The woman gave Piper a slow up and down, and Piper had the urge to stand up a little straighter and run her hands over her hair to smooth it. She’d changed out of her work boots and put on a clean top. Maybe her jeans were a little rough. She glanced down and saw some serious grease stains. Shit. Her face heated. Okay, a lot rough.
“I’m sorry, but Mr. Black’s out to lunch. Would you like to leave him a message?”
“No. It’s fine…I’ll just…” She waved a hand toward the elevator. “I’ll give him a call or something later.”
Then, spinning on her heel, she walked back the way she’d come and pressed the button on the elevator to take her down to the underground parking lot. What had she been thinking? This had been a seriously stupid idea. Cole wouldn’t appreciate her coming to his place of work. Putting him on the spot like that. Like he’d open up and have some deep and meaningful discussion with her here.
Great idea, moron.
The doors slid open, and she lifted her gaze from her yellow flip-flops.
Cole stepped out, and her lips tugged up at the corners, the reaction immediate, despite her misgivings about coming. The man had that effect on her, always had. He hadn’t seen her yet, was smiling down at someone, deep in conversation.
Piper’s thrill at seeing him vanished when she spotted the woman with him. Tall and willowy, with long, dark hair, sleek down her back. She was wearing skinny jeans and a fitted shirt, displaying her perfect figure. Cole’s arm slid along her shoulders, hand lightly cupping her upper arm. The woman leaned in, a bright smile on her stunning face.
Piper stood frozen for a split second, not sure what to do—until an all-consuming urge to run the other way kicked in.
She spun around. “Oomph!” And ran right into someone.
The man grunted, and all the techy gear in his arms, expensive-looking crap, went flying and made loud, crunchy, shattering noises as it bounced off a desk and landed on the floor.
“Oh God, I’m so sorry!” She cringed inwardly and dropped to her knees, picking up the pieces of whatever it was he’d been carrying. “I’ll pay for it. Just tell me how much, and I’ll pay whatever the damages are.”
“Piper?”
Her hand stilled, but she didn’t turn around. Please, just walk away. Take your date and walk the other way.
“What’s going on?” His voice was closer.
Crawling under the nearest desk and covering her head with a paper bag seemed like an excellent idea right then. But since that wasn’t an option, she climbed to her feet and handed what she had in her hands to the flustered-looking man beside her. “Sorry, again.”
“Piper.” Now Cole sounded like he was getting pissed. “Is there something wrong? What are you doing here?”
Slowly, she turned to face him and had to make a conscious effort not to recoil at the sight of him with another woman. Well, the mystery of where he’d been the last two nights was solved.
He was still a couple feet away and made no move to come closer. The brunette stood at his side, staring at Piper with round, questioning eyes. He didn’t introduce her, and Piper’s gaze went back to his arm, still locked around the other woman’s shoulders.
“Um…” She dragged her gaze away and focused on his face. He stared down at her, jaw tight, the muscle there jumping several times. He was annoyed, no, scratch that, he was angry. She was cramping his style. He had no desire to talk to her, let alone see her. He’d communicated that by ignoring her the last two days, and she’d been too stupid to take the hint. And as for sleeping with her—well, it seemed someone else had now filled that position. Someone thin and perfect. And someone who wasn’t his best friend’s kid sister.
Time to leave, before she made even more of a fool out of herself. “Sorry. I, ah…I need to go.”
“Piper…”
“I was just dropping a car off to someone.” It was a big fat lie, and they both knew it. He was standing in her path, and she pointed to the elevator. “I need to…” She ducked her head, rushing past, and almost collapsed with relief when the doors slid open as she approached. She climbed in, shoved her hands in her pockets, and kept her head down. The last thing she wanted was for him to see how much he’d hurt her. And she definitely didn’t want the woman he was with to see the angry tears she could no longer hold back running down her face.
She had no right to them. No right to feel a thing. She didn’t even have a right to question him, did she? That wasn’t part of the deal. He’d told her under no uncertain terms that what they were doing was casual. Just sex. He wasn’t interested in a commitment of any kind. She’d stupidly assumed she meant more to him than that.
Could she be more naive?
No wonder her family thought she was incapable of taking care of herself.
This was the story of her life. Second best to someone hotter, slimmer, prettier. Still, of all people, she’d never believed Cole would do that to her.
Stupid, sad, desperate Piper. Always going after the wrong man. Only good enough to fill in time until someone better came along.
The door slid open, and she rushed out. She was at her car when she heard the stairwell door open. “Piper, wait.”
She spun around. Cole stood there, leaning heavily on the doorframe, a hand to his leg, face pinched in pain.
“Please, just…will you let me explain?” He pushed off the wall, his limp more pronounced than usual. He must have run down all five flights of stairs.
“I wouldn’t want to hold you up from whatever the hell you were doing…or should I say whoever you were doing?” She crossed her arms as he got closer. She didn’t want to hear what he had to say. If he wanted to end it, she’d much prefer he did it by text or email, face to face she couldn’t handle.
“Piper…”
“Don’t sweat it, Cole. What we were doing, it was just sex, right?”
He recoiled—actually rocked back on his heels like she’d struck him. He shoved a hand through his hair, expression tortured.
She couldn’t bear to look at him. Gripping the sides of her shirt, she hugged herself tighter. “You don’t owe me anything. You’re off the hook.”
“Piper…”
“Save it.” She turned to walk away, but he grabbed her shoulder, turning her back to face him.
“Please, Pipe. Will you hear me out?”
He watched her closely, and she hated that he could more than likely see the way her eyes shone. She shook her head. “I don’t want—”
“I’m not sleeping with anyone else,” he said in a rush. “You’re the only woman I’ve been with since before my accident.”
Piper stilled, stupid hope firing through her for a split second. “You haven’t been sleeping at your apartment and, despite what everyone thinks, I’m not stupid.”
He moved in closer and held her gaze. He looked in pain, but not from his leg. It was something else. Her belly dipped. “What’s going on, Cole?”
“Her name’s Kate.” He looked out across the parking lot, and she barely recognized him, his features rearranged in a way she’d never seen before. God, it hurt to look at him. “She’s my ex-partner’s widow.” He looked back and brushed his thumb over her cheek. “And I have been home, just working long hours.”
She bit her lip. “Oh.” The tension in her body eased. “I ah…assumed…”
“Yeah,” he said gently.
“Your partner? Was he in the accident with you?”
He looked down at her, his blue eyes lost, empty. “Yes. We were in pursuit of another vehicle. A truck pulled out in front of us.” He flinched, as if he were watching it play out in his head. “He didn’t make it.”
Oh God. “You were driving?”
Jaw clenched, he nodded. “Yes.”
She winced, the horror over what he must have been through slicing through her. “Oh…I…” Sh
e didn’t know what to say. What could she say? She hated that she never knew, that Cole had never told her. That Deke had never told her he’d lost his partner.
He took a step back. “I have to go. Kate’s waiting. I promised I’d take her and Davey to lunch.”
“Davey?”
“Kate’s son.”
She hugged herself tighter. “Of course, then you need to go. I don’t want to hold you up.”
He stared at her, gaze searching hers for the longest time. She waited for him to say something, anything. Instead, he lifted his hand like he was going to touch her but stopped himself, letting it drop to his side. “Good-bye, Piper.”
Then he turned and walked back toward the elevator. She watched him go, heart heavy, and with what sounded a lot like a final good-bye ringing in her ears. It hurt like hell. His partner’s death had affected him deeply, that was obvious. He was still struggling with it a year after it happened.
But that didn’t explain why he was suddenly pulling away from her.
Why he was shutting her out.
Chapter Sixteen
Cole gripped the steering wheel tighter. Shit. He’d been as good as useless the last couple of days.
Piper knew.
And every time he closed his eyes an image of her shocked, horrified expression filled his head. The pity in her wide stare.
His ex-partner’s wife had had a lot to say. Things he hadn’t wanted to hear. He’d been shaken after his conversation with Kate, and then Piper had been there, in his office, and she’d seen them together. She’d gotten the wrong idea, had jumped to conclusions. The hurt and betrayal had been written all over her face. He couldn’t let her leave like that. So he’d chased after her.
Don’t sweat it, Cole. What we were doing, it was just sex, right?
Jesus, her words had cut him to the bone.
He’d needed to give her something after that, to prove to her that she meant so much more, the only way he could, so he’d told her who Kate was—that he hadn’t been alone when he’d crashed his car. She’d wrapped her arms around herself, putting distance between them. He hadn’t been able to read her, and he’d hated it.
As much as he’d wanted to go to her last night, he’d gone back to his own place. She’d just learned he was the reason a good man lost his life. The reason his wife and kid no longer had him. He had no idea how she felt about that. So he’d decided to give her some time. He’d lain awake all damn night, wondering what she was thinking. How she felt about him now. Now that she knew.
Pulling into Axle Alley, he shook his head, hands getting clammy, gut twisting. He’d realized as he’d climbed into his car that afternoon, stomach in knots, tremors in his hands, that for a short time, he hadn’t felt sick with nerves before getting into his vehicle. The nightmares, reliving that day over and over, hadn’t been as frequent, either. Because of Piper. His head had been so filled with her, there’d been no room for anything or anyone else.
Seeing Kate and Davey brought it all back. How could he have forgotten? What kind of asshole did that make him?
Kate should hate his guts. He’d taken everything from her, and all she was worried about was how he was coping. That he didn’t blame himself, that he was happy. He didn’t deserve her sympathy, or her forgiveness.
Kate’s words from their lunch together replayed for the hundredth time since she’d said them: “Adam knew the risks he faced every day he went to work, and so did I.” She’d shrugged, a sad smile on her face. “He was doing what he loved.”
Seeing her again, listening to what she had to say, hadn’t been easy, and he’d been struggling under the weight of his guilt, so many emotions battling for dominance inside him ever since. He hadn’t been able to sleep, eat—hell, breathing felt like a conscious effort.
She’d touched his arm before she left, determined to make him listen to her. “Adam would have done the same thing. He wouldn’t have backed down, and if you’d stop blaming yourself for five minutes, you’d realize I’m right.”
The kicker was, she was right. Adam never would have backed off, would have done exactly what Cole had done, if he’d been in the driver’s seat. But truth or not, he’d messed up. He’d been reckless. He’d lost control of his emotions, had ignored his better judgment. Had taken his eyes off the road for just a split second. Now Adam was gone.
He didn’t know how to live with that, still hadn’t worked out how to get up every morning and look in the mirror without hating the man he saw.
He turned into West Restoration’s garage. The place was still open. He’d left work early since he’d accomplished nothing at the office. He wasn’t fit to be around people, so he decided to bring work home with him.
As he drove past the workshop, he looked through the office window. Alex was on the phone while Rusty was working under the hood of a gleaming red Cadillac out front.
And, of course, he couldn’t stop himself from scanning the place for Piper. He craved a glimpse of her, was starved for it. Then he spotted her. She was on the other side of the parking lot, sitting on the hood of a Miami PD patrol car.
What the fuck? He searched her features for signs of distress, but she looked relaxed, leaning back on her hands, boots resting on the front bumper. The cop talking to her was smiling, hip against the hood beside her. Too close.
Cole’s gut shriveled into a hard knot. Whatever was going on, it sure as hell didn’t look like official business. The guy was familiar. Then he remembered him. He’d been a year ahead of Piper in high school.
Right then Piper threw her head back, laughing at something the guy said, and Cole watched as the other man’s gaze swept over her appreciatively. She was wearing faded denim shorts that showed off her smooth thighs and the pink tank she often wore for work. It was a little stretched out but clung to her tits in a way that drew the eye right there. And Officer Sleaze was apparently having a hard time looking away.
Possessive anger welled up inside him.
The guy took a step closer, pulling something from his pocket—his card by the looks of it—and handed it to her. Piper brushed her hair back from her face and shielded her eyes from the late-afternoon sun, accepting it with a smile. Cole could actually see the guy suck in a breath when she aimed that beauty and warmth his way.
He’d never wanted to shoot someone more in his life.
Parking by the steps to his apartment, he shoved his door open and tried to climb out. “Fuck.” He hissed in pain.
He’d hurt himself when he’d taken the stairs to chase Piper, then overdid it at the gym last night. The only way he knew how to get sleep was to wear himself out. It hadn’t worked. And now his leg was protesting, and he’d been forced to use his cane. He fucking hated his cane. But if he wanted to get out of the car without falling on his face in front of them, he’d have to. He couldn’t just sit in his car and hope they didn’t see him, hope they went away.
The smooth wooden handle fit his hand perfectly, and he winced as he thrust it out of the car ahead of him, using it to drag his ass out of the seat. Grabbing the stack of paperwork he’d brought with him, he tried to move toward the steps without putting much weight on his leg, but pain shot up from his knee. He gritted his teeth.
“Hey, do you need some help?”
Cole froze. It was the cop that spoke. Forcing himself to turn toward Piper and her officer, he shook his head, mentally pulling the gun from his invisible holster and shooting the fucker in the junk. Piper’s eyes were wide, overflowing with concern. Jesus, he couldn’t stand it.
He made it to the foot of the steps but knew getting up to his door would be a miracle at this point. He should have left the paperwork in the car to get later. At least then he could use both hands to drag his ass up the stairs. But his pride wouldn’t let him back down, not with an audience. He leaned heavily on the railing and lifted his injured leg. The stabbing pain mad
e it near impossible to bend his knee enough to take the first step, and he stumbled, the papers in his hand scattering everywhere.
Piper gasped and ran forward to gather them up.
“Leave them.” Blood thundered through his ears. Just turn around and walk away. She was the last person he wanted seeing him like this.
She straightened and held out her hand. “Give me your keys. I’ll take them up.”
“Just put them on the front seat of the car. I’ll get them later.”
Her cop friend moved closer, pity clear on the bastard’s face. “I know you. Cole Black, right? I was sorry to hear what happened—”
“I have things to do. Don’t let me hold you up.”
“Right. Sure thing.” The guy grabbed his arm. “At least let me help you upstairs first, bud.”
Cole wrenched his arm away and actually growled. “I don’t need help, and I’m sure as fuck not your bud.”
“Cole,” Piper snapped. “Brian is just trying to—”
“I don’t give a fuck what Brian’s trying to do.” Piper flinched, hurt clear on her face, and Brian held up his hands in surrender.
Cole turned away and half dragged, half stumbled up the steps to his apartment. Refusing to look any weaker in front of either of them than he already did.
He heard Piper apologizing for his ass-holic attitude, her words, and they walked away.
And what did he do? Nothing. He limped into his apartment and watched the woman he loved through his kitchen window—because there was no point denying his feelings anymore, not to himself—walk away with a guy who was everything he wasn’t.
Everything he would never be again.
Everything she deserved.
Chapter Seventeen
Piper stared up at the ceiling. So much for an early night. Sleep was not happening, and it was all Cole’s fault. What had he done to himself? Was that from chasing her down the stairs? She’d never seen him use a cane before. And why hadn’t he come to her last night? Why was he still avoiding her?
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