“Hey,” Graham says, sitting up pulling me by my arm.
Pushing the blanket aside, I climb over his legs and into his lap. Tears well up in my eyes as thoughts come flying through my mind. Thinking back to last night, what if something had happened to us when we were driving too? What if he ran us off the road and Graham got hurt, or worse?
What if he did something that took him away from me?
“It’s okay, please don’t cry.”
“No, it’s not okay. It’s not. You have to stop, don’t you understand? He’s already said once if you don’t back off, he’s going to put you six feet under next to Gage. Don’t you get it? He has already told you he will do the same. He’s practically admitting it.”
“Him threatening it doesn’t mean he’s guilty, Halle. I need to do right by him. It’s my fault he was there that night. It’s my responsibility to see that Gage gets justice.”
Holding Graham’s face between my hands, I force him to look at me.
“You may be the reason he was on the road that night, but what happened to Gage is not your fault.”
Graham jerks his head away, turning away from me. I sense he doesn’t believe me, and it pisses me off he’s putting this on himself.
“Damn it, Graham. Look at me.”
He pushes me off his lap and moves to stand. I’m taken aback this is how he’s reacting, hating he’s once again pushing me away.
“You know what, never mind. I’m going to get dressed, you can take me home.”
Graham charges toward me, pulling me back to him, and forcing me to turn to look at him.
“Halle, don’t.”
“You don’t want to talk about it, then fine. I don’t want to be here. Just take me home so I can get ready for work.”
“Fuck,” he responds, frustrated, running his hand through his hair. His arms are broad, the move making his muscles flex. My mind quickly moves in a different direction, thinking about all the ways his strong arms will have their way with me if I don’t listen. He looks so damn sexy.
That knowledge only makes me more frustrated. Arguing with him is infuriating because even when I’m mad, I still want to climb up his body and have my way with him.
“Halle,” he warns, seeing the way I’m eyeing him.
Staring up at him, I force myself not to think about my attraction to him. Sex isn’t going to cover up or solve the problems we have like they did the night of the wedding. We need to talk about this if we have any hope of moving forward.
Closing the distance between us, I wrap my arms around his middle. With my face pressed against his chest, I hear the steady beat of his heart and I focus on that sound.
It’s a reminder he’s still here with me, he’s still alive.
“It’s not your fault,” I mumble.
He brings his arms up, wrapping them around my shoulder. He drops his face down next to mine, pressing a kiss against my collarbone.
“I know,” he says, and my body deflates hearing the words as he steps away. “It doesn’t mean I don’t feel guilty still. Maybe if he hadn’t been on the road, it would’ve happened eventually. Maybe the outcome would’ve been different.”
“Or maybe it wouldn’t have been. Graham, you can sit here all day and speculate over the could’ve beens, but it isn’t going to change what happened. I wish it were different, but Gage wouldn’t want you to do this to yourself.”
“Maybe not, but he would want answers. He would want justice.”
I nod in agreement. He’s right.
“You’re right, he would. Gage was smart, strong, and honorable. He fought for what was right, and he would be proud of the man you’ve become.”
My heart hammers in my chest, heaving with every word. I’m so frustrated and confused. My head is all over the place right now.
“Halle,” Graham says, pulling me out of my thoughts. “I love you.”
Just like that, nothing else matters.
“I love you too.”
He reaches out, grabbing my hand and pulls me closer. This time I come to him easily, without a fight or arguing. There is nowhere else in this world I’d rather be.
He runs his hand over my cheek, rubbing his thumb along my lower lip. The intensity in his eyes staring back at me, I know he can feel this too.
“Promise me you won’t turn your back on me when I’m being stupid, and I’ll promise you I’ll never leave you again.”
“I never turned my…” he stops me, pressing a kiss against my lips.
“Don’t argue with me, Halle. Not about this.”
“Okay,” I say, sliding my hand up into his hair. I pull on the strands, because despite the fact I am not arguing with him, I’m still frustrated.
He moans in response, his hands pressing into me holding me tighter to him. Running my hand down over his jaw, I grab hold of his chin.
Leaning back, I look into his eyes. “I love you, Graham. More than you can possibly imagine. I’ve never turned my back on you, even when I’ve been mad or angry. I’ve been here all along. I was just waiting for the day you would come home to me.”
24
Graham
* * *
I ended up driving Halle to work this morning. Dropping her off wasn’t easy to do. All morning I was dreading the thought of being away from her, but I knew she would hate it if I asked her not to go. On top of it, there were some things I needed to get done at the office.
After the run-in with Krate on our way home from the races, something told me I needed to drive by and check things out. It’s one thing to come after me, to provoke me, but it’s another thing completely when you come after the people I love. I wasn’t going to sit by idly anymore and let him scare Halle.
He was hiding something. That much is certain. Whatever it is, he doesn’t want us to catch onto him. If there’s any chance for me to get justice for Gage, I need to figure out what it is.
Checking the rearview mirror, I look to see if anyone is behind me as I glance around the desolate fields surrounding the Krate property. Up until now, no one has been able to prove it, but when Isaac Krate was arrested, Gage had to have known this wasn’t going to make people happy. He played a key role in the drugs that passed through Iowa. Stopping him was going to have serious ramifications to their operation.
It’s no surprise that with Isaac behind bars it left a spot open for someone to fill his shoes. It wouldn’t be long before Marc would be involved in the same bullshit that got them arrested before. Isaac was likely running low on funds and with four children, he needed a way to provide for his family when he was locked up.
Pulling onto the dirt road that leads to the back of the property, I hit the button on the radio as I drive slowly toward the large warehouse that doubles as their residence. Word around town is they use it to hide a lot of their business dealings.
Parking my pickup off behind an old rundown barn, I reach into my pocket and turn my phone on silent. The last thing I need while I’m out here poking around is my cover blown.
I leave the key in the ignition and climb out of the truck, careful not to make any noise as I close the door. When I laid in bed last night, I thought an awful lot about Krate and what would possess him to run us down like he did. His encounters with Halle, along with the fire at my mom’s just seem too coincidental to me.