Protecting Piper

by Cynthia Eden

  Then Ben fell face first onto the floor. But he kept his grip on his trusty steak knife this time. He kept the grip, even as he felt himself start to pass out.

  ***

  “I have your brother. Tell Piper I’m killing her lover right now.”

  Those words had turned Eric’s blood to ice. The voice had been grating, rasping, and the SOB had called from Ben’s phone.

  “He should never have touched her. Never have touched what was mine. Never have fucked—”

  “Eric, does he really have Ben?”

  They were racing to the scene, and he’d brought Piper with him. For all Eric knew, the guy could have been bluffing. Maybe it was a trick, one designed to take Eric away from Piper. To separate them. Until he could figure out what the hell was really happening, he intended to keep her close.

  Julia and Rick were racing right behind him. “He called from Ben’s phone.” Could mean nothing. Could mean the guy had just swiped his brother’s phone. But…

  I thought I heard Ben in the background.

  They rounded the final corner that would take him to Ben’s place, and Eric could hear sirens. He’d told Simon to have the cops go in with guns blazing, and from the sound of things, they sure were. They were going in loud and hard. A swirl of bright lights illuminated the scene, flashing in front of Ben’s condo building.

  Uniforms were running toward the building. An ambulance had parked nearby. The back doors hung open.

  Eric braked his car. The Benz came to a rough stop. “You stay with me, every second, got it?” He didn’t give her time to respond before they raced from the car. Eric grabbed her hand, making sure he had her close. Rick joined them immediately, his face even harder than usual as the blue lights hit him. Julia hurried forward, and Simon—

  He was already rushing from the building.

  EMTs passed Simon as they hurried in with a stretcher.

  Eric raced for his friend. “Simon!”

  Simon’s head whipped toward him.

  And Eric realized something was on Simon’s shirt. Something dark. The blue lights hit him and illuminated Simon for a moment. Dark and red. Blood?

  “He’s alive!” Simon ran down the steps. He shoved past some of the uniforms. “Did you hear me, Eric? Ben is alive.”

  Eric let go of Piper’s hand and grabbed Simon’s shoulders. “That’s his blood?”

  Simon winced. “He was stabbed, but he’s going to be okay. You just have to stay calm for—”

  Eric shoved him out of the way.

  “You can’t go in there! The EMTs have to bring him out!” Simon shoved Eric right back. “Stand down, man. He’s alive. Did you hear me? He’s alive!”

  Eric’s heart thundered in his chest. His desperate gaze swept the scene. Gawking neighbors. Fresh-faced cops. A terrified Piper.

  Piper.

  Rick was right beside her. And Julia’s gaze was on the crowd, moving suspiciously from person to person. She’s looking for the perp.

  “He got away,” Simon said, voice lower, more controlled. “Eric was conscious when I got to him—Detective Lopez and I were the first on the scene. The guy was trying to drag himself out of his bedroom and go after the perp. Ben said he managed to stab the guy. Hell, Ben still had a death grip on his kitchen steak knife when we burst in his place. From what we could tell, the perp had been gone only moments—”

  The EMTs were back. And Ben was on the stretcher.

  A gasp slipped from Piper as she hurried toward Ben. “Ben!”

  His head turned toward her.

  Jesus. Blood stained Ben’s face. Poured from his nose. Definitely broken. And there was one hell of a gash on Ben’s forehead. His shirt had been cut away by the EMTs and Eric could see the bandages on his side.

  Ben reached a hand toward Piper. “You…okay?”

  The EMTs didn’t slow down. They rushed toward the waiting ambulance.

  Eric and Piper ran after him.

  The EMTs loaded Ben up in a flash. The siren screamed.

  Ben groaned. “Got…away. So…sorry.”

  His brother was killing him. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”

  “We need to get him to the hospital, right away.” The EMT closest to Ben—a young woman with close-cropped, black hair—threw Eric an impatient glare. “Back up.”

  His brother was hurt. He didn’t want Ben going anywhere alone. “That’s my brother.”

  “Then get your ass in here,” the other EMT—a balding man with a thin beard and too-pale skin—muttered. “We got room for one.”

  Eric wanted to go with his brother. His job was to protect him, always had been. A guy was supposed to look out for his baby brother, wasn’t he? But…fuck, he hadn’t looked out for him. And he’d been keeping secrets. He’d lied to his brother time and again about Piper.

  The female EMT demanded, “Hurry!”

  Ben shook his head. His wild gaze swept the scene. “Piper? Piper!”

  “Go with him,” Eric told her. “I’ll be right behind you.”

  She scrambled into the ambulance. Ben reached for her hand. Held tight. And seemed to immediately settle down.

  Eric backed away. Someone shut one of the ambulance’s rear doors. One, then the other. He watched the ambulance drive away, and he realized that two of the most important people in his world were in that vehicle.

  No, his world was in that ambulance.

  He was supposed to protect Ben and Piper. He was failing them both.

  ***

  “Thought…we were lovers…” Ben’s words were a weak rasp.

  The EMTs were buzzing around him, tending his wounds, and getting an IV set up.

  “That’s why…came after…”

  Oh, God. His words ended in a mumble, but Piper knew exactly what Ben had been about to say. The attacker had come after Ben because he thought Ben was her lover.

  The same bastard had gone after her former lover Grady. Had killed Grady.

  If Ben hadn’t been able to fight back…

  Her hand tightened around his. She and Eric had been looking at this all wrong. They’d been thinking her exes could be suspects. They weren’t. They were potential victims. The men that she’d dated, the lovers that she’d had—they were in danger.

  Eric was in danger. Because she could hear his voice in her head, clear as day. The words he’d told to Ben’s attacker. “I’m the one fucking Piper. You hunting her lover? You want her lover to pay? It’s me. Me. Not Ben. He’s never been her lover, so you stay the fuck away from him.”

  Eric had put a giant target right on his own back.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck.” Ben’s grousing voice filled the hospital room.

  Piper tensed and jumped from her chair. She’d been waiting beside his bed, and at those grumbling words, she knew he was finally back with her. “Not a truck, just some asshole.”

  His eyes fluttered open. “Pipe?” An old nickname. He hadn’t called her that since they were kids. “Why do you look like someone died?” Then his eyes widened. “Shit, am I dead?”

  Her lips curved. “No, but you are heavily drugged. You’ve got stitches in your back and side, and the doc said you’d suffered a concussion.”

  His lips pursed. “That would explain the drum playing in my head.” His words were still rasping.

  She lost her smile. “He went after you.”

  Ben frowned at her.

  “Do you remember what happened?” Her fingers slid carefully along his hand, making sure not to disturb the IV line.

  “I…remember being at my place. The light was…on. In my bedroom.”

  She waited. She could see him struggling to gather his thoughts.

  “I went in…someone hit me from behind.” His left hand lifted, as if he’d touch the wound, but then he stilled. “I think he stabbed me.”

  Her heart squeezed.

  “One.” His voice had dropped even more. “Two…” His brow wrinkled.

&n
bsp; “Uh, Ben? What are you doing?”

  His gaze held hers. Some of the confusion was slowly clearing. “I think the bastard was counting as he stabbed me.”

  She pulled in a quick breath. “Did you see his face?” The cops had already come by—twice—because they wanted to know the answer to that question.

  Ben shook his head. “Wore…ski mask. Didn’t see a…a damn thing.”

  Her heart was racing.

  “Cops…didn’t get him?”

  It was Piper’s turn to shake her head. “No, he’d already gotten away before they arrived.”

  “Fuck.” The machines around him began to beep faster as he shoved upright.

  She grabbed for his shoulders. “Stop! You’re going to hurt yourself!”

  “He hurt me! Some freak wearing a ski mask.” His breath panted out. “But I got him, too.” His eyes gleamed. “Stabbed him.”

  “I’m sorry.” The apology slipped from her.

  The furrow between his brows deepened.

  “He came after you because of me.” And if Ben had been killed…no, no. She would not go down that road. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever.

  Ben’s breath heaved in and out.

  There was a quick knock at the door. Her shoulders tensed as she looked to the right. The door opened, and Eric strode inside. When he saw that Ben was awake—and struggling to sit up—a broad grin stretched across his face.

  In a flash, Eric was across the room. He leaned down and hugged his brother. “You scared the hell out of me.”

  Ben tried to hug him back. The IV line didn’t offer him a wide range of motion.

  A lump rose in Piper’s throat. She could practically feel the love between the two men. Sure, they fought. Brothers did that. Family did that. But she’d never doubted the bond between Eric and Ben. And as she stared at them, as she looked at their dark heads and as she saw the similarities in their faces…

  Same hard jaws. Same firm lips.

  She realized…those two men—they were the men she loved.

  The realization pierced her straight to her soul. For a moment, she couldn’t move at all.

  Ben…she loved Ben the way you love your best friend. Freely, happily. She could be silly and crazy or anything in between with Ben. There was never any pressure or judgment.

  An easy, casual love that she’d had for as long as she could remember.

  But Eric…Eric was something different. And though she’d tried to fight it, though she’d tried to deny her own feelings for a very, very long time…that love had been there. Almost as if it had been waiting in the shadows.

  It had started when she was fifteen, and he kissed her while the rain pounded down on them. It had continued when he held her hand at her mother’s funeral. When he’d stood up and clapped so loud and wolf-whistled and shouted her name so clearly at her graduation ceremony.

  He’d tormented her, teased her, hurt her…

  And still they’d come back together.

  He’d been there for her, and she’d kind of known, deep in her heart, that he would always be there. She could count on Eric. And what she felt for him wasn’t casual or silly. It wasn’t easy.

  It was terrifying and consuming and overwhelming. She wanted to run, she wanted to deny it, but she couldn’t.

  She could only stand rooted to the spot as she fully realized that she didn’t just love Eric Wilde.

  She was in love with him. And, maybe, just maybe, she’d been in love with him since she was fifteen years old.

  “Piper?” Eric frowned at her. He’d moved to stand beside the bed, directly opposite of her. “You okay?”

  No, her whole world was just doing a bit of realigning. “Fine.” She had to get a grip. Right now, the focus was on Ben. Her gaze swung back to him.

  And she found him staring at her, and damn if his frown didn’t look a whole lot like his older brother’s.

  “What’s going on?” Ben muttered. His gaze slid from her to Eric. “Bro?” Ben cleared his throat. “That guy…I swear, I remember him asking me some questions…about you. About Piper—”

  Eric’s shoulders straightened. “He attacked you because he thought you were involved with Piper. Maybe that’s what Grady told him. Maybe the bastard tortured Grady until the guy gave him a name—the name of the man Piper was involved with. You told me that Grady suspected you two were more than friends.”

  Piper let out a slow breath.

  “But he went after the wrong brother,” Eric added grimly.

  Silence.

  No, there as a faint tick, tick, tick from the clock on the wall. A round clock with a big face and that ticking seemed to get louder and louder until—

  “Want to run that shit by me again?” Ben demanded, voice even rougher than it had been a moment before.

  Eric blew out a hard breath. “He went after the wrong brother.”

  Ben’s gaze swung to her. She didn’t blush. Didn’t avoid his gaze. Just met his stare straight-on. This wasn’t how she would have preferred to tell him. She really would have preferred for her best friend not to be in a hospital bed, recovering from stab wounds and a concussion. And a broken nose—he hadn’t seemed to realize that his nose was bandaged up yet. She wasn’t going to point out that particular bit of news to him. He’d always been a little bit vain about his perfectly straight nose. Eric’s nose had gotten broken in a basketball game once. It had the smallest of bumps on the ridge. She’d never told Eric that she liked that little bump—

  “Piper, you’re sleeping with my brother?”

  Ben looked…hurt. And that hurt her. Because she hadn’t gotten involved with Eric to hurt Ben. She’d gotten involved with him because she’d never wanted anyone more. Her chin lifted. “Yes.”

  “Fuck.” Now there was anger in Ben’s voice. “For how long?” His gaze swung back to Eric. “You two have been lying to me? Hiding this shit? It’s been going on forever, right, and I was just some dumbass in the dark? I was—”

  “It just started,” Piper cut in. “And you’re not a dumbass. You’re my best friend.”

  Now his stare was back on her. “Best friends don’t keep secrets.”

  She’d kept this one. “It just started. And I’m sorry that you were hurt by that bastard out there, sorrier than I can say. I would never, ever want you to be hurt.”

  He growled.

  “But I’m not sorry that I’m involved with Eric.”

  Eric’s head whipped toward her.

  “I wanted him for a long time, and when we got together—we just got together, in case you missed it when I said that before—it was because I wanted him and he wanted me.”

  Ben shook his head. “There are some lines that you don’t cross.”

  Her heart was squeezing in her chest again. Ben was staring at her with anger and pain, and she’d done that. She’d known that he wouldn’t like it if she slept with his brother. But knowing what could happen, being afraid of Ben’s reaction, she’d made a choice.

  I wanted Eric more.

  The truth settled in her very soul. “I crossed the line. I chose to do it.” This was on her. Her choice. No matter what bridges had been burned.

  But it hurts. It hurts so much when Ben looks at me that way.

  “Don’t be mad at Piper,” Eric snapped. “I went after her. I wanted her for years. I wanted her and I—”

  “Give us some time alone, Piper.” The machines were beeping in the background. Ben’s gaze darted away from hers. “I want to talk with my brother.”

  Her stare flew to Eric.

  “I want to talk with my brother.” The machines were louder.

  As if in response, a nurse bustled inside. “You’re awake!” A pretty nurse with a coffee cream complexion and jet black hair hurried toward the bed. With a quick, no-nonsense style, she began checking Ben’s vital signs.

  Piper backed up. A muscle flexed in Ben’s jaw. And his hand lifted to touch his face and he finally seemed to realize—

  “Shit! Tha
t prick broke my nose!”

  Piper winced.

  The nurse gave a low hum. “I can’t have you getting upset. You’ve been through an ordeal, and you need to rest.” Her stare took in both Piper and Eric. “You’re family? Only family should be in here now.”

  “He is,” Ben cut in.

  He might as well have just cut Piper right in the heart. She retreated another step. “I’m sorry you were hurt. By that guy out there…and by me. Very, very sorry.” She turned on her heel.

  Before she could reach the door, Eric was there. He blocked her path and his dark eyes blazed at her.

  They blazed even more when she had to quickly blink away tears.

  “Piper?”

  She shook her head. “He wants to talk to you. I’ll be in the hallway.” She needed to get out of that room right then.

  “Simon is out there. I’ll have an agent staying round the clock to keep an eye on Ben.” Eric still didn’t get out of her way. His hands had balled into fists at his sides.

  Since he wasn’t moving, she slipped around him. Piper made sure to keep her shoulders back and her head up. And the first tear didn’t slide down her cheek until the hospital room door closed behind her.

  “Piper!” Simon’s worried voice. “Is something wrong? Is Ben okay?”

  No, he wasn’t okay. She doubted things would be okay for him anytime soon. She swallowed. Turning from Simon so he wouldn’t see her tears, she demanded, “Tell me everything you know about the bastard who did this.”

  ***

  Eric waited for the nurse to finish. She didn’t rush, but took her time as she checked on Ben. Ben was tense and angry beneath her ministrations, and his gaze kept whipping to Eric.

  An eternity later, the nurse strolled from the room. “If you need me, just press the little red button.” The door closed with a soft click.

  Ben balled his bedsheet into his fists. “You had to sleep with Piper.”

  Actually, yes, he’d had to sleep with her. Having her had pretty much been more important than breathing. But he didn’t think Ben wanted to hear that particular fact.

  “The world is full of women,” Ben gritted out. “And you took my Piper?”

  The world was full of women. But… “There is only one Piper. She’s not yours, and she’s not mine. She’s a woman who chooses for herself what she wants.”