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Saving Grace 57
“I didn’t mean to startle you, Grace, really.” Noah said as he walked into the kitchen and saw her jump when he called her name.His footsteps echoed across the kitchen tiles as he approached Grace, his brows knit with concern. “Grace, are you okay? You seem… shaken.” He asked her as he looked at her.Grace flinched a little as if she was caught off guard by Noah’s sudden presence again. She hastily wiped a stray tear from her cheek, attempting to compose herself. “Oh, it’s nothing, just… something I stumbled upon,” she muttered, avoiding eye contact.“But you don’t have to worry.” She added.“Really, I shouldn’t worry? I just saw you wipe a tear, didn’t I?” He asked, pushing his brows up.“It’s nothing, seriously. It’s not something big or serious enough to bother me. I guess something flew into my eyes, so…” she said, trailing off when she didn’t know what to say any more.Noah’s gaze softened as he pulled out a chair to sit opposite her. “Come on, Grace. I might have only met you i
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As the weight of her secrets loomed heavy in the air, Grace took a deep breath, steeling herself to confide in Noah. “Noah, there’s something I’ve never shared with anyone before. It’s about my past, my life before everything changed.” She started, and Noah pushed forward in his chair.He knew there were still things she hadn’t shared with her, a big chunk of information that was missing, but he didn’t think to ask her, because that might scare her. He had just left things the way they were, hoping that she would tell him whatever it was when she was ready.With the look of things now, she seemed like she was ready to share.Noah leaned in even more, his eyes encouraging her to continue. “Take your time, Grace. I’m here.” He said.One thing he had realized about Grace was the fact that, she always took several step back into her shell at the first sign of trouble, or the fact that the person she was trying to talk to might be bothered instead of being there for her. He needed her to k
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The aroma of sizzling garlic filled the kitchen as Grace stirred the bubbling tomato sauce. Her culinary sanctuary was a haven, a place to focus, yet today her mind drifted. All she could think about was the words Zeke and Noah were whispering to each other just some feet away.Across the marble-topped kitchen table, Zeke and Noah talked about her ex husband, and for some reason, they were talking so lowly she couldn’t hear them. Noah gestured emphatically while explaining the details of the situation to him, his eyes sparkling with anger.Zeke was leaned in towards him, nodding attentively, his hand occasionally going to cover up his mouth as he listened to what Noah had to say.Noah and her had both decided it was best he was the one to explain things to Zeke because she couldn’t go over talking about it with him, or even talking about it again.“I could probably help with that,” Zeke voice rose suddenly, his gaze shifting towards Grace. “Hacking and decoding encrypted files? It’s k
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Grace had just made her way to the front door, ready to open it when a forceful push surprised her. She looked at who it was and she saw that it was Diana.Diana strode past Grace, marching confidently into the house like she own the place. She had a look on her face, and she looked down at Grace from her nose like she wasn’t even worth to stand before her.To say that she was stunned by the intrusion was saying the least, Grace watched as Diana made a beeline for the kitchen where Noah and Zeke, Noah’s brother, were gathered.What was the woman’s problem, really? She had no problem that she was visiting Noah, because really it was none of her business, but the way she treated her, it was really like she was a dirt on her shoes, and that infuriated her.But, she was not in the mood at all to say anything to her. It was what she was dealing with, with her ex husband that she was thinking about.Shaking her head, she walked back to the kitchen and walked to the stew she was making, glan
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Grace heaved a sigh of relief as she closed up Charlotte’s shop for the night. She had somehow been able to convince her she would do that when she noticed the other woman was feeling down.Charlotte rarely miss coming to the shop, and she always close up when she was around, but Grace knew she needed the rest, so she had sent her home early. “She wouldn’t if I didn’t do that.” She muttered to herself as if answering a question.The familiar ritual of taking out the trash at closing hour usually offered a brief respite from the hectic buzz of the day. It was a pretty eventful day, from the beginning of having to serve coffee and scone and pies, to the slow buzz in the evening.She was all pumped up so much she didn’t even think twice when she offered to close up, because she didn’t think about having to walk home alone or at night.Anyway, she was already starting to feel at home in town, and she didn’t have to worry about whether or not she was going to get caught by her ex husband.
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The seconds stretched into an eternity as Grace clutched her phone, her thumb hovering over Zeke’s contact. Anxiety coiled in her chest as she pressed the call button. It rang twice before he answered, his voice laced with concern. “Grace? What’s wrong?”Although, there was more of surprise that she was calling him at night like this, as it happened it was her first time of calling him.“It’s urgent,” Grace replied, her voice tense. “Can you come over? I need you to come here, please.” She said with her voice shaking a little. She might have acted all brave and stuff when the man was warning her, trying not to show a side that she knew would make the man even more happy of how vulnerable she was, but right now, after all the encounter, she was scared shitless.Not that she wasn’t scared then, but she just needed to act like she wasn’t, and now, there was no more acting.“What’s going on, Grace? Is anything all right?” He asked her but she just told him what she said before. “Please co
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Just about when Zeke left and Grace stood up to go to her room, she had staggered and then she had fell back against him, thankfully he was fast enough to caught her as she fell backward.After that, she knew nothing again until now when she felt a small slap on her face, then a hard pressing against her chest, and that made her realized her surrounding even though she couldn’t open her eyes yet. “Come on, open your eyes now, goddammit, breathe please!” She heard Noah’s voice so far, yet so near.She was feeling as if she had just been dragged out of the water, like that night she had to stay in the lake, freezing, but that hot breath of Noah against her face was pumping heat through her.Suddenly, she wanted to get up and get under the blanket, and she started to struggle to open her eyes. Noah’s voice and his breath was so hot on her cheek, as he said one thing over and over. “Come on, Grace. Come on, open your eyes. You can do it.”He kept saying those words, words that somehow c
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Reading was something Grace had taken up and was doing consistently since she started to come back home early. Somehow, Charlotte had heard about what happened and had said she would always close early no matter what, and she had kept to releasing her early.Right now, she was seated with a hot cup of cocoa in front of her, with blankets around her legs as she sat on the couch with the book in her hand.She was still reading one of those books she had started on when she heard the front door click shut, signaling Noah’s return home. She glanced up from her book, ready to greet him, but his wearied expression immediately caught her attention. His usual vibrant demeanor seemed clouded by an unspoken worry.Whenever Noah was back from work, he would always have a smile readied for her, and he would always want to talk and have fun, but now, he wasn’t at all. He looked as if something was bothering him, and that bothered her.What could have probably happened to a strong man like him that
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Talking about using herself as bait when she realized Jack had came to town.“What do you mean?” Charlotte asked with a frown on her face as she looked at Grace panting.Grace put one hand on her chest and the other was pointed outside the door of the shop. “He’s here, Charlotte. My ex husband is here.” She said, swallowing at the same time, talking.She had gone out to take the trash when she saw him down the road on the main street seeing as she had decided to take the front.She was scared, or maybe she was more than scared. She wanted to go hide somewhere, anywhere at all, wherever it was that he wouldn’t find her.“What? Are you sure?” Charlotte asked, the distress showing right there on her face. She was sure that she was going to have a heart attack if care wasn’t taken because of how hard her heart was thumping against her rib cage. Nodding as she looked from Charlotte to the door, she said. “Yes. I’m sure he’s the one I saw.” She said.“Okay, you know what?” Charlotte asked w
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Charleston, West VirginiaFBI BuildingWhen Agent Conner walked into the observation room the afternoon of that Saturday, he didn’t think he would see their boss, the deputy director, Mr. Jimmy, and a junior agent, Agent Smith in there.He was wearing a dark blue suit with a white and black striped shirt inside it, and he stood there in front of the one way mirror with his arms folded across his chest.“Sir,” he greeted him with a nod.“Agent Conner.” Mr. Jimmy nodded at him and then he greeted Smith then he sighed, before turning back to look through the one way mirror, where Agent Ezekiel sat and on the opposite side of the chair, was Jack Northland and Mr. Darien, his lawyer.The bastard had lawyered up the moment Zeke had mentioned warehouse to him. “What has the bastard said?” Conner asked looking at his junior colleague, but Agent Smith just shook his head. He hadn’t said anything, Conner thought. If the shake of his boss’s head was any indication.Conner furrowed his brow, pond
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The small, secluded corner of the charity event became the stage for a confronting Jack, and it was as if Grace couldn’t think of anything than what they had planned, as she stared at Jack’s face. He looked as if he could have shot her if they were alone, but thankfully, they weren’t. Zeke’s penetrating gaze fixed on Jack, looking at him with reproach, something to mirror the exact way Grace felt.“You’ve been walking a tightrope, Jack,” Zeke said, his voice carrying a weighty seriousness. “But the act ends now.”There was nothing Grace could do but let Zeke take the lead, but at the moment, she seemed to have lost her voice and things seemed to be like a dream. She couldn’t believe in a million years she would be able to do a thing like this, confronting Jack, a man who had made her suffer all those years ago, like this.Jack’s facade flickered briefly, a moment of uncertainty crossing his face before he regained composure. “I’m not following,” he retorted, striving to mask his grow
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Grace’s heart pounded with nervous anticipation as the car pulled up in front of the grand entrance to the charity event. “Be still, my heart.” She whispered.If this was some other day when she wasn’t so tensed and nervous, she would have thrown her head back and laughed at the ridiculousness of her words to steady herself.No one said words like that anymore, talk less, to themselves. She clutched her purse to herself as Noah offered her his hand to pull her out of the back of the limo Zeke had arranged. According to him, they needed to arrive in style, so that people would know they were of importance, as that would aid their plans for the night.The swarm of reporters and flashing cameras waiting outside made her feel uneasy, but there was a faint sense of relief knowing that anything that transpired tonight would be caught on camera, dissuading Jack from trying anything untoward.As she held unto Noah’s hand, she felt as if she could conquer the whole world, his confidence radiat
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Being tensed doesn’t even began to explain how Grace was feeling as she sat in the hotel room in front of the mirror, her reflection staring back at her with anticipation and dread. They were back in San Diego, according to Zeke’s request that they attend Jack’s charity event he was hosting with some people.He said he suspected that this was how they had been able to keep under the radar for a long while, and he wanted them to show up there.So, being nervous and tensed was just an understatement. If anything, she was scared, and the way her heart was leaping hard in her throat, pumping hard against her rib cage, was indication enough.Her hands trembled as she attempted to apply a touch of makeup, but her nerves made the task difficult. Tonight was the night she would confront her ex-husband, Jack, face-to-face for the first time since she ran away from him.Zeke’s plan echoed in her mind, the fact that he had said they had to attend this charity event, hosted by Jack and his associ
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Back in West Valley Rocks, Grace and Noah became even more discreet about things than ever, but they were doing as Zeke had asked them to be. Things were a bit tough, between going to work, and making sure to close early, and driving back home to ensure no one from Diana came to threaten her again.Noah had insisted actually, but she didn’t want to have to be that scared anymore. Now, she was eased into closing early and getting back home early where it was save.Speaking of Diana, according to Noah, who wanted to meet with her and ask her about sending that man, she was nowhere to be found in town, so maybe she had skipped town, or at least, that was what Grace believed.Anyway, after work today, she had decided to make some pot roast she would be taking with her over to Noah’s parents, as they had invited a small number of people over to their house to celebrate the success of Zeke and his wife’s wedding, and honeymoon.Grace shook her head when she remembered Tammy calling her to i
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The dimly lit apartment seemed smaller than usual as Noah and Grace stood facing each other, the tension thick between them. Grace’s hands trembled slightly as she struggled to articulate her fears. “Noah, I can’t do this anymore. We were so close to being caught tonight. I can’t bear the thought of something happening to you.”Noah’s jaw clenched as he tried to maintain his resolve. “But Grace, we’re onto something. This isn’t just about us anymore. There’s something fishy going on in that warehouse, and I need to find out what it is.”“But at what cost, Noah?” Grace’s voice cracked, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. “I can’t lose you. I won’t be able to live with myself if anything happens to you because of this.”He softened, realizing the depth of her distress. “I understand, Grace. I do. But if we stop now, we might never uncover the truth. I can’t just turn away.”They stood in silence for a moment, the weight of their opposing desires pulling at the fabric of their rela
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The warm fragrance of sandalwood and man filled her nostrils, making her want to thread her fingers into the heavy waves of his hair, so she could hold him there and simply breathe in.They had just finished packing and Noah and came to her room to find her, to talk, but somehow, they had ended up in each other’s arms, his tongue down her throat.Her heart stuttered as he released her hands to slide one of his under her hair to the nape of her neck. The first brush of his mouth against hers had sent her eyelids drifting down so she could savor the firm warmth of the lipsHe traced the line between her lips with the tip of his tongue, not invading, just stroking lightly, shifting his weight so his thigh pressed between hers, the thin material of her skirt pulling tight around her hips to accommodate him.Grace moaned as she parted her lips, he swept inside, his tongue teasing the moist flesh of her mouth as he stroked it around, then he moved his leg between her thigh a little bit.It
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Grace sighed, feeling a mix of relief and regret. “Noah, I… I’m sorry,” she said, her voice tinged with remorse. “I had no idea you felt that way. I was hurt and confused, thinking I had repulsed you in anyway. I mean, I’ve seen how attractive your ex girlfriend looks, so...”She trailed off to look away from him, getting embarrassed from talking this close to him. He put his hand under her chin to raise her face to his, a small smile playing on his mouth.Their eyes met, a silent understanding passing between them. The air seemed lighter, the tension that had loomed between them dissipating with the truth finally laid bare.“I realized what I should have done when I pulled back. I should have talked to you about it,” Noah admitted, a hint of remorse in his voice. “But when I heard that cry, all I wanted to do was beat myself up and just punish me for hurting you in whatever way.”Grace nodded in agreement. “Yeah, we both should have. But now that we’ve cleared that up…” She trailed o
