The Presence of Grace (Love and Loss #2)(18)

Before he could say any more crazy words, I drew in a deep breath and took the one shot I wasn't even sure I had. I pulled my knee up as hard and fast as I could, and made contact right between his legs.

Drunken frat boy fell to the ground, groaning and clutching his crotch.

"Grace?" I turned to see Devon standing at the edge of the building, eyes bouncing between me and drunk guy on the ground.

"Devon?"

"Are you all right?" he asked, running over to me. "I went in the bar looking for you, but they said you were out back." He glanced down, watching as drunken frat boy rolled from side to side. "Did you do this?"

My mind was whirling around, ricocheting from the scary feeling of being held against my will to the relief of putting the man to the ground, then to the shock and surprise of seeing Devon.

"What's going on back here?" My eyes went to Randy, and even more relief flooded through me.

"This guy attacked me," I said on a sigh, pushing the hair from my forehead, then leaning back against the wall, suddenly feeling very weak.

Drunken frat boy groaned again from the ground, then said, "You bitch."

"All right, buddy, time to take a ride to the drunk tank." Randy came over to the guy, rolled him to his stomach, and then pressed his knee into his back, winning another grunt from him. Randy then whipped out his cell and I heard him giving our location to-I assumed-the 911 operator.

"You all right?" Devon asked, coming to stand right in front of me, his hands cupping the sides of my face. He was exactly where drunken frat boy had been just one minute earlier, but his presence didn't scare me. In fact, it soothed me. I leaned forward until my head rested against his chest and sighed as his hands slid around me, bringing me closer.   





 

"I'm okay," I said, shivering as I spoke the words. He pulled me even closer still, running his hands up and down my back. "I sure am glad you showed up when you did."

He let out a deep sigh, then said, "Looks like you laid him out all on your own."

"Yeah," I said, trying to fight the tears that were welling in my eyes. I was feeling so much, and it was all boiling over.

"Hey, you're all right. I'm right here." At his words, I pressed in closer. When I saw red and blue lights flashing around us, I looked up. Then I heard Randy's voice.

"Hey, lookie here, scumbag. Your ride showed up." The guy struggled beneath him, but it was useless. The two cops hopped out of their cars and took over wrangling the drunk guy. They got him cuffed and then put him in the back of the vehicle. One cop focused his attention on drunken frat boy, and the other came over to me, notepad open. Randy stood watch over me, which I appreciated, but Devon never left my side, his hand running smoothly up and down my back as I recounted to the officer what had happened.

"I'm not sure what he was planning on doing with me, if anything, but I just reacted on instinct and kneed him. He fell to the ground and then Randy and Devon showed up."

"He's lucky you got to him before I could," Devon said quietly.

"I reckon he is," the police officer replied, not looking up from his notepad.

"I'm actually kind of sad I didn't get a go at him," Randy added, eliciting a laugh from the cop.

"So, here's the deal. We'll take him to the station and book him, let him dry out. It's up to you if you want to press charges. At the very least you should get a restraining order, just to keep him from coming back here and bothering you. But the decision is yours. Since all we have is him physically assaulting you, that's all the charge would be, even though we're not sure what he was planning."

"Do I have to decide now?"

"No, ma'am. You've got two years to press charges, but the longer you wait, the less likely the charges are to stick. If you want him charged, I wouldn't wait more than forty-eight hours."

"Okay."

He flipped his notepad closed, but pulled a card out of a pocket in the front cover and handed it to me. "If you have any more information, feel free to call or e-mail me. He'll be locked up for at least twenty-four hours."

"Thank you," I said, gingerly taking the card, then looked down at my body, realizing I had nowhere to put it. Devon slowly reached out and took the card from me, putting it in his wallet.

"You go on home, Grace. If you need tomorrow off, just give us a call," Randy said softly, the smoothest I've ever heard his voice. "Take all the time you need."

I nodded and tried to speak, but my words were breathy and had no sound. I was balancing on the edge of a breakdown, so I just kept nodding.

"Let's go, baby," Devon said, wrapping an arm around my shoulders, guiding me toward the front of the building where the parking lot was located.

"I need my purse," I said suddenly, remembering it was still in my locker in the break room.

"I got it, Grace," Randy said, disappearing into the bar.

I followed along with Devon, stopping when he came to the passenger side of his SUV. He opened the door and I climbed in without words or arguments. Randy brought him my purse and Devon climbed in, started the engine, and pulled out of the parking lot. I leaned my head against the window, watching the street lights pass by, and didn't realize he'd driven me home until he parked the car.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked, turning the car off.

"Yeah," I said, even though I wasn't sure. "Thank you for the ride," I said as I unbuckled my seat belt.

"You're welcome, but I'm not just dropping you off."

"What do you mean?"

"You don't really think I'm going to let you stay alone in your apartment the night some guy attacks you, do you?"

"You're …  staying?"

"Do you want me to go?"

It took me a moment, but I slowly shook my head. "No, I don't."

With that, he opened his door and came around to open mine. "Keys?" he said, holding his hand out. I dug them out of my purse and handed them over. He took them, then reached his other hand out to me and I took it. He led me to my door, opened it, then let me go in first. I took a few steps in and toed off my shoes, a little unsure of what came next. I didn't want to be alone, necessarily, but Devon was the last person I'd expected to see that night.   





 

"What can I do for you?" he asked gently, coming up right behind me, running his hands down my bare arms. His soft touch smoothed over the same spot that was now tender from the strong grip of drunken frat boy, and I pulled away before I could think not to. "Do you want to take a bath? Watch a movie? Read a book? What do you want?"

I took a few more steps inside, placing my jacket over one of my dining room chairs. I took in a deep breath, then let it out, my mind empty and racing all at the same time. The only thing I could think of was turning off my brain. "I just want to go to sleep."

Devon held my gaze for a few moments, then stepped toward me, closing the distance. One hand came to the back of my head and pulled me in as he pressed his lips to my forehead.

"I'll be here if you need me." He said the words against my hair and I could almost feel them burrowing into my heart, making their place permanent there.

I twisted my fingers in the cloth of his T-shirt, holding him as close to me as possible. "Will you do me a favor?" I asked, too embarrassed by my request to look him in the eye.

"Anything," he said earnestly.

"Come to bed with me." I felt his breathing halt at my words, the rhythmic movements of his chest stopping, then starting up again. He pulled back and I let him go, expecting him to make some excuse to leave, but all he did was slip his shoes off, leaving them next to mine. He took my hand and led me back to my bedroom. He didn't bother turning on the light, just walked to my bed and crawled in. He scooted all the way over to the other side, then held the blankets up in invitation.

I didn't even think twice about it.

I climbed into the bed, lined my body up with his as he tucked the blankets around us, and sighed as I felt myself relaxing against him. His hand came up to stroke my hair, and his lips touched the side of my head.

"Sleep now," he whispered.

So I did.





Chapter Twelve

Devon



I woke up before the sun streamed into the window and I selfishly took the opportunity to watch Grace sleep. She was beautiful, but she was troubled. Every few minutes the soft skin between her eyebrows would bunch up and I knew she was dreaming. I could only hope she wouldn't remember the dreams when she woke up.

Eventually I slid out from under her, successfully trying not to wake her, and slipped into the bathroom.

When I walked back into the bedroom, I was shocked by her beauty. I shouldn't have been; I knew how beautiful she was. But I'd never seen her so beautiful or vulnerable before. She was still asleep, on her stomach, her arms wrapped around the pillow beneath her head. Her hair was everywhere and her face was relaxed, the worry lines gone.

The image of her the night before, her body pressed up against a brick wall, fear in her wide eyes, flashed in my mind. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what had happened, and all I'd wanted to do when I saw him on the ground was beat the shit out of him. The only thing that stopped me was the look on Grace's face-a look that said she'd had enough, that said she needed someone to support her in that moment, not avenge her. My need to comfort her took over, but I knew if I ever saw him again, he'd need an ambulance to take him away when I was through.