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Dick narrowed his eyes, studying her. Sudden realization gripped her. He suspected that Piper had helped Jessie escape. Oh…shit."If you tell me where she is, I'll forget I met you." His face didn't promise the respite.
Oh, God. Oh, God. The menace pouring off him was surreal.He was like one of the enforcers from her childhood. A man who liked violence and had no qualms using it to solve his problems. And Jessie had been married to him?
Piper lifted her chin, sudden conviction rushing through her. Jessie had escaped her life, like Piper had escaped hers. There wasn't a chance in hell Piper was blowing it for Jessie. Screw Dick and his belief that he could intimidate her into backing down.Never.
She'd been through too much in her life to be afraid ofhim.She frowned, trying to appear confused. "I don't know where she is. I'm trying to find her." Behind him, Tori came into view and raised her brows in question.
Of course Tori would have read Piper's body language and realized something was wrong. Girlfriends were the best.
Piper immediately gave the signal they'd created when they were all in their early twenties, single, and adventurous. She tapped her right eyebrow five times with her index finger.
Tori's eyes widened, and then she sprinted over, just as Dick leaned in. "Tell me where she is or?—"
"Girlfriend," Tori said, as she grabbed Piper's arm. "Your darling Captain Hawk is getting antsy." She shot a non-apologetic look at Dick. "I gotta steal her. Sorry!" Then, without giving him a chance to respond, the two women turned away and strode off, shoulders back, heads high, walking with as much power as they could summon.
"What was that?" Tori muttered as they wove their way through the party.
"The asshole from the other night. He recognized me."
"Oh…shit." Tori didn't turn around as they made their way through the party. "Did he threaten you?"
"Of course." Piper used the mirror over the bar to look behind her, but Dick was already gone. Crap. Where was he? She didn't like not knowing where he was. "I don't think he knows my name."
"He'll ask around and get it pretty quick if he wants it." Tori was tight beside her. "Let's bail."
The minute she said that, Piper stopped. "No."
Tori gave her a look. "I know you're desperate for clients, but?—"
"No. It's not that." She put her hands on her hips. "I can't let him drive me out of here. He travels in these circles. I'll see him again. I have to act innocent. Like I have nothing to hide."
"You do have something to hide," Tori said. "You literally helped his wife escape. A guy like that has access to his wife's accounts. He probably went on her computer and saw that there were no messages about his party. He knows you lied, and right about now, he probably has your name. Another three minutes, and he'll know where you live."
Piper's spine tingled, but it wasn't with fear. It was determination. "I have mace."
Tori nodded. "We all do." All four of them had pasts that had taught them how to be tough, how to be strong, how to defend themselves. "No being alone until this is settled, though, okay? Always with one of us."
Piper nodded. "I'll have Declan stay over, so you guys are off night duty."
"Maybe stay at his house?"
Piper raised her brows. "If Dick breaks into my house to come after me and Declan, then his future will be done. I want to tempt him."
"Do you?" Tori put her hands on her hips. "Do you, really? Because this guy is bad enough that his wife hired Eliana to get her out of there, and the Harts were needed to help with the extraction."
Piper took a breath. "No one helped my mom. This is my turn."
Tori stared at her. "Your mom? You mean, your mom needed protection from your dad? What about you? Did you need protection, too? Did anyone help you?"
Piper shrugged. "It was complicated." She paused as she caught sight of Dick again. He was speaking to a woman she'd met at Kitty's fundraiser, and they were both looking at Piper. The woman nodded and said something. "He knows my name."Shit.For all her bravado, she wasn't feeling very safe right now.
Dammit. She hated feeling unsafe. She'd fought so hard for a life where she felt safe, and in one altruistic move, she'd ripped that away from herself.
"Complicated? How complicated?" Tori's face was sad. "What else haven't you told us, Piper? You know you have all of our hearts. We'll help any way we can."
"I know, but sometimes dredging up the past doesn't serve. All that matters is what we do with the life we have now. I refuse to be stuck in my past."
Dick pulled out his phone and called someone, still watching her.
