Saviour Boy (The All American Boy Series) Read online

  The first was my boss letting me know of a meeting first thing this morning that I had forgotten about. Good thing I was going in early. Second was my brother reminding me to listen to Grant. I rolled my eyes and skipped the rest of his lecture. The third and fourth message started playing and chills ran down my spine. I reached over slowly and placed my hand on Grant’s forearm, gripping him to get his attention.

  “Becca, what is it?”

  “It’s...” I swallowed hard. “It’s Jace. He...he left messages.”

  “Give it to me,” Grant said, pulling over and taking my phone from me.

  He sat there listening, while I sat there shaking. Jace’s voice sounded crazed. In his second message, he threatened me because he knew that a man had spent the night with me. Which told me he was outside of my apartment all night, or he had some way to see.

  When Grant had finished listening to the messages, he replayed them, listening to them again. Then he looked over at me and realized that I wasn’t okay.

  When I looked over his way, I could feel my bottom lip trembling. Grant typed something into my phone and then cleared the message from my phone and hung it up, holding it out for me to take.

  “It’s okay, Becca. It was only a message.”

  “Ha, easy for you to say. Did you hear him? He sounded crazy, Grant.”

  “Yes, exactly, and this is why I put those rules in place. Please, just do whatever I tell you okay?”

  I sat there looking straight ahead and then turned to meet Grant’s eyes. “Okay, I promise.” I felt his hand on mine, and then he interwove his fingers with mine, giving my hand a gentle squeeze.

  “It’s going to be okay, I promise you. I will not let him hurt you.”

  “I know,” I muttered, still not sure how safe I really felt.

  Grant wasted no more time. He pulled out onto the road and continued on his way, while I slid my phone back into my purse.

  We finally pulled up out front of the resort. I knew he was waiting for me to get out, but I couldn’t move. I felt literally tied to the front seat.

  “Becca? We are here.”

  “I know. It’s just, what if he is in my—”

  “Then you leave immediately and call security.”

  Grant glanced at his watch. “Becca, I am going to be late.” If there was one thing I knew about Grant, he hated being late.

  “What are you going to do today?”

  “I have a little digging I want to do. I want to find out as much as I can about Jace. So, if you need me, I will be available by phone. Otherwise, I will pick you up at what... four?” he said, glancing at his watch again.

  “Okay, yes, four.” I could barely comprehend what he was saying, I was so scared. I knew I didn’t finish work until five, but at this moment, I didn’t want to go in at all and just agreed with whatever it was he said.

  “All right, I will see you then.”

  I opened the car door first, looking in the mirror to make sure no one was around, and then grabbed my bag and ran to the front of the building. I didn’t bother to look back to see if Grant was sitting there waiting until he knew I was inside or if he had already pulled away. It was going to be a long day, and I couldn’t wait until I was back home in my apartment.

  Grant

  I drove to the closest coffee shop after dropping Becca off. I pulled into the drive thru, placed my order, and now I sat here waiting. I dialed into my voicemail and listened once again to the messages I had forwarded from Becca’s phone. I hoped that maybe I could hear something in the background, but there was nothing but a crazed Jace on the other end. I hung up the phone and leaned back into my seat, inching my car up to the window.

  “Sir, your coffee and bagel.”

  I smiled. Perfect timing, I thought to myself as I reached out and took the cup and bag from her. Once everything was situated, I pulled through and headed to the office.

  It had taken me a half hour to hand out the assignments. I sat in my office debating what my next move was going to be. I once again dialed into my voice mail and listened to the messages again.

  Irritated, I blew out a breath. Becca had said he worked at The Wine Cellar as a bartender. I figured perhaps I’d have lunch there, that way I could scope him out. See exactly what this guy was like.

  The Wine Cellar was a busy place. I pulled into the parking lot and looked for a place to park. After finding one, I went inside and was directed to the bar. I had just placed my order when one bartender asked for my drink order.

  “I’ll just take a soda please.”

  “Sure thing,” she said, winking at me.

  I rolled my eyes as she walked away and checked my messages.

  “Here you are,” she said, setting the glass down in front of me. “You new to these parts?” She crossed her arms and leaned onto the bar.

  “Nope, grew up here.”

  “Oh, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you before.”

  I said nothing regarding that. I wasn’t here to make small talk or to have some chick hit on me. “Actually, I was wondering, is Jace in today. I’m an old friend and thought I’d stop in and see him.”

  A funny look came over her face, and she held up her finger at me, signaling for me to hold on. I thought perhaps someone was asking for a drink, but as I watched her, she walked over and whispered something to another staff member, then they both turned and looked my way.

  A couple of minutes later, she disappeared and the woman she had told approached me. “Can I help you with something?” she asked.

  “Yeah, I am an old friend of Jace, and I thought I’d come by and see him. I was wondering if he was working today?”

  “I’m sorry, but Jace no longer works here.”

  “Oh. That’s odd. I was just speaking to him the other day.”

  “Jace was fired a week ago.”

  “Oh.” I frowned. “He was the one who told me to stop by. Mind me asking you what happened?”

  “I shouldn’t tell you, but you look trustworthy enough. He’d come into work fine, but as his shift went on, he appeared to get highly agitated. He’d be on the phone, sneaking away to make calls while working the bar, and leave in the middle of his shifts. I can’t have that. As you can see the place is packed.”

  I nodded in understanding. “I’m sorry if I upset the young lady,” I said.

  “It’s all right. She will be fine. Most of the female staff here were the ones who reported him. He didn’t take to kindly to any of them. He was terrible at managing his anger as well. Some of them felt his wrath.”

  It was then that the young lady returned with my burger and fries, setting the plate down in front of me. “Thank you,” I mumbled.

  “Well, enjoy your lunch.”

  Both women walked away to leave me in peace while I at;, only I wasn’t in peace. The thought of this lunatic now running around gave me new cause to worry. At least before, if I knew he was here, we knew where he was. Now I didn’t have a damn clue.

  The second I finished eating, I paid my bill and headed out to my car. I started the engine and sat there with my hands on the wheel. The next stop would be his apartment over on Champagne Trail.

  I looked around at the buildings as I pulled into the rundown area. I drove halfway down the road and parked the car out front of the address Becca had given me. I glanced up and saw a “for rent” sign on one of the front windows. Perfect, I thought to myself as I cut the engine. I now had an excuse why I was here, I thought as I climbed out of my truck and walked towards the front of the building where two men sat out front. They both eyed me as I approached the front of the building. It was no secret I didn’t belong here, but I needed to play it up.

  “Hey, friend, how can we help you?” one guy who sat on the steps asked as he stood up.

  “I’m here to see about the apartment for rent.”

  “For that, you’d need Jimmy.” The other one shrugged.

  “Is Jimmy here?”

  “Nope, he’s never around
‘cept to collect the monthly rent.”

  “I see.”

  “It’s a nice place, though. The one that’s for rent. We can’t believe the guy who had it gave it up. Two bedrooms for only fifty dollars more than what I pay a month.”

  I nodded, half listening to what they were saying.

  “Maybe we should see if we can swap it,” the other said.

  “Still can’t believe that dumbass Jace would just walk away from the place. Although he wasn’t very bright.”

  I turned my head abruptly towards them. “What did you say?”

  “Meh, the guy who had it before just up and gave notice. Pissed Jimmy right off. Rumor has it he decided a day before the rent was due that he would give his thirty days. He stiffed him.”

  Becca had gotten tied up with a real winner, I thought to myself as I turned to head back towards my car.

  “Should we tell Jimmy that you were here?”

  “Nah, I’ll call and book an appointment,” I called out behind me.

  “Good luck with that,” they both yelled out in unison as I climbed into the front seat of my car.

  I started the engine. Jace no longer had a job or a place to live. This was a worse situation than I originally thought. He was a total wild card and could be anywhere.

  I pulled away from the curb and headed over to the Moscato Resort and Spa. On my way, I stopped and grabbed a coffee, and once in the parking lot, I cut the engine, sat back, and took a sip. I glanced at the clock. I was a little over an hour early to pick her up. I took another sip of my coffee and closed my eyes, putting out of my mind all the information I had found out and began thinking about last night. I’d fucked up my chances of anything with her, all because I had panicked at my body’s rapid response to her.

  It had been a while since I’d been with a woman, but last night had felt different from the last time. Over the years, I’d gotten to know Becca pretty well in the letters we’d exchanged. She had kept my mind occupied on the many lonely nights I’d spent overseas, and I really thought little of it at the time, but I had spent so many nights thinking about what she was doing on the other side of the world. I knew that now wasn’t really the time for me to let my guard down when it came to her either; that would only distract me from what I was doing, and that was protecting her.

  Yet, as I sat here, I could feel my cock stirring behind my zipper as I thought about that kiss. The way her soft lips felt against mine, the way she nipped my bottom lip between hers. When she’d straddled my lap and I felt the heat between her legs against me...I jumped at the sound of my phone ringing.

  I pulled my cell phone from the holder and saw Chris’s number displayed across the screen.

  “Hey, man, how is it going? All okay?” he asked.

  “Well, it would be if I knew where this fucker was,” I barked into the phone.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, last night I started asking Becca about him. She divulged where they met and his address, so today I did a little detective work.”

  “And?”

  “Well, interestingly enough, he no longer works at The Wine Cellar. They fired him about a week ago. Apparently, he would grow agitated during shifts, sneaking off to make calls, and he would just disappear mid-shift. So once I discovered that, I paid a visit to his residence. You know, I just wanted to get a good look at this guy, know what I was up against.”

  “What did you find out?”

  “His place is for rent.”

  “How did you find that out?”

  “Ah, it was easy. Two guys who were out front of the apartment just sang like jaybirds. I didn’t even need to ask them questions. They volunteered everything.”

  Chris let out a laugh. “Fuck, I love guys like that. Makes everything so much easier when you don’t have to work for the information.”

  “Sure does. I didn’t even need to think.”

  “Okay, so what is the plan?”

  “Well, I’m working on that now. I’m waiting outside of Becca’s work. I’ll stop by the shop afterward with her to close up, then we will head back to her place and I will work it all out.”

  “Okay, well, keep me posted. I should be home tomorrow night at some point.”

  “Sounds good.”

  I hung up and sat back and thought hard about what to do next. I needed to find this guy, so I could at least have a location on him. I’d also need to tell Becca that I had no clue where he was. I wasn’t looking forward to that conversation. I’d seen the look in her eyes this morning as she listened to the messages he had left. I’d also wanted to be the one who held her and assured her it would be okay. Worst was I knew that this guy was a ticking time bomb, and it would only be a matter of time before he exploded.

  Becca

  Grant had suggested dinner at The Vineyard Bar and Grill after he closed up the shop. We now sat across from one another studying the menu. The server approached the table and set a glass of white wine in front of me and an ice-cold beer in front of Grant.

  “Are you ready to order yet?” she asked, pulling a pad of paper and pen from her apron pocket.

  I glanced over at Grant, who still had his face in the menu and was clearly ignoring the fact that the woman had even spoken.

  I looked up and smiled. “I’m sorry, but could we have a couple more minutes, please?”

  The server was clearly annoyed and shoved the paper and pen back in her apron pocket, turned, and walked away.

  I closed my menu and laid it in front of me. Then I looked over to Grant, who appeared to be on edge.

  “Is everything okay?”

  “Sorry, everything just looks good, and I am starving, which is making it hard to choose,” he said, not lifting his eyes from the menu.

  “It’s okay.”

  I picked up my glass of wine and took a long sip, then pulled my phone from my pocket, clearing any emails I had already dealt with. I kept looking up at Grant, who sat there with his brow furrowed, still apparently debating on what he wanted for dinner. I knew that there was something else on Grant’s mind other than hunger. He had been quiet the entire way to the shop and all the way to the restaurant. I didn’t know if it had something to do with what had happened between us last night or if he had found something out today about Jace. Regardless, I planned to find out what it was.

  After another few long minutes, he closed the menu with force and set it down on the table, picking up his beer and taking a swig, directing his attention to the hockey game that was playing on the screen behind the bar, once again ignoring me.

  “Did you decide?”

  “Yep, think I’ll have the chicken.”

  “You think?” I let out a laugh. “You’ve been studying that menu for almost twenty minutes.”

  He shrugged. “Still undecided. Between that and the burger.”

  I nodded and took a sip of my wine. The server had come back, and once our order had gone in and they had delivered another round of drinks, I sat there looking out the window as Grant continued to watch the game. He had barely looked at me since he had picked me up.

  A few more sips of wine mixed with an empty stomach, and I suddenly had an insurmountable amount of courage. I put my glass down, crossed my arms in front of me, leaned forward and looked directly at him.

  “It’s last night, isn’t it?” I choked out.

  “Huh? What? What’s last night?”

  “Grant, please stop. You’ve barely looked in my direction, and you haven’t said much more than two words to me since you picked me up.”

  He blew out a breath. “Becca, I have said more than two words to you.”

  “Barely, and I could cut the tension between us with this butter knife,” I said, holding up the knife at the side of my plate. “What is wrong? Are you mad about what happened last night?”

  “Mad?”

  “Yes, mad. Mad that we kissed, because I don’t think I have ever had a man run out of my room that fast before in my life. I thought...”<
br />
  “You thought what?”

  “I thought that... Never mind, it’s stupid.” I decided to shut my mouth. After all, it was the alcohol talking, and I knew it. I turned my attention to a table full of kids across from us. Grant was silent for what felt like an eternity. Perhaps I had divulged too much to him when I had told him I had dreamt of him holding me the way he was. Perhaps I had bared too much of myself in that moment, and it had freaked him out to know I had thought of him that way. We had exchanged a few letters, and so what if I knew some of his deepest darkest thoughts and secrets and he knew mine? It still meant nothing. I swallowed hard, waiting for him to speak.

  “Look, it wasn’t you okay? It was me.”

  I rolled my eyes, but I felt the anger boiling inside of me. “Please spare me.” I picked up my glass and downed the remainder of the wine, looking around for the server.

  “I...”

  I held my hand up to stop Grant from saying any more.

  “Just save the old ‘it isn’t you, it’s me’ routine. I’ve heard this before, believe me. You know, over the years, all those letters, perhaps I let my guard down when I admitted to you I dreamt of you holding me...I feel as if I made a fool of myself.”

  He picked up his beer, taking another swig, a cocky smile on his face.

  “Perhaps you think that is what is bothering me, when really, it appears to be bothering you much more. I was being serious, Becca. It wasn’t you.”

  “Then what was it?”

  I was ready for some half-assed excuse and I sat there quite sure of myself that he was going to be just like the other men who had given me the ‘it isn’t you, it’s me’ speech.

  “What was it?” Grant chuckled in the same manner he always had when he was put on the spot in an uncomfortable situation with his friends. “Perhaps, Becca, I didn’t want to take advantage of a situation where you were feeling vulnerable in the moment. Did you ever think of that?”

  Grant’s words had stopped me in my tracks, and I sat there stunned for a moment. He didn’t want to take advantage of a situation where I was feeling vulnerable?