Page 36 of Saving Grace
“Sorry, Gracie, can’t say for certain the diner or Foster’s isn’t bugged. Ain’t risking it.”
“I understand.”
Matt would just have to suck it up.
“I’ll pick you up at seven tonight. And no, Foster can’t come with you.”
I paused. “You’re bringing me back to the garage, right?”
Troy chuckled. “I’ll not hold you against your will.”
That wasn’t very reassuring, but knowing this man had rescued Matt from the cartel made me trust him.
I went looking for Matt and found him coming out of the boxing ring. There was a gym adjacent to the garage that trained MMA fighters. He’d been sparring almost every day, and somehow I knew I was the reason. After a few days of trying to engage me gently, he’d finally gotten the message and made himself scarce at the loft. I’d actually started to miss him after only a week. I was well-provided for in terms of food and basic needs, but I hardly saw him. He was working in the garage by the time I woke up and came back to the loft late at night. We behaved like roommates with a strong undertow of sexual tension because the few times he’d look my way, I’d see undisguised hunger in his eyes.
His brows drew together when he saw me at the edge of the gym. He caught a towel from Roger and prowled toward me. Somehow sweat on this man was like a sex pheromone. We’d never talked about our explosive encounter in the shower, but every time I looked into his eyes, I was reminded quite intimately of what we’d done. He had a way of fucking me with his eyes.
I squirmed as I waited for him to reach me.
“Grace, what’s wrong?”
“I’m meeting Troy tonight.”
He stilled. Roger gave one shake of his head and looked at me as if I’d lost my mind.
“Over my dead body,” Matt hissed, glaring at me.
“I think you and I know Troy isn’t the bad guy here.”
Matt grabbed my arm and led me away from the gym that had quite a number of people showing interest in our conversation. He guided me to one corner of the garage, Roger following closely.
“That’s not the point,” Matt countered. “He wants to keep you on the compound and we don’t know why.”
“He’ll not be keeping me against my will.”
His eyes narrowed. “He said that?”
I nodded.
“I don’t like this, Grace. He’s involved in what happened to you.”
“The bombing?”
“Your kidnapping. He knows what those people are after.”
“All the more reason to talk to him, don’t you think? I need my memory back.”
“You can’t force it!” Matt exploded, startling me and Roger. “Didn’t you hear what the doctor said? You should face what’s familiar, but you can’t spoon-feed yourself information. Look what happened with Holden. How can you process what Troy tells you when you don’t even know how to do your job as a DEA agent?”
I flinched and Matt realized his mistake instantly.
“Grace, I didn’t mean it.” He dropped his hand from my arm. Defeat in his eyes. I actually felt sorry for him, but I wasn’t letting him get away with cutting me down any longer.
“You mean you don’t mean it like you used to?” I said sarcastically. “How many times have we had this conversation before, Matt?”
“One too many times,” he muttered. “I already apologized for those, and I’m sorry about what I said just now, and you know I don’t mean it like that, so get over it.”
My jaw dropped open.