Surrender A Section 8 Novel

Chapter Thirty-seven





Grace slept hard. She blamed the stress of the day, the impatient and then slow lovemaking . . . Her dreams had all been good ones.

At some point when she was drifting off, Dare had told her he loved her. She wasn’t sure if she said it back to him in her dreams or out loud, but she knew she would tell him now.

When her eyes opened, she knew what she had to do. She would call Rip herself. Go to him. Force the group’s hand to come get her.

She turned over, saw the bed empty next to her, the pillow still dented from where Dare had slept. The light was on in the bathroom, the door cracked open.

“Dare?” she asked softly, got no response. It was too quiet.

With a growing dread, she kicked the covers off and headed to the bathroom. The empty bathroom.

No. No no no no no.

She wouldn’t realize she’d been screaming that out loud until later, when her voice was hoarse. She wanted to run out the door, tried to, but Jem was there, and then Avery and Gunner. Avery held her tightly, forced her to sit down and breathe.

Grace crumpled. For the first several minutes, she could do nothing but cry. You should’ve known.

Maybe she had and just pushed it aside, the way she’d been doing to her gift since it had started returning.

If she’d used it, maybe she could’ve stopped him.

But she knew that was a lie.

“Tactically, it was the right move for Dare—you have to know that,” Jem told her when she looked up at him, wiped the tears from her cheeks with her palms.

“I don’t know anything, obviously.”

“He and Key went together. They did it for us,” Avery said softly, and Grace realized she hadn’t known what the men were up to either. Her expression held that slightly stunned and betrayed look Grace knew she wore as her own. She squeezed Avery’s hand.

“It’s a huge sacrifice,” she whispered hollowly. “I would never have asked them to do that.”

“Me neither,” Avery said. “Which is exactly why they did. It’s who they are.”

“You can’t let them do this—you have to bring them back,” Grace insisted. “Rip is . . . he’s a monster.”

“Dare did this for you most of all. I can’t—won’t—take that away from him,” Jem said. “All a man’s got is his word, his honor, and you and Avery will be safe now.”

“You can’t be sure of that,” she protested weakly.

“I’m sure of my brother and I’m sure of Dare. You are too,” he said quietly. She wanted to shake him, to scream until her throat went raw and silent. Break everything in the house.

But none of it would bring the man she loved back to her.

“I’ll go get him myself,” she threatened.

“And make his sacrifice mean nothing? Darlin’, you will get him killed,” Jem broke in. “Dare wants you safe. Happy. Give him that.”

Could she? It wasn’t fair that he’d shown her such happiness only to have it taken away by one of the cruelest choices of all. “I’m supposed to rebuild again—without him—knowing what I’ve brought on him?”

“He’s a big boy—he chose it.”

“He’s selfish,” she spat.

“Maybe, Grace. But they didn’t see another option to keep us free,” Avery said.

“Maybe we didn’t mind not being free,” Grace argued.

“We didn’t make that clear enough, then,” Avery agreed. “Or else he knew we weren’t making the decisions for the right reasons.”

Grace couldn’t argue with that, not completely. Fear-based decisions were never good, never right. She’d been planning on taking danger for the freedom, and maybe that hadn’t been the right price. Maybe the trade-off wouldn’t have been worth it.

“I don’t trust Rip,” she said tiredly.

“Neither do Dare and Key,” Jem said. “One of them’s going to die—and I guarantee it will be Powell.”

She wished she could be as sure.


* * *

Avery wasn’t sure if she was angrier at Key for not telling her or at herself for not getting it. He’d hinted. She’d suspected what Dare would do, but to have the two of them sacrificing themselves for this newfound team . . .

It didn’t matter whom she was angry at—the fact was that it was there, balled up, tense and coiled. She knew it could rise up at any moment and she’d lash out at whoever was closest.

Dare and Key must’ve discussed it beforehand, but when? They’d always all been together—she would’ve noticed the two of them with their heads together for a plan like this.

She’d seen no signs of distress on Key’s face, but with his training, she supposed she wouldn’t have.

Did you really think you’d be the one to break through his emotions?

“You all right?” Gunner asked now. He handed her a plate—eggs, bacon, toast. Slid coffee next to her. “Eat.”

She didn’t want to, but Gunner watched her like a hawk. She forked some eggs, ate a strip of bacon, wished Gunner didn’t know anything about her feelings for Key.

“I don’t understand the plan—Powell will kill them,” she said finally.

Gunner poured himself more coffee. “That’s the point.”

“He was never going to let any of us go.”

“Never is the key word.” He looked up at her. “They’ll have to jump through some hoops to get there.”

“Powell’s hoping one of them kills the other.”

“He’s hoping no one’s watching Grace carefully.” As he spoke, Grace was downstairs in the cement-block room, trying to avoid a panic attack.

Avery had offered to stay with Grace, but Grace said she’d rather be by herself. Before Avery had left her alone, she’d asked Grace, “Can you see . . . everything?”

“Sadly, no. Only when it’s about me.”

“So if someone’s coming to get you—”

“I should know.” She rubbed her arms. “Maybe.”

“Reassuring,” Avery had said, but she’d done so with a smile, and Grace had laughed a little.

“You’re more pissed at Key than Dare,” Gunner said now. “You should stay away from him. Like Jem told you, he’s not good for anyone.”

“I guess you’ve all had a blast discussing my love life.” She paused. “What about you—are you good for anyone?”

“Me? Chère, I’m worse. Way worse.”

“So I shouldn’t be with anyone, then?”

“Never a good idea to fall for your team members,” Gunner advised.

“I never said I fell for you,” she told him.

“True—you didn’t.”

“What if I did?”

“Don’t bullshit me—you fell for Key the second you saw him.”

“How do you know?”

“I was there, Avery—watching to make sure you didn’t get yourself killed.”

“Do you always warn women away from you?”

“Only the ones I like,” he told her.