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Crap. That was something he could confirm. "Your house, of course. That's part of the plan. How we're going to get you away from the house all day so we can set up. It's going to be fantastic, but you need to go with it when you get an invite that gets you out of the house all day. Okay?"
A small smile finally played at the corner of his mouth. "What's the invite going to be?"
"I don't know yet. Any suggestions?"
"Golf."
"Great. Golf it is. Then what? That won't take you all day."
He paused for a moment, rubbing his jaw. Now that his anger was subsiding, she could see that some people would find him handsome. He had that air about him that would draw people into his web with ease, like a spider who would then take them prisoner and destroy them whenever he felt ready to do so. "Breakfast at the club in the morning. Then golf. Then…" He paused. "Call Jack Schott. Tell him that you need me out of the house all day. He'll know what to do."
"Jack Schott. Got it." She pulled out her phone. "What's his number?"
Dick rattled it off, and Piper put it in her phone. "Fantastic." She stood up. "I need to go meet with another client. When you find Jessie, tell her I had to run. I'll give her a call tomorrow to reschedule." She poked his chest as she walked past. "But make sure to ask her who I am, because you need to pretend you don't know about the party!"
He nodded, his eyes far too interested in her for her own comfort. "Will do."
"Great!" She couldn't believe she'd managed to get out of there without him asking what her name was, but she knew he'd notice soon that he hadn't asked, hadn't figured out a way to track her down. "Have a good night."
As he nodded, she stepped around him and then strode out into the hall, her heart racing. She saw Declan walk out into the hall, and she shot him a look to follow her.
His gaze went behind her, and she knew he'd seen Dick walk out of the room she'd just exited. Since he'd jumped in to distract Dick when Piper had spirited his wife away, they couldn't be seen together.
She walked past Declan, not even looking at him. "Going to my car," she muttered under her breath. "See you at home."
"Meet you there." He kept walking the other way, calling a greeting to Dick as he passed him.
She glanced back as she rounded the corner, relieved to see that Declan had managed to stall Dick long enough for her to slip out of sight without him following her. Relief rushed through her, and she hurried down the hall, cutting back through the kitchen toward the front entrance. She waved at a few of the staff, who she knew from the weddings she'd put on there, then emerged in a back hall.
She bolted down the empty corridor and then slipped out a side entrance.
The parking lot was eerily empty, and as she raced across it, she thought about Jessie and her kids, racing along the highway toward Dylan's jet. She knew they would make it, because they had a head start, but it was still nerve-wracking.
She couldn't imagine needing to run away from her life so completely that the only option was to disappear. Because that was what Eliana did. New identities, new lives, never to be found.
Piper's car was where she'd left it, and there was no sign of Dick, so she ran over, got in, locked it, and started the engine. She pulled out quickly, and didn't relax until she was on the road and there were no headlights behind her.
As the night settled around her, she thought about Jessie. Did she have parents she was leaving behind? Did she have to go into hiding forever? Would she lose every bit of her life forever, just because she'd married the wrong man?
Suddenly, Piper's throat became tight at the idea of never seeing her family again. She'd left them behind, worked hard to disassociate herself with them, but in her heart, she always knew they were there.
She stopped at an intersection, then looked down at her phone. It had been so long since she'd spoken to anyone from her family. She didn't want them back in her life.
But she suddenly needed to know they were all right.
"Hey, Siri. Call Roman." She hit the gas and eased through the intersection as the phone rang. Would he even answer? It had been so long.
It kept ringing, and sadness crept into her heart. What if something had happened to them? She'd changed her phone number so they couldn't find her. What if she couldn’t find them either?
Finally, a familiar voice answered. "Roman here."
Her throat tightened at the sound of her older brother's voice. "It's me."
There was a long pause, then he said, incredulously. "Piper?"
"Yes. Hi." She suddenly didn't know what to say.
"Where the hell have you been? Shit! We've all been so worried! You just disappeared."
