Gracie - Sherry Foster Page 0,11
it. “Did I ever tell you what I thought the first time I saw you?”
“A time or two, but don’t let that stop you.”
Her lips twitched as she watched her friend. She had told the story a time or two, but it was one story that never failed to bring a smile to Halo’s face and smiles had been in short supply lately.
“So there I was, tracking down the guys who took my sister. I was cold, I was hungry and I was mad as hell.”
“You were also a bit drunk.” Halo told her.
“Hey, who’s telling this story?”’
“Sorry, do go on.”
“So anyway, there I was, a tiny bit tipsy—” Gracie continued.
“Drunk off your ass.” Halo muttered.
She glared at him. “I had been tracking the bastard from one bar to the next, dammit. Now shut up. I am getting to the good part.”
“Any part with me in it will always be the good part.”
Gracie rolled her eyes and drew in a deep breath. “I swear I will end you myself.”
“No you won’t, you love me too much.”
“Whatever. If you are done interrupting me?”
Halo settled back in his chair and waved his hands around. “I wasn’t interrupting, you were leaving out critical information and you know you were trained better than that.”
“Not back then I wasn’t. No training at all, remember?”
“Yeah, you looked like a drunk, drowned rat.”
“Dammit Halo, it was pouring rain outside, what was I suppose to look like? Are you going to let me finish the story or not.”
His eyes widened. “I am not stopping you. I am sitting here minding my own business. You are the one who keeps leaving out important stuff.”
“Fine, whatever. There I was, a tiny bit tipsy, soaking wet, cold, hungry, and mad as hell. But after all the time I spent I finally had the man. I knew he was in that bar and I was going to get him to tell me where my sister was. I was going to own him that night.”
“Except you were so drunk you couldn’t walk straight, much less take your vengeance on the man.”
Gracie ignored the interruption as her thoughts wandered back to that night years ago. “I walked in and I saw him. But what I didn’t know was how many men he had on his payroll. I had no idea his organization was so massive. I didn’t even get close to him before his paid muscle had me on my knees with my arms twisted behind my back. I never even saw them move. But there you were, all dressed up, prancing around like the diva you are. I thought they were going to break you in half. But instead of watching you, they saw you as such a non-threat they let you walk right up to the man.”
“Darlin, I didn’t walk, I pranced. You know I did, you were watching me with the most stupefied expression on your face. Almost like you had never seen a gay man before.”
“Not like you I hadn’t.” Gracie admitted.
“I looked good that night didn’t I.”
“You look good every night. But that night, you were the hero I didn’t know I needed. You moved so fast I barely saw your hand flash out.”
“His hired goons never saw it.”
“I know, and your screams when you saw the blood. I thought, I mean, I didn’t know what to think. I thought you stabbed him, but I knew no one could have screamed like such a girl at the sight of blood if they were the one who caused the blood. My mind insisted you killed him but my ears insisted you didn’t.”
“I am damn good at what I do.”
“I know. You went screaming from the bar, tripping over me, freeing me from the guy who had me, and ended up trying to crawl up me or behind me or something, I wasn’t sure what, to get away from the murderer who you swore was going to kill us all. You had those guys so confused they never saw you drag me out. You had me confused. I didn’t know whether to hold you and try to comfort you or run or try to capture one of his guys and get the location of my sister from someone else.”
“I had everyone fooled.”
“You were my hero that night.”
“I wish I had been in time to save your sister. We didn’t know about her when we tracked him down.”
“I know. Even if you had known, you couldn’t have saved her. She had been