The American Soldier Collection 3: Amazing Grace (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (2 page)

Grace couldn’t deal with the memories of that dreadful day she found her sister’s body. No one could understand how that destroyed her. There was something huge taken from her heart, her soul. Something until this day she could feel continuously. Her family tried to console her but they couldn’t comprehend her feelings, her mind, the visions and nightmares she continued to have, not so frequently, but they were there. Being the one to find her sister’s body hardened her heart. She no longer felt that instant connection to anyone. It was a guard, a shield of some sort that kept her from truly opening up her heart and loving again. Which explained the two ex-boyfriends and noncommittal relationships she had. She was scarred for life, so what did it matter anyway?

Grace shook the thoughts from her head then smoothed out her red dress as she looked out the window toward the clear sky. “Almost home,” she whispered, feeling the shaky breath. She was a completely different person now. A mature, sophisticated, worldly woman who probably no longer fit in the small country setting in the suburbs of Houston, Texas. Not that she was stuck up or snobby. No way.

She grabbed the fashion magazine and stared at the gorgeous sunset and equally attractive model posing on the cover. Pride filled her soul.

She remembered the scene, the warmth of the air, the feel of the sand from the Italian beaches as she focused and refocused the lens of the camera to capture the moment perfectly.

In the two years she spent away from home she continued her exciting career as a professional fashion model photographer. Recalling her conversation with the owner of the magazine, she was certain she would win an award for the brilliant photograph.

“Grace…you are amazing, absolutely amazing. There isn’t a soul out there who could have pulled this photo shoot off, never mind capture such a breathtaking scene. Get ready to add another award to your shelf and a nice fat bonus when the issue is released.”

Grace smiled to herself.

“How long are you planning on staying in the States? I want you in Milan in three weeks. We have a tight schedule approaching.”

At the moment three weeks seemed like a lifetime away from Europe and work. There was no reason for her to stay that long. No reason at all.

Besides, she would be lucky if she lasted a few days. As excited as she felt about seeing Jamie, she was dreading the awkward moments among her family when she arrived. Two weeks from today would be the three-year anniversary of the death of her sister Clara. A homecoming visit that could be misconstrued as bad timing.

Grace sensed the plane’s descent and felt her belly drop at the sensation, which added to her anxiety as the wheels touched down and the rush of warm Texas air surrounded her. She was home. She hoped she was ready for this and prayed for her sister’s guidance.

As she walked through the terminal, she saw her brother Peter standing there waiting. The anxiety of seeing her brothers and her family was now overtaken with deep emotion and need. She missed them all so terribly.

Peter was handsome and looked older, more sophisticated, than she recalled. He was only thirty-eight, still as good looking as ever, her oldest brother and her best e-mail friend.

* * * *

Peter stood in the terminal waiting for his baby sister to arrive. He wondered how she would look. His baby sister was now twenty-five years old, a professional photographer, and world traveler. He was going to be so supportive to her. He wanted her to stay here in Texas back home where she was supposed to be. The worry about her being abroad, all alone, and on dangerous photo shoots bothered him. He was always protective of Grace, but now that she was back home, he intended on her visit turning into a complete return. He and his brothers and family missed her way too much.

He was pacing now and his heart was racing as he heard the announcement come across the intercom confirming once again that Grace’s flight had arrived on time. He was excited, he was nervous, and he didn’t know what to expect. Many times he had thought of traveling to London or Paris to visit her and make her come back with him but he knew that would cause a wedge between them. He lost one sister and he didn’t want to lose another. His brothers and mother had discussed the idea plenty of times but their mother just kept saying “She’ll come back when she’s ready.”

Peter wondered how his mother dealt with Grace leaving. She was so understanding and accepting, yet he knew how she would cry herself to sleep at night worrying about Grace’s safety. They all worried about Grace.

Peter knew everyone would be shocked and surprised at the sight of Grace at the wedding. They all missed her so much and wanted her to be home. Their cousin Jamie was sad that her best friend and cousin couldn’t attend her wedding. She wanted her to be her maid of honor but Grace declined. She told her she just wasn’t ready to come home yet. That was when Peter bombarded Grace with e-mails and phone calls insisting that she attend the wedding. Then he would work on keeping her here, in the States.

He smiled, filled with the feelings of success.

Peter looked across the terminal, glanced at his watch, then looked again and saw the most attractive brunette. He watched as others in the airport turned their heads to take a look. Peter thought she was a model, standing at about five foot six, with long legs and a very thin figure. She had on a short one-piece, fitted, floral red dress and matching red heels. It took him a moment. Then his mouth dropped when he realized the beautiful model was his baby sister Grace.

Moments later he was pulling her into his arms, hugging her, and nearly causing her to lose her breath.

Grace was crying, and Pete was just glad that she was home again and wondered how the hell he was going to keep her here with the family forever.

“Oh my God, Grace, you look gorgeous. You shouldn’t be the photographer. You should be the model,” Peter told her as he stepped back to look at her some more.

She didn’t look like Clara so much anymore. She was much thinner and her facial features were different. He would never say what he thought out loud. He knew that would upset Grace to still be compared to Clara after all these years. But he wasn’t comparing his two sisters. He was admiring his one and only baby sister.

Peter hugged her again and she responded by hugging him tightly in return. “I missed you, Peter.”

“And I missed you, baby sister.” He stepped back and looked at her again. He gave his head a shake. “Damn, woman, I am definitely going to have to keep my eye on you.” He grabbed her suitcase and then took her free hand and led her out of the airport. She looked at him as if not understanding his comment. Could she be oblivious to her beauty? His baby sister was stunning.

They traveled to the hotel where Grace insisted she would stay for a while until other plans were made. He cringed when his sister said she wouldn’t be staying in the States too long.

Peter of course got her the master suite at the best four-star hotel in the area. He could afford it and he only wanted the best for his sister. He wanted to spoil her and to love her. After all they had some time to make up.

They talked in the hotel room for a while and Peter informed her that no one knew she was coming to the wedding. Not even his wife Lindsey.

“She’s going to kill me when she finds out I’ve been hiding this from her.” Peter laughed.

“Hopefully she’ll forgive you quickly. How’s Mom doing?”

“Mom’s been keeping busy with Eric’s social circle and feeling pretty good. That guy’s always trying to make friends. Life as a politician I guess,” Peter said with a smile and they laughed.

Eric was a nice, quiet man who owned a local hardware store in the area. He was just beginning to get his feet wet in the local political ring when Grace left for Europe.

Everyone knew of the family’s tragedy and Eric was a big supporter of the local law enforcement and their need for programs to better train them in homicide investigation. They lived in a small town and things were handled differently.

“Everyone is going to be so happy to see you tonight. Jamie’s going to go crazy, Mom’s going to be shocked, never mind John and Frank. I’m going to have a lot of people angry at me.”

“I hope they really are happy to see me. I know I’ve missed everyone so much. So how is her fiancé, Tod? Is he still a really nice guy? “

“He’s a great guy and a great detective. He has an awesome reputation. He’s a lot like dad, Donald.”

Peter proceeded to tell Grace a little bit about Tod. He was enjoying how easy it was to speak with her. It was as if she’d never left and he loved every second they shared one another’s company.

“Donald is going to be so thrilled to see you there tonight as well. You know every time I’ve seen him at the office or courthouse he asks about you. This is going to be great. Now let’s go over the plan. “

* * * *

They sat down to prepare their surprise, and with each detail Grace couldn’t help the nervous feeling she had.

Her brother had every detail covered thoroughly, and she watched him closely, admiring his strong features and uncanny resemblance to their father.

There was no doubt in Grace’s mind that her brother Peter was amazing at his job as a prosecuting attorney who worked in the district attorney’s office. He was very smart and very well known in the area.

Grace’s whole family was involved in some public service job or another.

Her oldest brother Frank had been promoted to detective last year. Her brother John became a SWAT team member a year before Clara was killed. Now he was a SWAT team trainer of some kind.

Her mother’s husband Eric was a local business owner and politician, and Sarah fell right into the position of politician’s wife. She was a charity worker and the main reason why Eric was so successful.

Grace, however, chose a different path. She had enough of police officers, detectives, politics, the media, and everyone knowing her business. She didn’t want to walk down the street and be known as the girl who found her sister’s body.

She left the state and the country to be alone and unique. She was her own person and it was her own motivation, determination, and hard work that got her to where she was today.

As a professional and established photographer, people waited and held off major photo shoots until she was available.

It was all positive attention. Being in the spotlight with such a strong, immediate reputation for being one of the best was what kept her away from home and away from the negative spotlight that surrounded her. Always being known as the sister who was alive, the one who found the body, the sister of the victim of a serial killer. God, she hated that one, she hated all the quirky little headlines that ran every day for a year, and each one more shocking and emotionally heart wrenching than the next.

Grace knew she had to leave. Everywhere she went reminded her of Clara. She missed her sister so much. She just couldn’t bear to remain in the town where they grew up together and enjoyed life. It was too sad.

She had no choice or she, too, would die.

That was the way she felt then and she knew she had made the right decision in leaving.

Her soul, her spirit was evaporating. She was depressed, weak, and losing confidence in herself daily.

If she was to survive, be her own person, and succeed in life, she had no other choice but to leave her family and friends before it was too late.

Peter left the hotel room an hour later and Grace decided to indulge in a long, hot Jacuzzi bath. The hotel provided a wide range of bath oils and after-bath fragrances to enhance the experience.

Grace noticed the large ivory pillar candles scattered about the room. They were those cool battery-operated ones, so she turned the switches on each one.

Once the room was glowing with soft candlelight, the aroma of jasmine filled the air, and the last bit of hot water rose to the precise level in the tub, Grace turned off the faucets.

She finished putting the last couple of bobby pins in her hair to help keep it above her head then removed the thick, warm, complimentary hotel robe.

As she entered the water, she could feel her muscles relaxing then her eyes close as she leaned back, lost in the solitude of pleasure. But in the back of her mind, that uneasy, worrisome feeling ate at her gut.

Cheryl Perez couldn’t stand the pain any longer. She knew this was it and that she was going to die. She didn’t want to die but he continued to touch her, cut her with some kind of long, sharp object. She couldn’t see what it was or his next move, which was driving her crazy.
Just kill me already. Just stop the pain.
She was shaking profusely as he continued to talk to her, repeating himself, saying sick, mean things to her. She wanted him to stop. She prayed for him to stop.

“Stop talking to me! Stop talking to me!” she screamed as she shook her head.

The tape laid flat against her eyes and they stung with every move she made. The sick bastard did it on purpose, he knew the pain it would cause and it gave him such deep satisfaction to do it.

He laughed at her and continued to terrorize her with his slow, deep, chill-inflicting voice.

* * * *