Page 12 of The Veteran

“Do you mind if I leave the bedroom door open while I sleep?” she asked Grant, blowing away a few wisps of steam. “Will that be a security risk?”

“Not at all.” Grant spoke confidently. “I’ll leave mine open too so I can hear if you need me.”

Envy speared through me. I loathed the thought of Grant being there for Sage when she needed someone to lean on, but I forced myself to swallow any comments. I’d created this situation, after all. I could have opted to stay with her myself. It would have raised eyebrows, but people would have understood, given who she was. I’d gone and decided to do the sensible thing, and now I had to deal with that.

The corners of Sage’s mouth curled down. “I don’t want you putting yourself in danger for me.”

My heart squeezed. After what Willow had told me, I could understand why she was concerned about that, but I didn’t want Sage to know I’d been snooping, so I stayed quiet.

“It’s my job,” Grant told her, “and I’m good at it.”

“I have no doubt of that.” But she didn’t look reassured. In fact, she looked miserable.

We finished our drinks in silence, then I bid them both goodnight and left, ignoring the longing I had to follow Sage to bed and wrap my body around hers. To hold her close and shield her from the world with my body. But I wasn’t her boyfriend—I wasn’t even her bodyguard—so instead, I carried out a final sweep of the area and went home to my cold, lonely bed.

5

SAGE

I woke violently, bolting upright in bed, and looked around. I didn’t know this room. Where was I?

But then my memory kicked into gear and I recalled the break-in yesterday, the interview at the police station, and coming with Kade to this dirty apartment in a rundown building. My breathing slowed, and I smiled wryly as it crossed my mind that when Willow had been in danger, she’d been whisked away to Ronan’s penthouse, but there was no luxury for me, just this shabby hole in the wall.

I didn’t resent Willow for it—not at all—but it seemed an accurate representation of how things seemed to go between us. She’d grown up with a doting father and everything she could possibly want, whereas I’d lived in everything from tidy suburban homes to trailer parks depending on how Dad’s latest job was going. I’d never been quite sure what he did for a living, and in hindsight, I hated to think what he might have done to afford us the comfortable home we’d had when he was killed. Sometimes, I wondered if he’d felt like he had to resort to crime to make sure I had the best possible start in life. Would he have done the same thing if it had been just him and Mom? Had he agreed to the bank heist because he didn’t know how else to get the money for me to attend the dramatic arts college I’d been accepted into?

The thought wiped my smile away and I rubbed at my aching chest. Whatever his reasons, he and Mom were gone. Now, so was Jessica. Possibly because of me. I just hoped it had been quick and painless.

My heart felt heavy and I closed my eyes and wallowed in grief for a few moments, but then I dragged myself out of bed and pulled on the track pants and t-shirt I’d collected from King’s Security. I knew from experience that I couldn’t allow myself to sink too deeply into despair or it would paralyze me. I’d had plenty of practice at developing coping mechanisms over the years. I needed to keep busy and channel my energy into something productive.

I pushed the bed into a corner, clearing a small space on the bedroom floor, and lowered myself to the ground. I worked through a gentle yoga flow, focusing on breathing and keeping an easy rhythm rather than challenging my body. Yoga could be as much spiritual as it was physical, and I needed to treat myself kindly today. When I was done, I automatically snapped a selfie and wrote a brief note to my followers, then I went to the door and peered through. Grant, the blond man I’d met last night, was seated on the armchair, a laptop on his knee.

He glanced up as I entered and smiled. “Good morning.”

“Morning,” I replied, a sliver of disappointment in my gut because I’d much rather have found Kade sitting out here. Perhaps it was for the best though. Being with me would only put him at risk. Although that said, I didn’t want Grant to get dragged into my mess either. He seemed like a perfectly nice guy.

“You want to go for coffee soon?” he asked. “There’s a coffee shop on the next block over and I could use a pick-me-up.”

I hesitated. “Isn’t it dangerous to leave?”

He shrugged. “Nobody knows we’re here. It’s a big city. I doubt we’ll run into any problems, and if we do, I’m prepared.”

I gnawed my lip. The idea of venturing out made me nervous, but he looked like he’d been awake all night and he was the expert. He’d know better than me whether it would be safe.

“Okay,” I agreed. “I’m not a coffee person but I’ll come for a walk with you. Maybe they’ll do breakfast smoothies.”

“Great.” He grinned. “Be ready in twenty minutes? That way I can have you back before it’s time for a change of shifts.”

“Will someone else be coming?”

“Yeah. Sean will take over during the day. I’ll head into the office to report to Kade and then it’ll be home to catch a few hours of sleep before we start all over again this evening.”

I pinched my lips together to stop myself from making an unwanted comment about how he shouldn’t be having caffeine if he planned to sleep in a couple of hours. He was an adult. He didn’t need my commentary on his life choices.

I went into the bathroom and found the hairbrush I’d used last night. Brushing my hair could be a mission because it was so long and thick. When I’d finished, I left it to hang loose down my back and returned to the living area.

“You ready?” he asked.

I nodded, just wanting to get it over with. Grant patted his waistband, slung a jacket on to hide the fact he was carrying, and ushered me to the door. He locked it behind us and stayed close by my side as we exited the building. I glanced at him and noticed his eyes were constantly moving, cataloging the people around us. Some of the tension in my chest eased. Even if I didn’t want anyone else to be put in danger, it was nice to be reminded that someone had my back.