Chapter 2 - The Billionaire Who Wouldn’t Let Her Go Home
Grace lasted three hours.
That was how long she managed to pretend she wasn't completely overwhelmed by Adrian Vale's world.
She was given a bedroom larger than her apartment.
Someone brought her clothes because hers had been torn during the rescue.
Someone else brought food.
A third person asked what kind of coffee she liked.
Grace answered automatically.
“Whatever is cheapest.”
The woman staring at her looked confused.
“We don't have a price category for coffee.”
Grace sighed.
“Black.”
By noon she had discovered that the Vale estate operated less like a home and more like a small government.
Security personnel moved quietly through corridors.
Doctors came and went.
Daniel Cross appeared every hour.
And Adrian seemed to be everywhere.
Yet Grace rarely saw him directly.
He watched.
That was somehow worse.
At two in the afternoon, she finally found him in a study.
He was reading a thick file.
Grace stood in the doorway.
“You've been avoiding me.”
Adrian looked up.
“I've been working.”
“Same thing.”
His mouth almost curved.
“Did you sleep?”
“A little.”
“Eat?”
“Yes.”
“Pain?”
“My hand is fine.”
He nodded.
Grace stepped inside.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Anything.”
“Why do you have armed men guarding the kitchen?”
He looked genuinely confused.
“Because the kitchen has windows.”
“That's ridiculous.”
“It has been useful.”
“For what?”
“We once had someone hide a surveillance device inside a fruit basket.”
Grace blinked.
“What?”
“Chicago is creative.”
She laughed.
Adrian looked at her for several seconds.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“No.”
“You laugh differently when you're relaxed.”
Grace's smile disappeared.
“You're studying me.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I want to understand why you ran into a burning car for a stranger.”
“Because you were trapped.”
“People saw a burning vehicle last night.”
“And?”
“Most drove away.”
Grace shrugged.
“Maybe most people aren't me.”
Adrian leaned back.
“No.”
He closed the file.
“That is becoming very clear.”
She noticed the tiredness in his face.
“You need rest.”
“I’m fine.”
“You nearly died.”
“So did you.”
“I wasn't inside the SUV.”
He looked at her cut hand.
“Exactly.”
There was something in his expression she couldn't identify.
Concern, perhaps.
Possessiveness.
She didn't know.
Adrian stood.
“We need to discuss your job.”
Grace's shoulders stiffened.
“My job?”
“The hotel knows about the incident.”
“Why?”
“Because my people asked them not to let you return tonight.”
Grace stared.
“You had no right.”
“You'll have a security detail.”
“I don't need one.”
“You do.”
“I've walked alone for years.”
“That's not an argument.”
“It is to me.”
Adrian approached.
“You think I'm protecting you because I believe you're helpless.”
Grace frowned.
“No.”
“Then what?”
“Because I think I'm inconvenient.”
He stared at her.
“That isn't how I see you.”
“How do you see me?”
The question came out before she could stop it.
Silence filled the room.
Adrian looked at her as though the answer mattered.
“As the woman who walked into traffic while everyone else ran away.”
Grace swallowed.
“I was scared.”
“I know.”
“You couldn't tell.”
“I could.”
“How?”
“Your hands were shaking.”
She looked down.
“I couldn't let you burn.”
Adrian's voice softened.
“Why?”
Grace looked up.
“Because somebody should have come.”
He understood.
Something in her history was hidden behind those words.
“What happened to you?”
Grace's jaw tightened.
“Nothing.”
“That's another lie.”
She turned toward the door.
“My private life isn't your business.”
He let her go.
That night Grace couldn't sleep.
She looked out the window.
Snow fell over the grounds.
The mansion was quiet.
She was about to close the curtains when she saw Adrian downstairs.
Alone.
He stood beside the stone fireplace.
He looked tired.
Not frightening.
Just lonely.
Grace hesitated.
Then went downstairs.
Adrian glanced up.
“You should be asleep.”
“So should you.”
He smiled faintly.
“You're becoming predictable.”
“So are you.”
“What am I doing?”
“Pretending you don't hurt.”
His smile disappeared.
Grace immediately regretted saying it.
“I’m sorry.”
“No.”
He looked at her.
“Don't apologize for noticing.”
They sat in silence.
Eventually Grace asked, “Do you ever get tired of people being afraid of you?”
“Yes.”
“Then why stay this way?”
“Because fear keeps certain people alive.”
“Does it keep you alive?”
“No.”
The honesty surprised her.
Adrian stared into the fire.
“My mother died when I was twenty.”
Grace listened.
“My father turned me into something he thought would survive.”
“What happened to him?”
“Someone killed him.”
“And you?”
“I inherited everything.”
“Money?”
“Money.”
“Businesses?”
“Yes.”
“Problems?”
He looked at her.
“Most of all.”
Grace smiled.
“That sounds exhausting.”
“It is.”
She leaned back.
“You don't have to tell me anything.”
“I know.”
He looked at her.
“That is exactly why I'm telling you.”
Something warm moved through her chest.
For the first time, Grace saw Adrian Vale without the armor.
He wasn't a monster.
He was a man who had spent too long pretending he didn't need anyone.
The moment frightened her.
Because she recognized the feeling.
Being understood.
At midnight, Grace returned to her room.
The phone on the bedside table rang.
Unknown number.
She answered.
A distorted male voice whispered,
“You should never have pulled him out.”
The call ended.
Grace froze.
Then her bedroom door opened.
Adrian appeared.
“What happened?”
She looked at him.
“I think they found me.”
He crossed the room.
“Give me the phone.”
She did.
He listened to the silence.
Then his expression changed.
“Daniel.”
Daniel appeared almost immediately.
Adrian handed him the phone.
“Trace it.”
Daniel nodded.
Adrian turned to Grace.
“You're staying with me tonight.”
Grace stared.
“What?”
“There will be more security outside this room.”
“That isn't what you said.”
He realized his wording.
“You'll have the room next door.”
Grace almost smiled.
“I thought so.”
But then Adrian looked at her with something almost tender.
“You aren't sleeping alone after receiving a death threat.”
Grace's heart stumbled.
She didn't know what scared her more.
May you like
The men hunting her.
Or the fact that being near Adrian suddenly felt like the safest place in the world.
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