by Moxie North
Most people offered her condolences like someone had died. The rest had pretended it hadn’t happened, which she had truly appreciated.
When she’d come back from Greece quiet and drawn, the rumor mill spun and the story finally came out. This time she didn’t get sad faces and regrets. Once was a tragedy, but twice? There had to be something wrong with her.
Piper was starting to agree with them. No way did this happen to the same person twice. Nobody could be that unlucky.
The elevator opened and there stood Luca, his arms behind his back, his legs spread at ease. Everyone in the lobby was giving him a very wide berth.
His eyes were hidden behind a pair of sunglasses that she was sure was so he could scan the area with more subtlety. Except that there was nothing subtle about him.
She stopped when she reached him, and he tilted his head down to look at her.
“You’re making a spectacle of yourself.”
“By standing here?”
“Yes, you know you are.”
“Good, they won’t forget me.”
“Uh, hi, Piper? I was just coming to see if you’d like to grab a coffee with me?”
Piper stumbled as she saw Jerry standing there, his thin frame garbed in a pair of black jeans and a black shirt. Luca immediately got between them and let out a growl. Jerry took a nervous step back.
“I’m sorry, Jerry. I was just on my way out. Some other time?”
“Sure, yeah, no problem. Have a good evening.”
Piper couldn’t see him walking away because the wall that was Luca blocked her view. A moment passed, as Luca made sure that Jerry was really leaving then he turned and looked her up and down quickly before stepping forward. He waited for her to step up to him. One hand on her back and the other ready to knock someone out of the way or open the door, whichever came first.
Yesterday that same gesture from Anson felt different. Like there was a connection between them. At least she’d felt that way. His heat, his scent, it seemed to envelop her. There was a very good chance she’d made it all up. The rescue fantasy of him being so close to her for a few days must have addled her mind. Having someone else pick her up might keep her mind from wandering from the real reason she hired KSI.
Love wasn’t in the cards for her, nor was a big strapping Kindred. She needed to keep her head down, focus on her career, and hopefully not end up a statistic. She could just imagine the local news interviews. “She seemed so nice, sad this happened to her.”
Piper was going to have to speak to her parents. It was on her list. Her sister knew and even though she had told her to not say anything that didn’t mean her parents wouldn’t pick up on the subtle hints. Her sister wasn’t a liar so she’d look like she was hiding something.
The weekly BBQ the past weekend was the usual round of ‘how’s your love life,’ and ‘how’s work treating you’ small talk. Every question was well-meaning and came from longtime friends of the family. She could easily laugh it all off and pretend that everything was fine.
Being at her parents’ place felt safe. She didn’t feel the need to watch her back. Her parents had bought their house overlooking Mutiny Bay when she was a young girl. It was a large compound that they had made feel private by expertly planning and planting trees and orchards. Their view was the water and beautiful sunsets.
Her mind was on her family when Luca pulled up to her house. He helped her out, had her wait at the door as he swept the interior then the exterior. He gave her a short goodnight, let her know that he’d pick her up in the morning and they’d run by Donuts or Die to meet Van, who would be her afternoon pick-up and left.
The rest of the week played out with Piper meeting the rest of the KSI staff that would be assisting her. Hudson was sweet, he was a little quiet, but still she felt safe with him. Zion made her laugh, he told her stories about his trips to the Middle East. Van talked about his new mate. He was head over heels in love. She even found out that if the guys didn’t bring Nadia back an old-fashioned donut with sprinkles there would be hell to pay. But over the next few days Anson was nowhere to be seen.
Piper tried to not let it bother her. He was obviously doing another job. Just because he got assigned to her didn’t mean that he was supposed to be with her twenty-four seven. Her phone was full of bears to call at a moment’s notice. That should have made her feel safer, but there was something missing.
On a Friday night she was getting a ride home from Luca. Conversation was kept to a minimum.
“Luca, I’m going to my parents’ place this weekend. Do you think it’s okay if I just go by myself? Their place is safe.”
The car jerked to the side of the road and Luca threw it into park. Piper was shocked and looked behind her to see if they were being pulled over.
Luca turned in his seat and for the first time, Piper didn’t feel like she was up to the showdown challenge with Luca.
“Do you think your stalker only works on weekdays?” he growled. “That you won’t be an easy target on your own? He knows that you’re covered. You think he isn’t looking for any opportunity where we aren’t there? He knows his window to get to you has shrunk. The next time it won’t be a card or a heart. It will be you.”
Piper didn’t want to hear that. The past few mornings she’d woken on the couch hoping it had all been a dream. That she could drive herself to work and not worry about someone taking pictures of her. Having Luca look at her so fiercely scared her. It was like he was taking her safety personally and she wasn’t taking it seriously enough. It made her feel bad that she wasn’t making their job easier.
Admitting that someone would rather see her dead than alive hadn’t quite sunk in. It was too horrifying, too much to even absorb that things could get that bad.
“I really want this over.”
“We can’t make promises. We can only do our job day to day. Don’t make it harder for us by willfully putting yourself in danger.”
Luca turned back around in his seat and put the car back in gear.
Properly chastised, Piper settled back into her seat and stared out the window. When they got to her place and Luca did her sweep, she stopped him at the door.
“Could you please arrange for someone to pick me up at eleven tomorrow?”
“Text the address to Anson and he’ll arrange a driver.”
Once she was home, Luca said goodnight and waited for her to shut and lock her door. Piper knew that there wasn’t going to be a way to explain away whoever was delivering her to her parents’ house. She could try to lie and say it was a new boyfriend, but that would bring even more questions than just telling the truth. Knowing this was something she wanted to get out of the way, she planned on getting there earlier than the rest of the guests. It was not a conversation she wanted to have in front of a group.
She changed out of her work clothes quickly, pulling on a tank top and a pair of short cotton shorts that she didn’t care if they got a little paint splattered. With a diet soda and bag of tortilla chips she’d grabbed from to kitchen tucked under her arm, she went to her studio. Pulling up her favorite playlist on her phone, she turned on the Bluetooth so the speakers in her ceiling would play the music and surround her with sound then she pulled out a new canvas. It wasn’t the largest she’d ever worked on, but it was one that actually fit on an easel.
Grabbing her brush, she started painting. Her hands moving over the canvas as What Makes a Good Man? by The Heavy played in the background. She wasn’t thinking, her mind overwhelmed with her life, so she just got lost in the color. Normally she wouldn’t finish a painting in a night. Most pieces would take her days to complete. Hours of revisiting her work to decide on where the picture was going. Tonight it was the only thing that was making her feel like she wasn’t drowning. Hours passed as she kept applying paint, her colors getting darker and darker.
Finally stepping back, she felt out of breath and a little shaky. Grabbing her phone, she checked the time. It was after two in the mor
ning. She still had plenty of time to get some sleep. Taking a deep breath she looked at her painting. The sweeping path of each color, indigo, violet, and silvers moved over the canvas, connecting together in a continuous line of movement.
In the top corner was a dark black shape, it was rounded and hunched like it was fighting the vortex moving towards it.
Piper didn’t feel like it was her, there was no connection to the shape. But it felt like it was someone she should know. Her painting didn’t feel angry, or scared. It felt calming. If she could crawl into it, she’d be safe and protected from the outside world.
Looking around to her other paintings she could point out the feelings she’d had while she was working on them. The orange and red was when she was angry. The green and white when she was sad. A painting that was shades of red with the smallest white space left blank was after her last breakup. She was alone again. That painting was exactly how she felt. Small, alone, and surrounded by fire.
Now she felt like she was underwater. Overwhelmed and reaching for something to anchor her. Anything to help her climb above the waves.
Dropping to the floor, she sat looking up at the wet paint glistening in the light. Beneath Your Beautiful played over the speakers, the lyrics slicing through her like knives. Holding herself together for so long had been hard, she’d never given herself the chance to feel it. If she felt it, she had to acknowledge it.
Tomorrow with her family, she wasn’t sure how brave she could be. They would be disappointed that she hadn’t shared. Scared for her life. Sad that she felt she had to keep it to herself.
It wasn’t just her emotions she was going to have to deal with. It was their emotions too. The weight of it hit her and Piper let the tears fall. She folded her body over, pulling her knees to her chest and cried as all of that emotion she’d been hiding from came crashing down around her. The fear her stalker had made so common in her daily life. Sadness and hurt from being left at the altar, not once, but twice. The embarrassment of facing those she had invited to the ceremonies. The gentle pats on the shoulders, the tsking, and gossiping that went on behind her back. Returning to work without a ring on her finger. Human resources reminding her to change her name, not knowing that the marriages didn’t happen. All of it was a horror show of shit.
Piper gasped through her sobs, it was all too much. Falling over, Piper curled into a ball and let the sobs rack her body. The music was drowned out by her wails.
Chapter 10
Sitting on the front porch of Piper’s home with his back up against the wall, Anson realized what he was doing was not according to KSI protocol. He’d spent the last few nights on the porch or in his truck since he couldn’t sleep knowing that her home was unprotected. It wasn’t what she hired them for, but he couldn’t help himself. He’d tried to stay away the first night, but his thoughts would stray back to Piper and the knowledge that she was home alone. There were too many opportunities for someone to get to her. She felt safe in her home with her little alarm system and locked windows. He knew it wasn’t enough. There were always ways to get to someone.
Anson had arranged for a meeting with Piper’s exes. He originally wanted to interview them both separately but then he thought peer pressure might hasten their honesty. Both had easily agreed to meet. He gave them enough of an explanation to let them know that it was serious and it seemed like they wanted to help. Anson decided to wait to pass judgment on the two men. He’d be able to tell if they were lying in an instant anyway. Until then it was up to him to keep her safe. Even if that meant sitting on her porch and grumbling at the cool air.
He was comfortable enough to doze off, knowing his animal instincts would awaken him if needed. When he did drift into sleep, he dreamed about Piper. It was easy to pretend he had no feelings for her when he was around others. This wasn’t a unique job by any means, but there was something about Piper that nagged at him. She was attractive, although he never thought he would like a woman with short hair, but hers intrigued him. It didn’t make her look small, it made her look fierce. Maybe that was the appeal.
His mind liked to replay small moments they’d shared. Seeing her look up into the rearview mirror with annoyance or shock. She was beautiful just as she was, but in those moments, she dazzled him. He loved that fire; her bravery, her fearlessness. Anyone that tolerated her circumstances as long as she did was a fighter. A true lioness. Maybe that’s why he dreamed about her. He liked the very idea of her.
Anson was half asleep when he heard the unearthly sound coming from inside Piper’s house. It wasn’t a scream. It was the sound of pain, horrible, gut-wrenching pain. He was up and kicking in the door, busting it almost off the hinges. He raced towards the sound, his heart pounding, and the urge to shift was high. Using his two feet to get him to the sound, he turned the corner at the top of the stairs to find Piper lying on the floor of her studio.
Her body was jerking with the sobs that were pouring out of her. Anson didn’t smell anyone else in the room and quickly assessed that there was no outside threat. Skidding to his knees, he scooped her into his arms, her frame feeling small against him.
“Piper... Ssshh.”
The woman in his arms jerked, her eyes coming up to his. He could see her process the recognition and it didn’t calm her. In fact, she cried harder, burying her face in his chest.
“Sweetheart, you’re okay. There’s no one here.”
“Of course there isn’t!” she wailed.
Anson wasn’t sure what that meant. “Piper, there’s no one here to hurt you,” he tried to explain.
That made Piper cry louder, if that was possible. Anson settled down onto the floor, laying her across his lap. He didn’t have a lot of experience with people in the midst of a meltdown. So he awkwardly rubbed her back and made soothing noises. Anson glanced around the room to see what could have set her off. There was a canvas on the easel that still had wet paint on it. It was dark, sad, and to his untrained eye, chaotic. His eyes settled on the darker figure in the top of the painting. To him it looked like a bear hunched against a strong wind. He wondered what had made her paint that.
“Piper, what happened? Can you tell me?”
She was still crying and hiccupping in his lap. Thankfully, the wailing had died down somewhat. He waited while she settled on her own. He didn’t mind holding her. She fit in his arms better than he would have thought. Her soft ass and thighs snuggled up against his cock. He used all his physical focus to keep that situation under control. She didn’t need that right now. She needed something much softer than that.
“Piper, you’re safe. I have you here. I’ll keep you safe.”
“No one can help me,” she cried.
“Of course they can. I can help you. We’re all trying to help you.”
“You can’t stop someone who has been following me for years. Even if he goes away, I’ll still always be alone. I’m cursed, bad luck, fundamentally unlovable.”
Her crying had stopped and now her voice was laced with inner pain and sadness. Anson would have rather had her sobbing. That was at least a level of energy being released. This… this was someone that had levels of pain that no human should have to absorb.
“You’re not unlovable. You’ve had a string of… unfortunate circumstances.”
“Bad luck. Two men told me they loved me and then left me. They embarrassed me, literally left me holding the flowers. I had to take all the pity, all the embarrassment. Both of them were gone! They broke my heart then left me alone to deal with the fallout. It was cruel. If they really loved me they would never have done that!”
Anson had to agree. He knew that mated couples would never leave one another. Kindred mates would kill for each other. Hurting each other only hurt themselves. Humans had that option, though, their matings were about choice. They had to choose to be with one another. If one of them changed their minds the other was left holding the bag.
“I don’t know why they did what they did. I have to believe i
t was because of something that they felt that had to do. I can’t see them leaving you for no reason.”
“But they did. Twice I thought I had found my forever, and twice it was taken away from me!”
Anson wasn’t sure if he should tell her he was meeting with them next week. She needed to have stability in her life at the moment. If she knew he was going to meet with them it might make her feel more vulnerable.
“Maybe someday you’ll find out and it won’t be as bad as you think.”
“And that will change how I’ve felt all these years? The pain will just go away?”
Anson knew that wasn’t what would happen. Pain didn’t disappear. You had to feel it. Take it in and, if you were lucky, let it go.
“No, the pain won’t go away. Sometimes though, knowing there was a reason for it makes it easier to bear.”
“I don’t think that’s true. I think sometimes people just want to hurt you. They want you to feel the pain.”
“You know that your exes loved you. You went to those weddings with no doubt in your mind. That was real. You weren’t making that up. We’ll get to the bottom of this.”
“Then what?” Piper looked up at him and he got lost in her brown eyes for a moment, noticing the glints of green in them.
“Then you get to start over,” he said gruffly.
“What if I don’t want to try anymore?”
“Piper, I may not know you that well, but you’ve come this far. You’ve fought this long. I don’t think you’re ready to give up. You wouldn’t have hired me if you didn’t have hope.”
“I hired KSI,” she said softly.
“Same thing,” he grunted.
There was a moment between them that passed where Anson could almost feel her relax into his arms.
“What are you doing here?” she finally asked, her wet eyes confused.