Benito shifted to look at him. “You never told us you did any of that.”
“And have to put up with being abused like she has? It’s time this ended. I had access to all four of their financial records. There’s nothing there. If she’d had money, she’d have used it. And I’ve never blamed her for Armando’s death. The two men responsible for it are behind bars.”
Tom shoved free of his seat. “For God’s sake, they were drug dealers. I never understood why Lester believed them over Piper. I’ve never understood why you guys believed them over her, either. You’ve treated her like shit for years, and she’s taken it. I’m not going to sit by and watch it any longer. I won’t be back. If you can hate her and treat her like this, who’s next?” He stalked across the room and out the front door.
Zach mentally listed Piper’s possible supporters, Dante, Tom, Alana…and possibly her mother. He eyed her three other brothers. “There’s something else to consider. When a woman’s being systematically harassed and abused, she’ll either shut down or do anything to escape her abuser. If she had the money, she would certainly have given it up to get Lester off her back. And she never would have returned to San Diego, where he could start harassing her again.”
Armando’s head whipped in his direction. “Is he harassing her again?”
Finally, someone showed some concern. But Zach couldn’t tell if it was for Piper or if Armando was worried about the inconvenience for himself.
“He and another detective came by my apartment on a different case. The owner of the dog I hit was beaten and left for dead in his yard. The minute Lester saw Piper, his eyes lit up like he’d gotten just what he wanted for Christmas. Chances are he’ll come back at her now he knows she’s in his jurisdiction again. He’ll keep at it until he drives Piper out of San Diego for good. You’re going to lose your sister if you don’t do something.”
He’d had enough of their company, couldn’t sit still any longer, but before he walked out of the room he added, “Just a heads-up in case any of you want to man up and give her some support.” Who knew? One of them might shock the shit out of him and actually do it.
He wandered down the hall toward the kitchen and noticed for the first time in days his hip wasn’t aching like a son of a bitch. He wasn’t discounting the adrenaline his anger had pumped into his system to have numbed it, so he took his time. But he needed a cooldown period.
When he wandered back toward the living room, he heard steps on the stairs. Piper’s eyes were red, as though she’d been crying, but she was composed now.
Her jaw was set when she marched into the living room. “Lester’s back and he’s harassing me again. And he’s going after Zach because he’s standing by me. We all know none of you will be in that category, don’t we?”
She moved to stand over her four brothers. “I’m done. Done with all of you. Done with your blaming me for everything. Done with you punishing me for everything in your lives that you don’t like. And I’m especially done with bearing the brunt of the blame for not being able to stop the bullet that killed our father. If I could have, I’d have gladly stepped in front of that gun, but I couldn’t.”
When the three started to argue. “Shut. Up!” Piper said with such passion their protests died. “I will have my say, and then I’ll be gone out of your lives for good. You’ve treated me with less respect than you would your worst enemy. Used me like an emotional punching bag for years, and I’ve turned the other cheek for the last time.”
“If I had the money Acosta was looking for, I’d have given it to him without a single argument. But I didn’t have it. And that means whoever took the money out of my car will have to bear the heat, because I’m finished doing it for you.
“I didn’t see any money. Never had it, never spent it. I was still driving mom’s car, and she was driving mine that last week. I left right after David did that day in her car. You three were here when I left,” she pointed at her brothers Lorenzo, Benito, and Armando. “And Teresa. If anyone took the money, it was one of you.” Her gaze swept their faces. “That means the next time Lester talks to me, I’m throwing you four under the bus to take the heat.”
Benito shoved to his feet, exclaiming, “You can’t do that!”.
The other two sitting next to him jumped to their feet to add their arguments.
Piper turned the full brunt of her intensity on Benito while color rose to her cheeks, and for a moment Zach thought she might take a swing at him. Part of him hoped she would. “Watch me.”
Her features were still set and her eyes dark with anger when she glanced at Zach. “Let’s go.”
“I’m ready.” He placed a hand against the small of her back and let her lead the way. He reached for the doorknob.
“Piper.” Dante stood behind them in the entrance to the living room and took two long strides to reach her. “If you need anything at all, call me.” When he hugged her, she froze for several seconds, then slowly returned the embrace. He drew back, and for a moment brother and sister looked into each other’s faces. “I’m so proud of you. I mean it.”
He cast a glance in Zach’s direction, gave him a nod, and moved on past them to go out the door.
Piper gaze shifted to him, dark and intent. “You said something to my brothers before I did, didn’t you?”
He gestured toward the door for her to walk through it. “I’m not a big baseball fan, so I changed the subject to something I was more interested in. He and your brother-in-law were the only two who spoke up for you.”
“Thanks for telling me.”
“My pleasure.”
Once they were in the car, he started the engine, but didn’t put it into gear. “How do you feel?”
Piper drew a deep breath. “Free. I’ll always feel guilty that I couldn’t save him.” She closed her eyes and swallowed several times while she struggled to suppress her tears. “But I don’t have to carry the weight of their hatred any longer.”
“Good.” Zach put the car in gear and pulled away from the house.
Chapter 32
‡
Though it was early morning, the physical labor of climbing the ladder and wielding a drill had sweat running down the back of Zack’s neck. He knew he was being pigheaded, but he was the one who’d asked for Flash and Bowie’s help. He needed to be the one to do the lion’s share of the work.
“Are you doing this to get laid?” Bowie asked. He accepted the cordless drill, changed the bit and handed it back. “’Cause if you are, there are easier ways.”
Zach eyed him as he wrapped his fingers around the handle of the tool. “No, I’m not doing it to get laid. I’m doing it because Piper and her partners are on a tight budget, and they can’t afford a professional service that will charge them an arm and a leg. This way they’ll be able to monitor their business from their phones and keep an eye on things. At the first hint of trouble, the signal will go out to the police department, which will be the only thing they’ll have to pay for.”
“Seems like a hell of a lot of trouble to get laid.”
“Bowie…” He loved the man like a brother, but sometimes the iron wall he’d built to keep women at arm’s length for anything but sex really made him wonder. How he could be charming and get any woman he wanted when he felt that way was a mystery.
“Piper isn’t a hookup, Bowie. I like her, man. We’re dating. We’ve been dating for two weeks.” At least he had dates that involved more than bedroom action.
He guided the electric wiring through the center of the plate and turned his attention to screwing it in place.
“I’ve never known it to take two weeks for you to get—”
“Watch yourself, Bowie. Piper isn’t a party girl. Don’t talk about her like she is.”
Bowie threw up his hands in surrender. “I’m just saying you need to be careful, Doc. You don’t want to get too involved just before we deploy.”
Zach concentrated on securing the camera to the eave of the building. He’d b
een thinking of what Hawk said on the subject. “When would be a good time to get involved?”
Bowie’s silence stretched while Zach secured the unit onto the base. He turned to look down at him. “I’ve been visiting Master Chief Flynn every day while Piper’s at work.” The man had started hitting the wall of depression once he realized the extent of his injuries, and he needed all the encouragement he could get to move forward. “If we both keep going the way we are, bro, we’re going to end up like him. No family, only a dog. And a legacy no one can share because it’s all classified. Don’t you want more than that?”
Bowie frowned, his dark brown brows knitting over a nose straight as a blade. His lips compressed. “Love is a trap you pay for the rest of your life, Doc. Be careful you don’t end up being caged by it.”
Whoa. The bitterness in his tone clung to each word like tar. Bowie never allowed any of the ladies he took out to see it. He was a ladies’ man, giving pleasure and attention for the few hours he was with them, then moving on. He never dated any woman longer than a month.
Zach climbed down from his perch. The hip was so much better he only felt a twinge or two when he descended the ladder. But it still looked like hell.
Once on terra firma, he turned to face Bowie. “Don’t you think it depends on the woman you fall in love with? Surely there are one or two good ones.”
“Yeah, like Patricia?” Bowie threw the name down like a gauntlet.
Zach was surprised how little reaction he felt. “I’m over that, man. We were both responsible for what happened. I held back from her, and she cheated on me. But we weren’t married, and we weren’t engaged. I hadn’t proclaimed undying love to her any more than she had me. Sure, it messed me up for a while.” Longer than a while. “But I’m moving on from it.”
Bowie’s expression smoothed out, but there was a distant look in his eyes. “I’m glad for you, man. But it wouldn’t be good to get involved when we’re three weeks away, possibly less.”
“And I repeat… When would be a good time, Bowie? We’ve put our lives on hold for our country. I know my family loves me, but how much of a loss would it be to them if I died during a mission? I moved away from home after high school, and it’s been ten years. Ten years of more phone calls than face-to-face meetings. You say the words, but without some daily physical contact to keep the bond strong…” He stopped. “I need more, Bowie. I need something more than a quick fix. I need to look into another person’s eyes and know I matter to them.”
“And you think you’re going to get that from Piper?”
“I don’t know. Right now we have this powerful physical buzz, but we haven’t completely dropped the walls yet to see if we can establish a deeper connection.” Because of this bullshit with Lester. “But I’m willing to find out if we can have it.”
Bowie’s features had hardened. He gripped the aluminum ladder and lifted it. “Let’s get to the next camera. Flash will be out here on our asses if we don’t get a move on.”
Zach suppressed a sigh. On this one subject, Bowie’s mind was set in stone. Whatever had gone down to make him feel this way had been bad. Really bad. He’d never spoken about it, not even with Zach. Maybe if he could, it might lance the boil.
But there were women Bowie respected and had a real affection for. He loved Kathleen like a brother. And he had a special affection for Zoe, Hawk’s wife. He often called Selena Shaker, teammate Oliver Shaker’s wife, ‘little mama’ with a special affection, and Langley Marks’ wife Trish. They were all women who had proven themselves to be steadfast wives.
Zach spotted Piper as she strode around the side of the building. Dressed in jeans, a button-up blouse, and a lab coat, she looked professional and beautiful. “I thought you both might need some water.” She extended one bottle to Zach and one to Bowie. Then offered each a hand towel.
“Thanks.” Zach unscrewed the lid and took a deep drink. He wiped his face and the back of his neck with the towel. “We have three more cameras to install. How’s Flash doing in there?”
“He’s shown the girls pictures of his wife and daughter, put extra password protection on the main computers, connected the cameras you have installed so far up to the laptop we bought, and loved on every animal in the place. He has more energy than anyone I know. He’s talking about taking one of the pups someone dropped off yesterday home to Joy.”
“He’d better call Sam and ask if it’s okay, otherwise she’ll tie a knot in his—” Zach caught himself. “Uh, tail.”
Piper grinned. “I can’t give him a pup yet. I’ll have to check them out first, and give them shots. If he wants one after that, I’ll be glad for him to take one. Two would be better. They do better if they have someone to play with.” Her smile widened. “It’s the very least I can do to repay him for all the work he’s doing.”
Zach chuckled. “I’ll do my best to encourage him to take two. At least with Joy and Samantha, you can be sure they’ll receive good care.”
Piper’s phone pinged with a text and she glanced at it. “I’m being paged.” She sighed. “Is there anything you need before I go back in?”
“No. We’re good. We’ll have this done in another thirty minutes or so.”
“I really appreciate everything the three of you are doing.” Her eyes shifted to Bowie, then back to him. “I know it’s mostly for me, but my partners appreciate it, too.”
“You’re here at night more than the others, Piper. I’ll feel better if you have some safety measures in place.”
Her slow smile, and the way she brushed a hand down his arm, had blood rushing south. ‘I’d better go.” She took a few steps away. “Think I should mention to Flash that the pups probably need to be wormed?”
Zach laughed. “That might be a deal breaker. I’d keep it to yourself. We’ll be finished in time for us to meet up at my place.”
“Okay.”
Bowie kept his eyes on Piper until she disappeared around the corner of the building, and Zach fought the urge to step between them and get in his face for even looking at her.
“She’s beautiful,” Bowie commented.
Zach bit back a growl.
“And she’s going to lead you straight down the garden path into trouble,” Bowie continued, his eyes narrowed when they flicked to him. “You’d better think about that promotion coming down the pike.”
“She isn’t the trouble, Bowie. Lester’s the issue.” He’d shared everything with Bowie. “I’ve got the video of him at the marina watching us leave the dock through binoculars, and leaving just before the cops pulled in to search the boat.”
“She’s more trouble than Lester ever thought of being. She’s already got her hooks into you. And you’re going to be miserable when you have to go wheels up.”
It wasn’t so. He was keeping everything light. He was more concerned about the game Lester was playing. That was all.
No, actually it wasn’t all. He wanted Piper so badly his heart rate rocketed and his palms got sweaty every time she was within touching distance. He walked around semi-hard just thinking about her. Since they’d made love frequently during their two-plus weeks together, he’d have thought those feelings would taper off. But they weren’t. Days of making love with Piper, of sharing meals, cuddling on the couch, walking the dogs, sharing, cooking. Worrying about her when she wasn’t with him.
And when she laughed. It would be her laugh that stuck with him when they went wheels up.
He handed Bowie the drill and folded up the ladder to move on to the next camera position on the eave at the far corner of the building. Bowie hefted it in deference to Zach’s hip. As he walked, Zach texted Flash to flip back on the breaker controlling the electricity to the two cameras they’d just installed, and flip off the breaker that controlled the two at this end of the building.
Bowie set up the ladder and held it steady while Zach climbed up. He waited for Flash’s text, pulled the wiring through the hole the electrician cut in the eave the day before, and reache
d for another mounting plate from his carpenter’s belt. He stood one-legged on the ladder while he worked, resting his hip as much as possible.
Bowie spoke from below him. “We always had a mutt around while we were growing up. Every summer when we left to visit my Dad in Mexico, we had to leave the dog behind. By the time we got back home, it was gone. Mom wasn’t good about taking care of things. But we always lived in hope that the dog would be there, waiting for us, when we pulled up.”
The wistful note in Bowie’s voice had Zach glancing down. “Did she give them away?”
“No, just forgot to feed them long enough for them to wander off to someone else’s house to beg for food, or for them to be picked up and hauled off to the pound.”
Jesus. He was already getting attached to Gracie, and it was going to be hard as hell handing her back over to Master Chief Flynn. He couldn’t imagine how hard it had been for Bowie to lose a pet every summer.
He’d wondered why Bowie had woman issues. He didn’t have to be slapped upside the head to get a clue now. His mom sounded like a piece of work. “I’m sorry, bud.”
Bowie shrugged one wide shoulder and handed up the drill.
“Why didn’t you take them with you when you went to Mexico?”
“They have to be quarantined going in and coming back.”
“Damn.”
“You’re taking care of my girl?” Bowie asked, changing the subject.
“Yeah. She’s running good. McMichael’s rebuilt the carburetor, and the motor sounds like it’s purring. Any time you want to take her out, just let me know. I have the key at home.” He hadn’t felt comfortable leaving the keys on board since Lester had fucked with him.
“Maybe we can all go out one last time before we go wheels up,” Bowie suggested.
Zach glanced down at him. “Sounds good. We need to think of a name for the boat, Bowie. It’s about time she had one, don’t you think?”
After a minute hesitation he said, “Yeah.”
Breaking Out (Military Romantic Suspense) (SEAL Team Heartbreakers Book 6) Page 29