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"Yeah. For sure."
"All right. I'll be back in touch soon." Dylan paused. "Thank you for helping the other night. This is our situation, and we'll do whatever it takes to ensure the safety of Piper and her friends. We fucked up by allowing her to get identified, and we'll own it."
Declan rubbed his head. "Yeah, well, I fucked up by asking her to help." The guilt had been weighing on him constantly. If something happened to her?—
He looked over, and his gut went cold when he saw the table was empty. All four women were gone. He hung up on Dylan instantly, and called Piper as he sprinted across the ballroom, looking around frantically. "Piper!" he shouted.
He'd promised not to make a scene and scare the bride and her mom, but all bets were off when she disappeared. "Piper!"
She didn't answer her phone, and fear gripped his throat as he sprinted toward the main doors. He burst out into the hallway, and it was empty.
"Piper!" He took off down the hall, racing toward the parking lot. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. "Piper!" He burst out the front doors, and saw the four women standing by a Porsche, chatting amicably.
The bride was getting into the driver's seat, and her mom was walking around to the passenger side.
Hell.He stopped and bent over, his hands on his knees, fighting for his breath. He couldn’t breathe. His head was pounding. His knee was screaming.
Swearing, he sat down on the curb, bracing his forearms on his knees as he watched Piper and his mom say their farewells.
Hell.They were safe. Completely fine. And he'd nearly lost his mind.
His phone rang. Dylan. He answered it. "Sorry about that. I lost sight of Piper for a minute. Had to handle it."
Dylan whistled softly. "Does she know how you feel about her?"
"I don't feel any way about her. I'm her protector."
"Liar," Dylan said softly. "Your voice is shaking."
Declan cleared his throat. "Just out of breath."
"From running for two minutes? No." Dylan paused. "You ready for her? For this?"
"No."
"You going to do it anyway?"
Declan watched Kitty and Piper wave good-bye and stand arm in arm, watching as the Porsche drove away. They were both laughing and giggling. They looked happy, like partners in crime. "She doesn't want to get involved with me. Or anyone."
"Neither did my brothers, but the best thing they ever did was do it anyway. I didn't believe any of us had a chance until I sawthem make it work. You've seen Maddie and Lucas. You going to walk away from that?"
"It's what she wants, so yes."
"Or she's so scared that she can't even let herself dream."
Declan ground his jaw. "She's not scared. She's determined."
"Hell, man. Are you for real? We're all scared. All of us. Piper walked away from three weddings, right?"
Declan didn't ask how Dylan knew. The man ran a detective agency. "Yeah."
"You know why her dad's in prison?"
Declan took a breath. "Don't tell me. It's Piper's story to tell."
"Well, I'll just say that growing up the way she did, if she's not scared shitless to trust anyone, then she's not a human being. And you have your own crap. She's Maddie's best friend, which means she's an amazing human being. And we like you, so that means you're a good guy, but you walk in shadows too. Maybe it's the first time either of you met someone worth trusting. Don't walk away without giving it all you have."
"I'm giving it all I have."
