Chapter 22

"You can still back out of this, Grace," Khai said as she paced back and forth in his cabin. The place had been her haven and refuge for three months. Now, it felt stifling and too small. She knew that was simply because they were about to lure her buyer to this location.

Grace was nervous, but she could do this. "I'm fine. I promise."

He grabbed her around the hips and forced her to face him. "You look like you want to vomit."

She sighed. "Just because I'm nervous and need to throw up doesn't mean I'm going to back down. I can do this. I will do it."

He tucked his thumbs into the loops of her jeans at her hips, gave her a tug so she was plastered against him, and kissed her. "I know you can, love. You can do anything."

At least he wasn't arguing with her this morning. She didn't need the added stress.

Jagger stepped inside. Boyd was with him. Both men had on camouflaged tactical gear. An entire team of agents was already hiding in the trees surrounding the cabin.

"Just to recap," Jagger began, his attention on Grace, "Khai will place the call, and then you will stand near the front window, pretending to fold laundry. If we're lucky, it won't take long to bring Chekov out of hiding. Hopefully, he's nearby."

"Got it," Grace said.

"Do not move to another window. That one is bulletproof. The others are not."

Grace nodded. "Understood."

Jagger turned to Khai. "Everyone's in place. Let's step outside so you can make the call. We want sounds of nature around you so it's believable."

They all stepped outside.

Khai pulled out his phone, tapped the screen, and went into deep don't-fuck-with-me mode.

Grace held her breath as they waited.

On the second ring, the call connected, and a man's voice, which she assumed to be Shelton's, came through. "Hey, I didn't expect to hear from you so soon. Did you make it to your cabin okay?"

"Yeah. You're not going to fucking believe this."

"What?"

Khai lowered his voice to a hiss. "That woman is in my cabin."

"What?" Shelton's voice rose to a higher pitch.

"Yeah. I'm not kidding. What do you want me to do?"

"Did you go inside? Does she know you're there?"

"No. I parked out on the main road because my fucking truck's tires are threadbare. I didn't want to risk driving on the gravel, so I walked in. As I approached, I saw her in the window. I'm sure it's her. She looks exactly like the picture you sent."

"Fuck me. What a coincidence. Where are you now?"

"I backed up. I'm behind some trees. Watching her. What the fuck am I supposed to do now?" Khai made his voice intentionally stunned. "Want me to confront her? I wouldn't want her to take off running. I can't believe she's fucking squatting in my own cabin."

"No. Don't approach her," Shelton responded. "Let me call her uncle and see if he's in the area. Hang tight a few minutes."

Shelton put the phone on hold or on mute.

Jagger put his finger to his lips and glanced around at all of them.

Grace's stomach was in knots. It was getting real. She understood Jagger silently making sure no one made a sound just in case Shelton could still hear them. They couldn't be sure.

A few very long minutes passed before Shelton returned. "The guy's in the area. He's heading there now. You don't even have to stay if you don't want to. I'll make sure the client reimburses you for any damages to your cabin."

"You think I should stick around to make sure there isn't a domestic dispute? I wouldn't want anyone to get killed in my cabin."

Shelton chuckled. "It's just a runaway girl. I don't think her uncle intends to kill her. You know how young girls are. They get mad, take off, pout, throw a tantrum. It'll be fine. I'll call you later after I hear from the client."

"Okay, man. Your call. Later." Khai hung up and dropped his phone back in his pocket. "Well, that part's done."

"Places," Boyd barked as he twirled a finger in the air. He and Jagger took off toward the thick trees.

Khai took Grace's hand, led her into the house, shut the door, and flattened himself to the wood. He cupped her face and kissed her soundly. "I love you."

"I love you, too. It's going to be fine."

He rubbed her arms. "Anything happens?—"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, drop to the floor, flat on my stomach."

"Sassy girl." He patted her butt and pointed toward the window. "Get that laundry folded, woman. I'm going to inspect it. If I don't like it, you can do it over again."

She giggled, grateful he could manage to make a joke. She was supposed to fold this pile of towels over and over until Chekov was in custody. That was her task as long as nothing went wrong.

Grace took a deep breath, positioned herself by the window, and picked up a towel. The clock ticked very slowly. She glanced at Khai often, especially every time he spoke into the comm unit.

Finally, Khai stiffened. "He's pulling into the driveway."

Grace's hands were shaking so badly that she dropped one of the towels and had to pick it back up. Sweat ran down her front between her breasts. It wasn't hot in the cabin, but she was so damn stressed that she was overheated.

"You're doing great, love," Khai encouraged. "Keep folding until I tell you otherwise."

She hoped the FBI would surround the car and get Chekov into custody without her having to face him.

"Good news," Khai stated. "He parked at the beginning of the driveway, probably hoping you won't hear the car so he can take you by surprise. He's on foot now. Appears to be alone and matches your description."

Thank God. She kept folding, grateful for the assigned activity.

"Don't look up, love."

"Okay." Could Chekov see how badly she was trembling from outside the window? Surely not.

"Jagger and Boyd have eyes on him. He's not holding a weapon. Not openly, at least."

"Why would he need one?" she murmured. After all, as far as he knew, she was about to get a surprise visitor in the form of her slave Master.

"You're doing great, Grace. Do not change a thing. He has paused in the driveway, and he's spotted you. Didn't need to know about his smirk, but I bet there are a dozen men out there ready to wipe it off his face."

Grace prayed she didn't faint.

"Get down!" Khai shouted.

Even though this had always been a possibility, Grace was still stunned and hesitated a moment before dropping to the floor flat on her stomach behind the couch. Thank God Khai had moved the couch over in front of the window. It had given her a place to fold where she would be visible, but it was now giving her added protection because one second after she hit the floor, gunshots rang out.

Grace screamed as she threw her hands over her head to protect herself. She couldn't see Khai. "Khai?"

"Right here, love. Stay down. I'm fine."

She turned her face to the side as more shots pierced the air. "Khai, what's happening?"

"Hold tight, Grace. Stay down."

She was shaking so badly it was hard to stay still.

Khai spoke again. "Okay, good. Thank fuck."

Suddenly, a hand landed on Grace's back.

She flinched and cried out.

"It's just me, love. You're okay. Come here." He helped her roll over, dropped onto his ass, leaned against the couch, and pulled her into his arms. He held her close, rocking her. "You did great. It's over."

She finally fell apart, letting herself cry. This would be one of those times when she could really use one of Khai's firm spankings, but that would have to wait.

A few minutes later, the door opened and Jagger stepped inside.

Grace tried to sit taller and wipe her eyes, not wanting to appear weak.

Jagger squatted in front of her. "You did great, Grace."

"Why was there so much shooting? Did anyone get hurt?"

"Chekov must've heard us approaching. He drew a weapon and started shooting toward the trees like a lunatic. Two seconds later, he shot at the cabin. He underestimated the abilities of the FBI team. One of my men knocked the gun out of his grip at the same time another man shot him in the leg. He lost control of the gun a moment before he collapsed."

"Do I have to face him?" she asked, her lip trembling.

"No, love," Khai answered. "Not right now. We'll get up and go home after he's been removed from the property."

"Home? What do you refer to as home?"

"My apartment, love. Our apartment now." Khai stroked her hair back. "With Chekov out of the picture, you won't be in nearly the same level of danger. We'll go back to Jagger's to debrief, and then we can pack our stuff up and go to the apartment."

She leaned into him and let her body relax, one muscle at a time. Home… Would his place feel like home to her?