Page 72 of Captivated

Cash

“So she’s awake?” Cooper asks me as he stands next to my desk in the station.

“Yes. She’s weak and missing some color, but she’s here, man. That’s all that matters.”

“Fuck. This is some crazy shit. Did I tell you we connected the guy back to the Montevallo family?”

“Yeah, Luke told me yesterday actually. From the research I’ve done, seems the family is like small-time mob. Not quite at that caliber, but powerful enough to kill people that betray them.”

Cooper shakes his head. “I still don’t understand how Piper got wrapped up with them.”

“I’m still trying to figure that out myself. I haven’t been able to really talk to her. And when I showed up to visit with her while she was still out, her parents would leave me alone with her. We didn’t talk except for that first night. I get the feeling her dad doesn’t like me very much.” Being well-received by parents is not something I’m familiar with in the slightest because I never really dated before Piper. Then add in the fact that our relationship is cluttered with secrets, and well, it’s hard to talk about what happened when we’ve all been in shock.

But now, with Piper, I have this inherent need for her parents to accept me so we can secure our future together. I know they were grateful that I called them, but that’s the extent of my knowledge on their thoughts about me. And they’ve been such a wreck since they arrived, the last thing I felt comfortable doing was pressing them for information about who their daughter really is and how she ended up in Emerson Falls. Besides, I want to hear her story from her.

“Well, hopefully tonight I’ll get some answers,” I say as I straighten the stack of papers on my desk, power down my computer, and move to leave.

“Let me know what else I can do.” Cooper reaches to shake my hand and then pulls me into him. “I’m glad she’s okay,” he says quietly in my ear, causing my body to relax at the thought.

“Me too, man. Thanks.”

I hurry home to shower and change, wanting to be clean and fresh when I see her and get to finally immerse myself in her since she’s been awake. I take time styling my hair, choosing a black sweater and dark jeans that I know she loves, and stopping by Apollo Burgers to get some fries to accompany the twenty packets of ketchup I secured with my order.

I’m ready to see her, talk to her, figure out where we go from here. When I reach the receptionist at the hospital, she checks my ID and directs me where to go, even though I know exactly where to go by now.

Riding in the elevator, my foot taps on the floor, wrestling with nerves I feel about seeing her, feeling like it’s our first date again—because in a way, it is. This is the first time I get to meet Pfeiffer Winters and learn abouther,the woman who ended up in Emerson Falls for a reason I’m dying to put together, having only bits and pieces of the puzzle to go off of.

When the doors open, I can’t help the smile that stretches across my face as I carry my items to her room. But as I turn the corner and prepare to see her blinding smile light up when she sees me, I stop cold, greeted with nothing but an empty bed and clean room.

“Are you looking for someone?” A nurse I’ve never seen before speaks to me.

“Uh, yes. Where is Piper Davis? She was in this room less than twenty-four hours ago.” My heart is jumping on the trampoline in my chest, my pulse racing as I wait for her to answer me.

“She was checked out just a few hours ago.”

“Do you know where she went?” My eyes are pleading with this woman to know the answer to that question.

“No. I don’t, I’m sorry.”

“Okay. Thanks,” I say before spinning on my heels and running back to my truck, hopping inside and cranking the engine, speeding off towards Piper’s apartment.

“Fuck!” I shout, banging my hands on my steering wheel as fury courses through my veins.

How did she leave? She’s recovering from a gunshot wound, not a minor injury. We were supposed to talk,again! She knew I was coming by tonight. And then I show up to an empty bed? What the fuck!

As I race across town, I’m hit with yet another notion of why I haven’t done relationships—the drama. And in Piper’s case, this is drama that is next level. This isn’t some cheating accusation or claim that I’m not spending enough time with her. No. This is some having-a-second-life type of drama and the whiplash is hurting my fucking head and my heart.

When I arrive at her apartment complex, I barely park my truck before I’m jumping out, racing to her door. But the landlord is locking the door behind him just as I arrive.

“Excuse me, sir? Where is Piper Davis?”

He turns to me and offers a polite smile. “She no longer lives here. Her folks came by a few hours ago and had a moving company pack up all of her stuff. They paid her breach of contract fee in full, and then added on a few thousand to fix the hole in the wall and to thank me for letting her stay here. Nice people. The extra money will definitely help with the holidays right around the corner.”

“So, she’s gone? Did they say where she was going?”

He shakes his head. “Nope. Just took her things and left.”

And in that instant, defeat washes over me. “Okay. Thank you.”

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