Grim, p.31
Grim, page 31
“Sorry, Mr.?” I waited for his name.
“Capri.”
“Sorry, Mr. Capri, but I fight to win, every time. I’m not the guy for you.” He studied the card then looked at the man who had spoken earlier, and something passed between them. Then he returned his gaze to me. “If that costs me my spot in the tournament, then so be it.” I stared him down.
He nodded then held the card out to me.
“It will cost you nothing.” He waited for me to take it back, then he called to his men, and they walked out. Confused, I watched them leave as I wondered if I’d made the right choice coming here.
“Gentlemen,” I turned to address my security detail.
“Yes, Mr. Gates?” Trevor replied.
“You’re all fired.”
“Grim,” a voice said from far away. “Hellooo, Grim.” I blinked and saw my brother’s confused expression. “Where the hell were you?”
That was odd. I’d let my mind slip far back. Those days were long gone.
I shook my head, and my gaze went to my phone. It showed I had a missed message and two calls from Morgan.
“Sorry. Give me a sec, Leo.”
I tapped Morgan’s number and waited for the call to connect.
“I hope I didn’t wake you.” Morgan yawned.
“No, I was just dealing with something,” I lied. “Well?”
“I followed her to her house, she slept, and now looks to be awake.” I heard him grunt as he moved around. “No company so far.”
“Good.”
“I’m not spending another night in the truck. I’m going inside and see what’s up.”
“Stay in touch.”
“Yeah.”
I hung up, and Leo eased into the chair.
“She okay?”
“Yeah. Morgan’s going in to check on her.”
“Good.” He rubbed his tired face. It had been a long few hours. “I still can’t believe she wouldn’t stay. The doctor should have looked her over.”
“I know. She has a bad habit of not listening to me.” I moved over to the window as he laughed, and I let my mind drift off again to when we found her in the elevator.
“Leo! Shut down the floor!” I boomed. “Steven, find out exactly where she came from,” I ordered the security guard who already had his radio in his hand. “You,” I pointed to Freddy, the second guard on duty, “find me a fucking head!” His eyes went wide, then he whirled and ran.
Kenna’s eyes latched on to mine, and I saw the moment she let go. I jolted forward and caught her, then lowered her to the floor.
Someone was going to fucking die before the night was done, or blood would spray across the city of Vegas until the truth showed its ugly face.
“Grim,” she whispered, and I looked down at her, “I’m so sorry.”
“Shit.” Leo turned around as he lowered his phone.
“She just passed out.” I lifted Kenna in my arms and hurried into the elevator with Leo right behind me. He pressed the button for her floor, and I wanted to argue that she should come to mine, but I kept my mouth shut. He unlocked her door, and we whisked into her suite. I carried her past her horrendous white couch and into her bedroom. I noticed her makeup was strewn all over her vanity. I laid her down and studied her for a moment. Blood was on her face from her nose and a swollen lip, but I couldn’t find any other obvious injuries. I just hoped there wasn’t any internal bleeding. Sometimes what didn’t show was worse.
“Here.” Leo handed me an open bottle of tequila and waved it under her nose to draw her awake. Her eyes fluttered open as she moved away from the smell.
“Hey,” I shook her arm gently, “look at me. Do you know where you are?” She looked around and flinched in pain.
“My room.” Her expression registered with me. Fear was there, but also anger.
“Where are you hurt?”
“My side, mostly.” She tried to move, but I stopped her.
“Who did this to you?” I barely recognized my own voice as I took the warm cloth from Leo and cleaned her face.
“I don’t know.”
“Don’t lie!” Heat flashed through me as I fought to control my temper.
“Grim,” Leo warned, and I tried to curb my tone.
“How do you not know?”
“He wore a fucking mask!” She tried to pull away, but I wasn’t allowing it. She took a breath and winced. “Also, his voice was altered.” She evened out her breathing. “Look, Grim…” She put a hand to her head as if it hurt.
“Why are you sorry?” I wanted an answer to that.
She squinted at me then seemed to remember, and a look of panic came over her face. “You need to go. B-both of you need to go.”
“You need to see a doctor first.”
“No.”
“That wasn't a question,” I shot back and chucked the facecloth in the direction of the table.
“Kenna.” Leo came at her softer, and I fought not to roll my eyes in frustration. She was seeing a doctor with or without her consent. “Can I have a look at your side?” He held up his hands and waited for her to nod.
“Let me.” I let go of her arm and undid one of the panels on her dress. Her skin was already turning a nasty purple. Anger seeped into my bloodstream. “Does this hurt?” I slid my hand along the damage and felt her flinch. Carefully, I felt along the ribs, but I didn’t feel any breaks.
“I don’t think anything’s broken.” I did her dress back up and noticed a rip in the fabric.
“Did he try to—”
“No.” Her voice was firm. “Grim, can you guys go now? I really want to rest.” She pleaded this time.
“For now,” I replied through clenched teeth. I hesitated as I saw her eyes gloss over.
“Grim,” she sniffed, “I can take care of myself.”
Against my better judgement, I gave in.
“I’ll check in on you later.” I turned to go and nearly knocked into Leo, who had gone to get her some water and a painkiller.
Good. He could fuss over her, while I hunted down the fucker who dared hurt one of our own.
“Holy shit.” Leo’s voice brought me back to the present, and I went to see what he looked at.
“What?”
“Just this.” He pressed play on the screen, and Kenna popped up.
“Is this it?”
“Yeah.” He stood next to me as we both leaned close to the TV. “She gets a call here,” he pointed at the screen, “then…” His words trailed off as we watched the horror unfold.
“Jesus.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
About the Author
J.L. Drake was born and raised in Nova Scotia, Canada, later moving to southern California. Though she loves the weather in Cali, she would sell her left kidney for a good rainstorm. Jodi’s love of the seasons back home in Canada definitely appear in her books.
When she’s not writing, you can often find her sitting somewhere along the coast of Huntington Beach, reading, or at home curled up on a couch with her two children and husband, binge watching Marvel movies.
Authorjldrake.com
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Suggested Reading Order
Broken
Shattered
Mended
Honor
Escape
Trigger
Demons
Unleashed
Freedom
Courage
Darkness Lurks
Darkness Follows
Darkness Falls
Behind My Words
Christmas at the Cabin
All In
Quiet Wealth
Quiet Secrets
Quiet Power
Quiet Empire
Shadows
Whiskey
Alpha
Tango
Grim
Havoc
J.L. Drake, Grim
