The American Soldier Collection 3: Amazing Grace (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (11 page)

“Duke is probably getting dinner ready. At least my brother should be doing that.”

“How many brothers do you have?” she asked.

He smiled at her as they climbed the large porch steps. There was a wide wraparound deck with a dark wood front porch with scattered hunter green trimming to match the hunter green shutters that decorated the windows of the house. Large brown barrels stood on either side of the front door welcoming guests, filled with vibrant red, white, and green flowers

There were dark-stained wooden rocking chairs and a matching wooden bench swing on the front porch, inviting visitors to take a seat and relax a while.

“Two,” he replied as he opened the front door. She glanced at the setting on the porch and the four rockers as well as a rocking bench. It looked relaxing. That was a feeling she didn’t think she would have again anytime soon.

* * * *

Duke turned around and felt his entire body react to the gorgeous brunette his brother was protecting. She was a knockout, with an exceptional body, but why was she wearing a Houston police uniform?

“This is my brother Duke. Duke, meet Grace Thompson.”

She reached her dainty hand out toward him and tilted her head way back to lock gazes with him. His cock hardened in his jeans. It was instant, and something like that never happened to him before. She was in awe of his size. He could tell as her eyes turned the size of saucers. They were a stunning green and hazel color combined.

“Pleasure to meet you, Grace.”

He noticed immediately how her body swayed and she appeared as if she might faint. Quickly he wrapped an arm around her waist and she laid her head against his ribs. She sure was petite.

“Grace, are you okay?” Sandman asked as he moved her hair from her cheek.

“What’s going on?” Big Jay entered the house with a scowl on his face the moment he saw Grace against Duke’s chest.

“I feel so dizzy,” she whispered. Duke immediately lifted her up into his arms and carried her toward the living room. He gently set her down on the sofa and she kept a hand over her belly and one over her eyes.

“I’m so sorry. This is embarrassing.”

Sandman moved Duke out of the way and sat next to her on the couch. Duke watched as Sandman caressed her cheek. He had never seen his hard-ass brother react to a woman in such a way, never mind another human being. Sandman kept to himself and submerged himself in each job he did. Something was different here.

“Tell me what you’re feeling, darling,” Sandman whispered.

My brother is whispering? What the hell is up with you, man?

Duke walked out of the room to go grab a glass of water for Grace. When he returned, Sandman was staring down into her eyes.

“So you haven’t eaten anything all day? No wonder you’re so weak and pale. It’s a good thing that Duke cooked up some dinner for us. How about I help you sit up and you take a sip of water.”

She slowly nodded her head then locked gazes with Duke. Hot damn, the woman had the facial expressions of a natural seductress. Duke adjusted his stance as he found himself kneeling down beside her on the couch and Sandman.

“Here, try little sips.”

Within a few minutes she was sitting up and some of the coloring was coming back to her cheeks.

“How about we get washed up and grab a bite to eat? Then I can help you settle down for the night in your room?” Sandman asked.

“Thank you, Sandman, Duke. Again, I’m sorry for nearly fainting. I guess with everything that has happened since this morning, I never remembered to eat anything.”

Duke felt the twinge of anger hit his belly. Sandman explained a little bit about the situation, but not nearly as much as he and Big Jay needed to know. As soon as the beauty went to bed, they were going to have a sit down.

* * * *

“Is she all settled in?” Big Jay asked as Sandman returned from upstairs.

He nodded his head then leaned back against the kitchen counter. Running his hand through his hair, their brother appeared exhausted.

“What’s the deal, bro? We know you’re tired, but can you give us some details?” Big Jay asked as Duke looked on with a serious expression on his face.

While Sandman was assisting Grace, Duke and Big Jay talked about her and wondered why someone would want to kill her. They wanted information and considering they took off from their regular jobs to assist their brother, they knew this was serious.

“I don’t know where to start. I guess at where I came involved with the investigation in a number of recent homicides,” Sandman began to explain. They listened to him give great detail into the investigation and about their friend Detective Jim Warner calling him in to assist. Big Jay felt his guard come alert at knowing that Grace not only experienced finding her dead sister’s body, but also being harassed by the killer and actually touching a lock of a victim’s hair. The package delivered to the guys’ house where she was staying was ballsy, to say the least. As Big Jay heard in detail about the explosion at the police department, his military experience went into overdrive.

“There’s more to this case than just one individual getting his kicks off raping, torturing, and murdering women,” Big Jay stated.

“I agree a hundred percent. The whole bomb thing doesn’t even go with the killer’s MO from the other cases you’ve described in the files you sent to me today,” Duke added.

“I know. That’s why I need you guys involved with this. Protecting Grace is my top priority. I need your computer hacking abilities and connections, Big Jay, to filter through these files and find a connection, different than the obvious. Duke, we need this house and perimeter of the area secured at all times. I’ll need some rest in between and we’ll be taking turns in shifts with her, watching her, going over the information the detectives send to me. This guy has to fuck up sometime or perhaps he has already,” Sandman said then rubbed his eyes.

“You need some sleep, bro. I’ll take first watch over her tonight,”

Big Jay said as Sandman stared at him.

“She’s scared, she’s tough, and she holds back a lot. Don’t push her too much.”

“You got it, bro.”

Big Jay watched his brother walk out of the kitchen and upstairs to the bedroom. He couldn’t help but feel protective of Grace now and it made him understand why his brother sounded the way he did days ago over the phone and also why his brother Sandman was in protective mode. He was worried and Sandman never looked worried.

Grace awoke with a start. She wasn’t sure where she was and that panicky feeling hit her all at once. She had taken a shower before going to bed and her hair was still damp. A glance by the bedside table and she saw the clock read 4:00 a.m. It was quiet. She couldn’t hear a sound and that made her nervous. Too many thoughts were traveling through her head.

Were Sandman and his brothers still in the house? Had the killer gotten to them, perhaps found her somehow? Why was Sandman involving his brothers in this case? Who the hell were they?

She pulled the covers back and stood up from the bed. As comfortable as the mattress was, she wouldn’t get another wink of sleep unless she knew she was safe.

Her heart pounded inside of her chest. Grace should be used to handling things alone and being alone. But someone wanted to hurt her, emotionally and physically, and he could have hurt or killed Sandman and his brothers already.

She was shocked by the thought and even more so by the fact she felt sadness, regret.
Why would I feel regret? It wasn’t like I was involved intimately with him, with them. God, where the hell did that thought come from? I’m losing it. For crying out loud, get a grip, Grace.

She was only wearing a T-shirt and a pair of cotton shorts. She looked around the room for a weapon. The bed was calling her back. It was large and delightfully decorated with an old-fashioned, country, patriotic theme.

The comforter on the bed was all white and fluffy. There were red, white, and blue solid throw pillows scattered at the top earlier and she had placed them onto the bottom of the comforter. The bed was huge and she wondered which brother normally slept there.

She tiptoed across the floor and slowly opened the door. From where the bedroom sat, there were three others and all had their doors closed. Quietly, with her heart racing, she walked toward the staircase. That was when she heard what sounded like someone typing away on a keyboard. She made her way closer to the sound in the kitchen and caught sight of Big Jay.

“Couldn’t sleep, darling?” he asked without turning around, startling her.

She gasped, jumped, and covered her mouth.

Holy shit, he heard her before she even approached the front doorway.

Taking a deep breath, she entered the kitchen.

Big Jay, which was the perfect name for the man, stared at her with identical eyes to his brother’s.

“I was just checking on you guys,” she replied, and he gave a small chuckle.

He nodded his head as he looked her over. She suddenly wished she had grabbed a sweater or her hoodie first. But fear had a way of ruining rational thinking.

“Couldn’t sleep?” he asked and she nodded her head. “How about a drink of water or a snack?”

“Water is fine.”

When he stood up, she took an uneasy step backward. The man was that intimidating.

He glanced over his shoulder at her. She felt like such a twerp and was embarrassed for gawking at the fine specimen of man, so she turned away. That was when she saw the pictures on the screen.

They were of her days following finding Clara.

She stepped closer, feeling both shocked and angry.

The media had caught her facial expressions during a time of great sadness and desperation. They were private moments that lost the sanctity of that privacy and her ownership of them. She understood that the media was doing their job, just as Duke, Big Jay and Sandman were, but each time she caught sight of those images and the fear, devastation, and weakness in her eyes, it upset her. Her chest tightened and she prayed for strength to remain strong and not break down.

“I was doing some research. Trying to get an understanding of what’s going on in the case,” Big Jay said as he walked over with the glass of water. He handed her the glass and she took it from him. Staring up into his eyes, she wondered what his deal was.

“Researching what? What someone looks like after days of searching miles and miles of woods and finding your own sister’s body? You wanted to see what I looked like then when I was going through hell?” He raised his eyebrows at her. She snapped at him for no damn reason.
God, I’m strung so tight. He’s trying to do his job. Just let him do it.

“Grace, it’s not like that.” She raised her hand up, took a sip from the glass then swallowed.

“I’m sorry. I’m just a bit on edge. I had no right to snap at you. I have no right to ask what you’re doing or what your job is. I guess I’m used to being in control of my life all the time and now I’m out of control of it.” She took another sip of water then walked toward the sink. She washed it then placed it on the drying rack. When she turned, she found Big Jay staring down at her.

“On a regular basis, I’m kind of like a private investigator, but for special assignments. My brothers and I have served in the Marine Corps as Commandoes. Duke works for Houston SWAT as a trainer and specialist. His bosses allow him flexibility when a special type of investigation arises. Same goes for Sandman. He only takes the tough ones. The cases where it seems like the bad guy might get away with the crime. But they don’t. Sandman is the best.”

“Then why are you working together on this case?”

“Sandman’s call. He hasn’t filled us in on everything but I can assume he needs more help and he wants that help to remain under the radar.”

She thought about that a minute.

“He’s thinking that there’s more to these homicides and threats to me than just some sick bastard killing women?”

“Maybe.”

She gave a sigh. “Sorry to interrupt.”

She started to walk out when his deep voice stopped her immediately.

“Try to get some rest. You’ve been through a lot. We’ll figure this out, Grace.”

He turned back toward the computer and sat down. She got the feeling that Big Jay was a lot like Sandman. Quiet, observant, but detached. They really didn’t show emotion. She didn’t know why that bothered her. What did she expect? These men were doing a job and they weren’t her family. All she could do now was sit and wait. So why was being in this huge log cabin in the middle of nowhere with three attractive, dynamic, resourceful men so unnerving?

* * * *

Sandman showered and dressed in a pair of dark blue jeans and a black T-shirt. He hoped that Big Jay made some progress into the time line of events since the first homicide and then the others Sandman felt were connected even though men were killed. He had tossed and turned most of the night and heard Grace get up and go downstairs. He followed her and listened to the conversation his brother had with her. When he knew she was safe, he headed back to bed, but not before peeking into her bedroom.