Chapter 31

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

D eclan had his hand on the butt of his gun as he strode up to Dick. "What do you want?"

Dick spun around to face him, a startled expression on his face. "I'm here on a social call."

"It's my property. You can talk to me." Declan struggled to keep his voice calm. This man was scum of the lowest level. The law didn't care, but Declan did.

The thought made him pause. The cops had done nothing about Dick. Nothing. Because he had power. But Declan wasn't a cop right now. Which meant he had different rules.

Dick held up his hands in a friendly de-escalation move. "Hey, sorry. I must have the wrong house. No biggie."

All the years of working to take down scumbags settled in Declan's core, all the years where he'd had to watch them walk away, because red tape set them free. All the years of terror this man had probably inflicted on those who trusted him and loved him clamped down on Declan. This man was a threat to the woman he loved.

He hadn't been able to protect Diana, but Piper?

Different. Fucking. Story.

He walked right up to Dick and stepped into his space. "I'm an ex-cop," he said, his voice low and dangerous. "I'm armed. I'm dangerous. And I'm not bound by rules anymore."

Dick's eyes widened slightly. "Are you threatening me? Because I'll call the cops."

"If you so much as go near Piper ever again, I will call in favors from people you won't want to know. You'll never see them coming. You'll never know what hit you. And no one will fucking care."

Dick stared at him, and his right eye twitched. Fear? "You're threatening me?"

Satisfaction pulsed through Declan. "You abused your wife and kids. That doesn't fly. You stop looking for them. You stop going after Piper."

"What? You liar?—"

At that moment, Declan's mom's Porsche came roaring up the driveway. She screeched to a stop behind the Range Rover, vaulted out of her truck, and trotted past Declan. "I decided I'm not letting Piper off that easily," she called out. "She needs to get brave."

Declan grinned as his mom basically sprinted into the house, shouting Piper's name.

Piper was going to get a Kitty lecture. He'd had a few of those in his life, and annoying as they were, his mom was usually right. Then he saw Dick watching Kitty.

"No." Beside him, Angel growled, drawing Dick's attention to the dog. "I love the women in my life," Declan said. "I protect them, and I'm good at it. You don't want to fuck with me."

Dick narrowed his eyes. "I'm not afraid of you?—"

"You should be. My first wife died in my arms from a gunshot wound during a drug raid. I know what loss is like, and I will not let that happen again. No matter what the cost." His voice was cold now, laced with an emotion he hadn't felt in a long time. Deep, dark commitment to a cause, no matter what the cost. "I got another chance, and I will spend every fucking minute protecting her from you, and anyone like you." He smiled, a cold, hard smile. "You're the kind of man who drove me to become a cop, but I'm not one anymore. I can do whatever I want. And the joy I would get from having an excuse to hurt you is indescribable."

Unmistakable fear crept into Dick's eyes, probably because he heard the truth in Declan's words. A truth that surprised Declan. He hadn't realized how much anger he had under all the grief, numbness, and guilt.

Anger felt good.

Standing up against a bully? Even better.

"Here's my suggestion," he said. "File for a divorce from your wife. Give her a good settlement. Set her and your kids free, and go get therapy. Maybe there's humanity under there. Maybe not. But if you try to find her, if you try to trap her, if you threaten anyone , I will find out. And then I will make myself happy by ensuring you get what you deserve."

Dick stared at him for a moment, then he turned and walked back to his Range Rover, not saying a word.

He got in, hit the gas, and then peeled out.

Declan let out his breath and shrugged his shoulders, surprised by how good he felt. How light. It was like all the rage that had been coiled up inside him for so long had finally been heard. Or maybe it was telling Piper he loved her.

Either way, he felt the best he'd felt in a long damn time.

He crouched down beside Angel. "You did good, sweetie. You're very brave, growling like that."

She wagged her tail and licked his face, making him laugh. "Yeah, right? Feels good not to be hiding anymore." He ruffled her fur. "What do you think? Should I go back in there and have an actual conversation with Piper? I might have been a little quick to bolt after my declaration." He'd told Piper it was to give her the space to not respond, but really?

He'd been afraid of her response.

But he'd been living in fear for a long time, and he didn't want to live in fear anymore. "Let's go see Piper," he said .

As he spoke, Angel turned her head, staring down the driveway.

He followed her gaze and then stood up when he saw a big food truck rolling down the driveway. It said "Lucy's Spectacular Tacos" on the side of it with a pretty cool caricature of a grinning brown-haired woman eating a taco.

He put his hand on Angel's head. "Stay with me."

They stood together as the truck rolled to a stop beside his mom's Porsche.

The man driving rolled down his window as Declan and Angel walked over to it. "I think you have the wrong address," Declan said. "We didn't hire a food truck for an event."

The man grinned at him. He had short dark hair, and a pink Lucy's Spectacular Tacos hat on. He looked about Declan's age, maybe a little older. "I'm not here to sell anything. Is this where Piper Townsend lives?"

Declan immediately stiffened and his hand went to his gun. "Who are you?" He highly doubted that Piper had hired a taco truck for a wedding.

The guy raised his brows. "Why are you asking me that? You with Piper? Trying to defend her? Are you her man?" He opened the door and jumped down. "Why'd she pick you? You good to her? Because I have connections I'm willing to unlock if you hurt her." His voice became rougher and rougher as he spoke. "She's been through hell and back. If you mess with her, you mess with me."

Oh, hell. Was this another old flame? The man was dressed in jeans, sneakers, and a t-shirt. He had a vibe that said successful businessman, not a random taco truck driver. Declan decided to deescalate instead of engage, as his years of training as a cop kicked in. "You franchised?"

The man paused, clearly startled by the change in topic. "No. I own all my trucks."

Yep. Business guy. "Tacos are big right now. It's going well?"

The man paused again. "I have four trucks. I funded them all myself. Bank won't loan to me because I used to be in prison." He added the prison with just a dash of extra gusto.

Prison? Damn. Who was this guy, and why was he after Piper? Declan nodded, assessing his visitor with extra caution. "Prison can be a tough background in business. I'm sure it took a hell of a lot of commitment to do what you've done."

The man frowned. "What are you doing?"

"Deescalating. I have a gun and I don't want to use it on you."

The man's gaze shot to Declan's hip, and he suddenly looked stricken. "Fuck. Piper's involved with a man with a gun?" He turned away and braced his hands on the hood of his truck and bent his head, swearing to himself. "It's my fucking fault. Son of a bitch. I thought she was free. And she's not." He hit the hood of the truck and spun around to face Declan. "Stay away from my sister. Just don't fucking bring her into your world. Do you understand? She got free. I will hunt you down and?—"

Declan held up his hand "Wait a sec. Your sister? Piper's your sister?"

"Yeah." The man's fists bunched. "I will protect her, even from you."

What the hell was going on? "How did you find her?"

"She called me."

Understanding struck. "A couple days ago? She called you a couple days ago?" At his nod, Declan searched his memories for his name. "You're Roman?"

The man frowned. "She talks about me?"

Declan surveyed Roman with frank curiosity. "She told me a little, yeah." Roman might have a salty past, but Declan was getting only kind vibes from him. Protective, but kind. He was a man that Declan would trust.

Roman grinned. "Nice." He paused. "But you still need to get out of her life. She left home to get away from men like you."

Declan relaxed. He appreciated that Roman was watching out for her. "I'm an ex-cop. That's why I have a gun. Piper helped out with a situation where a woman needed to escape an abusive husband, and it's created a little danger for her. I was just dealing with the man right before you drove up."

Roman stared at him, clearly processing. "She's in danger?"

Declan would have gone with that first, too. "No. I just needed to deal with him."

"How do you know he's not coming back?"

"I don't." Declan paused. This man was Piper's family, which meant Declan wasn't holding back any truths. "But I sleep here with Piper, so if he does, I'll handle it." He tensed, waiting for Roman's reaction to his statement.

As expected, Roman's eyes narrowed. "You're sleeping with my sister?"

Declan took a breath. "I'm fake-engaged to her to help her rebuild her business, but in the process, I fell in love with her. I don't know if she loves me back yet, though." Damn. That first part felt good to admit out loud. Really good. Second part? Not so good, but that was on him, for walking away without giving her a chance to respond.

Roman stared at him. "That's a lot to take in."

"I know." Declan held out his hand. "Declan Jones. Your sister's fake fiancé, bodyguard, and landlord."

Roman finally grinned and shook his hand. "Roman Townsend. You're all right, Jones."

"Thanks. You, too." Declan glanced back at the house as he let go of Roman's hand. "I'm going to have to ask you to wait outside, though. Let me check with Piper and make sure it's all right if I invite you in." The fact she hadn't come out to see her brother could have been because Kitty had corralled her. Or it could mean she didn't want to see him.

Declan was going to make sure she had the chance to turn her brother away if she needed to. But he liked the guy.

Sadness streaked across Roman's face, but he nodded. "I understand."

At that moment, yet another car came hurtling down the driveway. Both men spun to face the visitor as the Jeep skidded to a stop. Keira jumped out. "Declan! Is Piper home? I found another possible client for her, but Piper's not answering her phone."

He nodded. "She's inside with my mom."

"Great!" Keira jogged past him. "Can you get me a taco? I love tacos. Thanks!" She ran into the house, closing the door behind her.

Roman stared after her. "Who was that?"

"A friend of Piper's."

Roman whistled softly. "I want to meet her. She's like a damned whirlwind."

Declan grinned. "Don't mess with your sister's friends. It's never a good idea."

Roman grimaced. "Yeah, you're right. I'm not going to mess up Piper's life like that?—"

The front door slammed open, and Keira raced outside. "Declan!"

He spun around, alarm shooting through him at the urgency in her voice. "What's wrong?"

"Something happened to Piper! Hurry!"

Declan was running before she finished her sentence, fear gripping him like it had that night not that long ago, when his world had been shattered. "Piper!"