living with him.
Chapter Thirty Two
"Keenan!"
Grace sat up on the couch and held her breath, listening to the silence in the house. After several seconds, she rubbed her eyes. She could've sworn someone called Keenan's name.
She got up from the couch and walked to the bathroom. Using the toilet, she yawned. She must've fallen asleep soon after Keenan had left the house.
Stress was getting to her. She usually stayed wide awake while he was gone, afraid someone would break into the house and hurt her again.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
She yelped, quickly getting up from the toilet and washing her hands. Not once since staying here had anyone knocked on the door.
As she ran into the front room, hope filled her that someone would finally find her. She peeked out the window at the same time a female voice yelled Keenan's name.
She dropped the curtain and ducked underneath the window. Why would a woman visit him in the middle of the night? She pursed her lips. Oh, no. No. No. No. That part of his life was over. She wasn't going to share him.
Her pulse accelerated. Keenan should've been back by now.
"Come on, Keenan. I know you're awake. Your lights are on." The woman outside paused. "There's a woman with me who needs your help."
Two women? Grace stood back up and peered out the window. A dark-colored car and truck were parked on the street, but she couldn't see who was at the door through the darkness.
"Keenan?" Bang. Bang. Bang. "I have a woman with me who is looking for her sister, and you're the only club member who is around who can help her."
Sister? Grace cried out, shoving the curtain to the side. She banged on the window while trying to undo the sliding lock, knowing it was Amelia. It had to be her sister.
"Please. Don't leave. I'm here. I'm Grace." Her fingernail broke as the window refused to budge. "Amelia? Are you here?"
Two women walked into view. One of them was as familiar to her as looking in a mirror. She sobbed, pressing her hand against the glass.
It was her sister. Her sister was here.
Amelia cried her name, rushing to the window, trying to undo the screen from the track. Grace held up her hands.
Sobs bubbled out of her in relief. "Wait. It's locked."
"Open the front door," yelled Amelia.
"I can't." She groaned. Her sister wouldn't understand why. "I can't get out."
Amelia turned away and then ducked underneath the window. When she straightened, she held a rock the size of a cantaloupe.
"Stand back." Amelia raised the stone to her shoulder as if she was doing the shot put in the Olympics.
"Oh, God." She laughed, more manic than amused.
Keenan was going to flip. She'd already busted one of his windows in the bedroom.
The rock landed on the window, instantly shattering the glass. Amelia appeared at the window, having already picked up a smaller rock and started breaking the shards out of the frame.
"Oh, my God, you're here."
"I've been looking everywhere." Her sister reached for the last piece of glass and ripped it out with her hand.
Grace leaned out the window and hugged Amelia. "I've wanted to call you. I was going to call you. I tried everything—"
"I thought you had fallen off a cliff or a bear got you. I've been so scared, trying to contact anyone who could help me." Amelia sniffled, leaning back to look at her and then grabbing for her again. "Are you okay? I need to see you. Open the door, sis."
"I can't." She sagged against her sister. "The door is locked on the outside."
"The outside? Why the outside?" said Amelia.
"There's a padlock. It's locked." The other woman came back to the window. "Why are you locked inside Keenan's house?"
She held on to her sister, willing to protect her from everyone. "Who are you?"
"A friend of Keenan's. Why are you locked in his house?"
She wasn't going to explain the situation to anyone but Amelia. If the woman was a friend of Keenan's, then where was she the last several weeks? How had she not seen or heard about her before?
"Not to be rude, but I only want to talk to my sister." She looked at Amelia. "Is that your car out on the street?"
Amelia nodded and held up her phone. "I'm going to call the police."
"Wait." The other women grabbed Amelia's arm.
Grace lunged through the window, hanging from her hips on the frame to grab her sister away from the woman. "Don't touch her."
"I'm not going to hurt her." The woman raised her hands. "My name's J.J. and I live in Avery Falls. I'll help you, but you can't call the police. Let me talk to Keenan first and see what is going on."
Amelia pointed. "You can see what is going on. He kidnapped my sister!"
"Please." J.J. pressed two fingers to her temple. "Let me think of what we can do."
"You don't have to do anything. Keenan didn't kidnap me the way you think." She wrinkled her nose, knowing how insane she sounded. "I just want to talk to my sister. I can tell you what happened."
Knowing there was no way to calm her sister down, she grabbed Amelia and pulled her closer. Then, she cupped her palm on her sister's face. "I'm okay. I promise."
"The police have been looking for you." Her sister's voice broke. "I thought you were dead."
"I know, sissy. I know." She cried, seeing how upset her sister was. "I'm sorry, but I can explain. Help me get out through the window. We can go to a hotel and talk. We'll talk all night, and I'll tell you everything. I promise."
J.J. paced a few feet away. "I think we all need to calm down and wait for Keenan."
"No." Amelia hissed, pulling on Grace's arms. "I'm taking my sister out of here."
Her hips slid over the windowsill, and she hugged her sister as her legs dropped to the ground. The cold grass permeated her bare feet, and she shivered. Squeezing her sister, she rocked Amelia side to side.
"I've missed you." She closed her eyes. "Oh, my God, I love you so much."
"I love you, too. But right now, we're getting the hell out of here." Amelia turned her. "Let's go."
She grabbed her sister's hand and ran to the car. J.J. followed, trying to get them to stop. Now that she had Amelia, the only thing she wanted to do was tell her sister everything.
At the door of the car, a familiar rumble filled the night air. Grace stopped, her heart sinking. She wanted to stay with Keenan, but she needed to talk to Amelia first.
Before she could talk herself out of going, she opened the door and slid into the passenger seat. "Go, sis."
Amelia drove past Keenan arriving home on his Harley. Grace kept her gaze on him, turning in the seat to stare at his back. It was bad enough when she believed Amelia would never forgive her for what she'd done by staying with Keenan—but she needed Keenan to forgive her for leaving him.