Page 14 of Accepting Fate

I lean against the wall and sink down onto my butt, resting my arms atop my knees and Grayson does the same.

Resting my head against the wall, I stare at the ceiling to gather the confidence to face this man. After a few moments, I turn my head to look at him and am surprised to see he has his face resting against his arms.

I clear my throat to get his attention, “I need you to tell me exactly what happened. I’ll know if you’re lying, so don’t even try.”

Grayson slowly turns his head and narrows his eyes at me, “I know you don’t know me, but I need you to trust that I would never lie about this. I got them out of a bad situation and brought them here. Everything Alana told you was the truth. Do you think she would let me touch her with a straight face if I was the abuser?” He sounds offended that I would accuse him of such, but I can’t help being on the defense.

Shaking my head, “No, but I have to explore all possibilities.”

Scrubbing my hands down my face I can’t get the image of Lily’s frail body and Alana’s story out of my mind. This night is absolute hell, and this man is messing with my mind.

“Okay, well the cops are probably waiting to speak to you in the lobby. I can have them come back here once Lily and Alana are settled,” I say as I rise to my feet and Grayson does the same.

He reaches out to shake my hand and I reciprocate the gesture. As soon as our hands touch, the fire returns.

What the hell? I dare to look up at Grayson to find him smiling again.

What a weirdo.

“I need to get out of here,” I say to myself.

Bringing my hand back to my side, “Well, Grayson, if you are telling the truth, you just became their hero tonight. They are very lucky. Stay safe out there or don’t if you’re the reason they are here.”

I turn to walk away but stop when I hear him say, “Nice meeting you. I am telling the truth. And Logan?”

He doesn’t wait for me to turn around and says, “You were exactly what Lily needed to keep fighting another day.”

Tears fill my eyes, blurring my vision.

I don’t face him because if I did, he would see my glassy eyes.

This fucking night went from a shitshow to an absolute disaster. I won’t be forgetting these two.

And I certainly will never forget the hot-as-sin giant with eyes I could get lost in and the fire that follows his touch.

Chapter Five

Grayson

Thesunisjustpeaking over the horizon as I walk out of Mt Rainier Medical Center. I feel a strange sense of peace and happiness, which is odd because I just experienced one of the worst missions I’ve ever been on.

I have a feeling it has something to do with meeting Logan. The moment she ran up to me, if I hadn’t been holding Lily, I would have been knocked on my ass.

Fuck. She is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. She’s a tiny little thing. If I had to guess, I would say she is about five-four or a little shorter. Her brown hair was in some messy knot thing girls wear that I never understand. The black scrubs hugged every part of her body allowing me to see that she was fit. Her body was sensational, but it was her eyes that really made me entranced. Her big beautiful green eyes were so bright it was like I was walking into the Emerald City in Oz.

I wish we had met under different circumstances, but I don’t think I would have seen her real beauty. The minute she took off with Lily, it was like by one simple touch, Logan brought life back into that little girl who was fading before my eyes.

I couldn’t stop watching Logan interact with Lily. Every movement Logan made was deliberate and precise. She made sure to never move too quickly or too far from her. It was like she saw her and knew she had to protect that little girl with everything she had.

Alana was telling the doctors and nurses about what happened, but I wasn’t watching Alana, I was watching Logan. I saw her face drop and the tears well in her beautiful eyes. The look on her face showed not just hurt but understanding. Almost like she knew on some level what Alana and Lily went through. At that thought alone, I wanted to run over and wrap her up in my arms.

That moment had me confused because when it comes to women, I’m not the sappy type. I don’t want to say I’m a hump-and-dump kind of man like Noah, but I don’t typically seek emotional relationships. I stick to friends with benefits, or a few no strings attached hookups. Feelings and emotions are something I stay far away from because I have enough baggage of my own to sort through. I treat all the girls nicely and I’m friends with most of them, but it’s never more than a quickie when I need a release that I can’t find with my art, going for a hike, or working on my bike.

Noah is convinced I’m celibate because I never bring girls home or pick up girls at the bar. It’s not that I’m not interested, I just don’t see the appeal of getting drunk off my ass and hooking up with a random that has wandered too far from the city limits.

But Logan. Fucking Logan. I barely know the girl and the moment the hospital doors opened, and I saw her, it was like all the lights turned on in my dark world.

I don’t know how to explain it but there’s something special about her.