Grinch (Cerberus MC)

The police station is quiet when we enter, the late hour keeping most people away.

I called ahead before getting into the shower. The woman at the front desk is quick to get us into a room. Minutes later, a uniformed officer enters, his arms burdened with huge binders.

“It’s a good thing the sheriff is old school, or you’d have to look through mug shots on the computer,” he mutters as he places them gracelessly on the table in front of her.

“I’m capable of looking at a computer screen,” Grace mumbles, clearly annoyed with something.

“This is faster,” the officer assures her. “Let Penny know up front if you find him in these. I’ll go get the ones from our department.”

Grace looks at me with confusion after he leaves.

“It’s probably best for you to start with mug shots from people who don’t live in the city limits since the perp lived in a rural area.”

She nods, accepting my explanation and flips open the first book.

“I’ll let you go through those,” I tell her as I stand.

Watching her go through them and not recognizing any of the men would make me as frustrated as she seems to be.

“Could you stay?” she asks, her eyes lifting to mine.

“Of course,” I tell her, wanting her to be as comfortable as possible.

I won’t take it as anything more than that, despite the way she continues to look up as if checking to see if I’m still here.

She doesn’t slow the turn of the pages as the hours drag on. When her stomach growls, I text Legend, and he happily brings in food for both of us. She eats slowly while still continuing to go through the books. She’s determined to find the man who hurt her, and I pray that she does, for her sake and Alyssa’s. Maybe his capture will set her mind at ease some.

“Maybe we should walk around for a minute,” I tell her as she comes to the end of one book.

“I don’t need a break,” she mutters as she reaches for the next one.

It’s clear she’s exhausted, but I know better than to try and force her to stop.

This woman will go through every mug shot in every book if that’s what it takes.

Chapter 16

Grace

It’s crazy how time has the ability to change the way you see things.

Trenton has been by my side literally every second since we entered the police station, even managing to have food delivered without getting up from the chair he’s sitting in across from me.

Before, I would’ve found this level of attention suffocating. I would’ve asked him to leave and give me a little space, but right now I take comfort in knowing he’s right across from me. It doesn’t go unnoticed that he’s situated himself between me and the door, another thing that would normally bother me. I don’t know if he’s doing it consciously or not, but the intent is clear. If anyone tries to get to me, they have to go through him first.

He tried the protective act years ago, standing tall and puffing his chest when another soldier said something that had the potential to offend me, and it pissed me off. I didn’t need his protection then, so sure I could defend myself no matter what came my way. I crave that level of protection now.

The attraction that still burns on my side of things isn’t surprising. Finding the man good looking and sexy was never something I struggled with. His charm made so many women look his way, and there were times in my own maturity that I let it bother me, as if the man could control the actions of others. That jealousy, the smile he would give me while telling me not to worry about others are what let all of those insidious thoughts get inside of my head. It’s what fueled the fire that he poured gasoline on when he refused to tell me where he was when I asked.

What is surprising right now is that I can’t help myself from looking at him and noticing just how familiar he still seems. There’s not this awkward air of lapsed time and distance I would imagine having with anyone else from my past. Maybe it’s because he hasn’t spent much time asking me about old memories the way a lot of people do when faced with someone they haven’t seen in a while. We haven’t spent time on all the remember when questions that come naturally between people who have no clue what else to ask.

His mouth is familiar, more so than I’d like to admit after that kiss back at the hospital. The way his fingers trace circles on the table in front of him like he just can’t manage to sit still is something I remember seeing before.