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Hunt me down. Sobering words.
“In fact, I’m just going to set it here,” Grant said before levering to his feet. “I’m going to excuse myself for a few minutes so you can have some privacy.”
He disappeared into the bathroom, leaving her with the phone. She’d long ago memorized Lane’s number. With trembling fingers, she picked up his cell and dialed. Her heart beat madly in her chest, accelerating with each ring. It was an unknown number so Lane might not even answer.
“Hello?”
She’d answered. Mia sighed in relief but was still nervous as hell. Would her old friend tell her to get lost? It had been almost two years since Lane had made that offer of assistance.
“Lane? It’s Mia. I left. I finally left.”
5
Grant had tried to give Mia as much time as possible, but he’d washed his hands about three times and there wasn’t anything left to do except stand in the middle of the bathroom admiring the shiny tile.
Cracking open the door slightly, he listened for any voices but heard none. Deciding it was okay to exit, he pushed the door open and walked back into the living area. Mia’s face was wet with fresh tears, but she didn’t look anguished or disappointed despite crying while he’d been gone.
“Can I ask how it went? I know it’s none of my?—”
“It is your business,” Mia interjected. “You’ve went out of your way to help me tonight, so I think you deserve to know what’s going on. I did call Lane, and she’s one hundred percent behind me leaving Kevin. She cried because she was so relieved. And then I started crying, and then we both were. I was so happy to have a friend again. I can’t tell you how long it’s been.”
“I’m happy for you. You deserve your life back.”
“She said I could stay with her, although I’m not sure that I should. Kevin knows I was friends with Lane. He might look for me there. He shouldn’t know her address since she moved but he could track her down.”
Mia was giving her abusive ex-boyfriend a whole lot of power that Grant doubted existed. If Kevin was as smart as she kept thinking he was, there was no way she would have been able to get away. From what Grant had seen in his line of work, most of these types kept their victim scared and beaten down by verbal and/or physical abuse. Made them feel like nothing and that everything was their fault. This Kevin dude was no criminal mastermind. In all probability, he’d been lucky so far.
“Do you have his full name and a picture?” Grant asked. “I’d like to keep my eye out for him. If I see him, I’ll send him in the opposite direction. I’ll tell him I saw you and that you were headed for Chicago or something like that. Hell, maybe Seattle. Would he drive that far?”
“I think he would, but I don’t have a photo. I left my phone there. I do have his full name, though.”
Grant handed her a pen and a piece of paper from the drawer in the end table. They were both printed with the resort logo.
“Write it down for me, and I’ll make sure that all my deputies get it and are on the lookout.”
With a huge yawn, she scribbled the name down and slid the paper back to him.
“I think you need some sleep,” Grant said. “I should probably leave you to get some. If you’re planning to drive tomorrow, you need your rest.”
Panic crossed Mia’s features for a moment, and it was clear she was afraid to be alone, although she did immediately hide her reaction. Whatever this woman had been through had done a real number on her. He wasn’t the type to walk away from someone in need, and clearly, Mia needed someone at the moment. She was on the precipice of having to start over and that alone would make someone scared, let alone worrying about an asshole who couldn’t understand a rejection.
“I could stay here on the couch if you’d like me to,” he suggested gently. “You can lock the bedroom door. I’ll stay here and make sure that you’re safe. The storm has only gotten worse, and to be honest, I can’t see how he could get here. But I understand that you’re worried.”
Mia scraped her fingers through her hair and shook her head.
“I don’t know whether I’m coming or going these days. I don’t know when I became afraid of my own shadow.”
“You should probably cut yourself some slack. You’re going through something right now. Seriously, I can sleep right here.”
“I can’t make you sleep on the sofa in your own family’s room,” she protested. “I can sleep out here and you can take the bedroom.”
“This is paradise compared to some places I’ve slept. My brothers and I like to camp. This is fine. Besides, you’ll feel more secure with two locked doors between you and the world.”
It looked like she wanted to argue, but he’d cornered her with logic. She was scared, and she would feel safer in the bedroom.
“Fine, but if you change your mind we can easily switch.”
Grant wasn’t going to kick a woman down on her luck out of bed. His mother would have a cow if she found out, and she’d tell him that she’d raised all her boys better than that.
