Saving Grace (10 page)

“No.  I’m afraid I can’t tell you where she is at the moment.” 

“What do you mean?  Where is she?”  She raised her voice, panicked.

Zach almost snickered.  He decided to put her out of her misery.

“Well, airport security detained her for a routine bag check.  And then she never boarded the plane.  I had already scanned my pass, so they made me get on without her.” 

“What?  Did you call the airport?” 

“Yes, but I’m not family so they won’t give me information.”  Zach lied.

“Oh my.  This is not good.  She’s missing.”

“I wouldn’t go that far.  She’s a big girl.” 

The last thing he wanted was a search party.  He needed to be the one to find her.

“Are you serious?”  She almost choked.  “That girl can’t remember to show up for a dinner party unless reminded for a full week prior to it.  If she’s out there on her own, she could be anywhere.  You heard her on the phone …” Her voice fell.  “She said we we’re done.”

“You should call the airport, and see what they tell you.  See if she boarded another flight home.  And in the mean time, I’ll keep trying to call her.” 

              Lilah silently nodded, and then cleared her throat to keep tears from coming through over the phone. 

              “I will,” she whispered, and hung up.

              Zach dropped the phone back into his pocket, grabbed his bags, and spun his key ring around his finger.

             
If Lilah’s desperate enough, I may be able to use that to my advantage. 

Zach thought through different scenarios in his mind and smiled.  He may get his revenge just yet.

              While playing with his keys, he noticed Grace’s house key.
His eyes gleamed as he dropped his bags in his trunk and slid into the seat of his car.

             
Perfect.  When she gets home, I’ll be there.  And this time, she can’t turn me away.

Zach eased his car out of the drive, with plans to have his belongings sent from the Four Seasons to Grace’s house.  She wouldn’t get rid of him so easily now.

Chapter 14

Grace pried her eyes open an eye to watch the sun slowly spread through the dark sky, as roosters sang its praise. Their shrill calls had been sounding since the crack of dawn, making it next to impossible to sleep in. This was a side of Oahu that Grace never knew existed.

Through the ceiling’s high slatted windows, sounds of the surf pounded the shoreline just yards away from she slept. 

This sleepy and relaxing wake-up call, was similar to what she could experience at home – minus the roosters and the tropical smells wafting in to greet her.

She slowly stretched, realizing for the first time she woke up without questioning where she was.  She sat up perplexed at the thought. 

Maybe it’s the sound of the ocean that makes me feel at home here,
she pondered, but knew it was more than that. 

She lazily stretched, rolled up in Burke’s bed, and breathed in the scent of clean linens.  Fresh sheets were the last things she’d expect from a single man.

Grace had to quickly remind herself that just because she didn’t see a woman here, didn’t mean he wasn’t involved.   She took one last smell of his pillow and wondered where and how he slept last night, only to chastise herself for thinking of him at all.  She knew she didn’t have the time to think of a man she barely knew.

You’re barely keeping your head above water right now.  It’s not the time to fanaticize about some guy in the next room. 

Her heart pounded at the thought of him stretched out somewhere outside her door. 

Whoa, girl.  Easy. 
She stood up from his bed, shaking her head. 

She quietly tiptoed across the bamboo floor to reach for her purse.  Mercy was probably going nuts by now, and she felt like a bad friend for not reaching out yesterday.

After digging through her bag, she silently thanked Burke that she still had it.  She pulled out her iPhone and turned it on.  Her voicemail was full.

Grace touched the voicemail option in the bottom right of her screen, and promptly deleted them all.  She had no desire to hear Zach or Lilah’s voice, or listen to anything they had to say.  So, instead she touched Mercy’s name to dial her number.

              Mercy, who was losing her mind with worry, had been up all night praying for Grace’s safety.  By late morning, with no call from her friend, she decided to wait till late afternoon before calling Lilah.

Counting down the time, she decided four o’clock was as long as she could wait.  As she picked up the phone to dial the Aundine’s, her phone finally rang showing Grace’s number on the caller I.D.

She abruptly hit answer and without even saying hello, her words tumbled out.

“It’s about time.  I was getting ready to call your Grandmother to see if you’d checked in.  And you know those are desperate measures.  Are you okay?”  She rattled off.

“I’m sorry. I should have called you back yesterday.  I just couldn’t.  I needed to piece everything together and figure out my next move.” 

“What happened?  Where are you?”

“I’m still in Hawaii.”  Grace whispered, hoping she wasn’t waking up Burke.

“Why are you whispering?” Mercy whispered, and then shook her head.  “Why am I whispering?”

Grace laughed.  She missed her friend.  “I’m trying to keep from waking someone up.”

Mercy’s heart dropped.  “Zach?”  She hoped not.

“No.”

Mercy burst out loud.  “What?  Who are you waking up you little hussy?”

Grace held the phone out from her ear and winced.  “Ouch.  And I’m not a hussy.  At least not yet?”  Her voice went up an octave.

Mercy laughed and thrust back on her couch, propping her feet up.  “Tell me everything.  But first – are you safe?”

“I am now.” 

“Grace, what happened?  I’ve been so worried.”

“I know.  I saw how many times you’ve called me.  Again, I’m sorry.”

“You know Lilah has called me.”

Grace sighed.  “No.  What did you tell her?”

“Nothing.  I didn’t answer.  When I saw the area code, I knew it had to be her and let it roll to voicemail.  I listened to her message and deleted it.”

“I just deleted mine … didn’t even listen.  Oh Mercy – it got ugly … fast.” 

Grace quickly filled her friend in on the past 48 hours.  When she got to the part about Zach’s mean left hook, Mercy flipped her lid.

“He hit you?  Are you okay?  Does Lilah know?”

“Yes, yes, and no. I told you I’m done with her and Zach for good.”

“Sweetie, you know I want you to be happy and have always thought you needed to separate yourself - but I’m so sorry it had to happen this way.  Are you okay?  What hotel are you in, and who are you trying not to wake up?  I’m still waiting for the juicy stuff.”  Mercy pushed.

“I have a black eye but I’m better.  And … I’m not in a hotel.”  Grace teased, leaving her friend to her imagination.

              “You are a hussy!”  She squealed, and sat up, curling her legs underneath her in anticipation.  “I want details.”

              “His name is Burke.”  Grace smiled as her insides melted just saying his name.

              Mercy recognized how her friend’s voice changed when she said his name.  “Oooh… you like him.”  She sang over the phone.  “Details!”

              “After I ditched Zach at the airport – I’ll fill you in on those details later – I grabbed a taxi and asked the driver to take me to the other side of the island.  He dropped me off at this beach, with some adorable beachfront properties.  Some guy tried to jack my purse and run – and out of no where this … man appeared and took off after my purse snatcher and returned it.”

              “No way!”
              “And it turns out I was sitting on the beach where his back patio faced.  He called it his beach – but it’s not.”  Grace giggled remembering his scowl.

              “So you two …” Mercy left the unsaid hang in the air.

              “No, Mercy.  You know I’m saving myself.  Just because he was a knight in shining armor doesn’t mean anything happened.” 

              “Girl – you like him.”  Mercy heard an exasperated sigh coming from the other end.
              “I don’t have time to like him, Mercy.  I’m still trying to find out what my next step is.  I think I just cut myself off from my inheritance.  It’s toward the end of the month, and I have only about ten thousand to live on.” 

Grace hugged her knees to her chest in worry.

              Mercy scoffed into her phone.  “Only ten thousand.”

              “You know what I mean.”  Grace instantly felt bad for talking money to her friend, who was struggling to make ends meet.

              “Girl, it’s okay.  I remember how much my parents had.  Not that I wouldn’t love to have a little extra – but we’ve had a good life … if not better … with a lot less.”  Mercy wished her friend could find that same kind of peace.  “So what’s your next move?”

              “I’m not sure I can stay at a hotel.  And I don’t want to use my grandmother’s credit card.  I don’t want her knowing where I am … or Zach for that matter.”

              “You should turn him in.”  Mercy urged.

              “I don’t have the energy for that right now.”  Grace sat silent for a few seconds, and softly added, “For a split second, I really thought he was going to kill me.  So now, I just need some time and space to think -before I do anything or make any decisions.”
              “Grace...” She started again, but Grace quickly cut her off.

              “Listen, I’m not saying I won’t.  I just can’t make any decisions right now.”  She paused, before adding, “I just want a few days of peace.”

Grace almost laughed at Lilah’s timing, as her caller I.D. flashed with her number.  “And for starters, that means getting a new phone.  This one keeps ringing and I’m tired of it.”

              “Can you get your new friend to take you shopping?”

              “Maybe.”  Grace hit ignore on her screen, sending her grandmother to voicemail.  “Listen, I’ll call you soon with a new number, okay?”

              “Promise me you’re okay.”  Mercy was still worried.

              “As long as Zach can’t find me – I’ll be great.  Call you soon.  Love you.”

              Mercy sighed.  “Love you too.  Stay safe.”

              “Promise.”  She lifted her hand and crossed her heart, even though she knew her friend couldn’t see her.

              As Grace turned off her phone, she heard the unmistakable sounds of pots being pushed around in the kitchen. 

I wonder if he’s making breakfast.
  Her stomach rumbled in anticipation, and she quickly crossed the room to check her reflection.

              “Aw girl, you’re a hot mess.”  She wrinkled her nose at her reflection.  She softly brought up her hand and touched her face.  Her bruise was bold, but at least some of the swelling had gone down. 

Nothing I can do about my eye.  The rest of me needs work. 
She smiled wanly at her reflection.  She looked like a ragamuffin.  She ran her hands through her hair, trying to push a few strands in place, and grabbed for her lip-gloss. 

After putting on some sheen color on her lips, she cocked her head and stood tall.

“It’s the best I can do.”  She reminded herself that it shouldn’t matter.  She didn’t need to impress anyone, even if the man, in the other room, gave her the urge to forget everything and run off with him.

Burke liked how his boxer briefs hugged her long legs, as she entered the kitchen.  This was definitely a sight he could get used to.  Even in boxers, she walked with an air of elegance.  He could tell she definitely came from breeding, but until she told him more about her – he had to guess.

He’d love to know her story, but more than anything, all he wanted to do was cross the floor and run his hands through her rumpled hair.  It was as she was begging him to drop breakfast, and take her back to his room. 

If this had been the morning after a date, with any other woman – he would swear she was teasing him, but he knew she wasn’t.  He reminded himself that Grace had no other clothes, so there was no choice but for her to come strolling in looking like the morning after.

Grace watched his eyes travel from her legs to her face, and dropped her head to keep him from seeing her grin.  When she looked back up, he was frowning.

              “Morning.”  Burke’s blood boiled at the sight of the dark bruise around her eye.  Even with it, she was a beauty.  But in that moment, all he could think about was protecting her.