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But he'd been living in fear for a long time, and he didn't want to live in fear anymore. "Let's go see Piper," he said.
As he spoke, Angel turned her head, staring down the driveway.
He followed her gaze and then stood up when he saw a big food truck rolling down the driveway. It said "Lucy's Spectacular Tacos" on the side of it with a pretty cool caricature of a grinning brown-haired woman eating a taco.
He put his hand on Angel's head. "Stay with me."
They stood together as the truck rolled to a stop beside his mom's Porsche.
The man driving rolled down his window as Declan and Angel walked over to it. "I think you have the wrong address," Declan said. "We didn't hire a food truck for an event."
The man grinned at him. He had short dark hair, and a pink Lucy's Spectacular Tacos hat on. He looked about Declan's age, maybe a little older. "I'm not here to sell anything. Is this where Piper Townsend lives?"
Declan immediately stiffened and his hand went to his gun. "Who are you?" He highly doubted that Piper had hired a taco truck for a wedding.
The guy raised his brows. "Why are you asking me that? You with Piper? Trying to defend her? Are you her man?" He opened the door and jumped down. "Why'd she pick you? You good to her? Because I have connections I'm willing to unlock if you hurt her." His voice became rougher and rougher as he spoke. "She's been through hell and back. If you mess with her, you mess with me."
Oh, hell. Was this another old flame? The man was dressed in jeans, sneakers, and a t-shirt. He had a vibe that said successful businessman, not a random taco truck driver. Declan decided to deescalate instead of engage, as his years of training as a cop kicked in. "You franchised?"
The man paused, clearly startled by the change in topic. "No. I own all my trucks."
Yep. Business guy. "Tacos are big right now. It's going well?"
The man paused again. "I have four trucks. I funded them allmyself. Bank won't loan to me because I used to be in prison." He added the prison with just a dash of extra gusto.
Prison? Damn. Who was this guy, and why was he after Piper? Declan nodded, assessing his visitor with extra caution. "Prison can be a tough background in business. I'm sure it took a hell of a lot of commitment to do what you've done."
The man frowned. "What are you doing?"
"Deescalating. I have a gun and I don't want to use it on you."
The man's gaze shot to Declan's hip, and he suddenly looked stricken. "Fuck. Piper's involved with a man with a gun?" He turned away and braced his hands on the hood of his truck and bent his head, swearing to himself. "It's my fucking fault. Son of a bitch. I thought she was free. And she's not." He hit the hood of the truck and spun around to face Declan. "Stay away from my sister. Just don’t fucking bring her into your world. Do you understand? She got free. I will hunt you down and?—"
Declan held up his hand "Wait a sec. Your sister? Piper'syour sister?"
"Yeah." The man's fists bunched. "I will protect her, even from you."
What the hell was going on? "How did you find her?"
"She called me."
Understanding struck. "A couple days ago? She called you a couple days ago?" At his nod, Declan searched his memories for his name. "You're Roman?"
The man frowned. "She talks about me?"
Declan surveyed Roman with frank curiosity. "She told me a little, yeah." Roman might have a salty past, but Declan was getting only kind vibes from him. Protective, but kind. He was a man that Declan would trust.
Roman grinned. "Nice." He paused. "But you still need to get out of her life. She left home to get away from men like you."
Declan relaxed. He appreciated that Roman was watching out for her. "I'm an ex-cop. That's why I have a gun. Piper helped out with a situation where a woman needed to escape an abusivehusband, and it's created a little danger for her. I was just dealing with the man right before you drove up."
Roman stared at him, clearly processing. "She's in danger?"
Declan would have gone with that first, too. "No. I just needed to deal with him."
"How do you know he's not coming back?"
"I don't." Declan paused. This man was Piper's family, which meant Declan wasn't holding back any truths. "But I sleep here with Piper, so if he does, I'll handle it." He tensed, waiting for Roman's reaction to his statement.
