Finding Grace (31 page)

“Grace saved the Tierney heiress’s life the night I
met her.” Dagger threw the words at Joe like they were some kind of
vindication. Paul supposed they were. Underneath all of the pain
and rage was the voice of a little brother needing to prove himself
to his big brother.

Farley felt it too. “Yeah, and don’t forget Markham
and Hawks. I was there that day. Thorne’s not just a genius, she’s
also bona fide psychic.”

Joe’s laugh grated on Paul’s ears and silenced the
room. “You really had me there for a minute.”

But he stopped laughing when he realized he was the
only one. “Wait, you can’t honestly expect me to believe that…I
mean, I can imagine her sucking Jack and the rest of the boys in,
but you, Katherine? And you?” He motioned to Luke. “You’re some
kind of a cop, right? This Grace Thorne is smart all right, one
hell of a smooth operator, even by New York standards.”

“And you,” Paul heard his friend Luke say on a sigh,
“are one
very
slow learner.”

Paul sighed himself and leaned heavily against the
solid oak of his desk, as if to absorb its patience. The ultimate
responsibility of peacekeeping was still his job, not Luke’s, no
matter how he wished it were otherwise.

“While I may be in complete agreement with my
friend’s assessment—he’s a lieutenant with Seattle PD, by the way,
so once again, you’ve got the least important and most obvious part
of it right, Joe—I can understand your problem with the mumbo jumbo
aspect of her abilities. I’ve had a very hard time with it myself
and to be honest, things were a lot more simple around here before
Thorne—”

“Boring, is what he means,” Farley interjected far
too cheerfully.

Paul didn’t need the tic in his eye to remind him
how heavenly “boring” sounded right now. “Believe me, Joe, if
someone comes up with a rational explanation for any of it, I’d be
the first to embrace it. But she’s saved four lives and caught a
thief and a murderer in the three months she’s been here—including
the time Darmfelder had her and she was in a coma—using…some
combination of whatever you want to call her abilities.

“I gather, Joe, from your behavior today, that
you’re a gambling man. So what do you think the odds are that she
could get it right five different times, in completely different
circumstances when her only connection to any of them was
superficial?”

Joe was obviously trying to work something through,
and it wasn’t the odds ratio.

Then he blurted, “Well, at least that would explain
how she knew the exact words I used when I told Jack what I thought
of her.”

He tried to cover the slip he’d just made with a
cough, but it was too late.

The pregnant pause that followed his statement felt
more like a time bomb to Paul.

“You talked to her this morning? I
knew
it.
What did you say to her, Joe, goddamnit?” Dagger didn’t take his
eyes off his brother or bother to apologize to Katherine. Paul
chose to let it go while he worked on stilling that tic.

“I didn’t say much, Jack.” Joe was looking at his
hands on the table. “She knew what I thought of her. But come on,
she’s no angel—not with her mouth and that voice—no matter what you
guys think. You should have seen how she danced last night. Why
can’t you just find a nice girl, Jack? Someone more like Katherine
here?”

Paul could just not believe this guy.

Katherine stepped in again. “Oh, Joe, that is so
unfair—to both Grace and I.” She was bristling. Paul didn’t think
he’d ever seen anyone do it better, either. “I’ve had a wonderful
life, from a perfect childhood to a fairytale marriage.” She gifted
him with her charming smile before turning back to Joe. “Grace’s
life has been difficult. The way she talks sometimes is just a
defense mechanism, like pretending to be a boy. She’s protecting
herself. Something terrible happened to her, anyone can see that.
As for her dancing,” she sniffed, “Trent says she’s captivating,
and he would certainly know.”

“Oh yeah, she’s captivating all right. Just what
kind of business is this Trent in, anyway?”

That last barb might have pushed Paul over the edge,
if it hadn’t made him want to laugh.

Farley could hardly talk around the grin on his
face. “You obviously haven’t met Trent.” Then he had to go and push
his luck again by finishing with, “So where was this dancing and
why didn’t someone call me?”

“I’d like to get back to what my brother knows about
Grace leaving.” Dagger’s voice was hard as Paul had ever heard it.
“I am sick and tired of everyone withholding information from me.
What happened, Joe? If she changed her mind, she would have left
the ring. The only reason you’re not already in extreme physical
pain is because Farley is at the top of my list. Now, I want
whatever information you have or I’ll start with you.”

Farley’s grin wavered.

Dagger took a slow step toward his brother. He was
apparently done being distracted.

Joe must have finally picked up on how much trouble
he was in because the blood was draining out of his face fast. He
reached in his pocket and set the biggest diamond Paul had ever
seen on his desk.

“Holy cow, don’t ever let Sarah see that,” Luke said
in a whisper.

Farley said, “He just wanted to make sure no man
missed it. Nothing says ‘taken’ like five-plus carats. No wonder
she left it behind, though. It’d be hard to run with that thing
slowin’ her down.”

Paul looked at Katherine, hoping she didn’t like it
too much.

Katherine laughed softly, “Oh my, Jack. You weren’t
taking any chances she’d say no, were you?”

“That was the plan, Katherine. So what happened?”
Dagger took another step toward Joe, towering over him now, his
hands clenched into fists. “And why did you lie?”

It was Joe’s turn to let out a long breath. “She
told me to make up something so she’d have more time to get away.
It was a good story, or it would have been if she was who I thought
she was. I figured you’d believe she ripped you off and you’d be
mad, not crazy like this. I was going to give you the ring back.
You have to believe me.”

“Yeah, whatever.” Dagger’s arms were crossed now and
he was drumming the fingers of one hand on his bicep. “But why
would she run? There’s more, Joe, isn’t there? Why would she leave
without telling me? What the hell is she so afraid of? She was
happy last night. She wanted to marry me. I know I’m not
wrong.”

Farley coughed and said, “Maybe—”

Dagger’s twisted his head, the glare cutting Farley
off like a knife.

Joe shifted uncomfortably. “She showed me something,
Jack, something—”

“Dagger, do me a big favor, will you, and take
Katherine somewhere nice for that cup of coffee I lured her over
here with. Please?” Paul had a pretty good idea what Thorne had
shown Joe and he didn’t want Dagger to hear about it, not now and
not from Joe. And he sure as hell didn’t want Katherine to hear
it.

“What! You want me to just—”

“Paul, I really don’t think—”

Dagger’s careless shrug didn’t fool anyone. “Of
course not, Katherine, and who could blame you? Besides, everyone
in the place would think I had you at gunpoint or some other
duress.”

“Oh, Jack, I didn’t mean to imply—”

“Of course not. You’re too much of a lady. But I
don’t need a mirror to understand why people, especially
women…Hell, before Grace I’d mostly been paying…oh, shit. I’m
sorry.”

Katherine blushed a deep crimson and Dagger wiped
his hand over his face.

Paul wondered briefly if he’d become an artist
because right now, even through one good and one twitching eye, he
was getting a perfect picture of what things looked like when they
went to hell in a handbasket. He laid his last card down.

“Look, Dagger, I don’t know what kind of
relationship you have with Joe. As Katherine said earlier, I didn’t
even know you had a brother. But it’s clear there’s a serious
communication problem between you two. You want to go look for
Thorne and let me talk to him. Trust me on this.”

Dagger tilted his head and stared straight at him.
Paul felt that look to his bones. “Fine, but don’t think I don’t
know you’re both holding out on me. If I hadn’t already wasted so
much time…” He looked at this watch. “Too much time. She could be
anywhere by now, thanks to you, Joe.” He sighed. “You go ahead and
do whatever you want to him, Paul. But don’t let him leave. I’m not
done with him yet. Luke, can I get some assistance? Cover the
airports, train and bus stations?”

“You know I can’t do that, Dagger. Not if she left
of her own free will.”

“Farley?”

“Uh-uh, not me. What Lieutenant Rigby said. This is
between you and Thorne, even if I wasn’t pissed at you for scaring
her off.”

Dagger turned and walked out without another word.
They heard the big door slam and felt the old building shudder.

With forced brightness, Katherine said, “Well, I’m
going to call Trent, tell him the good news about William’s
murderer being behind bars and see if he has any idea where Grace
might have gone.”

Paul closed the door behind her and turned on Joe,
his voice low. “Thorne showed you her scars, didn’t she?”

Farley said, “Those? Mills told me about them. They
don’t sound so bad. It’s thinking how she got them that makes you
wanna break heads.”

“Not that bad? This Mills must have a stronger
stomach than I do,” Joe said, after making a face.

“That’s what I thought.” Paul sat down at his desk
and pulled up the files on his computer. He was so mad his hands
were shaking. He couldn’t recall that ever happening before.

Luke looked over his shoulder and said, “Um, Paul,
are you going to show him what I think you are? I don’t like him
much, either, but do you really think he deserves that?”

“If anyone in this room does, he does. It’s either
that or having Dagger pissed at me because there won’t be anything
left of his brother’s ass for him to kick. Farley, you should leave
now.”

“Well, how come Lieutenant Rigby has seen these
files and I haven’t?” Farley asked.

One of his best men also happened to be the nosiest
one alive.

Luke said, “I’m the one who sent them to him. And
I’m not sure he’s forgiven me yet.”

“Listen here, now—think of me what you want, but my
brother was right. He’s entitled to know everything there is to
know about this girl. It was one thing for me to hold out on him.
He doesn’t trust me and I can live with that. But you’re supposed
to be his friend, Paul.”

He sent up a quick prayer for just one more ounce of
patience. “I am, Joe. And if you care about him at all, you won’t
tell him what you read and see here. Farley, stay if you want to,
but don’t blame me for the nightmares.”

“You too?” asked Luke.

Paul nodded silently.

He gave Joe and Farley a few minutes to skim the
doctor’s reports.

Joe didn’t say anything, but Farley turned away.
“Enough already. Christ, Paul. So that’s what Darmfelder was up to
when he smoked that cigarette. Even bigger asshole than I thought.
We gotta come up with more shit for him. And if those animals
weren’t already dead…I gotta go, I dunno, break something.” He left
the room in a hurry.

Joe ran out a minute later asking where the bathroom
was. But he came back and finished reading the doctor’s reports.
Then he closed his eyes. “Farley said they’re dead? How?”

“Probably Thorne,” Paul said, watching him.

“So she’s a killer, too?” He shook his head. “Not
that I blame her, but does Jack know? She’s got to be as damaged on
the inside as she is on the outside. The experts did say she’d
never recover. I mean, what kind of person only has one chair in
her entire apartment, Paul, even if my closet is bigger than that
place?”

Paul hadn’t realized he’d even moved when he looked
over to see the chair upside down, Joe sprawled on the floor and
his knee on Joe’s throat. He wasn’t sure if it was for Thorne or
for Dagger or for himself, but this son of a bitch was going to see
the goddamn light if it was the last thing he saw in this life.

“Is that really what you’re taking from this, Joe?
You just don’t get it, do you? The entire team at Blackridge, every
one of whom has killed at least once, plus Luke and the Seattle PD
put together, don’t come close to Dagger’s count. He wasn’t a
sniper like I was either, Joe. He didn’t get to do it from a
hundred yards. He did it up close and personal.”

Joe was coughing, his voice a mere wheeze. “Are you
trying to tell me that my little brother was some kind of…?”

“What do you think he did for the ATF and NSA? Did
you really believe whole rings of arms dealers just disappeared off
the face of the earth, or in accidents like it said on the news? Do
you want to talk about damaged? What do you think it does to a man
when he spends months infiltrating, befriending, then betraying and
finally killing men by the dozens, over and over again? The stink
of that much of that kind of death doesn’t wash off, Joe. People
can smell it, even if they can’t identify it. Did you notice that
your brother can silence a room just by walking into it? It’s worse
when he walks in alone, which he usually is. Oh, and Joe? You know
what kind of a person only has one chair in their apartment? A
person who’s
always
been alone. At least Jack had you.”

Paul stood and watched Joe slowly sit up, still on
the floor.

“God.” Joe pulled his manicured lawyer’s hands to
his face, as though they could protect him from the truth. “I
didn’t know. I mean, I knew he worked for the ATF and then the NSA,
but…We haven’t really talked in years. Maybe we never did. I made a
lot of mistakes…I was young, too young, when I started looking
after him. I only knew what I’d learned from my old man—how to beat
on people smaller than me. I’ve tried to reach out now and then,
you know. Seeing him for the first time in almost fifteen
years…Well, I guess I was afraid to admit that he scares me—and not
just because he’s grown so damn huge—and…I tried to just keep
playing the old role of big brother.” He was talking fast, almost
sobbing.