Chapter 32

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

D eclan burst through the front door and saw Keira in the kitchen. "Here!"

With Angel by his leg and Roman behind him, Declan sprinted through the house and into the kitchen. On the floor by the back slider were the remains of Piper's espresso maker, shattered into a million pieces. There was a new dent in the doorframe by the back door.

He realized immediately that she'd thrown the espresso machine. To defend herself? "What happened?"

"Look at the living room."

He spun around, and saw that a lamp was on the floor and a table was overturned. On the carpet was Piper's phone. "Piper!" He grabbed the phone and looked around, his heart racing. "Mom!"

He ran back through the house, searching every room, but neither woman was there either. "Shit, shit, shit."

Roman was standing still, his hands loose by his sides, energy vibrating off him. He looked ready to explode, but there was no target, so he simply stood there.

Keira looked stricken. "Do you think she was kidnapped?"

"With us in the front of the house? That would be bold." Declan pulled out his phone and logged into his security system, his heart hammering as he pulled up the app. To give Piper privacy, he didn't have cameras installed inside the cottage, but he had them on the patio.

He logged into the system, and then swore as he watched a man walk up through the woods behind his house, walk up to the patio door, and open it. The man's face was shadowed, impossible to see. He knew where the camera was.

Declan thought back to the nighttime visitor from the other evening. Had it been the prelude to this?

A moment later, he saw Piper being carried out over his shoulder, apparently unconscious. Fear gripped him, and his fingers tightened around the phone.

"Son of a bitch," Roman said, leaning over his shoulder, watching the screen.

A second later, Kitty came charging out the door. She grabbed a plant and slammed it into the head of the man carrying Piper. He swung around, took one swing, and then his mom was down on the ground, too.

A minute later, he disappeared from the screen, carrying Piper on one shoulder and his mom on the other, heading into the woods behind the cottage.

But as he carried them away, Kitty lifted her head, looked right at the camera, and gave a thumbs up.

"Son of a bitch." He set the phone down, torn between laughing and going into assault mode. "My mom faked getting hit so that she wouldn't be left behind. She literally invited herself into Piper's abduction."

Keira grinned. "I love your mom. She's amazing."

Roman had a strained look on his face. "Your mom put herself in danger for Piper?"

"Yeah." Declan's amusement faded. "My mom is a badass, and she knows how amazing Piper is. It's been only minutes. They must be close."

"But where? We can't track Piper. Her phone is here. "

"But my mom's isn't." Declan pulled up the Find My Friends app on his phone and opened it. For a long moment, his mom's location circled, and then it said unavailable. Shit. "She has her phone off." He sighed. "She decided to save Piper and forgot to turn her phone on."

"Or maybe their abductor wrested it out of her hands, and threw it out the window," Keira said.

They both stared at her.

She grimaced "Yeah, not helpful. Sorry. I'll call the police."

Declan went into his contacts. "I'm calling the Harts."