Chapter 22

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

P iper jerked awake, startled, but she wasn't sure why. She opened her eyes to find Angel on her bed. Her first thought was that Declan had woken at some point, gone to his house to get his dog, and then come back . He could have stayed at his house, but he hadn't.

He'd come back to sleep with her.

What did that mean?

Angel suddenly let out a low growl, and Declan put his hand on her back. "Quiet, girl," he said softly. "I need you to stay here and keep Piper safe while I go check it out."

Um, hello? He was awake? "Keep me safe?" Piper asked. "What's going on?"

Declan leaned over Angel's back, and she could see he was dressed. "There's someone outside," he said. "I'm going to go check it out. Stay here with Angel."

"What?" She bolted upright. "You can't go out there. That's what they do in horror movies and then get chopped up."

"Right. They should call the cops. I'm a cop."

"But—"

"It's what I do." He stood up. All business. All focused.

"It's what you used to do. Do you even have a gun? "

"It's at my house, but I'm good." He walked to the door. "Stay here. I'll be back." And with that, he was gone, closing the door behind him.

Piper lunged for her clothes, getting dressed as fast as she could. Her heart was hammering. It felt like the night she'd been shot, and she didn't like it. Roman couldn't have gotten there already. But what if he'd told the rest of her family, and they'd told the wrong person? Shit, shit, shit. She shouldn't have called him. She should have been smarter.

Or maybe it was Dick. Maybe he'd realized his wife and kids were gone, and he'd figured out that she was involved.

Real alarm shot through her. If Dick came for her, it wouldn't be a stray bullet that got her, like last time. It would be a bullet with her name on it. Or a knife. Or whatever it took to get her to reveal where his wife had gone.

Her heart started racing. She yanked her sneakers on as she heard the front door close.

Had that been Declan going out, or someone else coming in?

Angel was on her feet now, watching the door alertly. She hadn't taken her gaze off it since Declan had gone outside. Did she hear someone, or was she just looking for Declan?

Piper pulled on a sweatshirt, locked the bedroom door, then went to the window. She slid the curtains aside and peered outside. It was dark, and the outdoor lights were on. She couldn't see anything.

What if Declan got shot? What if Dick found Declan first and realized that Declan had been involved as well?

Fear shot through her, startling her at its intensity. She cared if he got shot . More than because he was a human being. Because it was Declan out there.

Suddenly, for the first time, she understood what Kitty had been talking about. The fear of being married to a cop and wondering if every day he was going to die.

She hadn't felt fear like this since she'd left her family. The raw fear of violence that she wouldn't see coming. That he wouldn't see coming. That could tear her life apart again.

Movement caught her eye, and she looked again. Someone was moving in the shadows, along the side of the walkway. It was too dark to tell if it was Declan.

Fear gripped her, and panic closed around her throat.

She yanked the curtain shut and backed away from the window, looking around the room. Angel hadn't moved from the door. Piper had to distract herself or she would freak out.

Take action.

"Angel. I don't like you being the first line of defense," she said. "I don't want you getting shot for me."

Angel whined and thumped her tail, but didn't give up her vigil.

Piper looked around the room, then grabbed a lamp, unplugged it, and flattened herself against the wall by the door. If someone came in, they'd be looking at the dog, not her. It would give her time to hit them with the lamp. She preferred throwing can openers from a distance, but she had to protect the dog, so up close and personal it would be.

"Ready," she whispered to Angel. "Let me know if a bad guy is coming."

Angel didn't take her gaze off the door, her big ears perked and listening.

Piper watched the dog as she waited, her heart pounding.

"I forgot how much I hate feeling unsafe," she whispered to Angel.

The dog didn't even acknowledge her. She was standing stiffly now, her gaze riveted on the door.

What did she hear?

Piper leaned her head back against the wall, watching the dog closely. Angel would tell her before someone reached the door. Angel would know what or who was on the other side of the door. If it was Declan, or if someone had gotten past him.

"This is not okay, Angel," she whispered. "I can't handle this. "

Angel ignored her, clearly quite able to handle it.

Dammit. This was all supposed to be behind her.

Twenty minutes later, Declan paused on Piper's front step, doing a final scan of the night.

The evening was still and quiet, with the only sounds being ones that belonged in the night. Crickets. Bats. Owls.

Whoever it was had left.

Declan hadn't gotten an ID on the intruder, but he'd seen their silhouette. Not enough to even identify the gender or size, but enough to know that a person had been skulking around his property.

The intruder had disappeared into the night when Declan had gone after them, and he'd heard a car engine roar to life before he could reach the street. He'd seen the taillights disappear, but it had been too dark to see anything else.

But someone had been there, and he didn't like it.

He also didn't like the fact that whoever it was had shown up hours after he'd called an old contact, after he'd opened the door to his old life.

He let himself into the carriage house and locked the door behind him. He scanned the interior of the house, listening, feeling it. After a long moment, he was certain no one had entered the house.

Whoever it was had definitely left.

Declan jogged up the stairs and headed toward the bedroom. "It's Declan," he called out. "Everything's fine."

Piper opened the door, and Angel bolted out, wagging and barking. He dropped to one knee to hug his dog, but he didn't take his gaze off Piper. "You okay?"

She leaned against the door frame and folded her arms over her chest. "I now understand what your mom was telling me. "

He frowned. Agreeing with his mom never meant anything good. "About what?"

"What it's like to worry that each time might be the last time I see you."

Shit. "It wasn't like that. Whoever it was took off. Probably just a kid scouting out the house."

"But I didn't know that." She shook her head. "I can't imagine what your mom must have felt with your dad and then you."

Guilt settled in his gut. And anger. He'd heard it too many times. "Okay." He didn't feel like arguing. "I'm going to sleep on the couch to keep an eye out." He turned and walked away. He felt like shit doing it, his old ways surfacing the moment that things turned, but he couldn't stay here and listen to this, after listening to it for so many years.

"Declan?"

"What?" He didn't turn around. He knew he was shutting her out, like he used to do with Diana, but it didn't matter. He wasn't dealing with this again.

Piper didn't answer.

He kept walking, waiting for her to finish.

When he got to the top of the stairs, he turned around. Piper was still standing in the doorway.

"What?" he asked again.

She frowned. "Thank you for going to the rescue."

He shrugged. "It's what I do. What I'll always do." He headed down the stairs, but as he took the first step, his knee tweaked. He caught the railing before he fell, but he didn't look back when he heard Piper suck in her breath.

He didn't want to be weak.

He didn't want to be judged.

He just wanted to go back to being alone.