Give Me Grace(152)

A rap came at the door before Gabriella could tell me I’d already lost it.

“Sit,” Gabriella barked, pointing at the chair in front of me. I resisted the urge to kick it across the room and sat, hanging my head in my hands.

She murmured quietly with another detective at the door when I heard someone yelling. I glanced up and saw Henry pushing through the door, his eyes red and swollen and wild with fury.

“You can’t come in here,” was all Gabriella managed to get out as she grabbed for him and missed.

I stood abruptly as he came at me. My chair fell over, skittering backwards as I planted both feet apart, bracing.

His fist connected with my jaw and I managed to keep my feet, welcoming the sharp burst of pain. My lip split on impact. I felt the skin bust open, tangy, metallic blood flooding my mouth. This. Fists. Rage. Pain. In a world without Grace, where nothing made sense, this was what I knew, and it somehow grounded me with its familiarity.

“You motherfucker!” he shouted, swinging again. I lifted my chin, wanting it. I wanted that burst of pain. I wanted to feel my stomach roll and my head scream from the jarring impact. It was no less than I deserved, letting Grace out of my sight the way I did.

“You need to leave!” Gabriella grabbed for him again, but Mitch got there first. Twisting Henry’s arms behind his back, he locked them in place. Henry bucked, his chest heaving as he tried to get at me.

“Let him go!” I ordered, my voice harsh to my own ears.

Mitch met my eyes from behind Henry, veins straining on his neck as Henry fought his tight hold.

I nodded once and Mitch let his arms fall away.

Suddenly free, Henry came at me again. Fisting my shirt in both hands, he slammed me up against the wall. My neck snapped back at the aggressive manoeuvre, air leaving my lungs in a rush.

I shook my head, dizzy.

Henry’s back was to Mitch when Mitch came up behind him, ready to restrain him all over again. I held up a hand, holding him off.

“What did you do? Where is she?” Henry shouted in my face, so close his nose almost touched mine. Before I could answer, he jerked me forward and slammed me against the wall again. My teeth snapped together on impact.

Dazed, I had to force myself to look at him.

“Henry.” I blinked away spots. “You know I wouldn’t hurt her. You know me. Trust me on this. Please,” I begged, locking eyes with his. “Grace is still alive. I know it. Mitch and Gabriella are working hard to clear me so I can get out there and find her, okay? I’ll find her. I promise you. I fucking promise you.”

Henry swallowed hard, the light slowly leaving his eyes as he sagged against me, his arms falling slack from their hold on my shirt. I knew then that he didn’t believe I’d hurt Grace. He was scared, just like we all were, and taking it out on me was easy.

With a shake of his head, Henry found my eyes. “Grace has cancer,” he said, his voice cracking and his knees suddenly buckling. I wrapped my arms around him as we sank to the floor.

I looked up at Mitch and nodded at the door. “Go,” I mouthed.

Without a word, he turned. Putting a hand on the small of Gabriella’s back, he pushed her out the door. The sounds of her protests were muffled when he closed it behind him.

My eyes burned as Henry cried, each sob from his chest making my own squeeze a little tighter. “I know, Henry,” I whispered thickly, my heart so damn heavy that nothing could pick it up off the floor.

“She kept it from all of us,” he told me, his voice hoarse as he pulled away. Wiping his eyes with the heel of his hands, he looked at me as we sat there together, huddled on the floor. “When did you find out?”

I tipped my head back against the wall, my eyes trained on the ceiling as I willed myself not to cry. “I found out last night. I picked up a phone call from John that was meant for Grace. He told me.”

I shut my eyes, her face coming to life behind closed lids as she straddled my lap on the bed.

“We need to talk.”

“Later.”

“It’s important.”

“Whatever’s going on in that pretty head of yours, as long as we have each other, it’ll work out, okay?”

“I think she was going to tell me before the party but I put her off.” I opened my eyes, shifting them in Henry’s direction without moving my head. “What about you?”

“When I rang John this morning. He and Dad are already on the next flight. I’ve tried getting hold of the twins. Someone in the naval office is tracking them down for me. Dad’s a mess,” he admitted, “but I suspect Grace would know that, which is why she didn’t tell us. Our family kind of imploded when we lost Mum. She’s scared of it happening again.” Henry’s eyes filled and he drew a deep, shaky breath. “I don’t want her to die, Casey. I can’t lose my little sister. I can’t.”