Page 106 of Relentless

Liam reached over and squeezed Piper’s hand.

“I know, Uncle Gino. I haven’t forgotten how ruthless he can be.”

“He isn’t a good man to have as an enemy.”

“We’ll be fine. Liam will make sure of it.”

“Are you as good as you claim to be, Liam?”

“Better. I know what I’m doing, Mr. Romano. I’m well trained with years of experience. Nothing and no one will harm Piper as long as I’m breathing.”

He gave a slow nod. “I’m glad to hear that, young man. Many people have gone up against Matteo and come out losers in the skirmish.” He patted Liam’s shoulder. “You must call me Gino. You’ll be marrying into the family soon.”

“Yes, sir.”

The rest of the drive to Gino’s house was completed in silence. To Piper, her uncle looked exhausted. Hopefully, she wouldn’t have surprise visitors tonight. Gino needed to rest. Tomorrow might prove interesting and dangerous.

Soon after they walked into Gino’s house, Piper’s uncle excused himself to retire to his suite. She turned to Liam. “What would you like to do now?”

“Spend some time with my computer and you. I need to work for a while and I’d love your company while I do it.”

Relieved she wouldn’t be alone in a house she no longer felt safe in, Piper led the way upstairs toward their rooms.

Liam nudged her toward his room where he retrieved his laptop. He set it on the coffee table in her sitting room and held his finger to his lips as he pulled out his electronic signal detector.

Right. He had to check their rooms for more bugs and cameras. Hopefully, the person planting them would grow tired of dumping money into the bugs and cameras only to have Liam find and dismantle them.

Ten minutes later, he declared her suite clean. No one had planted devices to keep tabs on her. Some of the tension twisting her stomach into a knot disappeared. At least for now, they didn’t have to worry about someone listening to their conversation.

Liam sat on the couch with her and reached for the television remote. “Find something to watch. When I finish working, I’ll watch a movie with you.”

A slow smile curved her lips. “You’re giving me control of the remote?”

He tapped the tip of her nose with a light touch. “Don’t get used to it. My hand gets twitchy without the remote.”

Piper laughed. “You can hold my hand when the emptiness overwhelms you.”

“Hmm. I like that plan.” His smile faded. “Do you mind if I work for a bit?”

“Of course not. I don’t need to be entertained, Liam. I’m happy just to be with you.”

He pressed his forehead to hers. “I love you, Sunshine.”

“I love you, too.” While Liam booted up his laptop, Piper turned on the television and surfed for a program that wouldn’t distract him while he worked. To be honest, she would have been content to sit with her head against his shoulder while he worked even if the television was turned off.

Finding a cozy mystery movie she loved, Piper settled against his side. To her delight, Liam frequently stopped to share a brief kiss with her before returning to his research.

Ninety minutes later, Liam’s cell phone chirped with an incoming text. He checked his screen and frowned.

Piper sat up. “What’s wrong?”

“Not sure. Zane wants me to call him as soon as possible.” He called his friend, tapping the speaker button. “It’s Liam. What’s up?”

“Where’s Piper?”

“Beside me. You’re on speaker.”

“You in a secure place?”

“I checked her suite. It’s clear. What’s going on, Z?”

“Two things. One, someone blew up Piper’s car.”

Piper gasped. “When?”

“About thirty minutes ago. I have bots scouring the Net for any mention of your name and Liam’s. The explosion hit the town’s newspaper website a few minutes ago.”

“What’s the second thing?” Liam asked, his arm around Piper’s shoulder.

“There’s a contract on Piper. Someone wants your woman dead.”

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