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His eyes hardened, her words sliding off him like water. “I don’t need protecting Grace. You should have told me.” His accusation cut through the air, each word a tiny dagger to her heart. He was right, and the truth stung.
“You’re right…” she faltered, grappling with the tangled web of her past and present. “At first…you didn’t need to know everything about me. It was just all so big and unmanageable. By the time it felt safe to tell you, we were so far down the line. I was scared…” She trailed off, the deeper truth rising to the surface, a dark and ugly thing that threatened to swallow her whole. But she was better than that now. She made eye contact. “I was ashamed, ashamed I didn’t realize sooner what Richard was up to. So many people have been harmed because I didn’t realize sooner what was happening. What kind of person does that make me?”
Caleb took hold of her shoulders. A shiver snaked down her spine, her skin hyper-sensitive under his touch, every nerve ending crackling with awareness. “It makes you human. We all make mistakes.” His gaze darkened, a flicker of torment passing behind his eyes. “Me included. And being with you? It’s challenged that in my head, helped me see it’s okay if we’re vulnerable sometimes, if we can’t always be in control.” He sighed. “But that’s okay. Mistakes don’t define who we are.” He cradled her jaw with one hand, his fingers gentle against her skin.
“I want to believe that,” she whispered. “How can you be so sure? “
His grip on her shoulders firmed. “Because I see you, Grace. I see the kindness in your heart, the strength in your soul. You’re fallible, just like all of us, but you’re trying to make amends. Testifying takes strength. You spent years with a man who kept you through fear, not love. Don’t you think you’ve suffered enough? What he did is not your fault and when you found out, you took a stand. A stand that has involved putting your life on the line. Try telling me that’s the easy option because it’s fucking not. You should be proud of what you’ve done, not ashamed.” He sighed. “I don’t think any less of you. It’s you I care about. I just wish you had told me sooner.”
Her throat was thick with emotion. She had spent so long believing she was unworthy and didn’t deserve happiness or love. She had sealed herself away to stay sane. But brick by brick, Caleb was chipping away at the walls she had built around her heart.
He pulled her into his arms, his embrace steady and warm. “Just let me be here for you. Let me help you.”
She clung to him, her face buried in his chest, breathing in his scent of man and trees, of comfort and stability. God, she wanted his help. So much. But was it too late? “There’s something you should know.”
He stiffened, his muscles tensing under her touch, but she plowed on, the words tumbling from her lips.
“I have a burner phone. Richard called me while you were collecting my car. He’s close. Not just his men, but him.”
Caleb pulled back, his hands still gripping her arms, his eyes scanning the wilderness over her shoulder. In an instant, his face shifted from solitary mountain man to elite soldier, his features hardening with determination. “We need to get you out of here. Find somewhere safe.” There was an urgency to his words, but the stroke of his fingers against her cheek was gentle. He leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to the tip of her nose. So simple, yet it conveyed the scale of his feelings.
He cared for her. As much as she cared for him. The certainty settled deep within her.
And for the first time since forever, she believed she deserved it.
32
The truth hit Caleb while he reversed Grace’s car into Wyatt’s garage.
He was falling for her, falling hard and fast, with no safety net to catch him. And God help him, but he didn’t want to stop.
He understood why Grace had kept the truth from him. She was scared. Well, that stopped now. Grace needed him and he would move mountains or die trying.
His woman would not live her life in fear.
He parked her car next to Wyatt’s sleek steel-gray Volvo T8, then maneuvered the T8 out of the garage.
“Never thought I’d see you behind the wheel of a car that cost more than your entire wardrobe.” Wyatt’s eyebrows jogged skyward.
“Just because you get your guns and shirts in the same store.” Caleb killed the engine. Grace had gone into the house for some water.
“You sure about this, Caleb? Hudson’s men could be anywhere,” Wyatt asked.
Caleb nodded. “I’ll call once we’re out of state. We can find somewhere to lie low in northern Canada till her trial.”
Wyatt’s expression sobered. “Be careful. From what you’ve told me, these guys play for keeps.”
“I will.” He skimmed his hand over his holstered gun. Grace was in danger and he would move heaven and earth to keep her safe. But deep down, he knew he wasn’t just going to protect Grace. He would stop Hudson. Somehow.
Come hell or high water, no one would lay a hand on Grace ever again.
A sharp bark from Dolly drew his attention. Grace jogged down the steps, backpack hooked over her shoulders, Dolly at her heels. Caleb didn’t miss the devotion on Dolly’s face. And despite the stress of the past few days, there was a new brightness in Grace’s eyes, a luminous glow to her skin that radiated from within, as if she had shed the oppressive weight of Hudson’s control.
Caleb met his brother’s gaze, a silent understanding passing between them in the space of a heartbeat. “I’ll call when we find somewhere for the night.”
Wyatt inclined his head in agreement.
Caleb took Grace’s backpack and placed it in the immaculate trunk with the rest of their supplies. Hell, it was going to be fun keeping the SUV as pristine as Wyatt did. He slammed the trunk closed while Grace took hold of Wyatt’s hands and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you. For everything.”
