Grant's Blaze (Shark's Edge Book 6)

by Angel Payne

I was in the throes of a crisis that no one in my life wanted to touch with a ten-foot pole.

This broke my heart. The people Rio loved/trusted most would rather put you in a mental institution than help her through her grief and pain

So instead of doing whatever they could to support me, they had me committed to Clear Horizons.

But Grant swooped in to save the day. My very own action hero—Christ knew he had the looks and the physique for the role—carried me out while my mind swam through a drug haze and then stole me away for the trip of a lifetime.

He’s perfect! 🥰🥺

Concentrating on anything for longer than a minute or two was proving to be a challenge. Even on an average day, it wasn’t my strong suit.

I could not lose another man I loved. I wouldn’t survive this time. I knew that declaration to be real with every breath I took. It was the thought that scared me into action every morning and terrorized me in my nightmares every night.

That’s right…. Rio said she loved him 🥲🥰😭

Ohhhkaayyy, not one for sarcasm. Got it.

“Nor have I forgotten why he was on that boat in the first place. So don’t hurl qualifiers in my direction right now, Rio.”

Nice one Elijah 😒

“Is that what I’m sensing, then? You’re blaming me for all of this? If he hadn’t been on that boat with me in the first place, this would have never happened?” “That’s a pretty obtuse conclusion to draw. Even for you. If I didn’t know better, I’d say someone’s projecting.” He raised one perfectly sculpted eyebrow in accusation. “‘Even for you’? What is that supposed to mean?” My voice rose in pitch and volume with each word that tumbled out. “And it sounds like I’m not the only one who’s done some time on the therapy couch!”

The banter between these two crack me up!

God, this smug bastard was infuriating.

That he is! 😂

“He’s going to be so disappointed in me.”

He won’t!

“Listen closely, lady.” He leaned back just far enough to get his arm between us and thump his thumb back into his own sternum. “It was me who took the phone call from my brother when he needed someone to trace your cellphone call from Clear Horizons.” He studied my expression closely before going on. “And it was also me”—thump, thump—“who followed that same best friend out of a fucking burning building filled with innocent people. And here’s the real kicker… You’ll love this part… My best friend was carrying your ass the whole way because you were busy babbling like the corner hobo on a bad Molly bender. And that man loves you so damn much he literally walked over fucking fire to save you!”

This part has my heart going in so many freaking directions! I want to be mad at Elijah, but at the same time, I get what he’s saying… and Rio needs to realise how much Grant loves her!

“Abundantly,” I retorted. “But unless you want your dentist to have to extract your balls from somewhere behind your twelve-year molars, I suggest you back the fuck up, Mr. Banks, and get out of my personal space.”

That’s my girl 😁

“Space,” I repeated in a daze. “Ohhh. Is that where we are? My favorite planet is Saturn. What’s yours?” “Shut up and sit up. You need to drink more, or these hallucinations will get worse.” When I didn’t respond, he gently touched my arm. “Hey. You still with me, man?”

I love their banter 😂

“Why are you naked, Banks? I thought I told you no the last time you tried this shit.” I let both eyes fall closed again but could feel his body vibrate on the seat beside me with his chuckle. “Seriously, man, why don’t you have a shirt on?”

I’m not sharing Elijah or Grant 🤷🏻‍♀️

I couldn’t face her until I pulled my head out of my ass. She didn’t need to see me like this,

and she certainly didn’t deserve to be exposed to this weak, muddled version of me.

“I’m not convinced the woman is fit to take care of herself…or even that little cat.” He pushed his front door open and followed me inside while he finished his thought. “Definitely not both at the same time.”

I disagree!

Take care of you before going home to her and ending up back in caretaker mode.”

She doesn’t need a caretaker!

“How about the blue room? You’ve been in there a couple of times…just not ever by yourself. But maybe the nice memories will help? Shit, what were the names of those two fine females we last had there?”

Stop thinking with your dick Elijah 🤨

“Seriously?” I snapped. “I just want to lie in a bed that won’t have rats running across it in the middle of the night.” My body gave in to another shudder before I continued my thought. “And I don’t want to be woken up by a boot to my stomach. That’s probably not too much to ask in this palace you have here.” I

Oh Grant 😔

“But seriously, do you have something I can throw on for the drive home? I don’t think an Uber driver will appreciate my balls on their upholstery.”

I wouldn’t mind those balls……. *clears throat* 😇

“Do you know the last time I saw a similar look on your pretty-boy face?” my best friend asked. When I didn’t respond, he bulldozed through the silence. “Dude, it was the day we found your mom.”

My heart hurts 😭

“But are you good?” he asked. “Nah, man, I don’t think I am.” I looked at him with worry, already feeling the thick, stinging flood waters rising. “But…I don’t know what to do.”

My poor Grant 🥺

But this…is way heavier than normal.” I thumped on the center of my chest. “In here, man. It feels really, really bad in here.” And fuck if the tears didn’t spring right back up just when I thought I’d

gotten the upper hand on that mess. Goddammit.

“That’s just it.” I scrubbed my hand back around to my nape. “I never felt like I had shit like this to work out before now. How am I supposed to know where to start or what to get worked out?”

And maybe Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny would invite me over for poker night next weekend.

These one liners 🤣

“Remembering?” he echoed, narrowing his gaze. “Okay. Remembering things like what?” “Shit that happened when I was a teenager. Close to the time my mom died, I think.”

I sprang to my feet and gripped at my hair. “Okay?” I spat. “That’s it? That’s your idea of helping?” “Whoa. Easy, Twombley. You look like you want to rip my windpipe out with your fucking fangs.”

“Maybe I do!” I shouted—before catching a long look at my reflection in one of the large picture windows that looked out to the pool area.

He’s snapping 😔

Weirdly, I laughed out that last part. God, I missed that woman.

I love Grant & Rio so much! 🥺

It was becoming a physical ache, but not in the usual places. For the first time in my life, the center of my chest throbbed harder for a woman than between my thighs did.

That’s love, 🥰🥰🥰🥰

“Rio?”

Elijah, you are a dick 🙄

“That was insensitive, man. My apologies. But Grant, your mother was a drug addict, not insane. There’s a difference.”

You are still an arse, Elijah

But have you ever remembered something from your childhood, and the more you think about it, the more you think that it doesn’t really add up?”

Yes..

It dawned on me that maybe I’d crossed the line between tapping into his advice and overburdening him with all my dramatic woes.

I know that feeling well…

“Elijah, can you imagine doing that to the woman you love? Letting her worry even a moment longer than necessary? It’s already shitty enough that I’ve waited this long to reach out to her.”

I love her,” I declared into the briny air. “I’d get down on one knee—hell, I’d get down on both—and straight-up beg her to marry me,

“Blaze.” It was all he said. But it was all he needed to say. His voice was deep and husky, like he’d just woken up. “Grant? Is…it really you?”

“Only because it feels so good to hear your voice, baby,”

Sigh 😌

“I’m so sorry. It’s just that…my God,

I’ve been so worried. So scared. I wondered if I’d ever hear your voice again.”

Fearing something like that is crippling.

“I’ve missed you so much, Blaze. Every single thing about you. Don’t apologize, okay?”

Be still, heart, be still.

There was no use spinning myself into hysteria about this, until I became the woman I used to be.

I promised myself I was going to be a better version of myself when we got off that damn boat, and this was my first test.

But I wanted to be the one he turned to when he got back. More than anything, I wanted to be his safe harbor, the person he felt secure with. It should be my arms that held him and shielded him when he felt threatened. Because Grant would be all those things for me. He already had been. So why couldn’t I return the favor? Why wasn’t I all those things for him? Why couldn’t he count on me the same way I could count on him?

Again, the truth was right there. It stared me in the face when I looked in the mirror, shaking its recriminating finger as soon as I heard my mother’s nagging, doubting voice in the back of my mind. I knew the answer already; I just didn’t want to face it. I wasn’t reliable in most people’s eyes. I wasn’t stable or even sane as far as most of my friends and family were concerned. Hell, two of them had already called the necessary agencies and had me carted off to the funny farm!

This hits home hard….

If I wasn’t comforting the man, who was? Another woman?

Oh, Rio… No 🥺

“I hope I can meet your parents one day soon. I really want to congratulate them on the fucking exceptional human being they made in you, Hannah.”

I love Hannah & Rio’s bond and how Rio is so protective of her

“Oh yeah?” I returned, letting her hear my affectionate undertone. “That’s so cool. My mother would likely accuse me of paying the person.”

Real “motherly” 😔