Page 60 of No Good Deed

“Piper. You’re safe, Piper. Open your eyes, honey.”

Troy. That was Troy’s voice. Unless she was hallucinating. She opened her eyes again and was rewarded with his face above her, concern evident in his gaze. “Troy.”

Tears filled his eyes, but he closed them briefly before opening them to smile at her. “There you are, Piper. You had me scared to death.”

She blinked up at him and all her questions faded away. “I didn’t tell you I love you.”

He laughed and leaned down to kiss her lightly. “Best news ever. I love you too, sweetheart.”

Her head was fuzzy. “You told me. I think. Did you tell me?”

He picked up her hand and kissed the knuckles. “I did. I wasn’t sure if you heard me. You were mostly unconscious.”

And that brought all the memories into focus. “Where are we?”

Lia Morena moved into Piper’s line of sight. “Hi, Piper. Nice to have you back with us. If you remember, I’m the local doctor. You’re in one of my treatment rooms at Doc’s, right beside the saloon. Can you tell me how you feel?”

She smiled at Troy. “I’m happy. He loves me.”

Lia and Troy both laughed at that. Lia responded. “I got that part, and I’m happy for you both. Not that everyone didn’t suspect that with all the hearts circling above your heads over the last few weeks. But I’m talking about your body. You have a bump on your head. Did he hit you anywhere else? Were you injected with anything?”

Troy’s hand tightened on hers at the questions, and she focused on that to keep the memories from overwhelming her. “It’s all a little fuzzy. There was a pinch on my neck, and then I hit my head. Or something hit me. I’m not sure.”

Lia immediately moved to examine her neck, and she scowled. “Definitely an injection site. All right, I need to ask you a series of questions to see if we can figure out what he gave you. Probably a sedative to knock you out, but let’s be sure.”

When Lia had taken blood samples and ruled out anything immediately toxic, she went back to her physical injuries. “Where else did he touch you?”

Troy’s hand tightened again. Probably thinking of sexual assault. She hadn’t even considered that until now. But she was fully dressed and felt mostly normal. “He kicked me in the ribs a few times and slapped me. He used the butt of the gun on my head, too. I don’t think he touched me when I was unconscious. I would feel that wouldn’t I?”

She hated that her voice shook so badly, but she had to know. Lia’s manner didn’t change, and she squeezed Piper’s free hand. “There’s absolutely no indication that he sexually assaulted you. Sexual assault is violent and there are no signs of that anywhere on your clothes or your body, except for the rip in the shoulder of your blouse. Do you remember how that happened?”

Relief flowed through her. It was bad enough that Ethan had hurt her and tied her up. She didn’t want to have to deal with anything more. “Yes, he yanked me up by the shirt and it ripped. Then he thew me to the ground and I hit my head again.”

Lia patted her gently. “I’m sorry you went through all that. He’s in custody now, and you’re safe.”

“Ethan’s in custody? You caught him at your house?” She looked at Troy. “He was going for the USB. I’m so sorry. I told him where it was. I thought you’d be out looking for me and with your security system, he would get caught breaking in. Did he hurt you? Did he hurt anyone? Oreo? Where’s Oreo?”

Her body was shaking and Troy took both her hands. “Easy, Piper, easy. It’s all good. Oreo’s fine and hanging out with Lia’s dog. Ethan’s in custody with Marcus. He didn’t hurt anyone else.”

Oh no. “He did hurt someone. Who did he hurt?”

Troy’s face softened and he kissed her forehead, her cheeks, then her lips. “You, Piper. He hurt you. But he’s locked away, and he won’t hurt anyone else.”

She hoped her head would clear up soon. She looked at Lia. “When can I go home?”

“From everything I’ve seen and heard, I think you have a mild concussion along with the remaining sedative in your system. You’ll need to rest a lot over the next few days. No quick movements or screen time. I’d like to get an X-ray to make sure he didn’t do any damage we can’t see. Once I have a look at that, we’ll know more. It won’t be long. I’ll bring the portable X-ray machine in here.”

She closed the door quietly behind her, and Piper blew out a breath, then looked at Troy. “So much is whirling in my head. Thank you for finding me.”

“I’ll always find you, Piper.”

Her heart melted completely at his serious words. “I love you. It’s not from the fear or the concussion. It’s because you’re an amazing man.”

He leaned over and brushed his hand over her hair. “I love you right back, Piper. And it’s not because of the fear either. You’re incredible and you’re going to find I’m not easy to get rid of.”

She managed a smile. “Good.”

CHAPTER 22

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