Page 57 of Beast

Isa grabbed the gun and pointed it at Pasha.

“You going to shoot me, Isa?”

Cocking my arm back, I punched him square in the face, knocking him out cold.

Pasha slumped to the floor and I secured the weapon from Isa.

“Did he hurt you?” I wrapped my arms around her, her body shivering.

“No, he just touched me. You got here in time.” Her voice cracked. “This is all my fault. Pasha, going on the show. I just want to go away with you. You’re all I have.”

“Hey, listen to me. This is not your fault. That guy was clearly a psycho. I’m never going to leave you again, baby. I’ve got you. I love you.”

I helped Isa dress, called 911 and within minutes security ran to the trailer followed by the cops.

After we were hauled down to the station, and after a few hours Isa and I were finally free to go. Together.

“I don’t want to be alone tonight. Or ever. Can I stay with you?”

39

Grady

We checked into a nearby hotel since I didn’t want to drive back down to my place.

Once back in the room, she kept her distance from me and shifted on her feet. “I can’t believe you showed up. Where were you? I called you, texted you, messaged you. Nothing.”

“I couldn’t contact you. I was in rehab. No phones, no internet.”

Her mouth gaped and her shoulders relaxed. “Really? Oh my God, Grady, I was hoping that’s where you were, but I didn’t believe you’d actually go. Do you feel better?”

I walked over to her and held her waist, staring into her eyes. “Yeah, actually I do. It was rough, but some of the therapies made me feel better. I met some cool buddies. I saw that you were going to dance for me on TV. So I left to come find you.”

Her hand reached up and caressed my skin. “Now I feel bad. Were you ready to leave? I can take you back there and wait for you when you’re done.”

“No. I’m good.” I cupped her in my hands and kissed her face. Just a loving kiss. Nothing more, she had been through enough today. “I don’t want to be away from you again.”

I wrapped her in my arms and clutched her to my chest. “Let’s get some rest. I’m taking you somewhere special tomorrow.”

“Where?”

“It’s a surprise.”

40

Isa

The next morning, he woke me before sunrise. “Let’s go.”

“Now? It’s four in the morning. We’ve only slept a few hours.”

“Now, sleeping beauty.”

I yawned and sat up in bed, trying to focus. “I was hoping to spend all day in bed.” I’d missed him so much. I just wanted to make love to him all day, order room service, and watch some movies.

“Ha. Don’t tempt me. Get up, we’re going to be late.”

I hated surprises. “Late? For what?”