Page 59 of No Good Deed

Westerlake grunted, and his hands dropped. Troy slammed him into the wall. “She better be all right, Westerlake, or you’re a dead man.”

“What? Who? Get your hands off me or I’ll call the police.”

Troy laughed. “Damn good idea.”

Jim and Carl raced into the kitchen from the front. He didn’t take any of his attention off Westerlake, didn’t need to, as Jim was already on the phone with Marcus.

Jim and Carl were great guys, but they weren’t soldiers, so Troy didn’t ease up the pressure on Westerlake yet. The man’s eyes widened, and Troy could see the fear.

“You assaulted me. You have no right to touch me. Get your hands off me and let me go.”

Troy ignored his babbling, and in less than a minute, Marcus and Sam entered through the back door.

Troy thrust the man at them and exploded up the stairs, calling Piper’s name. When there was no reaction, he ran harder. He threw open each door he came to. No one. Nothing.

What if he was wrong? What if this was his hideout, but he’s stashed her somewhere else? Maybe he should have followed him to see where he was going.

He threw open the door to the final room and nearly went down with relief. Piper lay in the corner of the room. A broken board at the top of the window let in enough light that he could see her eyes were closed.

Duct tape covered her mouth. When he was close enough, he saw it also bound her ankles and her hands behind her back. Her pulse beating in her neck was the best sensation he’d ever felt.

He hollered as loud as he could. “I need Lia.”

He knelt on the floor beside her head and lowered his voice. “Piper. It’s me, honey. It’s okay. We’ve got him. I’ve got you.”

She didn’t show any reaction, and his panic climbed again.

He used his jackknife to slice her bonds, and then he eased the duct tape from her mouth. She whimpered, and Troy felt tears pricking at his eyes. Any reaction was good news.

“Hey, Piper. It’s Troy. You’re safe. We’ve got him. He’s going to pay for what he’s done to you. You can wake up now, sweetheart.”

She whimpered again and that gorgeous mouth turned down into a pout. Her arms and legs flinched, and Troy guessed the feeling was coming back to limbs bound tightly for too many hours.

He resisted moving her, knowing he had to wait for Lia to check her over. With no immediate danger, moving her was dumb. Instead, he ran his hands over her gently, checking for injuries and hoping his touch would help her body know she was safe. He kept talking, telling her she was safe. “It slipped out the other day, but I want to tell you I love you when you’re awake and aware, so please wake up, Piper. Come back to me.”

* * *

Piper knew she’d been floating in and out of consciousness for a while. She had snippets of memory.

Ethan.

A gun.

Duct tape.

Fear. So much fear.

Did she remember Troy as well, or was that simply wishful thinking?

He’d said he loved her.

It was lovely, even if it was a dream.

If she opened her eyes, would she see Ethan with that gun in her face? Her body ached, but she didn’t think he’d shot her. Not yet.

He’d gone for the USB. For Troy.

Her eyes flew open, but the bright light had her closing them again. Was it morning?

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