Page 53 of Beast

And that was the truth. Grady had gone radio silent. My texts went unanswered, my calls went straight to voicemail. Even his Facebook page was offline. Nothing. It was like he had vanished from the world, like he’d only been a figment of my imagination.

Benny started to say something, but I tuned him out as an idea hit me.

“Actually, Benny, maybe I can reach him. Will you let me dance a tribute to him on a show?”

Benny squinted his eyes. “Of course, luv. We can do sometime in the next few weeks if you like. Just let me know what you need.”

I squealed and hugged him. I couldn’t wait to choreograph a dance for Grady. Show him with my body what I hadn’t been able to say with words.

But how could I make sure he’d be watching? I quickly hatched a plan.

I picked up my phone and called a reporter—the same reporter who had written that horrible article about him.

After leaving a quick voicemail, my phone rang.

“Miss Applebaum, thank you for reaching out to me. Did you want to go on record regarding Grady Williams?”

“Yes. I did. Yes, we had a deal, but along the way, I fell in love with him. Grady’s the most heroic, romantic, and sexy man I’ve ever met. I love him. I’m dancing a tribute for him in a future show. Please make sure to include that.”

I answered some more questions and agreed to send him pictures of Grady and me.

This plan had to work. He would see the article, and hopefully, watch me dance on television.

35

Grady

The blue sky had threads of purple and amber running through it. Sunset approached, but for the first time in years, I wasn’t scared.

I’d been in Montana for the past four weeks, riding horses, taking care of the farm animals, and inhaling the fresh air.

I missed Isa. Her smile, her warmth, her love. We’d had no contact at all. I wasn’t allowed a cell phone or internet access here, and I loved being disconnected from the world.

But not from her.

The more time I had away from her, the more I realized how much I loved her, no matter how ridiculous that sounded. We’d spent a week together, an amazing week. But we were together twenty-four hours a day, I opened up to her more than I’d ever opened up to anyone. In addition to her physical beauty, she was compassionate and non judgmental. And I loved her feisty personality, the way she called me on my bullshit, trying to make me a better man. She made me want to be a better man.

I’d do whatever I could to get her back. Glimpses of myself pre-accident started reappearing in my personality. Could she love the badass Marine instead of the fucked up vet? Time would tell.

“Hey, Grady. Pull up a seat.” Ben, a fellow Marine with PTSD, hovered around the television. We were allowed to watch one hour a week of TV, and since we didn’t get any access to porn, Ben had decided Dancing under the Stars was the closest alternative.

“Nope, not interested. My girl used to be on that show.” My girl, was she still my girl? Was she ever?

“Yeah? Which one?”

And then, as if my eyes were deceiving me, Isa’s incredible body appeared on the screen. Not a clip from an old show, but live. Her hair was now jet-black, her skin was tanner, but luckily she hadn’t lost any of her luscious curves.

“That one.”

The announcer spoke: “And join us next week for a special treat when two-time Dancing under the Stars winner, Bella Applebaum, who will be dancing a special tribute to an American Hero, Sergeant Grady Williams.”

What the fuck?!

The show showed an old clip of her dancing with Pasha, that jackass leading her around the floor like some lovesick puppy. I wanted to kill the motherfucker for ever touching her.

“Damn, dawg. She’s fucking hot. Look at those fucking legs. Did you hit that?”

“I’m about to hit you if you don’t shut the fuck up.”