Seven Days Grace (A Grace Rose Novel Book 1) (27 page)

She sat back in the seat and made a conscious decision to go with the flow and see where her time would lead with this surprising man who appeared out of nowhere from her past and had been by her side ever since.
His saviour complex is evident.

‘
I have the package
,’
Jake said
,
pulling Grace out of her reverie.

‘
Oh?
’

‘
Here
‘
tis
,’
he pulled out a similar size package to the others.

She noticed he
’
d already opened it.
‘
Who would
’
ve guessed?
’
She held up another memory stick.
‘
What
’
s on it?
’

‘
I haven
’
t had time to look. We
’
ll do it at your place.
’

‘
Where was Nick
’
s car?
’

‘
At a local car wreckers. What did The Voice say?
’

‘
It was a message. He wanted to know if I had a chance to look at the package and when did I have time to meet up to discuss everything he had given me? This was the biggest surprise. His past calls had demanded the time and place we would meet leaving me with no input into the matter. I must have hit a nerve with him yesterday when I said I needed to sit down and talk with him. He said to expect another call from him this afternoon.
’

When she opened her front door
,
Shadow started caterwauling as if Grace had abandoned him for a month. He rubbed her legs and stretched his front paws as far up her legs as he could reach. He knew not to climb up her leg but he was waiting for her to lift him from his front legs up to her shoulder and give him a rub down all over his coat. The furry feline was purring loudly.

‘
The neighbours will complain about the noise if he keeps going. Grace
,
what have you done to your pet to make him behave like this?
’
Jake began to laugh.

‘
Basically he
’
s spoilt rotten. Who said animals couldn
’
t communicate
,
huh?
’

‘
I
’
ll say. They certainly have their own language.
’

She placed her flowers in the kitchen and Shadow stuck to her side like bonding adhesive. She bent down
,
picked him up and placed him against her chest. He rubbed his cheeks on her neck
,
pummelled her chest and meowed loudly right in her face.

‘
Oh Shadow
,
mate
,
it
’
s only been one night
,’
she gave him a big squeeze and put him back down.

‘
Doctor
’
s orders remember. Go and sit down and I
’
ll see what I can find in the kitchen to make us some lunch
,’
Jake said.

‘
You
’
re making lunch
?
I need five minutes to change
,
won
’
t be long.
’
Grace had already showered at the hospital
,
washed her hair and stood in front of the mirror and stared at her cuts on her face for a long time. Back at home
,
after she changed
,
she decided to go without makeup. Her face was too raw to be made up. Jake would have to accept her the way she was today. She put on her favourite jeans and rugged up with a warm sweater.

‘
Feel better?
’
Jake asked as she entered the living room.

‘
Much
,
thank you.
’

She pulled her phone out of her handbag.
‘
I
’
m going to ring The Voice
,
I have his number.
’

‘
How
’
d you get it?
’

‘
He sent me a text yesterday and the number was in the message. So
,
he
’
s slipped up and he
’
s not the super spy he believes he is in his own twisted mind.
’

‘
Oh
,
by the way
,
I have those plans. One of the guys in the office who has experience in maps had a look at them and he figured out what they are
,’
Jake yelled from behind the din of clattering kitchen utensils.

‘
What are they?
’

‘
Tell you in a sec. When he calls
,
unless he comes clean and stops playing Sherlock Holmes games
,
you
’
re not interested in meeting him again.
’

Funny
,
that
’
s what I called him the first morning I met him.

Jake came into the living room carrying steaming plates of food and placed them on the coffee table.

‘
He
’
s not answering
,’
she said.

She sat down on the couch as Shadow curled up beside her and pummelled the side of her thigh
,
happy to have his beloved human home.

‘
Bon appetite
,’
Jake said as he placed the meal in front of Grace
,
along with a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice.

‘
You can cook.
’
She was astounded and ravenous. She forgot all about the last memory stick. Grace stared at the meal and thought you could take a photograph of it and put it in a gourmet cooking magazine with a cute title underneath
,
along with the recipe
,
explaining how
‘
You
,
too
,
can make this at home
’
.

She closed her eyes and inhaled. She could smell fresh salmon
,
eggs with chives
,
roasted tomatoes and marinated mushrooms along with warmed bread. She opened her eyes and noticed Jake was gone. He was back in the kitchen retrieving something he had forgotten. She heard him rattling with something in a drawer or cupboard. He came back with a steaming cup of coffee with real cappuccino froth on the top
,
sprinkled with chocolate.

‘
Like I said before
,
which planet are you from?
’
Grace asked as she smiled and continued to gaze at him and her plate.

‘
Funny. You
’
re funny. Now eat up. You need your strength.
’

‘
Did I have all this food in my fridge?
’
she asked.

‘
No
,
I picked most of it up earlier. I have experienced hospital food
,
too.
’

‘
I
’
m glad you did.
’

While she ate ravenously
,
she savoured every morsel.
‘
Seriously
,
anytime you want to you can cook here because this is delicious.
’

Jake laughed as Grace inhaled the cuisine. It began to give her some vitality and re-energised her spirit and body. She could truly lose her soul utterly
,
completely and wholly with this man.
It would be no problem whatsoever.

After they finished their juices and coffees
,
they lay back on the lounge and exhaled. Grace threw her arms up and over the back of the couch and said she was beyond satisfied. She was overly thankful and complimented Jake several times on his culinary skills.

Jake turned to his left where Grace was splayed out on the couch. He reached out with his hand and gently touched the side of her face where the glass from the car window had caused bruises and cuts.
‘
Grace
,
the kissing in the hospital?
’

‘
I think we should look at the contents of The Voice
’
s latest instalment.
’

‘
I agree. Right now I want to talk about those kisses. The Voice can wait a few minutes.
’

‘
We need to crack this case.
’

‘
And we will.
’

She took a deep breath.
‘
Put it down to bottled up emotions and you happened to be on the receiving end.
’

‘
So
,
if another guy had walked through the door with flowers you would have done the same thing?
’

‘
No
,’
she felt nervous.
‘
We need to check the package.
’

‘
You beat me to it but it
’
s something I
’
ve wanted to do all week
,’
Jake said as he leaned in closer.

She was right
,
she knew it. He was into her as much as she was into him. The week had been building up to this moment. It was heaven. Her body tingled all over as she inhaled him
,
followed by an impulsive desire to wrap her arms tightly around his neck and pull him towards her.

Instead
,
she struggled to remain as calm as she could under these rising emotions. She reached for the back of his neck and ran her fingers through his hair with her right hand. He pulled back
,
stared at her and without words bent his head towards hers. She burned inside. Their mouths met and Grace pressed against him. She drowned in him and forgot about everything else.

‘
Grace?
’
Jake managed as they took a quick breather.

‘
Yes?
’

‘
I
’
ve wanted this since the moment I laid eyes on you.
’

‘
Stop talking.
’
She grabbed his head and pulled him towards her. 

His hands and arms explored her as he inhaled long and slow with his nose nestled in her neck.

Shadow sat up and stared at the man who was all over his human. Jake continued to kiss Grace. In between each kiss he told her how lovely she was and that this was the first time he
’
d felt this intensely about anyone in his life.

‘
Can we do this all night
,
please?
’
Jake said more than asked.

‘
The phone
’
s ringing
,’
Grace straightened up.

Jake fell back into the lounge and groaned.

27

‘
Grac
e
,
i
t
’
s
me. Can you meet up this afternoon
,
please?
’
The Voice asked.

At least he
’
s more polite than usual.
Grace pressed mute and as her breathing started to slow said
,
‘
It
’
s The Voice. He wants to meet up this afternoon.
’

Without hesitation
,
Jake put his right hand out with a flat palm. She handed the phone over to him.

‘
Who is this?
’
Jake asked.
‘
A-ha
,
I see.
’
A pause.
‘
I
’
m a good friend of Grace
’
s and I
’
m helping her with this story.
’
A pause.
‘
Grace won
’
t be coming to meet you alone any more. Yesterday she was in a terrible accident where she could have died and it
’
s all thanks to you roping her into your dirty little schemes that caused this to happen. If you would simply tell her what you want to inform the public about instead of all this hide-and-seek idiocy then she might not have been hospitalised.
’

He reached his hand over to Grace and cradled her neck. She took his hand and held it between both of hers. She wondered what The Voice would make of this turn of events now Jake had taken control. She didn
’
t care anymore what he thought yet she wanted to reveal the story. Right now
,
she was lost in a place of headiness from the kiss with Jake. It made her feel as if they were the only two people in the world.

She tried to work out what The Voice was saying on the other end of the line. She leaned into Jake and put her ear close to the phone but still couldn
’
t hear properly.
‘
Put it on speaker
,’
she murmured to Jake.

He shook his head.

Grace knew she was close to uncovering the truth or why would someone try to run her off the road? Next time it might not be a hospital bed she would be recovering in
,
if these people had their way
,
she could be lying in the morgue.

‘
We need to know who you are and what this is all about in plain English a five-year-old could understand. You got it?
’
Jake said.

Grace looked at Jake and he nodded as if he had everything under control.

‘
I see.
’
He paused.
‘
Yes
,
alright.
’
Another pause.
‘
S
he is not coming without me. Do I make myself clear?
’
Jake
’
s question was rhetorical and he expected nothing in return from The Voice other than
,
‘
Yes
,
Sir.
’

After a few more affirmatives and nods into the phone
,
Jake hung up. Grace was itching to know every word The Voice said though she waited for Jake to speak first. After an extended moment of silence she felt forced to go first.
‘
W
hat did he say?
’

‘
I don
’
t know
,
Grace. He can
’
t answer a question directly and he sounds scared
,
out of his depth. He
’
s an amateur and amateurs end up getting you into trouble because they think they know what they
’
re doing but they don
’
t have a clue. He agreed we could both go along. Although
,
you are supposed to be resting up and not going out to covert meetings with this strange man we know only as
‘
The Voice
’
.
’

‘
He did tell me his name was John but I don
’
t believe him.
’

‘
I
’
ll go
,
you stay here.
’

‘
Not a chance.
’

‘
He might talk more if you
’
re not there
,
especially with –
’

‘
With what?
’

‘
Is he in any of these photographs he gave you?
’

‘
Tell me why he
’
ll talk if I
’
m not there.
’

‘
He
’
ll talk because I
’
ll make him talk and you don
’
t need to see that.
’

‘
You sound like a spy with a licence to kill instead of a private investigator
,’
she said.

‘
Let
’
s get back to it. Is he in any of these photos?
’

‘
I don
’
t know
,
every time I
’
ve seen him
,
he
’
s had the same getup on. This absurd disguise so it
’
s impossible to tell. What time are we meant to go?
’

‘
It
’
s too dangerous and
,
I repeat
,
you should be resting. I couldn
’
t bear it if something awful happened again.
’

‘
Yes
,
that
’
s what we were doing
,
resting. And nothing
’
s going to happen to me.
’

‘
Grace
,
I hope not
,’
he pulled her close and studied the side of her face where it was scratched up. Then he stared into her eyes.
‘
I haven
’
t seen eyes as green as yours
,
they
’
re captivating. I
,
um
,
oh boy
,
look what you
’
ve done to me.
’
He paused for a considerable length of time. She waited for what he was going to say next. Finally
,
‘
I think I
’
m falling for you.
’

‘
Wow. Do you want to hear something funny? I
’
ve recently made a vow of not dating anyone. What do you think about that?
’

‘
I think your nuts. Come here
,’
he said
,
wrapping his arms around her and kissing her neck.
‘
You smell like a rainbow.
’

‘
What does a rainbow smell like?
’

‘
Sunlight
,
joy
,
fresh
,
happy
,
light
,
home
,’
he tried to kiss her again.

‘
No. We have work to do. Let
’
s meet The Voice and figure this thing out.
’

I have no doubt you are heaven sent.

His shoulders slumped as he took the remains of lunch to the kitchen.
‘
I think you should stay here and rest.
’

‘
If I hear the word
‘
rest
’
one more time
,
I
’
ll scream. I know what happened yesterday was dreadful
,
horrible
,
devastating. However
,
it wasn
’
t your fault
,
Jake. If it didn
’
t happen then
,
they would have found me another way. We know this is big or why would they bother coming after me? Obviously Sleen is involved in something they don
’
t want anyone to know about. Something he
’
s likely to lose his position over. If we don
’
t find out what it is someone else will and we don
’
t want anyone else getting hurt
,’
she said wanting to convince him.
‘
And don
’
t tell The Voice Nick fired me. We
’
ve come this far
,
I
’
m going to carry through with it till the end.
’

She stopped and wondered why she was pleading with him. She didn
’
t need to check with him where she could go and when. And while the doctors had told her to rest
,
she could easily be resting while she was at the meeting. She obviously wasn
’
t going back into the office as she didn
’
t have a job to go to
,
therefore
,
she had to do something with her afternoon. Since when did she need Jake
’
s permission? Of course
,
she did appreciate his concern
,
although
,
she had to find out what was happening because it was sending her loopy. She couldn
’
t stand it.

‘
I
’
m going
,’
Grace said.

As she spoke
,
a mobile beeped on the coffee table. Grace thought it was her phone but when she looked down she saw it was Jake
’
s phone. They had the same message tone. She looked to the kitchen though he hadn
’
t heard it over the noise of putting the plates in the dishwasher.

In a moment of curiosity
,
Grace picked up his phone and clicked the message button on the screen. She stood up
,
holding his phone as Jake came back into the room.

‘
What
’
s wrong?
’
he asked.

She held his phone out for him to take and he glanced at the message on the screen. Her face drained of colour.

‘
Grace
,
what are you doing looking at my phone?
’

‘
AFP? That
’
s Australian Federal Police
,’
she said.

Jake read the message. It said
:
The boss has called a special liaison meeting @ AFP Headquarters to discuss latest Sleen developments.

‘
You have your own business yet you work with the AFP?
’

‘
Um…
’

Her voice was tight.
‘
Are you working on the same case as me?
’

No reply.

‘
Jake?
’

‘
You shouldn
’
t be looking at my phone. You have no idea the intricate depths of what this case actually involves on a world-wide scale.
’

‘
Oh
,
could you be more condescending? I knew you were hiding something.
’
Grace felt sick. Her sixth sense told her she was about to find out information that would change everything. She stumbled and the couch caught her.

Jake took a deep breath then looked straight at her.
‘
I don
’
t work for the AFP. I
’
m an Interpol operative working with your AFP. We
’
ve actually been following de Silva. There are multiple calls from all of de Silva
’
s phone lines to Sleen
’
s office. He
’
s called the Minister from his office
,
his home and his mobile.
’