Shawn pumps his arm in victory. “That’s what I’m talking about.”
I nod and reach for the doorknob. “I’ll see you later.”
“Hey!” he shouts after me. “Send a word of warning first, ya know? In case we’re in the throes or whatnot.”
I smirk and close the door behind me. As I pass the girls’ room, I silently press my ear against it and I hear Mandy’s high-pitched voice chatting away. She’s obviously not talking to herself, so I can safely assume she has Piper’s ear. Good. I feel so much better when I know her exact location.
I descend the elevator to the lobby and step out into the busy Paris street. The increased foot traffic on the sidewalks should give me a good cover coupled with the dark shadows beneath the trees across the street.
When Piper leaves this building tonight, I’m going to know about it.
An hour later, I see her step outside. My curiosity immediately peaks. I expected some kind of come-get-me outfit like the kind she wore to the Fire and Ice club, something revealing and easy to remove. It’s nothing like that. She’s in normal clothing. A simple blue t-shirt. Jeans. A light jacket sits over her shoulders. She drags her suitcase behind her and carries her phone in one hand. She constantly peaks down at it as she glances around for roadsigns and other landmarks around her. Everything she brought with her to Europe is on her person right now. Why would she take it with her? If she were just going out for a hook-up, then she wouldn’t need her suitcase.
I flex my fingers, rolling them tightly into a ball. I’m not sure what’s going on in Piper’s mind right now, but one thing is definitely certain: She has no plans to come back to the hotel tonight.
“Once we reach Paris, we’ll go our separate ways.”
I keep a safe distance and follow her through the streets of Paris. It’s dark and I constantly lose her in the crowd. Her black hair drifts between the shadows of buildings, but I manage to keep up with her with my own phone guiding me in the same direction towards this M bastard. Dark clouds obscure the night sky, sending promise of a coming storm on the horizon. I pull my jacket a little tighter as a cool wind chills the air. We travel on foot for several miles together. A cosmic string binds me to her, pulling me along, refusing to let me rest even for a moment or else it might snap and I’ll lose her forever.
Finally, she pauses and walks into the old apartment building just as the rain begins pouring from overhead. I speed up and check the address again to confirm it’s the same one from M’s messages before following her inside.
Apartment C12, three floors up in a building with no elevator. I listen carefully from the bottom of the stairwell as Piper’s boots climb higher and higher up. I shake the rain off my jacket and I ascend far behind her, keeping my ears focused. I’m blind now to her movements, but I breathe easy knowing that she can’t disappear on me now.
Her knuckles rap on the door and several moments later, I hear it open.
A door on the second floor swings ajar as I pass by it, sending a quick shock to my system. A man and a small child step out of the apartment. The child speaks quickly and loudly in French, his little hand poking up to touch his father’s thigh. I step out of the way to let them pass by and the man glares at me and my busted nose with suspicion before reaching down and picking the child up. I say nothing as he thumps his way down the stairs.
I curse quietly to myself, angry that I missed Piper and M’s greeting. I take the rest of the stairs two at a time and reach the vacant third floor. I follow the doors down the hallway until I find C12.
My instincts drive me, urging me to rip the door off the hinges, but I’m not confident enough in my manliness to even attempt that. Instead, I ball my hand into a tight fist and I pound on the door. I don’t know what I’ll do when it opens. I haven’t thought that far ahead yet. I just want to know who is on the other side of this door with Piper. I don’t hear any voices behind it, which means they got silent a little too quickly. I want to know what she is doing. I want to know what the hell she is thinking. I pound on it again, and again, until finally, the door opens suddenly.
My hand falls to my side as I look down at her face. Long, black hair. Startling blue eyes. A thin, paper-white face. But it’s not Piper. Her features are far sharper, more graceful, and very, very familiar to me.
“Kai Casablancas…” She says my name with a smile teasing the ends of her lips. Her voice is warm, much warmer than Piper’s has ever been. Her eyes glance down my body and I remain frozen in place. “You certainly have grown up.”
“Mrs. Lynch?” I whisper.
She laughs. “Oh, son. I haven’t been known by that name in a very long time.”
Piper moves in behind her, standing a few inches shorter in height. Her hand quickly moves to her face and she pushes a wet tear off her cheek. “Kai, what are you doing here?” she asks.
“Piper, let’s not be rude,” her mother says, silencing her. She looks back at me and smiles. “Please come in, Mr. Casablancas.”
She shifts over and gestures for me to step inside.
Chapter 13
Piper
Mom.
I remember the last time I saw her.
It was two years ago, just shortly after my father remarried. We were having lunch together and she told me that she was going to leave the country for awhile.
“When are you coming back?” I asked her.
“I’m not sure,” she told me. “I want you to know that it has nothing to do with you, Piper. I’ve just… Well…” She paused to take a sip of her coffee. “Things have not gone according to plan for me and I need some time to myself. I hope that someday you’ll understand that.”
It was difficult news for me to hear. I was just barely sixteen, standing at the door to womanhood. I wanted my mother there with me always to help me through it and to guide me when I felt lost. The thought of her not being there every time I turned around was devastating to me.
But I understood her completely. I had done nothing wrong, nor had she. My father, on the other hand…
I kept in touch with her constantly, a fact my father wasn’t happy with. He saw her as a pest, something he finally got rid of in exchange for a better, more-improved version. He didn’t want the constant reminder of her following me around all day, whispering things in my ear, diluting the brainwashing he spent nearly a decade overwriting into my brain.
It sounds dramatic, and it probably is my own special brand of it, but there’s been one driving thought pushing me forward since the day I said goodbye to my mother at the airport. That someday, I’ll be reunited with her and I’ll never have to see my father again.
The lights flicker above the kitchen table as lightning strikes the world outside. I glance up at them, counting the few seconds between the lightning and crashing thunder. When I look back down, I meet Kai’s eyes across the table from me. He’s no doubt full of questions for me, but I’m not ready to answer them just yet.
My mother sighs to herself as she pulls three small plates from the cupboard. “Third storm this week,” she says. “It’s a good thing I bought new candles.” She sets the plates onto the table next to the beautifully decorated red velvet cake in the center. There are ten candles lit around its edges with the words Congratulations, Piper written in frosting.
“Mom, you didn’t have to do this…” I laugh.
“Oh, yes, I did,” she says. “I didn’t make it to your graduation and I wanted to celebrate with you.” Her hand falls to Kai’s shoulder. “And you. Having you here is a wonderful bonus in itself worthy of celebration.”
He grins up at her. “It’s nice to see you, too, Mrs. Ly—” he stops to correct himself for the third time this evening, “Penny.”
I shake my head at him. Old habits really do die hard. My mother laughs softly and sits down at the round table with a long knife in her hand. She maneuvers the cake to the right angle in front of her and cuts a perfect triangular slice. “So, Kai…” she begins, her little eyes peaking a
t him as she works. “Now that you’ve also graduated, what’s in store for you?”
He sits up a little taller in his chair and thinks for a second before answering. “It’s all still very wide open,” he finally says.
“As it should be,” my mother says. She gently places a slice of cake onto a plate and passes it off to him. “I’ve never understood the belief that young people are supposed to have the next thirty years of their lives figured out by age eighteen. I didn’t and I’ve honestly never met a person whose life went according to their plans.”
“That’s honestly very comforting, Penny,” Kai laughs. “Thank you.”
I find myself smiling across the table at him. His eyes shine as he speaks to my mother and I can tell that he genuinely enjoys her company. I remember now how he always used to treat her with great respect, displaying impeccable manners whenever she was around him. She passes a slice of cake over to me. “He’s going to USC,” I add.
My mother raises an eyebrow. “That’s a great school,” she nods. “Good for you, Kai.”
He shakes his head. “It’s nothing special,” he says.
“It’s not the school’s job to be special,” she says with a pointed finger. “It’s what you do there that makes it special.”
My mother. Always the beacon of sage advice. It’s usually sloppy and made up on the spot, but still a source of great comfort to me growing up.
Kai nods, enjoying her words as much as I am. “I’ll have to remember that one,” he says.
“I’ll write it on a postcard and send it to your dorm,” she replies. “You must leave your address with me before you leave. I will send you care packages.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“And your mother?” she continues. “How is she?”
I grow tense and I see Kai’s shoulders do the same. His mother. The other woman. Her former best friend. His eyes touch mine for a moment before he glances back at her. “She’s all right, I think,” he answers. “She hasn’t really taken the idea of me leaving home all that well. I caught her in my room last week putting my laundry away, which was strange because I don’t think I’ve ever seen her do laundry before in my life.”
My mother laughs at the thought. “Well, she’s going to miss you,” she says. “I can relate to not being able to see your only child whenever you want to.”
Kai nods at me. “I guess you can.”
She smiles warmly at him before shifting her attentions back to me. “I certainly can,” she says softly. Her hand touches mine and I feel her warm touch flow through her fingers onto my skin. It brings a heavy smile to my face. It’s so strange how much I’ve forgotten my mother’s comfort and how quickly it’s all coming back to me now.
“I can tell her you send your regards,” Kai says. “If you want.”
She chews on her lip. “That won’t be necessary,” she smiles with a hint of lingering malice behind her eyes.
Kai smiles in understanding before digging in to his cake.
***
“So, he followed you here…” My mother passes a freshly washed dish to me and I give it a quick wipe with a cloth before stacking it in the drying rack.
I glance over my shoulder with discretion. Kai sits at the kitchen table with his phone in his palm. “He did,” I say quietly.
Her hands fish inside the water for silverware at the bottom of the sink. “And he had no idea I was here?” she asks.
“I don’t think so,” I shake my head. She shoots me an amused stare before her eyes flick back down to the water below. “What?” I ask.
“I always wondered when the two of you would finally notice each other,” she says.
“It’s not like that, Mom.” I scrub a glass a bit too dry.
“Well…” She looks over her shoulder and back again. “Look again, sweetie.” I shake my head and wipe down the fork she hands me, fighting the urge to glance at him again. She drains the sink and dries her hand on another towel before turning around. “Kai—”
I wipe down the last of the silverware and turn around as he looks up. “Yes, ma’am?” he asks.
“I’m going to have to insist you stay here tonight,” she says. I want so badly to intervene, but I know it won’t change a damn thing. “This storm isn’t going anywhere and I don’t want you walking back on your own.”
Kai stands up from the table and slips his phone into his pocket. “Uh…” he breathes. “Are you sure?”
She walks across the kitchen to him. “Of course I am, Kai. You have always had a place in my home.” She pushes herself onto her toes and plants a quick, motherly kiss on his cheek. “No arguments. You can take the couch and Piper will share with me.”
He grins at her. “All right, Penny.”
Her hand lingers on his chin. He looks at her with confusion as she admires his face. “Oh — this jaw.” She shakes her head as she drops her hand. “Don’t you dare stop growing up.”
He laughs with red cheeks. “I will do my best.”
She looks back at me. “It’s late and I am very tired. I’ve forgotten how utterly exhausting you are, Piper.”
I step across the room, driven by the sudden devastation of her leaving me again, even if it is just down the hall. “Goodnight, Mom,” I whisper as I throw my arms around her.
She returns my hug and kisses the top of my head. “Don’t stay up too late. There’s much to be done tomorrow,” she says.
I nod as I pull away. She pats Kai’s shoulder one last time before leaving the room.
“Goodnight, Penny,” he calls after her.
“Goodnight, Mr. Casablancas.”
He smirks and watches her walk away before his eyes drift back to mine. He stares at me for a moment, his smile falling with each passing second. “Piper, I am so sorry,” he whispers. “If I had known it was her—”
“It’s fine,” I interrupt. “I’m… not mad.” I return to my seat at the table and he sits back down on his. It’s the truth, as strange as it is to admit. When my mother first answered the door, I was furious at him, but now… “I forgot how much she liked you.”
“So did I,” he chuckles. “I never realized how much I missed her being around.”
“I did.” I draw a line on the table with my fingernail. “I really did.”
He looks at me with sincere eyes. “You knew she was here this whole time?” he asks.
I nod. “Yeah,” I say. “She’s been traveling around the world for the last two years. And she’s serious about that postcard thing. I have a whole box full of them.”
He smiles and looks around the apartment. “And she lives here?” he asks.
“She’s got little hideouts all over Europe. A few in Asia, too,” I tell him.
“Wow…” he breathes. “Why didn’t you ever mention it?”
I shrug my shoulders. “Never seemed relevant.”
Kai furrows his brow. “Pipes, come on. Your mom was like an aunt to me.”
“Sorry…” I say. “My dad always got so mad when I mentioned her. I just kept my mouth shut after awhile.”
He nods. A bit of thunder rolls outside and I listen for the rain tapping against the windows. “She hasn’t changed a bit,” he notes.
I smile. “No, she hasn’t.”
“I’m happy I got a chance to see her before we go home tomorrow.”
I pause, the words dancing on the tip of my tongue. It was never my intention to tell him, but he’s already come this far. If I don’t tell him now, then he’ll just find out in a few hours anyway. “I’m not going home, Kai,” I whisper.
“What do you mean? Of course you’re going home…” His voice softens with each syllable.
“No, Kai…” I stare at the table between us. “I’m not.” He watches me with confusion, no doubt waiting for me to explain more to him. “You crashed a one-way trip.”
“Piper…” He gives a light chuckle. “You’re Piper fucking Lynch. You’re going to take over the world. You’re going to Harvard—”
“Then where are you going to school?” he asks, still not getting it.
“I’m not.”
“What are you talking about? Of course you’re going to school—”
“There’s nothing a lecture hall can teach me that I can’t learn out here.”
He shakes his head. “But you’re enrolled in classes. You start in like two days.”
I hesitate. “I never even applied, Kai…”
He sits back in his chair, his brow furrowing a little more. “Your Harvard acceptance letter has been plastered to our refrigerator since March,” he says.
I run my fingers along my lips, the tips of my nails grazing my teeth. “It’s impressive what one can do with a decent word processor and some fancy stationary.” I pull my fingers down, fighting the nervous urge to bite my nails.
“Pipes…”
I look up at his face and his handsome, tortured eyes. “I’ve lived my entire life in my father’s shoe box… and I’m not going back there.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“I don’t expect you to understand, Kai.”
“You’re damn right I don’t understand. You have to come home, Piper,” he argues. “You don’t belong here — You can’t afford to live like this.”
“My trust fund unlocked when I turned eighteen,” I tell him. “I can do whatever I want.”
“Oh, and that trust fund doesn’t say anything about not using that money to wander around the world like a bum?”
I lean in and keep my voice down. “My father’s trust fund for me is very specific on how I’m to spend the money. My mother’s fund for me, on the other hand, has no such restrictions.”
“So that’s it, then?” he asks with a stiff shoulder shrug. “You’re just gone? You’re not coming home?”
“That was never my home in the first place, Kai. I’m staying here with my mother. She’s my home.” My throat hurts from finally saying it all out loud. The pain radiates through my chest as I watch him beg.
UNTOUCHED (Midwest Alphas) (Book 1) Page 23