Chapter 14

Khai eased out of bed early in the morning, careful not to wake Grace. She was so fucking gorgeous sprawled out on her stomach, her arms tucked under the pillow, her long hair fanned out around her, and her naked body so enticing. He rubbed his leg for a few minutes before he tucked the covers around her, snagged a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, used the bathroom, and snuck out of the room as quietly as he could.

Grace needed sleep. Khai's mind had already been racing for an hour. He suspected that at least Jagger would already be up and downstairs working.

Sure enough, Jagger and Kally were in the kitchen. The smell of bacon permeated the entire downstairs, making Khai's stomach rumble.

Kally was sitting at the island with a mug in her hands. Jagger was setting a loaded plate of food in front of her.

Kally lifted her head first. "Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

Khai nodded. "Yes. Thank you."

"Is Grace okay?"

"I hope so. She's still asleep. I don't think she's felt safe enough to sleep more than a few hours at a time for so long she's sleep-deprived. Even after I found her in my cabin, she never slept through the night. The problem was I didn't know why and couldn't help her."

"It's hard at first," Kally said. "I still wake up confused and panicked most days."

Jagger kissed her forehead.

"Granted," Kally continued, "I killed a man. Shot him until the bullets ran out and watched him drop dead in front of me. That gives me nightmares."

Jagger shot her a narrow-eyed look.

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. He deserved it. Blah-blah-blah. I did what I had to do to survive. I'm here because I took the first chance I could to get out."

Jagger shook his head and glanced at Khai. "She's quoting Dr. Langston, but at least it's something."

Khai nodded. "Until yesterday, Grace assumed she'd also killed a man. And I guess we don't have any proof she didn't."

"That's true," Kally agreed. "So, she understands the nightmares."

Khai had killed more men than he could count. Some of them had looked him dead in the eye as he'd shot them through the skull. That had been the nature of his job. He wouldn't point it out, though. It had no place here. Plus, there was no comparison between killing to protect the freedom of others and shooting or taking a fire poker to a man who intended to rape and torture someone.

Jagger nodded toward the stove. "Help yourself. I made a lot of bacon, but if you want eggs, go ahead and fix them how you want them. Toast. Bagels. Hash browns are in the freezer. Please, make yourself at home."

Khai headed for the pot of coffee first and poured a cup. He leaned against the counter and grimaced. "I guess I've been unknowingly slacking when it comes to taking care of Grace. If I'd known she'd been trained to service men, I never would have let her lift a hand. We divided the household chores for the past month."

Kally swallowed her bite. "I'm sure she's fine. If she'd had an issue with it, she would've said something." She shook her fork in the air. "Actually, that's probably not true. She wouldn't have said a word, but you would've sensed her stress."

Khai took another sip of coffee. Kally was right. A lot of stress had wafted off Grace every day, but she'd never acted like she felt like his slave. What Khai could do now was make her breakfast. He knew how she liked her eggs and toast. So, he set his mug down and started making two plates of food. He'd set hers in the warmer until she got up.

"She's strong," Kally commented.

Khai turned around to glance at her while he pushed the eggs around in the pan. "Stronger than I even knew."

"Just don't feed her oatmeal. That's my advice."

Khai chuckled. "There were only canned goods, pasta, rice, and oatmeal in my cabin when she first arrived. She lived off that for two months. The first time she asserted her preferences to me was when I placed a food order after I arrived. She calmly asked me to please not order any oatmeal. I had no idea why until yesterday. Now, I'm surprised she didn't throw the empty container at my face."

Kally winced. "I think I would rather have starved."

Khai grabbed toast from the toaster and filled the plates with food before sliding Grace's into the warmer and carrying his to the island. "Do all those people come here every day?"

Jagger had moved to the kitchen table and was opening a laptop. "Not all of them, but most. The women feel safer here together. The men come to join the command room, and we all divvy up what needs to be done. Mostly, it's tedious work, scanning through the internet, trying to find anything that might help us."

Khai finished his food, put the plate in the dishwasher, and joined Jagger at the table just as Jagger flinched. "Looks like Diane just sent information about the cop who abducted Grace."

Khai pulled out a chair and leaned in to watch as Jagger opened the email. He stiffened as he read through the information quickly the first time. What he gleaned made both men wince.

"What?" Kally asked from the island.

"The place he took her to is an Airbnb," Jagger told her. "It has been for seven years."

Khai leaned back. "That means whoever abducted Grace was probably renting the place. Possibly even for a week. He's probably not a cop at all."

"I agree," Jagger muttered. He shoved away from the table. "We've got the address for the owner. Luckily, it's local. Time to pay them a visit."

Khai stood. "I hope you don't think I'm staying behind."

Jagger chuckled. "Grab a jacket. I'll see if Robert and Ella can come over here and stay with Kally and Grace while we're gone. Can you see if Grace knows the exact date she was abducted?" Jagger snagged his phone while Khai hurried toward the stairs.

"Yes." Khai's heart raced as he entered the bedroom to find Grace curled under the covers.

Her eyes were open, though. She smiled at him. "I was thinking about getting up, but it's so warm under here, and I'll never take soft sheets and mattresses for granted again. Not to mention the ability to sleep on my side or my stomach and pull my arms close to my body."

He sat next to her and leaned over to kiss her. "Morning, love. I'm glad you're comfortable. I made you breakfast. It's in the warmer downstairs."

"Mmm. You're so good to me. I'm getting spoiled. You know you don't have to do everything for me just because Jagger, Damon, and Axel do for their girlfriends. I'm not bothered by cooking and cleaning."

He shrugged. "I understand where they're coming from now that I have more information. I've never noticed you panicking over laundry or dishes, but that doesn't mean I don't want you to feel like a princess as often as possible."

She wiggled a hand out from under the covers and grabbed his. "I think you should spank me before I get dressed."

He was impressed by her bold request as well as her determination not to let him forget what she wanted to experience. He hated having to turn her down, but spanking her would have to wait until later.

Khai leaned over and kissed her again. "Gonna have to take a raincheck on that, love. We got a lead on that cop who abducted you. I'm going with Jagger to check it out."

She bolted upright, letting the covers fall so that her chest was exposed. She didn't even try to cover herself. Eyes wide, she grabbed his arm. "What? Why are you going?"

He set his hand over hers. "Because I want to know every detail about your case and help find the people who did this to you."

She was breathing heavily. "Let the FBI go." Her eyes were glassy with tears threatening to fall.

"Grace, this isn't going to be dangerous, love. We don't even think the man who lured you to that apartment owned it. I suspect he wasn't a police officer, either. It's an Airbnb. He most likely rented it that week and posed as a cop to lure you in. We're going to talk to the owner and see if we can get more information about the renter."

She licked her lips, her chest rising and falling swiftly. Finally, she sighed. "Okay."

"Do you know the exact date you were abducted, love?"

She nodded. "Yes, because it was the day before my twenty-second birthday. I woke up in hell on my birthday."

Khai's heart hurt all over again. "I'm so sorry." He knew her birthday was in the profile Diane had completed yesterday.

She shrugged. "Do you think they can catch him?"

"Yes, I'm hopeful. Robert and Ella are coming over while Jagger and I are gone. Take your time getting up. There's no rush. If you're comfortable, snuggle back under the covers."

She cocked her head to one side and glared at him. "You think I could go back to sleep after that bombshell?"

He stroked a hand down her cheek. "No, probably not. Kally is down in the kitchen. You can join her."

Grace glanced toward the open boxes on the floor. "Maybe I'll unpack our things to occupy my mind."

"Or leave it, and I'll do it later if you want."

"Khai…I don't want you to feel like you have to do everything for me. I promise it doesn't trigger me. I can do housework."

"I know, but I can also see Jagger's point. I won't have you feeling like a service submissive or any other kind of submissive for that matter."

"There might be times when I like submitting to you," she pointed out. "I liked it when you held me down while you made love to me. I'm kinda looking forward to being spanked, too. I might like that."

Khai kissed her quickly one more time and rose. "We'll discuss it more later, love."

"Okay." As if she suddenly realized she was exposed to him, she pulled the covers up to her chin. "Be careful."

"I will. This isn't a dangerous situation. I promise. Just information gathering."

Khai found a jacket, dropped a hand on the bed to kiss her one more time, cupped her face, and left the room. As he hurried back down the stairs, he realized he hadn't been separated from her except when one of them was in the bathroom for a month. His chest felt tight at the idea, and he hoped she wouldn't panic while he was gone.

Robert and Ella were entering the house as Khai reached the first floor.

"How's Grace this morning?" Ella asked.

"Not too happy with me leaving, but I think she's good," Khai informed the room as he shrugged into his jacket.

Jagger was also at the door, and Kally had joined them.

"We'll talk to her," Ella said, "and keep her occupied while you're gone."

Kally grabbed the front of Jagger's shirt and rose onto her tiptoes to kiss him. "Be careful."

"We will, honey."

"What if the man who owns the Airbnb is also the man who posed as a police officer and abducted Grace?" she asked.

Khai flinched. She had a point.

Jagger shook his head. "Diane says the owner is in his sixties."

"Okay. That's good. Still, be careful. He might know something or be hiding something," she continued.

Jagger chuckled. "FBI agent, honey. I've got this."

She rolled her eyes and swatted his arm. "Concerned girlfriend, big guy. Don't make light of this situation."

He kissed her again. "Never. Love you."

"Love you, too."

Jagger nodded toward the door, Khai followed, and minutes later, they were headed toward the highway.