Falling With Grace

I’m in control.

I slipped beneath the pool’s placid surface, the water enveloping me like a gentle embrace as I settled on the bottom with an eerie calmness.

Refracted light of the distant mosaic world cast a serene glow on the underwater realm. My nightclothes billowed around me, and tendrils of hair floated, creating an ethereal dance in the liquid sanctuary.

My ears filled with liquid, and bubbles tickled my nose.

Time suspended, my arms floating at my sides, and I embraced the solace the quiet depths of water offered.

Peace.

Ba-bump. Ba-bump.

Silence roared.

I closed my eyes and let the water take my burdens off my shoulders.

22

Elias

Istood over Carlos, the second lead I’d had in the last two weeks—aside from Grace—and sighed, my hands tucked in my pockets.

The long game…

Blood dripped from the hilt of the knife stuck in his jaw in long, thick strands.

Javier leaned over the metal table, rifling through Carlos’ wallet. “Pretty little wife.” He held up a picture of a young woman and a younger Carlos on their wedding day.

I snarled.

Grace shouldn’t have seen that.

Where thehellare her guards?

Maybe I should have walked her to her room—made sure she made it.

“Are you listening?”

I ran a hand down my face. “Yes.”

“We could see if she knows anything.”

“If what Grace said is true, then she doesn’t know any more than this worthlessputa.” I cast a glare at him. “Besides, we still have the Rodriguez’s.”

“We’re going to trust her word?”

“Truth be told, she hasn’t lied, just mastered the art of keeping her lips sealed tighter than some of my own crew.”

“Pfft.” His upper lip curled upward. “Well, either way, we’re ready for them. You just give the word.” He flung the wallet aside as my men dismantled the plastic wall they had just erected, moving to tidy up the mess I’d caused.

“Don’t touch the woman.”

“Because of—”

I dropped five silver coins on the table for the men and walked out.

“I need Grace’s guardsswapped out. If they can’t watch her in a room with just one way in and out…”How are they going to protect her?I pinched the bridge of my nose. “She’s too valuable to be left unattended.”