Protecting Piper

by Cynthia Eden

  A white van was at the murder scene. She shivered when she looked at the van. The ME? Piper suspected the body would be transported in that big, shady-looking van. Grady’s body.

  “What in the hell is she doing here?”

  Eric’s voice. And just like that, he was in front of her. She’d been gazing at the van, seeing Grady in her mind, and Eric had stalked toward her with his silent steps.

  “Level freaking six protection means she isn’t exposed to danger! Dammit! Rick, Julia, you both know this shit.” Anger rolled in his voice.

  Julia stepped toward him. Her gaze held his. “Yeah, well, level six doesn’t mean we get to tie the woman to a chair—”

  He flinched.

  “And keep her captive until you return! She’s not under some kind of arrest, and she was demanding to be brought here.” Julia’s thumb jerked toward Piper. “So we brought her, and we’re sticking close, and she’s not going to leave without us.”

  Eric swiped a hand over his face. His gaze slid over Piper. “You shouldn’t be here. You don’t…you don’t want to see him. Not this way. Trust me.”

  “What happened to Grady?” Her gaze darted to the house’s entrance.

  A woman strode out, a woman dressed in a black business suit, with her dark hair pulled back in a tight bun. There was a badge clipped to the woman’s hip, and when she strode forward, Piper could see the holster under her arm. Simon followed out behind her, and his expression was darker than Piper had ever seen it before.

  “He was…stabbed.” There as a slight hesitation in Eric’s words.

  Piper’s arms wrapped around her stomach.

  Ben’s hand brushed over her back in comfort. “How long has he been dead?”

  “Maybe three days. That’s just my estimate. The ME will tell us for certain.”

  Three days? He’d been in that house, cold and dead, all that time?

  Simon and the mystery woman were heading toward them. The woman’s gaze had settled on Piper.

  Eric sighed. “Detective Lopez has questions for you, Piper. That’s her with Simon. Hell, maybe it is a good thing that you came down here. We can get the questions out of the way, then you can go home.”

  Her home was currently sectioned off by yellow tape—

  “Our home,” he corrected immediately, a slight edge in his voice.

  Ben’s hand slid away from Piper.

  It wasn’t their home. It was his place, and, no, she wasn’t just going to run and hide behind the security there. Someone had killed Grady. She needed to do something.

  The detective had reached their little circle. Her dark stare seemed to assess them all. Her skin was a perfect, warm olive, her lips unpainted and full. Small pearls dotted the lobes of her ears. “Piper Lane?”

  She nodded.

  “I’m Detective Layla Lopez, and I’m going to need you to come to the station.”

  “What?” Eric’s immediate response. “Why? You can just ask your questions here and—”

  “No, I can’t.” Her calm response. “Because I have a great deal of questions. Because this is a homicide investigation, one that I am managing. And, no, I won’t do any favors for you, Eric, despite our past relationship.”

  Shit. They’d been involved?

  The detective lifted one brow in a delicate arch. “This is very serious business.”

  Of course, it was. It was murder.

  The detective’s focus was on Piper. “I’ll be taking you to the station. Your guards can certainly come along, but you won’t be leaving my company, not until all of my questions are answered.”

  It was Ben who surged forward. “What in the hell? Why are you treating Piper like she did something wrong? She’s the target here!’

  Detective Lopez shook her head. “She’s not the target. My victim is the man who was tied to a chair and tortured for what I expect was an extended period of time. He was her ex-lover, and when my techs just opened his computer—a computer that was stashed inside the house—they found an email from Piper.”

  That wasn’t possible. “No,” Piper denied. “I haven’t contacted him since—”

  “The email was dated six days ago. It came from your account at your gallery, and the note specifically asked Grady to come and see you.”

  Her breath came faster. Desperate, her stare darted to Eric. “I didn’t. I swear, I didn’t!”

  “In the email, you told him that you missed him. That you wanted him back. That you’d even arranged a place for him to stay down here. One close to you.” The detective put her hands on her hips. “So, we’ll be going down to the station. You’ll be answering all of my questions. And, yes, before you even ask, you might want to get yourself a lawyer.”

  Chapter Twelve

  She’d been in a police station before, but Piper had never been a suspect at the station. She’d never been interrogated, and it was freaking her the hell out. The interrogation and the murder.

  “Piper, I’m a divorce attorney. You need someone else.” Ben’s voice was ragged as he sat beside her. He leaned forward in one of those rickety chairs that you saw on cop shows—only this was real life—because they were waiting to be interrogated.

  No, not they. She was. She was the suspect. “Do not even think of leaving me.”

  “I’m not! But I did call in a friend who specializes in criminal law. He’ll be here within the hour. Just don’t say anything until Kendrick gets here, okay?”

  She didn’t know where Eric was. Eric, Rick, and Julia had followed her and Detective Lopez to the station, but when she’d been escorted back to the interrogation room, they’d been blocked. Since Ben was a lawyer—she’d declared him to be her lawyer in her loudest possible tone—he’d been able to go back with her.

  “I didn’t do this.” She had to swallow twice to clear the dryness from her throat. “Someone is trying to set me up! I would never kill Grady!”

  “I know.” He took her hand and squeezed. “You’re not a killer, Piper. I didn’t think for one second that you were.”

  “I didn’t send him an email. You know I was out of town! I didn’t even have my laptop with me! It’s been at my gallery the whole time and—” Her eyes went wide. “Jessica. We have to find her. She had access to my laptop. Maybe she sent the message.”

  His brow furrowed. “Why?”

  “I have no idea!” Her voice had risen because she was losing her shit. And she was scared. Grady was dead, some jerk was terrorizing her, and now she was a murder suspect?

  The door opened with a quiet groan. Detective Lopez stood there a moment, her gaze sliding first to Piper, then to Ben, then to their joined hands.

  Then she looked over her shoulder, a faint frown on her face as she focused on the man behind her—Eric.

  Just seeing him sent a surge of relief through Piper.

  “You okay?” Eric asked her, voice quiet.

  She shook her head. “Not even close.” But she was better than poor Grady. Piper rose to her feet and locked her stare on the detective. “What is happening? I didn’t kill Grady—and I didn’t send that email!”

  “Piper.” Ben grabbed her hand and tugged her back down. “I’m your—temporary—attorney, and I’m advising you to remain quiet.”

  The detective headed into the room with a slow, brisk stroll. She pulled out the chair on the opposite side of the table and took her time getting settled.

  Eric stalked inside. He pulled a chair close to Piper and sat next to her. His shoulder brushed against hers.

  The detective’s brows rose, and she nodded. “Good to know where we all stand.”

  Ben leaned forward. “Piper isn’t a killer. She’s—”

  “Yes, yes, I’m sure she’s all sunshine and light and stardust.” The detective rolled her eyes. “Do you know how many men think they know a woman? Like, really think they understand her?” She waved her hand toward Piper. “But they only understand jackshit.” She smiled. “The emails were sent from your computer, Ms. Lane. And noti
ce I said emails, as in plural.”

  “Piper,” she whispered. It seemed weird to be all formal when the other woman was accusing her of murder.

  “I’ve got all kinds of techs who can figure stuff out for me. They say the notes were definitely sent from your computer, from your email address.”

  “You should talk to my assistant,” Piper blurted. “Jessica had access to my computer, and she—I just found out that she lied to me. She was supposed to be visiting her mother but—”

  Eric’s hand closed around her knee and squeezed. She shot him a frown. Why was he stopping her when she was just telling the truth?

  The detective cleared her throat, drawing Piper’s attention. Then the detective gave her a sweet smile. “How do you know she was visiting her mother?”

  “She texted me and said that she was.” Piper shook her head. “But she wasn’t. Eric’s team found out that Jessica’s mother died last year.”

  The detective glanced at Eric. “True,” Detective Lopez said. “Her mother did die.” A pause. “And so, I’m afraid, did Jessica.”

  Jessica wasn’t dead. Piper shook her head. “No, she’s—”

  “Her car was found this morning. It had been totaled. Jessica Bromley was inside.” A pause. “When did you get the text from her? Exactly?”

  Nausea rose within Piper. “She’s dead?”

  “Yes. I’d like to see your phone, please. I mean, if you have nothing to hide, you can hand it over and let me see this text that you got from her.”

  “Piper…” Ben’s voice held a warning. “Let’s wait for Kendrick to get here.”

  “I don’t have anything to hide.” She pulled her hand free of Ben’s. A moment later, she unlocked her phone’s screen and pushed her phone across the table.

  The detective scanned through her text messages. Her eyes narrowed. “That’s interesting.”

  “What?”

  She looked up at Piper. “You received the text at least a day after she died. According to what we’ve got from the medical examiner in Florida, anyway. You see, Jessica’s body was in that car a while. She’d gone off the road. No one noticed.”

  Okay, the nausea was worse. So was the fear. And the grief. Jessica is gone.

  “I told you,” Eric’s voice was a low growl as he frowned at the detective. “Piper isn’t the one who is the threat. She’s the one the bastard is after. And, yeah, I get that you have your techs, Layla, but we both know they are nowhere near my skill level. Give me access, and I can prove that Piper didn’t send any emails to Grady. The real killer did. He lured the guy here, and then he murdered Grady—”

  “Tortured him first,” the detective corrected. “Tortured, then murdered.”

  Piper sucked in a breath. “Tortured?”

  “Um.” The detective’s dark stare was watchful. “Your former lover was stabbed eleven times. That’s a whole lot of rage.” And her gaze slid to Eric, then Ben. “Know anyone who might be carrying around that kind of rage? That kind of jealousy?”

  Okay, so what, now the cop was saying that Eric or Ben had committed the crime? “No.” Piper’s shoulders straightened as a cold fury filled her. Bad enough that the woman had been accusing her, but to turn on Eric and Ben? “Hell, no.” Rage shook her words. “They didn’t do this, so don’t even suggest it. They are helping me. Some sick prick is out there, he broke into my house—two times—and the cops ignored me. He set my house on fire! He destroyed my artwork by pouring red paint on the canvases in my gallery—”

  “Yeah, about that…” The detective opened a manila file that she’d brought into the room. “I just got a report back on the analysis from the crime scene at your gallery. I took the liberty of helping myself to the file, thinking it might help with my homicide case, and you know what? That wasn’t just paint on your canvases. It was blood.”

  “What?”

  “And I’m betting that blood will match up to Grady Fox. Because eleven stab wounds…that will sure generate a lot of pain and suffering and a whole lot of blood.”

  Don’t pass out. Don’t. She could feel icy pinpricks in her face. Why couldn’t she just wake up from this nightmare?

  “You sure you know those two so well?” The detective gestured to Ben and then to Eric. “You think they are your protectors, don’t you?”

  “I think they aren’t insane madmen who would stab a person eleven times and then take his blood and pour it on my paintings.” What in the hell? “Yeah, I feel pretty good saying that’s not them.”

  The detective gave a faint smile. It didn’t reach her eyes. “I thought I knew Eric pretty well, too. But then I found out that he likes to circumvent the PD. I guess you can never know someone well enough, hmm?”

  Piper’s temples were pounding. “I want to know more about Jessica’s accident.”

  “Oh, you will. Her vehicle appears to have run off the road. Like I said, no one even noticed it at first. Luckily, some hikers finally found her. The cops on the scene thought it was just a tragic accident, but, obviously, in light all the things happening now, I’ll be sure that a full investigation is conducted.”

  Eric leaned forward. “I want Grady’s computer. Give me ten minutes. Hell, give me five. Let me see what I can uncover.”

  “That’s against the rules, and I can’t break the rules, not even for you.” Detective Lopez hadn’t given Piper her phone back. Instead, the detective had put it on the table close to her left hand.

  “Piper is cooperating,” Ben said, voice sharp and hard. “And all you’re doing is accusing. You obviously see that she’s a target. You have to realize the killer is focused on her.”

  “Tell that to Grady Fox’s family. Sure seemed like the killer was focused on him.”

  Ben turned to glare at Eric. “This is the ‘good’ cop you were telling me about? The ‘thorough’ detective you mentioned to me so many times before?”

  Eric had a romantic relationship with the detective. He’d had that relationship. Past tense. Definitely past. And Piper wasn’t going to focus on that right then because she had a million other problems occurring. She let out a deep breath and asked Detective Lopez, “What can I say to make you believe I had nothing to do with Grady’s death?”

  The detective shrugged. “When was the last time you talked with him?”

  “A few years ago. He texted me. Apologized. I accepted his apology.”

  Detective Lopez frowned. “Why did he apologize?”

  Piper would not let her gaze dart to Ben. “Because he’d gotten jealous. Acted out. He thought I was involved with someone else during our time together. He was wrong.”

  Considering now, the detective’s gaze slid to Ben. “Did Grady happen to take that jealousy of his out on anyone in particular? If he apologized, if he acted out, then that makes me think Grady acted out on someone.”

  Piper knew that if she revealed the details of that last encounter, the detective would just think Ben was a suspect. He wasn’t.

  Ben would never do something so horrible. Neither would Eric. She knew them both. She…trusted them both.

  Holy hell, I do. She didn’t just trust her best friend. She trusted Eric. Completely and totally. Surprised, her gaze flew to him.

  And she tried to figure out when things had changed between them.

  “Eric?” The detective’s voice was surprised. “Eric was your lover back then, Piper?”

  “Uh, no—” she began.

  “We’re done.” Ben rose to his feet. “Detective, you have zero evidence against my client. She gave you her phone—keep it. Run all of your checks on it. And when you’re done, give it back and maybe give her an apology, too.” He motioned toward Piper. “You aren’t helping her. You’re wasting time, and we don’t have time to waste. A killer is out there, and my brother and his team need to get hunting.”

  Eric gave him a cold smile. “Well said, brother.” He stood, and his fingers curled around Piper’s elbow. Inclining his head to the detective, he told her, “We are do
ne. I thought you’d help, Layla. It’s obvious a sick fuck is loose on the streets. One who is locked on Piper. He killed her ex-lover, and we both know you’re going to find evidence to show that Jessica Bromley’s car was sabotaged. Anything else would be just a little too convenient, don’t you think? This guy is on some kind of mission. He’s eliminating the people in Piper’s life—past and present—”

  “If that is the case, then you and your brother should both be very careful.” The detective had risen, too. Her face showed her tension. “From what I can see, you two are Piper’s past and her present, so that would make you and Ben the targets. If this guy is eliminating people in her life.”

  No, they couldn’t be targets. Fear nearly choked Piper.

  “Where will you be?” the detective asked Piper.

  “With me,” Eric said instantly. “So if you want to have any other sit-downs, give me a call.”

  Ben grunted. “But we aren’t going to be so nice next time.”

  The interrogation room door opened. A tall, handsome, African American man with a completely shaved head and wearing what had to be a thousand-dollar suit stood in the doorway. “I’m here for my client.”

  “Kendrick Shaw?” The detective didn’t sound impressed. More like pissed.

  He smiled. “The one and only.”

  “You’re too late.” She waved him away. “I’m already done for today.” She grabbed her file and Piper’s phone and headed for the door. But she paused to frown back at Piper. Seemed to hesitate. Then… “Be careful.” She pulled a business card out of her pocket. “Take this.”

  Piper’s fingers closed around the card. “Do you believe me?”

  “I believe that some serious shit is going down in my town. I believe I have a dead body that I have to handle. He is my vic. He is my focus. I have to give him justice because that is my job as a homicide detective.” She expelled a rough breath. “But I absolutely do believe that you’re in danger. You need to watch yourself and the people around you, because I think this mess could get a whole lot worse before it gets any better.”

  ***

  “I didn’t send the email.” Piper’s voice was quiet. They were in Eric’s car, he was taking her the hell away from the crowded police station, and all he wanted to do was pull the vehicle over and haul her into his arms.