Grinch (Cerberus MC)

As I stood from the bended knee position I was in, I snapped the velvet box closed.

“I know it seems sudden, but it’s not sudden for me. I lov—”

“Don’t,” she snapped. “This isn’t what love looks like, Trenton. Love isn’t getting into an argument and instead of—you know what. It doesn’t even matter.”

I reached for her when she turned to walk away. “It matters to me, Grace. You matter to me. How can you not see that?”

“It’s over, Trenton. Just—It’s over. It was fun, but now it’s not. Have a nice life.”

My mouth was hanging open in confusion when she walked away.

I only saw Grace from afar a few more times on base after that. She acted like I never existed, and before long I was shipped from that base to a different one for special ops school.

I changed that day as well, and knowing I’m no longer the man she once knew calms me a little. Being back in the same room with the woman who had such an impact on my life is surreal. I knew it was coming since the day Kincaid said her name right after she went missing. I knew I was going to end up seeing her again, and this is much better than the alternative of attending her funeral to say my goodbyes the way we did via live feed for Lana today.

I can only imagine from the way she’s acting right now that today will still be a goodbye of sorts after all.

She didn’t want anything to do with me after breaking up then, and even an abduction won’t change that. I smile, realizing that’s the case. It means she’s still tenacious and stubborn. Both traits will help her heal from what she’s endured.

“You’re really here? You’re not a ghost?”

I snap my eyes in her direction.

I stand from the chair, inching closer to the bed. My hands literally ache to touch her and make sure she’s real as well.

“I’m not a ghost,” I assure her.

“You’re Cerberus.”

“I am. Been with the team for a couple years now.”

“I can see them wanting to hire a man like you.”

I swallow, not knowing if that’s an insult or a compliment. I can’t presume anything where she’s concerned. The last time I did that, she stomped all over my heart, broke it so badly, it’s now incapable of caring for any other woman I’ve met since.

“Kincaid has an amazing group of men.” She cringes when she shifts on the bed. “At least he did a long time ago.”

Another compliment/insult combination, I can’t determine.

“From what I know, he hasn’t changed.” I’m not a bad guy, Grace, just unlovable.

“The girl,” she whispers, her voice rough and scratchy. “They won’t listen to me about the girl.”

If I didn’t know it was from an injury, I could like the sound of it, but imagining her saying some of the things I’ve heard from those pink lips of hers before, after what’s happened recently, is just wrong.

“What girl?”

“The people who abducted me took another girl.”

“The house in North Carolina was raided. They arrested both men and didn’t find another girl.”

“Two men?” I nod. “There were three men holding me in North Carolina.”

My jaw clenches. It’s not unheard of for some guys to be out of the house, looking for more women to victimize when a place is raided. I make a mental note to follow up about the place in North Carolina. Maybe one of the other guys was persuaded to roll over on his partners in crime.

“They had another woman there?” I prod.

I’m not one to harass someone after a traumatic event, but she seems like she has information she willingly wants to share.

She nods, her throat working before she speaks. “I was sold but escaped.”

“The man who bought you was arrested along with his father. They had two women in their house. They’re safe now.”

She shakes her head.

“They’re safe from danger,” I assure her.

“Will you just fucking listen to me?” she growls.

I snap my jaw closed, eyes focusing on her sassy mouth before I can stop them. I clear my throat and take a step back, tilting my head to indicate that she should continue.

“I got out of that man’s vehicle when he stopped to pee. I flagged down another car, and that woman drugged me. I ended up at a house with a psycho couple who has been stealing girls for a very long time. I’m sure the woman who drugged me and offered me up as a gift was once one of his victims.”

“What. The. Fuck?” I mutter. “Are you sure?”

She narrows her eyes at me, and that spark of irritation is very familiar. She’d look at me that way when I tried to protect her from other assholes on base or did anything that she felt was an attempt to undermine her in any way.