Shattered Grace

The point of a sharp object was hammering into Grace’s head. Moving her head slowly back and forth, she tried to get away from it. “Stop.” Her throat felt like it was full of sand, scratchy. She licked her lips. They were desert dry too.

“Grace?” a pained voice whispered. “Jesus, you’re alive.” The voice was familiar, but her thoughts were fuzzy. Whoever it was wasn’t okay. She couldn’t open her eyes to see who said her name. She fought hard against the darkness that still had a hold of her, but her eyes wouldn’t open.

Close sounds of trickling water worried her. Slowly the memories came flooding back, and she realized she wasn’t dead, and the person talking was probably Zeke, but it didn’t sound like him. Carefully, Grace rolled on her side, and her hand scraped along a hard, cold surface. Bracing both hands beneath her, she attempted to get up, but clanking metal echoed. Her hands were chained.

Rapidly she blinked, knowing she had to stay calm in order to figure out where they were. Her eyes still too heavy, and her sight was too blurry to focus. There was light, but not a lot, and not from a light bulb. The ground was cold, hard, and uneven like rock. Across from her was the outline of a curled-up body. “Zeke?”

“I’m sorry,” the voice cracked. It was Zeke, but he was hurt.

She pulled desperately from her thoughts for something she could say to reassure him, but came up empty. “Don’t talk. I’m going to get us out of here.” Her sight slowly cleared. She was chained to a rock wall, but Zeke wasn’t. The slow trickles of water she heard ran down the rock wall behind him.

“This is my fault,” Zeke croaked. Grace could hear the pain in his voice. His breathing was labored, and his arm cradled his middle.

“No, it’s my fault, but don’t worry.” Grace looked around and realized they were in a cave. Grace tried to get to him by pulling away from the wall, but could only move a couple of feet. Not enough to reach Zeke, or to feel around for something to help get the shackles off.

“I couldn’t protect you.” Zeke coughed, as his breath whistled in and out.

Grace quit breathing. She couldn’t let him believe this was his fault. Zeke sucked in a sharp breath when he tried to turn to her. He couldn’t move. “I tried fighting them off you, Grace.”

Her mind flashed back to the sounds in the car. “I know. Please stop talking,” Grace said, pleading with him. Hearing the noises come up his throat rendered her as immobile as the shackles.

“When they dumped you on the ground—” He coughed again, his clothing scratched against the rock beneath him as he heaved.

“Zeke.”

“They will pay for hurting you, I can promise—”

His coughing fit continued, only this time it was wet. It gurgled in the back of his throat, like he was trying to breathe underwater. The sound scared the hell out of Grace. She didn’t know what to do, or how to get out. “It’s gonna be okay,” she tried saying reassuringly. She needed to get them out of there before the Fallen came back.

“I’m so sorry.” His breath hissed and bubbled between each word he spoke. She wasn’t sure what a punctured lung sounded like, but she hoped and prayed the sound coming from him wasn’t from that.

“I know, Zeke. We’re going to get out of here.” Frantically, she looked around for a way out.

“They won’t let us leave, they’re monsters.” He didn’t sound afraid. He hurt, that was obvious; he sounded hopeless.

Grace didn’t speak any more. She didn’t want Zeke to exhaust himself further. She was comforted when his breathing evened out. For the time being, his mind was elsewhere.

The sides of her hands were raw from trying to pull free from the shackles. With one foot braced against the wall and the other on the ground, she pulled as hard as she could. It was no use. Despite her Chosen blood, she wasn’t strong enough to break the chains from the wall. She gave up, and let her arms fall to her sides. Her tired body shivered from the cold. Feeling hopeless now herself, Grace slipped to the ground, and held her face in her hands.

Long strides of movement sounded from the darkness. Someone was coming. She snapped her head up, and waited. Two glowing eyes appeared, hovering in the distance. The owner of the red orbs materialized out of the darkness as he drew closer. It was the guy from the parking lot yesterday, the one who was in the very front. “You’re finally awake.” He smiled. It was anything but friendly.

“What do you want?” Hundreds of years of Chosen ancestry reverberated strong in her voice. She steadied herself on the ground.

“Little girl, don’t play stupid. You know what I want.” Although he spoke softly, menace lurked behind his words. Hope flickered back to life within her at his demand. They were still looking for something, which meant Pandora was safe.

A stirring moved deep within her—a joining of mind, body, and soul as she found her center, her purpose. She no longer felt fear, in fact felt incredibly strong as every fiber in her being readied, calculating an attack. Quentin had trained her for this very moment. The just-in-case time he wasn’t around. Grace kept her eyes on the Fallen, studying how he moved, as she played for time. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The chuckle that spilled from his lips should have frightened her, but it didn’t. “Tell you what, Grace. This is how we’re going to play. I’m going to use Zeke to get what I want from you, and I’m going to use you to get what I want from Quentin.”

She didn’t like being threatened, but glancing at Zeke almost made her resolve waver. No matter what, Grace couldn’t give the Fallen what they wanted. She lowered her gaze. “Like I said, I have no clue what you’re talking about.”

The Fallen kept his eyes trained on Grace while he walked backward. Disgust moved across his features when he glanced down at Zeke’s sleeping form. “Maybe Zeke wants to play?” When he kicked Zeke in the back, he barely groaned. Zeke was in trouble.

Fear gripped Grace. “Stop! Please.”

“Please what?” He lifted his foot again.

Grace threw her hand out, motioning for him to stop. “I’ll give you what you want, just don’t hurt him anymore.”

He put his foot down, and smiled. “Good girl.”

But all she was doing was stalling for more time. Zeke still slept, she hoped. The Fallen sneered, then looked back down to Zeke, raising his foot. “No,” Grace screamed, pulling away from the wall, hands reaching for Zeke.

A sudden explosion shook the earth beneath them, almost knocking the Fallen off his feet. He jerked his head toward the darkness behind him, and swore under his breath. His red eyes cut back to Grace, making her insides melt with fear, but she wouldn’t cower. She steeled her expression, and waited for him to attack. The yelling and commotion started as soon as the earth stopped shaking. Grace braced herself on the floor, trying to see a rise and fall in an unmoving Zeke. She thought she saw some movement, but wasn’t sure.

Sounds of fighting ricocheted off the walls. Grace strained against the chains, trying to find a voice she recognized. Hope swelled in her chest, imagining it was Quentin despite not hearing him. The Fallen looked from Zeke to Grace, and swore again before retreating into the darkness. The Fallen was gone for not even five seconds before the sounds of grunts and bodies hitting rock split through the silence of the cavern. Feet hitting the ground seconds later had Grace’s heart racing. Her attention went from the darkness to Zeke and back to the dark. She prepared herself to defend them both against whatever was coming, because she wasn’t going to let Zeke die.

Coiled tightly, she crouched over the ground in a defensive pose. She saw a flash of color in the darkness—red?—and was surprised when the red became distinguishable as a flurry of flaming red hair she quickly recognized. You’ve got to be kidding me, was all she could think. A moment later, Lux grabbed hold of the chains against the wall and yanked. They snapped away as easily as thread. Grace gawked at the chains lying in a heap on the ground, and dragged a disbelieving gaze to her improbable rescuer. “What are you?”

Lux came to a halt, thrusting her hip out and resting her hand on it. “Really? I’m here to get you outta here. Does it really matter?”

Put like that, Grace couldn’t agree more. “No, I guess not.” Grace watched as Lux carefully picked Zeke up as if he weighed no more than a child. Holding him against her body, she turned to Grace. “You moving in or coming with me?”

Still shocked Lux was her unlikely savior, she stuttered, “N-no. I don’t know the way.” Even though she was weighed down with Zeke, Lux easily ran past Grace.

“Come on.” She definitely sounded like Lux. Grace wouldn’t hold it against her today.

Lux stayed close to the darkest part of the shadows, and Grace mimicked her moves as she followed close behind her. Fighting still ensued in the cave, the whoosh of movement stirred strands of Grace’s hair. Lux quit moving, and Grace could see a red glow in her profile. She couldn’t tell if it was coming from Lux’s eyes, or from a Fallen in front of her. Slowly, she knelt and carefully laid Zeke on the ground. From over her shoulder, she whispered, “If I don’t come back, you have to find a way out.”

Grace’s lips didn’t move. She was screaming in her head for them both to run, but she couldn’t make her lips work as Lux whispered at her harshly, “Grace! You’re Chosen, for Christ’s sake, grow a pair.” Lux was right. Grace nodded.

Kneeling in front of Zeke, she put a hand on his chest. A heartbeat. She let out a quiet breath. Grace knew she was faster than regular humans, but wasn’t sure if she were stronger. Carefully, she placed her hands under Zeke, and attempted to lift him. Suddenly, she felt a strong yank and was flying backward, landing hard on her back, the sting of rock scraping against her skin made her wince. It felt like her arms were almost pulled from their sockets, and her wrists were on fire.

Someone pulled on the chains again, yanking her further back. Flipping around on her knees, all she could see was the glowing red eyes of the Fallen. But it was enough. Grace ran as fast as she could, climbing up his chest and swinging her legs around the back of his neck, then sat on his shoulders. Before she could think about what she was doing, she whipped the chains of her shackles around his neck like she was roping a calf.

He slammed them backward against the rocks, trying to knock her off. Sharp points cut into her back, warm trickles of blood ran down her shoulder blades. She twisted the chains harder. Muscle popped and bones cracked until he buckled beneath her, and they crashed to the floor. Quickly, she scrambled along the ground, trying to distance herself from her attacker, and hoped she was moving in the right direction to Zeke.

“Grace!” Quentin’s voice yelling her name spiked her emotions. A flurry of slumbering butterflies came to life in her chest.

His voice brought tears to her eyes. He found me, she rejoiced silently, as she tentatively called out, “Here!” She didn’t want to attract anyone else by yelling more.

A moment later, someone brushed the side of her body when they crouched next to her. He grabbed her hand in his and cupped the side of her face. It was Quentin, his touch telling her that he was just as relieved to see her as she was him. Earlier, she wasn’t sure if she was ever going to see him, or anyone else again. She let out a bark that sounded like a mixture of crying and laughter. He kissed the top of her head.

“We have to get Zeke,” she whispered.

“I know,” Quentin whispered back.

They scurried on the ground, stopping only long enough for Quentin to grab Zeke. The fighting and shouting continued behind them as they made their way to the cave’s entrance.

When they came out the other end of the cave, Grace hoped they were safe, and tried hurrying Quentin. Quentin laid Zeke in the back of his car that waited outside, and covered him with a blanket. The tires of the Jag threw up a spray of dirt and gravel as they drove away. Grace glanced back. The cave was no cave at all. It was a canyon…split in the middle, concave at the center, and bowed out like penciled birds flying in the background of a painting. The edges resembled feathers of a bird, appearing somewhat wing-like. She knew where they were—Angel’s Landing.

Grace gasped with a sudden thought and snaked out a hand to grasp Quentin’s arm. “Quentin, wait, we need to help Lux.”

Driving faster, Quentin put a hand on her knee. “Lux is fine. She’s Fallen.” That couldn’t be, Grace’s mind raged. Lux had helped her.

Zeke moaned from the backseat, his breathing becoming more labored by the minute. Grace prayed he’d hang on, as she repeated, “Please let him be okay,” over and over in her head.

She was a monster. It was that simple. How or why Grace had let Quentin and Zeke talk her into this, she’d never know. “You have my word,” Quentin insisted. “Ari and Lux will stay with him until paramedics arrive. It seems cruel, but this is the only way. We have no reasonable explanation we can give for what happened to him.”

“It’ll be okay—” Zeke’s words gurgled in the back of his throat before he blacked out again.

Scowling and fighting back tears, Grace folded her chained arms across her chest. More serious than she’d ever been, Grace pinned Quentin with a fierce glare. “If Zeke doesn’t make it, I will never, ever forgive you.” Moreover, she would never forgive herself.

Grace watched Ari and Lux set the scene for Zeke’s accident. Skid marks ran off the road and through the guardrail. Not far below, Zeke’s car perched precariously, crashed into a tree. The airbags were blown out and the windshield was spiderwebbed from one side to the other. The front end was smashed in several feet, and fluids ran freely under the car.

In the blink of an eye, Lux was topside again. “The paramedics are on their way. We need to get him down there.” Grace refused to look at any of them, most of all Quentin. Lux promised to hold Zeke until the paramedics were almost there. Grace nodded and completed the walk of shame back to the passenger side of the car. Silent tears fell from her eyes all the way home.

Quentin parked the car in the driveway, but Grace was too numb to move. When she noticed the Shelby wasn’t parked there as well, she raced so fast to the garage she almost got caught up on the chains clanking around her. The car wasn’t in there either. Panicked, she tore through the front door. “Amanda!”

“Grace?” Laney came running from the kitchen, her eyes all puffy and red. “Oh God, you’re okay.” Her mom gaped at the chains. More tears welled in her eyes, but then her gaze flew behind Grace. “Where’s—”

Someone walked through the front door and they both turned expectantly. Grace’s legs almost buckled when Quentin walked in, devastated that it wasn’t Amanda. She turned back to her mother, but Laney’s wide eyes stayed on Quentin. “Where is he?”

Grace frowned in confusion. “Where’s who?”

Laney ignored her. “Quentin, where is he? Where’s Richard?”

Oh no. A rush of panic jolted her. First Amanda, and now her dad. Grace fixed her eyes on Quentin’s, searching for what she and her mother both needed to know. The look he gave her scorched her heart.

She had to tear her gaze away, she couldn’t take it anymore. Suddenly she noticed the wreckage inside her house. Tables were broken, pictures hung crooked and shattered. Splintered spindles from the banister was scattered up the stairs. Grace’s head whipped back around to her mother. Laney’s arms were wrapped around her midsection, and tears were streaming from her eyes. “Were you hurt?” Grace asked.

Laney’s gaze remained on Quentin as she shook her head no. “I wasn’t here.”

Frantically, Grace ran through the rest of the manor, assessing the damage. Her heart stopped as she stood in front of the broken door of her grandfather’s office. Quentin was just coming out of the bathroom.

His eyes were wide and wild, and his face had paled. “Pandora’s gone.”

Grace’s shoulders slumped forward slightly. “I know.” She let out an exasperated breath, and then turned around to walk back to the foyer.

Quentin’s footsteps sounded like thunder as he quickly caught up with her, grabbing her by the arm. “What do you mean you know?”

Too stressed about where Amanda and her father might be, she let the manhandling go. “For whatever reason, Pandora had me take her out last night. She’s with Amanda … somewhere.” Grace felt a little dizzy thinking of the somewhere Amanda could be with the Fallen, and placed a hand out to steady herself in case she fell over.

Quentin let go of her arm. “Pandora had to have known.”

“Known what?”

He rubbed at his shirtsleeve, and then looked back to Grace. “The Fallen were coming. She must have known.”

The wreckage surrounding her pushed her thoughts to her father, Amanda, Pandora, her house, and Zeke, she couldn’t help but wonder why Quentin hadn’t been there to help her. “Where—”

Suddenly, the familiar sound of Darius’ motorcycle pulled up outside, causing her a completely different kind of pain. A couple of seconds later, the front door swung open. Darius stumbled through, holding up her father. “Richard!” Laney screamed, running to his side.

“I’m fine, Laney,” he grumbled, while Darius helped him to the family room, setting him gently on the couch.

“What happened?” Grace asked, eying a dark wet spot pooled under Richard’s hand, splayed against his side.

Her mom followed her stare. “Richard, you’re bleeding,” she screamed, as she pulled his hand away.

“I’m fine, it’s superficial. I’m already healing.” He smiled lovingly at Laney. With his other hand, he pulled her to him by the chin and kissed her softly on the lips. Grace swung her gaze away from the intimate moment.

Darius stepped out of the family room, and Quentin met him at the door. They talked in hushed tones. Grace strained to hear, but they talked too low. From the couch, Richard spoke up. “Darius, you and the others need to stay here for a while.”

Surprised, Grace whipped her head back to her father. “Why?”

“Because they went rogue tonight.”

“Rogue?” Grace asked.

“Darius led us to you,” Richard explained. “When Darius, Ari, and Lux joined us to rescue you, they chose our side. Now they’ll be hunted by the others too.”

Grace turned back to Darius, wide-eyed. “Why?” Fear and worry crept painfully up and down her spine. Darius closed the distance between them in a few strides.

He ran his finger along her jawline, cupping the side of her face. The weak part of Grace’s heart skipped a few beats. “Because I told you, I’d never let anything happen to you. And where I go, Ari and Lux go too.” A soft glisten collected in his eyes. “I was so scared I’d never see you again.” Grace heard the catch in his voice, and leaned into his touch. Her restless soul stirred when he pressed his lips against hers, and a tear slipped down her cheek.

The sound of someone clearing their throat had her pulling away. All of what Richard had said finally registered. She stalked back into the family room. “What do you mean ‘Darius led us to you’?”

Taking the hand towel from Laney, Richard pressed it against the wound, wincing from the pain. “He led me and Quentin to you.”

Grace stomped her foot, and then did it again for good measure. “You can’t fight! Don’t do that again!” She whipped back around facing Quentin. “I thought your band was a GPS tracker?”

Quentin chuckled. “Actually, your dad is pretty badass, Grace. You don’t need to worry.” Suddenly, all humor fell away from his face. “And the band doesn’t work when you’re with Fallen.” Grace noticed the slight shift of his eyes as he stared at Darius.

Quentin said not to worry, but worrying was all she seemed to do anymore. Grace wouldn’t let those she loved and cared for pay for what she was. She couldn’t accept that. However, all that happened today could have been avoided had Quentin been there like he was supposed to be. If Zeke didn’t pull through, or Amanda…

Her eyes closed to slits, as she looked back to Quentin. “Where the hell were you today?”

Quentin folded his arms across his chest, and looked to the floor. “I’m sorry.”

Anger instantly spiked in her. She couldn’t believe he wasn’t even going to try to explain. “You’re sorry? We all could have died today. You’re supposed to be close by, protecting me!” Her head instinctively turned as her gaze settled on the blood underneath Richard’s hand. An uncontrollable shiver ran over her. It was all too easy to picture some of them in the ground.

Quentin moved closer, reaching out with a tentative hand. Grace glared at his hand in warning, and he dropped it back to his side. “I was summoned to the Consulate, Grace.”

Grace threw up her hands. “I don’t even know what that means.”

“I stood trial for breaking the rules.”

Her eyes went wide, and then started to sting from the tears that welled. “What now?” she whispered.

Quentin took a step closer, leaning toward her. “Don’t worry, I only got a warning. They’re not taking me away from you.”

She opened her mouth to say something, anything, but clamped it back down, rendered speechless by her roiling emotion. Worry moved aside, however, when the front door clicked shut, and light footsteps trotted across the foyer.

“What is going on?” Amanda demanded, gaping at the chains hanging from Grace’s wrists.

The tears burst from Grace’s eyes like a dam breaking as she ran to Amanda and wrapped her arms tightly around her. Amanda froze in Grace’s arms, seeming unsure as to what all the fuss was about. When Grace was able to stop, she wiped embarrassingly at her face until it felt dry. “Where have you been?” Grace asked through trace tears.

Amanda shook her head slightly. “It’s the weirdest thing. You know when you get this feeling, a sixth sense?” Grace anxiously nodded. She knew all too well. “After my interview, something kept telling me to keep driving and not to stop. It kind of freaked me out. So I kept driving.” Grace laughed. “You need more gas, by the way.” She hugged Amanda again and kissed her cheek. Amanda made a face and wiped it away, warning, “You’re not getting off that easy.”

Grace glanced around, realizing just how lucky she was. Every one of them had in some way sacrificed to keep her and her secret safe. Since she was a little girl, all she ever truly wanted was a family, and to be loved wholly and completely. For so long, she thought she felt alone, and mostly believing that the only person in her life who loved her was her grandfather.

Her gaze fell back on her parents, who were still holding each other on the couch. Despite how sad and lonely the last fifteen years were without them, Grace felt an unbelievable peace wash over her. This was what happy felt like. She felt a smile take over her face as she sighed internally. Grace was Chosen, which meant she had a tremendous duty. She would do everything in her power to keep them and Pandora safe.

“Pandora!” Grace yelled, and ran out the front door. She breathed a heavy sigh of relief and grabbed the backpack out of the trunk of the Shelby. Pulling her from the bag, Grace held Pandora close as she walked back into the house.

Amanda’s face contorted in confusion. She stared at the jar in Grace’s arms. “What’s that?”

Grace smiled. If Pandora trusted Amanda enough to speak to her, Grace knew she could too. “I think you better sit down. I have an unbelievable story to tell you.”

Zeke was in the hospital for two weeks. One of his lungs was punctured, just as Grace had feared, pierced by his broken ribs. The doctors worried mostly about the loss of blood from internal bleeding, but he recovered and was doing well.

The police assumed an animal had jumped in front of Zeke’s car and caused the accident. Toxicology reports came back negative for all drugs and alcohol, and since he couldn’t remember anything from the accident, they had nothing else to go on. Of course he couldn’t remember. There was no accident.

Zeke and Amanda had questions for days after she told them her full story. Zeke was more accepting of the truth than Amanda. He said he knew those guys were monsters from hell. Amanda still had a hard time believing it all, but she was coming around. “So, you’re like a superhero,” Amanda would ask over and over.

And every time, Grace answered with an emphatic, “No!”

Quentin insisted that Zeke and Amanda begin krav maga training, since their knowledge of the others put them in danger. Darius didn’t like the idea, and especially didn’t like Zeke. And Zeke knew it. Grace played peacemaker, ensuring that Darius was busy whenever Zeke was over for training. Zeke promised Grace more than once he’d forever protect her with his life. So he couldn’t be more ecstatic to learn krav maga. Amanda was a little more apprehensive, but after a couple of weeks, she couldn’t get enough.

At Richard’s insistence, Darius, Lux, and Ari moved in to the secret apartment down below. Laney wasn’t too happy that Lux and Ari weren’t married, but they weren’t human either so she let it go. Lux and Ari had no problem staying hidden together.

Darius spent most of his time in the main part of the house. When Grace was at school, he waited in the parking lot with Quentin. Quentin didn’t exactly like it, but seemed to accept it. Apparently, he and Darius had called a truce and formed an uneasy, yet mutually respectful relationship.

Quentin pulled Grace aside one night. “He’s alright, Grace. I was wrong. If Darius is what you want, then I’m okay as I can be with it.” It was hard for Grace to see Quentin hurting. If the eyes are the window to the soul, then his were in agony. She cared for him. A lot. But she realized Darius had a part of her heart and soul … for keeps.

Grace welcomed the end of the school year for all the obvious reasons. She was seriously considering doing her freshman year of college online. Amanda was against it. All of the guys were for it.

A couple of weeks into the summer, Grace decided to throw a pool party, giving Quentin the opportunity to barbeque ribs and show off the sauce he insisted he was famous for. Even though she couldn’t invite her “normal” friends to the manor, for obvious reasons, there were so many people living in the same house that bringing them all together for food and fun definitely constituted a party.

Keeping Emily at arm’s length was hard, but Grace knew she had to do it to keep her best friend safe. There was no good reason to bring her into the secret, so she had to remain on the outside. Luckily, Emily was so busy with Tommy most of the time that she hardly noticed.

Mathias was hanging around a lot, but he wasn’t part of the “normal” crowd she couldn’t invite. Grace had her suspicions about him and Amanda. She watched them on the other side of the pool … whispering, smiling, and laughing.

“Grace, can you go inside and get some more barbeque sauce?” Quentin asked from behind the grill, interrupting her spying.

“Sure.” Running inside, Grace was surprised to hear someone knocking on the front door. She peeked through the peephole, and saw a man in a gray suit. “Yes,” she asked as she opened the door.

The man smiled affably, his arms behind his back. “Hi, I’m looking for Grace Morgan.”

“That’s me.” She smiled back, wondering what this was all about.

His smile disappeared as he thrust an envelope at her chest. “I’m serving you with papers.”

Irritated at his sudden abruptness, she nevertheless instinctively grabbed the envelope before briefly glancing down. “Papers? What kind of papers?”

“Sign here, please.” His throwing “please” in there didn’t make him any less of a jerk, in her opinion. He pushed a pen in her face. Just to get rid of him, she signed the document, then stepped back inside and kicked the door shut.

Grace headed for the kitchen, ripping open the envelope and rapidly scanning the first page she pulled out. Her head suddenly buzzed with a familiar anger. That stupid—

The string of curse words she prepared to say in her head abruptly stopped. Darius’ wet arms wrapping around her midsection made her lose her train of thought. Teasingly, he brushed her hair aside, and trailed kisses down the side of her neck and along her shoulder. She shivered.

Darius chuckled against her skin. “Did I hear someone at the door?”

“Uh-huh.” Her mind always turned to mush when he touched her like that. “I was just served with papers.”

“Papers?” He pulled back, and her skin turned cold where he no longer touched her.

“My cousin, Rose.”

“Do you need me to take care of her?”

Grace chuckled. “No worries.” The smile fled from her eyes as she absentmindedly brushed his wet hair off his forehead before locking her determined gaze with his.

“Rose is mine.”

A huge thank you to:

My sons, Micah and DJ, and Taija, for giving me the reasons to always push forward, to never give up;

My husband, Tyler, for always encouraging me to follow my dreams;

My best friend, Sutthira, for being with me and Grace from day one and for being delusional enough to think I’m some kind of hero;

My good friend, Tarryn, for my first lesson in defiance. My book would still be an unfinished project if you hadn’t schooled me;

My 50 Authors and an owl Facebook Group for listening, encouraging, and always being ready and willing to answer my many questions;

My friend, Jenn, for giving up her editing spot, thank you a million times over;

My super ninja editor, Pam, for teaching me more in a few months than my expensive college education, and for pushing me and this book beyond anything I imagined. You’re amazing;

My awesome beta readers, Sandy, Jennifer, Kate, Tosha, Ashley T-Love, and Alicia, for believing in me and Grace’s story;

And my first love, chocolate covered raisins, for every night you were by my side getting me through difficult rewrites and edits, for always quietly waiting, and for being everywhere I happen to be.

K Anne Raines is the author of the Fallen from Grace Series. She is a Washington State University graduate and the senior accountant at a local firm in her home town. K Anne’s impassioned but regular commitment to chocolate covered raisins inspires creativity at home...where ever the raisins are, there she is with her laptop. A lover of great sushi and other fine food, K Anne prefers coffee in the morning, the right wine in the evening, and her fireplace at all times. A Northwest native, K Anne Raines is the mother of three, cat lover, avid exerciser, and blanket hogger.