Chapter 26

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

D ick's eyes were cold, his jaw hard, his face cool.

Oh, shit.

Piper quickly called up on years of practice from her childhood and schooled her face into a charming smile. "Hello. Can I help you?" she asked, pretending not to recognize the abusive sociopath she'd helped Jessie and her kids escape from.

"You were planning a party with my wife on Wednesday night."

She blinked, trying to appear confused, then brightened. "Oh, right. Jessie. Is she all right? She hasn't been responding to my texts. I need to put some deposits down, but I can't go forward without her okay." Could he feel how fast her heart was racing? She felt like she was ten again, trying to stall some jerk while her brothers raced out the back door, leaving her alone to protect their home.

Dick narrowed his eyes, studying her. Sudden realization gripped her. He suspected that Piper had helped Jessie escape. Oh… shit. "If you tell me where she is, I'll forget I met you." His face didn't promise the respite.

Oh, God. Oh, God. The menace pouring off him was surreal. He was like one of the enforcers from her childhood. A man who liked violence and had no qualms using it to solve his problems. And Jessie had been married to him?

Piper lifted her chin, sudden conviction rushing through her. Jessie had escaped her life, like Piper had escaped hers. There wasn't a chance in hell Piper was blowing it for Jessie. Screw Dick and his belief that he could intimidate her into backing down. Never.

She'd been through too much in her life to be afraid of him. She frowned, trying to appear confused. "I don't know where she is. I'm trying to find her." Behind him, Tori came into view and raised her brows in question.

Of course Tori would have read Piper's body language and realized something was wrong. Girlfriends were the best.

Piper immediately gave the signal they'd created when they were all in their early twenties, single, and adventurous. She tapped her right eyebrow five times with her index finger.

Tori's eyes widened, and then she sprinted over, just as Dick leaned in. "Tell me where she is or?—"

"Girlfriend," Tori said, as she grabbed Piper's arm. "Your darling Captain Hawk is getting antsy." She shot a non-apologetic look at Dick. "I gotta steal her. Sorry!" Then, without giving him a chance to respond, the two women turned away and strode off, shoulders back, heads high, walking with as much power as they could summon.

"What was that?" Tori muttered as they wove their way through the party.

"The asshole from the other night. He recognized me."

"Oh…shit." Tori didn't turn around as they made their way through the party. "Did he threaten you?"

"Of course." Piper used the mirror over the bar to look behind her, but Dick was already gone. Crap. Where was he? She didn't like not knowing where he was. "I don't think he knows my name. "

"He'll ask around and get it pretty quick if he wants it." Tori was tight beside her. "Let's bail."

The minute she said that, Piper stopped. "No."

Tori gave her a look. "I know you're desperate for clients, but?—"

"No. It's not that." She put her hands on her hips. "I can't let him drive me out of here. He travels in these circles. I'll see him again. I have to act innocent. Like I have nothing to hide."

"You do have something to hide," Tori said. "You literally helped his wife escape. A guy like that has access to his wife's accounts. He probably went on her computer and saw that there were no messages about his party. He knows you lied, and right about now, he probably has your name. Another three minutes, and he'll know where you live."

Piper's spine tingled, but it wasn't with fear. It was determination. "I have mace."

Tori nodded. "We all do." All four of them had pasts that had taught them how to be tough, how to be strong, how to defend themselves. "No being alone until this is settled, though, okay? Always with one of us."

Piper nodded. "I'll have Declan stay over, so you guys are off night duty."

"Maybe stay at his house?"

Piper raised her brows. "If Dick breaks into my house to come after me and Declan, then his future will be done. I want to tempt him."

"Do you?" Tori put her hands on her hips. "Do you, really? Because this guy is bad enough that his wife hired Eliana to get her out of there, and the Harts were needed to help with the extraction."

Piper took a breath. "No one helped my mom. This is my turn."

Tori stared at her. "Your mom? You mean, your mom needed protection from your dad? What about you? Did you need protection, too? Did anyone help you? "

Piper shrugged. "It was complicated." She paused as she caught sight of Dick again. He was speaking to a woman she'd met at Kitty's fundraiser, and they were both looking at Piper. The woman nodded and said something. "He knows my name." Shit. For all her bravado, she wasn't feeling very safe right now.

Dammit. She hated feeling unsafe. She'd fought so hard for a life where she felt safe, and in one altruistic move, she'd ripped that away from herself.

"Complicated? How complicated?" Tori's face was sad. "What else haven't you told us, Piper? You know you have all of our hearts. We'll help any way we can."

"I know, but sometimes dredging up the past doesn't serve. All that matters is what we do with the life we have now. I refuse to be stuck in my past."

Dick pulled out his phone and called someone, still watching her.

Tori was also following him in the mirror over the bar. "I'm a little worried for you right now," she said. "The Harts need to provide protection for you."

"Eliana makes women disappear. I'm not going to disappear from my life." She pulled out her phone. "I am, however, going to call Declan for a ride home."

Tori grinned. "What happened to making it sex only?"

"I think guarding my body is part of sex, don't you? Nothing personal here." She texted him. Declan. I need a ride home. Soon, if possible.

Her phone rang almost instantly, Declan's name flashing on her screen.

Tori raised her brows. "That was quick. He must have some super Piper sense about your well-being."

Piper tried not to care, but a part of her settled at the sight of his name. "He doesn't know me well enough to notice the undercurrent of terror in my text."

"No?"

"No." She answered the phone. "Hi. "

"What's going on? What's wrong?" He didn't waste time with preamble.

Her throat tightened at his questions. He knew. He paid enough attention that he'd picked up on her tension through a freaking text. She could hear the noise of the bar behind him, and realized he'd called her without even taking time to step away from the bar. "Dick."

"Dick?" He paused for a second. "You want sex?"

Horror shot through her. "Oh, God. No. I didn't mean that." She started laughing, that freakout kind of laugh that combined with building terror. "I was referring to that guy Dick from the fundraiser the other night."

"Oh. I was going to make a joke about sex, but I need to follow this Dick train first. Why are you talking about him?"

"Because he's here, he threatened me, and now he's watching me and talking on the phone. I'm a little concerned he has his heavyweights heading to my car or house right now to kidnap and torture me until I reveal her location. I have my friends here, but I don't want to drive home alone."

Declan swore. "Stay in the ballroom. Do not step away for any reason. Aiden! I'm leaving!" The background sounds of the bar faded, and she knew he was outside.

Her heart tightened. He'd run from the bar for her. God. She'd never had a man be the one to keep her safe before. It felt…foreign. And wonderful. "I'm at the Diamond Plaza Hotel."

"Got it." He paused. "GPS says I'll be there in thirty minutes. When does the party end?"

She looked around. "People are leaving already."

"Fuck. Are you near the bar?"

"Next to it, yes."

"Give your phone to the bartender."

"What?" She stiffened as she glanced at the bartender. He was quite tall, muscled, and looked like he could deal with any drunk who caused trouble. "No. I can handle this. I'll ask him to stay with us myself. "

His truck roared to life. "Piper. Don't fucking do that to me."

She heard the edge of desperation in his voice, and suddenly realized what she'd done to him, dragging him back into a situation like the one that had haunted him, calling him when she was in danger. "Shit, sorry. I didn't mean to drag you into this?—"

"Do you think I'd prefer that you didn't call me, but this time, when I broke into your house, you were actually dead on your kitchen floor instead of meditating? Is that what you think I want? Because let me clarify things for you. I'm a born protector, Piper. I need you to call me and ask for my help any time you're in danger. Never apologize. Got it?"

She took a breath. "Yeah, okay."

"I request that you give your phone to the bartender, Piper. Please."

She felt the iron willpower it took for him not to demand she hand the phone over, and she settled. She could say no. He would never force her. But she knew how bad people could be, and so did he. "Okay."

She waved to get the bartender's attention and held up her phone. "Would you talk to my fiancé, please?"

The bartender gave her a look that said he was so tired of rich people, but he nodded, because he was paid to cater to her. "Sure." He took the phone. "Hello. How may I help you?"

Piper watched as he listened. His eyes narrowed, and he looked at Piper, and then scanned the room. "What does this guy look like?" He asked Piper.

She looked in the mirror and described him.

The bartender's gaze settled across the room. "Got him." He turned away, turning his back to Piper while he continued to talk to Declan.

Tori leaned over. "Update?"

Piper filled her in while the bartender went back to mixing drinks, still on the phone with Declan.

"Damn, girl," Tori said. "Declan checks all the boxes, doesn't he? Dropping everything to keep you safe? "

"I don't have a checklist."

"No, but if you did, he'd fill it in nicely." Tori sat down next to her. "I'm going to text Maddie and Keira. I want them here with us. There is power in numbers."

Piper nodded. "Thanks." She saw Dick leaning against a pillar, watching her. His phone was in his hand, dangling from his fingertips. He wasn't even pretending not to watch her. He was stalking her, trying to intimidate her. Dammit. This wasn't a one-time thing. These were his social circles, and they were hers.

He would never stop until he had his wife back, or had finished his business with Piper.

Tori squeezed her arm. "In it together, girl. We always are."

While Tori texted, the bartender handed the phone back to her. "Piper, my name is Myles Bolden." His voice had an interesting lilt, an accent she couldn't quite place. Cajun, maybe? His skin was dark brown, his eyes impenetrable, his energy focused and all business. Gone was the annoyed bartender. His tone was gentle, but there was an edge to it. "I'm your bodyguard for the next thirty minutes."

Piper took a breath. "All right."

He looked at Tori. "You're her friend?"

Tori cleared her throat. "Yes, I'm Tori."

"So, this man has seen you with Piper?"

Tori glanced at Piper. "Yes."

"Then you're under my protection as well. If you have other friends here, tell them to stay away."

At that moment, Maddie and Keira raced up. "We're here," Maddie said. "Lucas's plane is landing in a few minutes. I'm going to call him, and get the Harts on this?—"

Tori and Piper met gazes and turned toward each other, blocking out their friends. "You guys need to go," Piper said softly, not looking at them.

"What? No?—"

Myles leaned in. "If Dick sees you with Piper, you both become his target. Stay at the bar, but go to the other end and pretend you don't know Piper and Tori. Do it now."

They stared at Myles. "Wow," Maddie said. "You're like a Hart with that intensity."

He raised his brows. "I'll take that as a compliment. I've met a few of them through the Stocktons, and they're good people."

"You know the Stocktons?" Maddie said. "I'm marrying a Hart! The Stocktons will be my family, too."

Myles eyed Maddie. "All the more reason to keep you out of danger. To the other end. Both of you. Now."

"Right. Got it." Maddie grabbed Keira's arm, but didn't look at Piper or Tori. "See you guys across the room, where we can stare longingly at each other."

"Stay safe," Piper muttered. "Please."

"Always."

Piper wanted to hug them as they hurried away. She wanted to grab hold of her friends and keep them close. They were her rocks, her anchors, the only family she felt like she had, and she had to let them go.

Tori put her arm around Piper's shoulders. "You think he saw us with Maddie and Keira earlier?"

Piper looked at her. "Crap. Maybe."

Myles frowned. "If he saw you together earlier, they could be in danger, too. I'm telling them to stay at the bar as well until Lucas can get here." He raised his brows at Tori. "You engaged to anyone handy as well?"

Tori snorted. "I'm engaged to myself."

"Independent woman. I like it." Then he turned and strode to the other end of the bar.

Tori stared after him. "That man exudes pure danger. He's not a bartender. At least not in his soul."

Piper smiled at the way Tori was watching Myles. "He's very rugged."

"He is, isn't he? I feel like a woman could get lost in a swamp, and he'd plunge in, wrestle a few alligators, take down some poachers, and then cart her right out of there without even getting bitten by a single mosquito."

Piper leaned on the bar, grinning at her friend. "Damn, girl. You're attracted to him."

"I definitely am," Tori said, dragging her gaze off him. "That is so unexpected. I need to hydrate more."

Piper chuckled. "Hydrate?"

"Yes. Hydration is the magic elixir for all ailments, including being attracted to dangerous bartenders with secret lives and too much muscle."

"What about part-time bartenders who are ex-cops, dog whisperers, and obscenely wealthy? Does hydration work for that too?"

"Damn straight it does."

Piper grinned and raised her hand. "Myles! Can we get a couple waters?"

"Make it a pitcher," Tori called out. "A pitcher for each of us!" She sat back as Myles nodded. "Dammit. Even his nod is sexy. This is no good. No good at all." She looked at Piper. "Our friendship is ruining me, Piper. It's your fault I know his name and spoke to him."

"Well, you guys made me start thinking of Declan as a man, not a grumpy landlord, so it's payback."

Tori made a face. "I hereby recant all attempts to make you notice Declan. It's very disconcerting to be attracted to a man after a self-commitment to a life of being solo."

"Right?" Piper relaxed a bit, relieved that at least one of her friends understood how stressful it was to be thinking about dating again. "After this is over, let's go on a girls trip."

"To an all-women resort," Tori said. "No men allowed."

"Absolutely." Piper glanced in the mirror over the bar. At first she didn't see Dick anywhere, and she relaxed slightly. Maybe he'd left. Maybe they'd overestimated the level of threat he was. Maybe? —

She suddenly saw him off to her left. He was leaning against the wall, holding a glass of wine.

Watching her.

He met her gaze in the mirror, and raised his glass to her in a toast.

She jerked her gaze off him and looked at Tori.

Her friend squeezed her arm. "We got this, babe. You know we do. And we have Declan, Myles, the Harts, and the Stocktons, too."

"I know." She was grateful for all of that, but at the same time, it came with a cost. Having to rely on protectors meant she was losing the most important thing.

Her freedom.

Then she saw Declan sprint into the ballroom, and her entire body shuddered with relief. She hadn't realized how scared she'd been until she saw him. He was in jeans and a black t-shirt, and he looked rough and dangerous, a man who even a guy like Dick would have to notice.

Declan's gaze found her immediately, and relief flooded his face when he saw her. He strode across the floor, and didn't stop when he reached her. He simply grabbed her around the waist, hauled her against him, and kissed her like a man who wanted the entire world to know that he claimed her, that he was protecting her, and that anyone who wanted to hurt her would have to go through him to get her.

It was arrogant, testosterone-laden, and raw, potent fire.

She knew he was kissing her for a purpose, and not because he actually was desperate to kiss her, but that didn't matter.

It was a kiss that broke every single shield she had against him.