Fatal Reunion

by Jessica R. Patch

  When he broke the kiss, she whispered, “I believe you.”

  “Piper?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You smell that?”

  Gasoline infiltrated the interior.

  She sniffed, and her face paled. “Can you move? We gotta get out of here. Now!”

  Luke tried to undo his seat belt. “It’s stuck.” He grappled and jerked. A pop then a hiss sounded. Flames shot out from under the crunched hood.

  “Luke!”

  TEN

  Piper grabbed Luke’s seat belt, her hands uncontrollably trembling. They didn’t have much time. “There’s got to be...a...way.” She grunted as she tugged and shook it.

  “Check the glove box. I keep a knife in there.”

  “Now you tell me?” She flipped open the glove box and rifled through the maps, insurance, title papers...and knife. Flicking it open, she sliced the belt in two places, freeing Luke.

  “Get out, Piper. I’ll be right behind you.”

  “Been there done that,” she growled. Luke’s side of the car was crunched. She pulled the door handle. No. No. No. “We have another issue. My door is stuck.” Fire fanned the hood of the car. She turned toward the trunk. Glass everywhere. “We gotta go out the back. Get away from the flames.”

  “Go first.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “You better be right behind me. Can you move?”

  “Yep—go!”

  The smell of gasoline and exhaust waved over her face, the heat burning her skin. She scrambled into the backseat. Luke followed. Piper glanced at his leg. Blood seeped through his jeans.

  “We’re going out the back dash window.”

  “I can help.”

  “Not with that leg.” Piper couldn’t be sure how bad the wound was.

  Wrapping her arms around the passenger seat from behind her, she leaned back, pressing all of her upper body against the seat. She raised and kicked with both feet, everything she had.

  Nothing. She growled and thrust again. “Anything in here to smack it with?”

  The fire hissed. They didn’t have time to dig around. Where was Eric?

  Piper kicked repeatedly.

  Luke shook his head and groaned. He reached behind them and opened the console. “Cover your ears.” He aimed and fired his gun into the glass, sending the bullet through the middle; the glass spider-webbed.

  “My right leg is fine. On three.”

  Gunpowder and smoke singed her nostrils, and her ears rang. Piper glanced at him. He’d just kissed her. They had to make it out alive. She had to know what that meant. “One...two...three...”

  They kicked the glass together, sending it to the ground. “You go first,” Luke hollered. Piper tucked her hands into her denim jacket to help protect her skin from possible cuts.

  Adrenaline rushed through her veins. She didn’t feel a thing scrambling out the back and as she rolled off the trunk to the ground. She lay on her back, gasping for air, her chest heaving.

  Luke tumbled onto the ground next to her, then clambered to get up. “Run!” He jerked Piper up. She broke into a run, Luke keeping pace. His left leg had a slight limp, but it didn’t slow him down.

  The chilly air whipped across Piper’s face, blowing her hair behind her as her feet nearly came out from under her. Her eyes watered from the biting wind.

  A roaring from the vehicle sounded. Luke tackled her to the ground, protecting her from the explosion.

  Like the sound of fireworks magnified a million times, cracks and booms split the atmosphere. Dirt and debris rained down on them, Luke receiving the brunt. Another blast shot out. More debris pelted them.

  Luke’s body weight lifted from hers, and she looked behind at the raging ball of fire that used to be Luke’s car. She tilted her head and peered into his eyes. Dirt and blood caked his face.

  “You okay, Piper?” Piper. Earlier, he’d called her his old nickname. Pip.

  “I am so sick of fire!” Now that they had once again survived, a blazing surge of anger devoured her.

  Luke rested his head on hers, a soft chuckle escaping his lips. “Me, too.” He stood, grimacing, then shifted his weight to his right foot. Taking her hand, he helped her up. Other than serious stiffness and a few cuts, she was okay. She searched the bottom of each of her shoes, picking the glass out. Then they staggered to the road.

  In the distance, a dark SUV rolled down the street.

  “Give me your gun.” Piper smacked Luke’s chest. “I’m so done with this joker.”

  Luke snorted. “I hope you’re kidding. I’d hate to have to arrest you after this.”

  “I’m just gonna shoot out his tires, then beat the ever-lovin’ daylights out of him.”

  Wrapping a strong arm around her shoulders, he dragged her close to his side. “No need. It’s Eric.”

  The driver’s-side window rolled down, and Eric, sporting an impish grin, raised his eyebrow and skimmed their beaten appearance. He nodded his head in the direction of the blazing vehicle. “You know, you could’ve just shot a flare or sent up the bat signal. Don’t think it was really necessary to blow up your car. I’d have found you eventually.”

  Luke shook his head, opened the back passenger door and helped Piper inside. Then he limped around the Durango and eased into the front.

  Eric pulled off the shoulder of the road. “So...hospital or bust, right?”

  Piper ground her teeth together. “I am so sick of hospitals.”

  * * *

  Trying not to jerk when the doctor sutured yet another couple of places where glass had split her open, Piper focused on the curtain, barely hearing the doctor babble on about how to care for them. Minor injuries. A few lacerations but mostly abrasions. She grunted her answers. Where was Luke? How bad was his leg?

  This was completely out of control. Why would anyone—Chaz... Boone... Sly—want her dead? She had nothing.

  “Miss Kennedy, you’re all set. I prescribed you some Percocet for the pain and stiffness. You’re a blessed woman. Not everyone makes it out of a rolling vehicle and an explosion.”

  Blessed.

  Didn’t feel blessed, but she was alive, and Luke was alive.

  God, if You did that...if You saved us again, thank You. I didn’t deserve it, but thank You. And...

  Piper spent most of her prayers begging for forgiveness. But maybe...maybe she was feeling brave, especially if God had shown her some mercy.

  ...and could You please help us find whoever this is and show us why this is happening? If...if it’s not punishment for my mistakes—which You know how sorry I am, how I’ve never stolen a single thing in ten years, and made up for all that I did wrong by helping other troubled teens—then please let us find Harmony, and keep us safe.

  A bit of breathing room opened in her soul. Piper took the scripts the doctor handed her and shoved her filthy clothes onto her body. A shower. She craved one. Exhaustion swept over her, but sleep would have to wait.

  Opening the curtain, she stepped out of the triage area in the ER and searched for Luke. Now that he wasn’t half out of his mind and on the brink of death, would he regret that kiss? Would he even remember sharing it with her? Piper touched her lips. Something about it was even better than when they were younger. Piper couldn’t quite place her finger on it, but she wouldn’t forget it. May never get another.

  In the moment, it’d felt right. Like coming home. But home was in Jackson. She’d made a decent life there. The teenagers in her class needed her to champion them, to teach them to overcome their fears and take control of their lives. They trusted and relied on her. She’d become a mother figure to them.

  Every time Mom had shown up at Mama Jean’s, Piper shook with excitement, believing this time she’d take her away someplace clean and safe. No more dr
ugs. No more house-hopping, no more forgetting to buy groceries. Piper wouldn’t fear the men Mom brought home, their leering eyes on a child.

  But that never happened. Piper had ached for love and attention, and while Mama Jean gave it, Piper wanted her mother’s love. A father’s love. She had no idea who had fathered her. Mom probably never had, either.

  By the time she was twelve, when Mom overdosed, Piper had come to terms with the fact that she’d been nothing more than a mistake. A burden.

  Then she met Chaz at fourteen.

  Piper balled her fists and sank into the waiting-room chair. Luke would appear eventually. She bobbed her knee and bit her thumbnail, a habit she’d never been able to break—to master.

  A mother rocked a baby with glassy eyes and feverish cheeks, placing light kisses across his forehead and humming to lull him. He closed sleepy eyes and snuggled closer.

  Piper bit back tears.

  Would she be a good mom? For a while she’d become everything she despised, ignoring Mama Jean’s pleas to do right. To let the Lord be her source of joy. To let Him fill all of Piper’s empty places. Piper didn’t have empty places—she was one walking black hole.

  Even with karate, a void consumed her.

  Luke stepped into the waiting area and she stood. A square bandage covered the skin above his left temple and he limped. Piper rushed to him. “How d’you feel? Do you have a concussion?”

  “I have a major headache, and I have a few stitches on my left leg, but nothing I won’t recover from. You?”

  Piper explained her injuries. “I’m going to look like Frankenstein if they put another stitch in me.”

  Luke caressed her cheek. “Doubtful.”

  Eric wound around the corner with a few cups of coffee. “Healing juice. Who’s in?”

  Piper chuckled. The man was a riot, but she hadn’t missed the concern in his eyes when he’d shown up on the road, and he’d stayed at the hospital waiting. Jokes seemed like his defense mechanism.

  Anger. Anger was hers. She’d spent so long too weak to stand up or fight, cowering like a scared rabbit. No more. She had the power to fight back. But the wounds on her body were wearing her down. What happened when she physically couldn’t fight?

  “...for the Lord your God is He who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.”

  Where had that verse come from? It’d been ages since she’d read a Bible or gone to church, but Mama Jean said that when the time was right, God would always help those who needed to hear His voice. He’d bring back a truth they’d heard or read at one time.

  Was God speaking to her? Why would He want to fight for her? She’d abandoned Him long ago. Betrayed Him with her sins. Even Luke couldn’t get over her sins. How could a holy God?

  Piper used her coffee to force down the mounting lump in her throat. “Now what?”

  “Now you get some rest. We’re useless when we’re exhausted, beat up and fuzzy in the head. We need to focus. Regroup and start fresh. And to be honest, I need a shower.”

  “You really do,” Eric said and sipped his coffee. He clasped Luke’s shoulder, and they spoke with only their eyes. Yeah, Eric cared. Just bad with emotions.

  Piper related.

  “I’ll head back to the office and handle reports. The files from Strosbergen’s case are still on your desk. Get a few z’s and we can start digging again,” Eric said.

  “What about Sly? Don’t we need to see him?” Piper cupped her hands around the hot coffee cup, enjoying the warmth seeping into her skin.

  Luke clicked his teeth together. “Yes, but it’ll have to wait a few days. If he’s the one behind this, he might think we’re dead. Let’s take advantage and rest up. Plus, I’m going to have a mountain of paperwork.”

  Piper sighed. “I doubt Harmony’s resting. We could ferret out Boone’s haunts. He could be holding Harmony there.”

  “We’ve already visited several and the location of his last known job. Construction site. No go.” Eric plunked his coffee in the trash can by the glassed automatic door. “Even stirred up a few friends he ran with. Say they haven’t seen him in a while.”

  “Fine, I’ll sleep, but only for a few hours, and then I’m back at it. With or without you.”

  Luke pinched the bridge of his nose. “You give me an ulcer when you talk like that.”

  “Take stock in the Rolaids Company, then. I’m not playing around.”

  “Thus the ulcer.” Luke motioned Piper out the doors. Four hours. That was all the time she was giving Luke. Because they were running out of it.

  * * *

  Luke turned onto Harmony’s street. “You feeling it yet?”

  Piper nodded. “Pretty stiff and frazzled.”

  Luke laced his fingers between hers. “Which is why you need to get some shut-eye.”

  Piper studied their intertwined fingers. “What is this?” She lifted their hands. “That kiss back there? What—what is going on?”

  Luke wished he could be 100 percent sure.

  “Did we get caught up in an intense moment? I’m confused.” Piper slipped her fingers from his hands. “I don’t... We can’t... Things won’t ever be the same between us, Luke.” Her voice caught in her throat.

  Luke fought a rush of emotions. No, they couldn’t get back to what they’d had before the lies and deceit wedged between them. But that didn’t mean he didn’t want her as much or more than he had back then. “Just answer me this...” He had to know. He’d been fighting the thoughts for ten years. “Did you do it because on some level you loved him?”

  Piper’s mouth dropped open. “Of all the reasons why I did what I did, this one sticks with you?”

  “What else was I supposed to think?” Anger simmered on the tip of his tongue.

  Piper shook her head. “I told you I loved you. Obviously, you never believed it.” She jumped out of the car, slammed the door and stalked to the front door.

  Luke sprang from his seat and limped after her. “Wait. You can’t just run away.” What other conclusions were there? Piper’s actions had spoken volumes. She hadn’t trusted his promise to protect her, to keep her safe if she ran from Chaz. Or she simply hadn’t loved him enough to leave.

  Piper jerked around, fierceness in her eyes. “Oh no? It’s what you told me to do that night. ‘Run, Piper. Run and don’t look back.’ Isn’t that what you said? Well, you can’t one minute tell me to run and the next tell me not to. I’m so done with this day.” She jammed the key into the lock.

  A frenzy bombarded his body. She was rejecting him. Again. “Talk to me, Piper!”

  “You should’ve talked to me then!”

  “I was angry!”

  “Well, now I’m angry. So go away. Sit in your car and try to protect me, go home or go investigate, but get away from me!” She burst through the door and for the second time slammed it in his face.

  Try to protect me. Try. What did she think he’d been doing then? Doing now? Not trying. Doing!

  Luke glared at the barrier between them.

  He could bang on it, beat it down, kick it in, but Piper wouldn’t listen to him. Wouldn’t give him a chance to explain. Explain what? She’d sent Luke and Kerr on a wild-goose chase so Chaz could once again get away with taking things that didn’t belong to him. And a woman had almost died. He stomped to the Durango and slid inside.

  Piper’s question blared in his mind. What’s going on here?

  Luke punched the steering wheel and peeled out of her driveway.

  Nothing. They’d messed things up too badly.

  Too much time had lapsed.

  ELEVEN

  Two days had brought rigidness to Luke’s body, and his leg relentlessly burned around his stitches. But not nearly as intense as his chest burned or as rigid as h
is interactions with Piper had been. Leaving her alone with a killer on the loose wasn’t going to happen. She might not think he could protect her, but she was wrong. He could, and he was going to keep on keeping on whether she liked it or not.

  At the moment, it felt like not. At least she wasn’t yelling at him to go away. Before she went to bed, Piper had brought him a cup of coffee while he watched her house from the road. Staying the night inside wasn’t appropriate, and the nearness was insufferable at times.

  Speaking of... Piper moseyed out the front door, slim jeans fitting just right, a billowy shirt with long, flappy sleeves. She wore anything well. Luke clambered out of the car. “Evening.”

  Piper heaved a sigh. “I’m calling a truce. I can’t handle this arctic wave between us. I think we should let the past stay where it belongs.”

  Luke licked his bottom lip. “But it’s not where it belongs, Piper. It’s right in front of us, hanging in the here and now. We should deal with it.”

  Piper’s shirt fluttered on the night breeze, her loose hair following suit. She rubbed her forearms. “I’m not ready to deal with it. I want to stop these monsters and go back to my life in Jackson.”

  The words caved into his chest like a wrecking ball. She was saying he needed to stay in the past. Massaging his brow, he exhaled. “Fine. Truce.”

  Piper’s shoulders relaxed, and for the first time in two days she smiled. Half a smile, but it was better than nothing.

  “I’m leaving in about ten minutes. A friend is going to—”

  “Babysit me?”

  Luke choked back a smart remark. “I got some information from the undercover DEA agent at Riff’s—”

  “Holt McKnight?”

  Luke pinched his lips. Why did that man’s name rolling off Piper’s tongue send a green streak through him? “I see you remember him.”

  “What’s that mean?”