Steel Hearts: Amazing Grace

"Right, she slammed the door and hurried through the quickest shower of her life. Then she went out to meet with the police and told them the same story she told her brother and Mitch last night before her place had been destroyed. She had no clue who had been stalking her or why they would have destroyed her apartment.

"Thank you for your help, Miss Freeman. Will we be able to contact you here if we have further questions?" the officer enquired.

"Until I can find an apartment I can afford," she sighed. "I'm guessing I lost my bond on the last apartment," she gave a sad, crooked smile. "Is it okay if I go back and pick up some stuff so I can get to work tonight or tomorrow?"

"We'll let you know as soon as the forensic team have collected evidence, but I wouldn't recommend staying there. Are you able to stay here or with your brother until you find somewhere else to live?" the officer asked. "Here's my card if you have any more questions of your own or if this person harasses you in any other way."

"Thank you, and you will let me know when I can return to get what I can from the apartment?" she asked.

"We will. Thank you for your time, Miss Freeman," he said and moved toward the door with his silent partner, who only nodded in her direction.

"Okay, can you look through what we managed to save last night and tell me what do you need urgently that I can replace for you? Your uniform? That's just a white shirt black skirt, right?" Teddy asked once the officers were gone, and Grace sagged deflated into the couch.

"Was it smashed?" she asked, not moving to get up and look through the garbage bags he indicated.

"I'm sorry," Teddy answered, knowing she was asking about her guitar. It had been given to her by the elderly case worker who had placed her in the group home with Teddy before retiring. It was a horrible place that they both bore scares from in their own ways, but it was also there she had learned to play the music she loved.

"I should have grabbed it when you had me pack a bag. It's my bad," Grace sighed and got up to look through what could be saved from the devastation of her apartment last night.

"What?" Saxon asked, stepping from the wall where he had been observing since the police arrived. "What was smashed?"

"Nothing important. An old guitar that always needed tuning," she smiled sadly. "The better bit of a bad time in my life that I should have let go of years ago." She continued to rifle through the bags. I don't suppose there is a laundromat nearby. I don't like the idea that he did something nasty to the clothes the guys were allowed to salvage once the police team had finished," she pulled a face.

"There's a laundry room here," Saxon answered and grabbed a bag, leading the way to the washers and dryers. "This place was built as a second packhouse for when the brothers are in town," he explained. "You'll be safe here."

"Thanks, Saxon. I'll be out of your way as soon as I can get my shit together," she said sadly.

"There is no hurry. It's just you and me here plus your brother and the guys for as long as they want to stay and make sure you are safe," Saxon reassured her. "Any of the new brothers who are in town will stay upstairs.

*****

A few days later, aside from where she was living, life had returned to normal for Grace. Thanks to the generosity of her brother and his friends, her wardrobe had been updated with the essentials. She was back at work surrounded by her friends again, and she'd started looking for a new apartment herself because her brother didn't seem to be in any hurry for her to leave the Doss House.

On her second day back at work, she bussed a table and found a disturbing picture. It showed her on the night she had discovered her apartment destroyed. Mitch was holding her cradled against his chest as she sobbed. A large red X covered Mitch's face, and on the back, the message read: "You got this man killed. Remember who you belong to slut before anyone else gets hurt." Grace didn't scream. It was as if the photo had paralysed her, and she just stood there staring at it and shaking.

"Grace, what's wrong?" Alana asked and touched the hand holding the photo to see it better before gasping. "Go, go call your brother or whoever. I'll cover your tables."

"Grace?" A male voice called from the door. Saxon had been watching her and the café from across the street. He had seen the moment something went wrong for Grace. He took the photo she held out to him and swore. Mitch was knocked off his bike that morning by a reckless driver, but he wasn't dead or even injured that badly. "Mitch is okay. He's back at the Doss. I can take you to him. Where's your boss?" he asked.

"I'm right here," A woman in a sleek black pencil skirt and silk blouse approached.

"Good, Grace needs a leave of absence until her stalker can be caught unless you want this place filled with her personal security every time she works a shift," Saxon said in a hard unemotional voice. "Considering he is threatening her friends to get at her now, it may happen regardless."

"I don't think that will be necessary," Carol said dismissively. "I don't need the drama, so she can have all the leave she needs. Probably best if we make it permanent don't you think? Make sure you clean out your locker before you go."

"I'm sorry, Carol," Grace said. She knew she was being fired and resigned herself to the fact. She didn't want her shit coming down on her friends who also worked there. If her stalker was going to disrupt her work life, she couldn't stay here. Carol would never tolerate the disruptions. So now she not only needed to find a place to live but another job, all because of one asshole who wouldn't leave her alone.

"You have no reason to be sorry. I was doing her a favour not calling the police to investigate the threat and confession left as a tip for you," Saxon said. He usually enjoyed watching those extreme emotions play over another face, but he wasn't in hunter mode right now. So instead, for the first time since he was a young teen, he went into protector mode, and it wasn't until Grace nodded and the fear in her eyes started to turn to trust that he got that rush he enjoyed. Strange that this girl made him feel that way, this girl who was practically off-limits to him.

"You'll take me to see Mitch?" she asked quietly.

"After you clean out your locker," Saxon agreed, guiding her toward the back of the café.

"You can't go back there," Carol said.

"If you think I am leaving her alone for more than a second right now, you can think again," Saxon growled in return. "She and her friends have another job to go to if they want, so be careful about your next words," he warned.

Carol narrowed her eyes but stayed silent as Grace led Saxon back toward the lockers. He halted her when the lockers came into sight in a nook just around the corner near the kitchen entrance they had taken.

"I'm guessing you didn't put that there?" he indicated the pink envelope sticking out of the joint between the metal lockers.

"It wasn't here when I started my shift, but maybe it's one of the other girls." She said, doubt colouring her voice.

"Give me a sec," he said and disappeared, returning with latex kitchen gloves for her. She understood and picked it up, showing Saxon her name in script across the front. Then, she opened her locker, retrieving her bag and jacket before following him back into the cafe.

"Carol, either you or one of your staff let an evil man back here, or one of them is an evil person, so I'm afraid the police will need to be involved now," Saxon said urbanely, using his best manners in the face of Carol's building rage. He put his phone to his ear and called the same officer that had taken on the case after her apartment had been destroyed.

"Alana, can you bring us a couple of iced waters, and I'll tell you about the job opportunity? Unfortunately, this is no longer a safe place to work," he murmured to Grace's friend as he went to a booth to wait for the officer.

Officer Ensler was there by the time Grace had taken a sip of water and opened the pink envelope with shaking hands to reveal a Valentine's Day card. The card held a guitar on the front decorated with a world map and the simple message of "You rock my world." The message inside was handwritten with block print and said, "I'm going to be your Valentine." At the top and "Your welcome" at the bottom.

Throughout the interview at the café and again when the officers followed them home to interview Mitch for a second time after his accident, that morning Saxon stayed by Grace's side. For a man that had scared her so thoroughly at their first meeting, the only other person she felt so protected by was Teddy, and even he didn't seem as intense. It should bother her that he was shadowing her and crowding her personal space, but strangely she found comfort in his presence.

"Mitch," Grace murmured his name as she knocked on the door to his room.

"Come in, Gracie," he chuckled. She opened the door slowly and stepped inside but didn't go any closer, making him frown. "What's wrong, gorgeous?"

"Did they show you the photo that was left for me at the Café?" she asked, keeping her eyes trained on the floor.

"Fuck! This isn't your fault, Grace! Do not let that guy get into your head," he said gruffly, making her jump in fright at the sound.

"I'm so sorry, Mitch. I didn't know, or I wouldn't have put you in that position," Grace stumbled over her apology. "This is all my fault, and I'm sorry I should never have involved you or Teddy." Tears formed in her eyes at the thought of Teddy or anyone else being hurt, and she lifted her eyes to the bruised and battered man lying on the bed.

"Aww honey, come here," he held out an arm to her, and she took a tentative step closer. "This is not your fault, you hear me? If it wasn't me here, it could very well have been you, and Teddy would be in jail for killing the mother fucker," he said seriously, "And nobody wants that scenario, so you stay here with us where it's safe. Trust Saxon. He's the best at what he does for a reason."

"I don't want you or anyone else hurt because of me," she shook her head. "I think I should just go. It was dumb to call Teddy. He's not even my real brother. He doesn't need to be putting his brothers in danger this way. He will hate me if anyone else gets hurt because I am staying here. I should have gone to stay with Jenna or Alana, maybe."

"They wouldn't have survived his attack, Grace," Mitch said gently, still trying to beckon her closer, but she gasped and stepped back out of his reach.

"Whoever this is wants you for himself," Saxon came into the room behind her. "He wants you isolated and alone, so it's easier for him to take you. He wants you to react just like you are and leave us if he tried to follow through on his threat. Of course, if you went to your girlfriends, he would do the same thing."

Grace turned and backed away from Saxon, not realising she was moving closer to the bed until Mitch's hand curled around hers and tugged her back to sit on the edge of the bed where he could wrap his big arms around her.

"There, that's better," he sighed. "Teddy isn't the only one here who cares about what happens to you. We all do, and you will probably find Beau and Eli will be here to check on you once they have fixed your car."

"Or before," Beau said from the doorway to the room. "We have to wait on a few parts, so we came to see Mitch prove just how bad of a rider he was, yet again," he teased. "Hand over the girl before you hurt her too."

Saxon backed into a corner of the room, watching as the three friends bantered and passed Grace between them, hugging her and checking for injuries themselves as if they couldn't trust their friends or her assurances that she was okay. He wanted to be that familiar and easy with her. These men loved her, that much was evident, and jealousy sparked deep within him. He didn't think he was capable of such an extreme emotion himself, but it was there and made him feel queasy. He had always sought out the intense feelings of others and fed on them, believing himself incapable of producing them himself until now with this girl.

The reality of what he felt for her shocked him. He knew he was drawn to her, and that was odd on its own, but the jealousy and the genuine need to rush in and protect her today, to fix things for her to make life better for her, that was all new, and he wasn't sure what to do with that. He only knew he couldn't stop. He didn't want to stop.

Since their first meeting, Saxon had become obsessed with her when she sang and touched his heart in one of those Disney moments, thawing his cold heart out a little. He had checked on her, knew where she lived and worked, who her friends were and what she did for fun. Still, he had not seen her stalker or the danger that was coming her way, and he hated that. He felt guilty for not seeing it even though he had been watching her from the shadows himself, if not precisely stalking her in the same crazed way this man had.

He needed to fix this, and understanding how the stalker might be operating, he was pretty sure he was the one person who could stop this guy. The psycho had crossed the line of sanity when he had lashed out at Mitch and admitted to it. There wasn't much for the police to go on, but this guy didn't know who he was messing with now, and Saxon would make him pay for ever thinking he could lay a finger on what was his. Grace may not know she was his yet, but it was inevitable now, and she would realise it soon enough. Then let that fucker come for him.

A plan started to form in his mind as he stood there watching three of his best friends and Grace laughing and teasing each other. He would need these three men and Teddy on board for his plan to work before he talked to Grace. So he picked up his phone to text Teddy and organise choir practise later that night. The question was would he let Grace in on his plan first or after he had the support of her brother and his friends.

*****

Part 2.

The smell of something sweet toasting drew Grace to the kitchen. Despite hearing the murmur of male voices, she walked around the corner from the short hallway to her room, making herself visible to whoever it was. She stopped in her tracks to find them all there. Teddy, Beau, Eli and even Mitch had propped himself in a chair around the table with the rest of the guys. It took her a moment to notice Saxon was the one in the kitchen toasting what now smelled like slices of banana and walnut bread.

"Alright, Mitch. We've let this go on long enough, but we can't subject Grace to your stench. Let's get you cleaned up," Eli chuckled and stood with Beau to help Mitch to his feet as they walked him from the room.

"That's not necessary," Grace said with wide eyes.

"Believe me. It is," Teddy laughed. "Come grab some toast while Sax is still in the mood to make it."

"Yeah, that mood just died," Saxon murmured and came to the table bearing a warming plate with a variety of toasted fruit bread and offered it to her before placing it in the middle of the table. "Would you like some juice?" he offered.

"I'll get it," she started to get up.

"I'm already up," he stopped her and turned back into the kitchen.

"Gracie, we talked last night about what happened to Mitch and that your stalker took credit even though he wasn't the one who hit Mitch," Teddy said with a frown. "It could mean he has friends helping him and that it would be better for you to leave town and stay in a safe house with us until we can deal with him."

"The problem with that is, if we can't find him now and we put you into hiding, he might never resurface again," Saxon said as if it was not the preferred outcome. "To catch this guy, you need to be accessible, but in a safe way where we can control the interaction. At least until Valentine's Day, which seems to be his timeline for revealing himself to you."

"Okay, I'm in favour of not having to give up my life and friends here to go into hiding. What would staying accessible entail?" She asked, and seeing disappointment flutter over Teddy's face. She reached out a hand to reassure him. "I'm just finding out what's involved. I haven't said I would be the bait in Saxon's trap yet."

"It's okay. I agree with him, as do the guys, but I can't bear the thought of you being broken again if anything goes wrong," he sighed, and she widened her eyes.

"You told them that?" she whispered, her voice choked up.

"Not the details, just that it happened, and I can't let you go through that again," he said without an apology. "This is serious, Grace; this guy is happy that Mitch was hurt, and he thinks you will still want him after doing that to Mitch, and what he did to your apartment and car because he saw you with us."

"Depending on how long he has been stalking you, he has probably seen you with Teddy and the guys before, so I would think he is not so much jealous that Mitch was your lover but more so that you would turn to him for comfort," Saxon said reasonably. "How long have you had the feeling someone was watching you and that things have been going missing?"

"I don't know exactly,it got worse over the holidays, but it was happening before that. I was creeped out by weird noises and knocking in the apartment around Halloween," she offered but couldn't be more specific. "I didn't notice my things going missing or stuff moving in my apartment until the holidays, though."

"So, it's been this way since you last went out to Eversley to sing with your friend's band?" Saxon pressed.

"Yeah, I guess so. Were you there?" Grace asked.

"For a little while," he admitted. Then he turned to Teddy again. "Hypothetically, what if someone out there saw her sing and decided she was the girl for him except that she was surrounded by your friends that night and sat on Mitch's lap for a good portion of the night."

"But I have only seen the guys a couple of times since then," Grace said. "So, he'd know we love each other like siblings. They're my brothers' friends none of them thinks of me as girlfriend material."

"Pretty sure they've all thought about it. It's only natural. You're hot even by little sister standards," Teddy shrugged.

"Seriously? You could say that with a straight face, Teddy?" she laughed and brushed off his words.

"Back to the topic at hand," Saxon grumbled, making Grace furrow her brow. "I was trying to say that maybe he is trying to scare her out of the city and back to her friends in Eversley. If that is where this all started," Saxon finished his earlier thought.

"Well Fuck," Beau said, coming back into the kitchen after leaving Eli to keep an eye on Mitch,

"You're right. The stalker would have seen you interact with Teddy and his friends and not deem them as much of a threat despite what happened to Mitch, which I feel was more of an accident that he used to his advantage. That's why I am now your boyfriend, and you will be working and singing in my new club a couple of times a week."

"You? You don't even like me, and you are going to pretend to be my boyfriend?" Grace exclaimed as she blinked at him in confusion.

"Who said I didn't like you?" he demanded. "Nothing could be further from the truth. I didn't know who you were when you strolled into the workshop the first time we met, but I have been nothing but friendly since then."

"First impressions matter because they are hard to shake," she shrugged.

"Gracie, I need to know your safe, so until Valentine's Day, you live, work and remain in this building unless you are with Saxon or the guys, understand?" Teddy commanded. "I couldn't bear it if you broke again. So you need to do this for me if you won't do it for yourself." He knew it was emotional blackmail, but he wasn't above fighting dirty to keep her safe.