by R B Hilliard
“Gage was her appetizer, place holder and bed warmer,” Joss answered for me. “Weren’t you listening?”
He looked down at the table for a second then back to me. I could see he was struggling with something, possibly not strangling Joss. “You need to explain all of this to Gage.”
“No she doesn’t. Not if he was in on it.” By the tone of his voice, I could tell that Dillon was in full blown protective mode.
“He wasn’t,” Zip explained with his eyes locked on mine. “We weren’t supposed to come back from Arkansas until Wednesday. Gage tried to call you several times, but you didn’t pick up on your cell, apartment line or at his house. He was worried, so we headed back a day early. He was destroyed when we got home and you were gone. He thinks you left because he went on that trip instead of staying with you.”
A tiny sliver of something pierced through my despair. I wasn’t sure if it was relief or maybe even hope. Whatever it was, it would have to wait until later. Right now I had to wrap my brain around the growing likelihood that Dooley had played the two of us against each other. The ramifications were almost unconscionable.
“So, what was on the pen drive?” Benny asked.
Joss said my name a few times before I realized that someone had spoken.
“Huh?”
“You okay?”
“Not really. I’m sorry, did you ask something?”
Her eyes softened with encouragement. “The pen drive?”
“Oh, sure. When I woke up that next morning, I took a shower, powered up my computer and inserted the pen drive. My whole life was on it.” I turned to Ellie and added, “Including our arrest.”
“What? …B-b-but that’s impossible,” she stuttered.
Max’s hand protectively rubbed her belly. “Why?” he inquired.
Her eyes met mine and I nodded for her to tell the story.
“Okay, um…our junior year in college we met up at a bar. We each brought a friend with us and just wanted to have a good time. While we were there we met some guys. They asked if we wanted to go down the street to hear a friend’s band play.” She glanced over at me and smiled. “I was drunk and with Piper. Of course we said yes.”
I rolled my eyes and she laughed. I loved making Ellie laugh. I always had.
Dillon shook his head at me. “Let me guess? On the way there you got busted for public intoxication.”
“What? Why does it always have to be my fault?” I responded.
“Because normally it is,” Max mused. I stuck my tongue out at him.
“On the way there we ran into some other guys we knew. They apparently also wanted us to party with them.” Ellie spoke over us. “Anyway, the short story is that two of the guys traded a few drunken insults, it escalated to an out in out brawl and we all got arrested.”
“Here’s the thing,” I cut in, “Dooley should have never been able to get that information because it doesn’t exist.”
“What do you mean it doesn’t exist?” Max questioned.
“One of the guys had a big time lawyer for a father who made it go away. None of this was supposed to show on anyone’s records.”
This got everyone’s attention, but especially Max’s.
“Was Ellison’s name actually on the drive?”
Obviously I hadn’t made myself very clear. “Practically everything about me is on that drive, Max, including the names of my best friends.” I glanced over at Joss and Kurt, “And the people they love. I assume the only reason you weren’t on it was because you were out of the picture for so long.”
“I bought my garage in Texas from that dickhead. Trust me he’s got a file on me. I bet it’s under Jack Barnett instead of Max McLellan. It’s bad enough that he has you in his sights, but my wife? Hell no.”
“I don’t like this either,” Kurt quietly added as he hugged Joss protectively to his side.
“How do you know that your arrest wouldn’t show on your record? The lawyer could have lied.” Tut interjected.
“Are you kidding?” Ellie gave a half-hearted laugh. My aunt was paranoid. She had her lawyer check the court records at least three times over the next year.”
“My dad had his lawyer check mine, too,” I told them. “My parents were convinced it would stop me from graduating.”
“Neither lawyer found any record of the arrest?” Garrett asked.
We both shook our heads.
“But it was on the pen drive.” Max stated.
“That and who my friends were, every guy I ever dated, every place I lived, my favorite foods and so on.” Dooley Shane almost knew more about me than I did. “Everything about this man is pure evil.” Just thinking about him made me sick inside. “When I was done looking at my file I shut down my computer and just sat there wondering what it all meant. No offense Zippo, but if Dooley has all of that on me, I can only imagine what he has on you and Gage. Anyway, not five minutes after I shut my computer off my phone rang and, like an idiot, I answered it. It was Dooley and he was livid. He started off by telling me that if I didn’t bring his car back immediately he was going to report it as stolen. I felt like I didn’t have much to lose so I called his bluff and told him to go ahead so that I could explain to the police how I was running from a person who assaulted, kidnapped and threatened to rape me. This made him pause for a minute. He then quietly told me that if I talked to the police, or anyone else for that matter, and did not return the pen drives I had stolen, he would hurt me. Not only that, he would hurt the people I care about. He followed that threat by spewing all kinds of twisted nonsense about how good we would be together and the plans he had made for us. The guy is a total nutcase. I told him that I had just taped our conversation and to go fuck himself. Then I hung up on him.”
Ellie’s eyebrows shot to the sky. “So you taunted the psycho?”
Max answered for me. “Yes, but she bought herself some time. Dooley was smart to wait for Piper’s next move. After all, she did have bruises all over her body and possibly an incriminating taped phone conversation. She’s a wild card and that’s probably why she’s still sitting here with us right now.”
Garrett leaned forward and interjected, “I just hired a new guy at the agency who used to be a private investigator. His name is Caswell Ashford. I’m going to get him to dig for information on Dooley. Can I take a look at your phone, Piper?”
“Why?”
“I want to see if Dooley planted anything in it.”
I hadn’t thought of that. “Uh, I kind of destroyed it.”
His lips twitched with a hint of amusement. “May I ask why?”
I thought back to the moment and explained. “At the time everything seemed so hopeless. Knowing that Dooley had my number worried me. And then there were the umpteen thousand voicemails from Gage. It was too much so I tossed it on the ground and ran over it with the car until it was pulverized.”
“You need to talk to Gage,” Zippo asserted. “Did you even bother to listen to his messages?”
He cursed when I shook my head.
“He betrayed me, Zippo.”
“No, he didn’t, Piper. You need to talk to him.”
“Sleep is what I need,” I responded. “Anyway, that’s basically it. Max, you were at Ellie’s when I showed up and the rest is what it is.”
Max’s gaze narrowed. “Dooley is far from done with you. You and I both know it. Garrett has a plan and you need protection.” He turned to Garrett. “Can you cut one of your boys loose to watch Piper?”
What? No!
“Give me tomorrow to juggle things around,” Garrett responded.
“No way,” I said and felt the room tense.
“Pi, he sent Lester here to kidnap you,” Ellie said.
“And had Reyn call as bait,” Susannah added.
“You don’t know that!” I shot back at them. “You didn’t hear the desperation in her voice. None of you did. She’s in trouble and if it has anything to do with Dooley Shane, trust me, it’s bad.”
Max nodde
d in agreement. “She’s probably right, but until we come up with a solid plan a…”
“And talk to Gage,” Zippo cut in. “This involves him and, who knows? He might have information that we don’t. He certainly deserves to know what blew apart his relationship, don’t you think?” he pointedly asked me.
My stomach lurched and I stared down at my feet to hide the tears that threatened to spill. Stupid tears.
“You okay with that, Piper?” Max quietly asked. “Gage might be able to shed some light on things?”
“We’ll all be here with you, Pi,” Ellie quickly added.
Just the thought of facing Gage made me want to run screaming from the room. I felt as if I had swallowed a bowling ball. There was no way they were going to let this go so I managed a nod.
“Good. Garrett, get your guy on Dooley and arrange protection. Zippo, call Gage. Everyone meet back here at eleven tomorrow morning.”
On that note, everyone began to clear out. Dillon pulled me in for a hug and I felt several hands pat my back as the others were leaving. Finally there was silence.
“Are they gone?” I asked into Dillon’s chest.
“I want a hug before I go,” Ellie said. Dillon transferred me to her and I couldn’t help from sobbing the second she wrapped her arms around me. I felt another set of arms at my back and knew it was Joss. For a long time we stood in our little huddle and cried.
“I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you,” I eventually managed to say through my tears.
“You were protecting someone you loved, honey. We understand that,” Ellie crooned in my ear.
“I was protecting you all. Dooley said he would hurt anyone I told. I couldn’t risk that. Please understand.”
“Hey,” Joss said as she squeezed my waist, “we are all good here, okay? We’re just glad that you are okay.”
“I love you both so much,” I wailed.
“We’ve been so worried,” Ellie sniffled into my hair. “Thank God it’s over.”
“Baby, it’s far from over,” Max warned and I realized he was still standing there with Garrett and Dillon. He was right. It was not even close to being over.
Ellie’s head came up and her eyes narrowed dangerously on her husband. “We are bonding,” she hissed.
His response was a shit-eating grin. Typical Max.
“Piper, I will need those drives” Garrett added on his way out.
“I’ll bring them tomorrow. I’m going back to my place to crash.”
Dillon wrapped me back in his arms when Ellie and Joss released me from our huddle and asked if I needed him to sleep on my sofa. Wanting to be alone with my thoughts, I told him no but I did let him walk me back to my place.
When we reached the back house, Dillon kissed the top of my head, gave me a big smile and nodded to the door. “Go sleep. See you tomorrow.”
I wished that I felt something other than friendship for this gorgeous hunk of man. I squeezed him to me and said, “The old Piper would have eaten you up by now.”
Once inside, I locked the door, dropped to my knees and completely fell apart. I wiped my eyes and picked myself off the floor after a good twenty minute cry. Then I started pacing. Gage didn’t break us. I did. I was the one who fell for Dooley’s deception, shut him out of my life and forced him to do what anyone else would do…move on. I knew what would happen if I stayed to face Gage. He would finally get answers, but he would never forgive me. Hell, I can’t even forgive me. Call me chicken, but I couldn’t just wait and watch it unfold. The look on Gage’s face when he realized what had happened would break me and I was already all kinds of broken. My chest tightened and stars shot across my retinas. Not again. I quickly dropped to the sofa and put my head between my knees.
I was still on my sofa with my head between my knees when I decided my next move. I was going to Texas. I was going to save Reyn and make sure that Gage, Zippo and everyone else were free to live the rest of their lives without the threat of Dooley Shane. That’s the least I can do.
I quickly packed my bags and headed out the door. Twelve hours later I arrived in Shreveport, Louisiana and was beyond exhausted. I found a motel and, after stretching out on the bed, retrieved my cell phone from the bottom of my purse. Ten missed calls and seven voicemails. EEK! I left Charlotte around four this morning and figured that I had until ten before someone discovered me missing. Wrong. Based on the voicemails, Dillon stopped by with coffee and bagels around seven. Shortly after that I received a series of increasingly worried and then scathing and somewhat mean messages from Dillon, Max, Ellie, and Joss. After the seventh message, I shoved my phone to the bottom of my purse.
A loud buzzing noise woke me. I must have drifted off and it took me a minute to realize that my room phone was ringing.
“Hello?” I groggily answered.
The silence on the other end jerked me awake.
“Hello? Is anyone there?” No answer. Crap!
Jumping out of bed, I tore across the room. My heart felt like it was about to explode it was beating so fast. Has Dooley found me? What if he has been tracking me all along and, like a stupid brainless fly, I have flown straight into his web?
I pulled back a corner of the drapes and peeked out. Directly in front of my motel room sat a humongous truck. Standing in front of it were Dillon, Zippo, and Gage.
“Holy Shit!” I gasped as Dillon stalked towards the door. Like a bat out of hell, I shot for the bathroom.
“I know you’re in there, Piper! Let me in!” Dillon shouted as he pounded on the door.
No window! I thought it was a law that all cheap motel rooms had to have a bathroom window? How else are you supposed to get away, dammit!
“Now! Or I will break down this fucking door and spank your ass!” Did he really just threaten to spank my ass?
Realizing that there was no way out, I marched over to the door, yanked it open, and stepped aside to let him in. Before closing it, I caught Gage’s eye and… nothing. All the love that was once there was gone and in its place was…nothing. I dropped my eyes to my feet and sucked in a deep breath. Gage had on dark jeans and a light blue shirt that made his eyes look more aqua than blue. I missed everything about him. The yawning emptiness I felt inside without him was indescribable.
Dillon’s voice cut through the pain. “What the hell are you trying to do, Piper? Get yourself killed?”
“Why is he here, Dillon?” Even I could hear the pain in my voice. It made me cringe.
“Grab your things. Let’s go.”
“Wait, what?” My eyes shot to his and I fought the urge to take a step back. I had never seen Dillon angry like this. At that moment, he reminded me of an angry Max. Really scary.
“I’m not going back with you. Reyn is in trouble and I’m not going to leave her there with those monsters. How did you even find me?”
He gave me a look of disgust and started pacing around the room. “I had a feeling that you were trying to appease us last night. Guess what? I was right.” I didn’t know what to do so I stared at my feet and waited. When his boots stopped directly in front of me, I peered up. His tight jaw and clinched teeth let me know that he was barely in control. “I want to wring your fucking neck right now little girl,” he growled. “I decided to show up early this morning so we could talk. When you weren’t there I headed over to the main house. I spotted your iPad on one of the lounge chairs on the way there and grabbed it for you. When you weren’t there I powered it up and located your phone… in Atlanta. I knew I should have stayed with you last night, but did I listen to my gut? No. I trusted you.”
His anger and disappointment were too much. “Dillon, wait.”
Ignoring me, he kept going. “Anything could have happened to you. How do you know that Dooley isn’t tracking you right now?” Fear shot through me. “See! You don’t! Anyway, Kurt called Max, who was at MG’s with Gage and Zippo. Be very glad that Ellie is pregnant, Piper, or she and Max would both be here kicking your ass right now instead of me.” I wai
ted to see if he was finished but knew he wasn’t. He nodded his head toward the door. “He heard you were in trouble and wanted to come along. I gotta tell you, you have your work cut out for you.”
What was that supposed to mean? “What did you tell him?”
“Not a damn thing. It’s not ours to tell. All he knows is that you are in some kind of trouble.”
Great. My chest started to seize. It had begun doing this a few days after I escaped from Dooley’s. I had learned the hard way that the only thing that stopped it was to drop my head below my heart and deep breathe.
The bed dipped with Dillon’s weight as he sat down next to me and placed his hand on my back. “Some crazy guy wants you bad enough to kidnap, hurt and almost rape you Piper. And what do you do? You run straight to him. Why?” Before I could answer, Gage barged in.
“What’s wrong with her?” he asked. His concerned tone drew my attention but his eyes appeared still void of all emotion and I wanted to kick myself. Of course he’s not concerned, Piper. You made sure of that when you walked out on him. I lowered my head and took a deep breath. “Reyn is in trouble and I am not about to abandon her,” I informed them.
“What are you talking about? What kind of trouble?” Gage asked.
I shot Dillon a non-verbal plea for help.
Glancing over at Gage, he explained. “Piper is under the impression that you betrayed her. That is why she left. She has been forced to consider the possibility that she is wrong. The only way either of you will ever move past this is to talk about it.”
I shook my head in humiliation. That’s not what I meant, you asshat!
As if reading my thoughts, he flipped me a wink and a smile. “Max and Garrett want you back in Charlotte as soon as possible, Piper. Zippo and I will go get Reyn. Gage will ride back with you. You two obviously need to…catch up.”
I glared at him and then slowly, as if speaking to an errant child, explained my position. “I have something to bargain with. You do not. I will not risk you, Dillon, and I sure as hell won’t risk him after everything that’s happened. If I can get Reyn out of there, I will. If not, I will bargain for her safety as well as everyone else’s.” I stood up and walked over to the door. “Now, I appreciate you worrying about me, but I’m okay. Go back to Charlotte. I promise I’ll be home when I can.”