Chapter 19

CHAPTER NINETEEN

A n hour later, Declan was restless.

Better than being in a high state of stress, but still antsy.

Piper was in deep conversation with a potential bride. His mom was off somewhere making the rounds. And he had no interest in wandering around chatting with strangers about things he didn't care about.

He knew the people at the fundraiser wouldn't appreciate it if he walked up to them and started talking about crime scenes or how to cut tile so it fit perfectly even at an angle.

He'd tried tonight to play the game. And he'd managed to be here. But he still felt no fire, no purpose. The only time he'd felt alive tonight was when he was with Piper or watching her. She was electric here. This was her world, and he marveled at how she seemed to light up anyone she spoke to, no matter who it was. People wanted to talk to her, and she wanted to talk to them.

And all he wanted was to lean on the bar and watch her until she needed him.

"Declan."

He turned his head at the familiar voice and saw Dylan Hart standing next to him. "Hey," he said, surprised. And relieved. The Harts were wealthy as shit, but they were regular people, like him, and he liked them. "What are you doing here?"

Dylan was part of the Hart family from Oregon, nine siblings who had been homeless kids, and then come together as family when they were teenagers living under a bridge. They'd taken the last name Hart, and then made billions with the security technology they'd originally created to break into school and city systems to protect themselves from being dragged back into the foster system.

Although they were primarily ranchers, each Hart had their own business that they did because it moved them. Dylan had a detective agency, and he often worked with an attorney named Eliana Tiernan, who helped women and their kids escape abusive situations. She gave them a new identity, a life, and made sure that no one found them.

Dylan had recruited Declan's off-the-books assistance a couple times in the past when there had been a situation in the local area, but now that Lucas was engaged to Piper's friend, Maddie, the Harts were around more.

The Harts showed up at fundraisers from time to time. They had a ton of money, but they mostly created their own foundations.

"I'm working," Dylan said.

Declan's attention sharpened. "The kind of work I helped you with?"

"Yep."

"Here? Now?"

"Yep." Dylan picked up a beer and turned his back on the room. He leaned on the bar, and watched the room in the mirror above the back of the bar. "There's a woman in a yellow dress by the fireplace. Call her Jane."

Declan found Jane immediately. She was tall and curvy, dressed to perfection. She was smiling and charming, but his trained eye saw the tension in her shoulders. And, most importantly, Declan saw the way the man standing next to her had a tight grip on her elbow, a grip that Declan was pretty sure was leaving marks. "Her husband?"

"Yep. Name's Dick."

Dick was very tall, broad shoulders, and had a hard, cold gaze. "Status?"

"Dick was supposed to be in Paris at a meeting, but he showed up tonight. The kids were with a babysitter Eliana provided, so Eliana has the kids in a car outside. My jet is waiting. But we can't get Jane away from him. We need time for her to get on board before he notices she's gone. He's connected and can mobilize help fast if he knows she's on the run. We need to move fast, because it looks like he's planning to make her leave the party soon." Dylan's voice was low and casual, friendly. Anyone listening wouldn't be paying any attention to their discussion, because his tone was so neutral.

Shit. "You want help."

"Yep."

"What can I do?"

"We need a distraction so I can get Jane out to the car."

Declan studied Dick for a moment, assessing the situation. Dick's attention was laser-focused on Jane. There wasn't much that Declan would be able to say that would get his attention long enough for Jane to slip out, short of assaulting him.

If he wanted his job back, he couldn't assault a civilian.

Dick glanced at his watch, and Declan swore.

"We're running out of time," Dylan said.

"I know." Declan's adrenaline was firing now, all senses on high alert. "I have a secret weapon tonight." He gestured at Piper.

She caught his movement, and paused her conversation.

He gestured a second time and nodded.

Piper, as he knew she would, immediately ended the conversation and hurried over. She glanced at Dylan, then frowned. "Hi Dylan. What's going on?"

Declan didn't waste time. "There's a woman here who needs an extraction. "

She blinked. "What?"

Dylan turned to face her. "My team was hired to help a woman and her kids disappear, but her husband showed up. We need a distraction. Yellow dress."

Piper stared at them for a split second, and Declan could see her processing what Dylan had told her. Now that Maddie was engaged to Dylan's brother, he suspected that Piper knew a little bit about the relationship the Harts had with Eliana and her business helping women escape from bad relationships.

As he expected, Piper pulled her shoulders back and set her jaw. Ready to help. "What's her name?"

"Jane. Her husband is Dick."

"Her real name."

Dylan hesitated, then answered. "Jessie McWilliams."

"Okay. I'll get her away, and then Declan, you need to talk to him and distract him."

Declan nodded. "Give me a topic," he said to Dylan. "What would get his interest?"

"Guns. He's carrying concealed. Notice it and talk guns."

Hell. The guy was carrying? This was a fucking situation. "Okay."

Piper glanced at Dylan, but didn't hesitate with the new information. "Okay, let's go." She strode across the room, waving her hand. "Jessie! Jessie! Yoohoo, Jessie!"

Dylan swore under his breath. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

Declan grinned. "Trust her. I do." He jumped into action, heading across the room after Piper, staying close enough to protect her if things went south.

Because there was no damned way he was letting another woman he loved get in the way of a bullet.

Shit. Love? Had he just put Piper on the list of women he loved?

He had no time to deal with that thought, because Dick and Jane had already turned toward Piper as she charged over to them.