Page 108 of Relentless

“You driving one of our SUVs is the only way I’ll be able to concentrate on my job when I’m on missions. If I’m worried about your safety while deployed, I’ll be distracted. That’s not safe for me or my unit. Besides, in a few months, you’ll be the owner of a multimillion-dollar company. That will make you more attractive to those who are looking for a soft target.”

Piper frowned. “Dirty pool, McCoy.”

“Get used to it, Reece, soon-to-be McCoy. I want you and our family to be safe. Let me do this for both of us, Sunshine.”

She kissed him. “All right. Thank you for taking care of me.”

“You are and always will be my top priority. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe, legal or not.”

After sharing another kiss, Piper inclined her head toward the laptop. “What did you find out? Anything you can tell me?”

“Barone is the power behind Bluefield Industries. The mysterious warehouse belongs to him. The question is what he’s doing with it.”

“Maybe the feds know.”

He considered that possibility. “I have a few contacts I can ask to see if they know anything. In the meantime, we need to sleep. Tomorrow will be interesting and you didn’t sleep much last night.”

“Neither did you.”

“I don’t need much sleep.”

She frowned. “How much do you sleep each night?”

“Four or five hours. It’s a leftover from my years in the military. I’ll be fine. Focus on yourself. I want you a hundred percent when you meet my family.”

“When will that be?”

“As soon as we return to Otter Creek, I’ll call Mom and tell her we’re coming to visit her and Marissa for a few days. I’ll arrange to take a few days off. Shouldn’t be a problem since Bravo just returned from a mission.” He tugged Piper to her feet. “Get ready for bed.”

“What will you do?”

“Grab my gear and move into the sitting room. I want to be close overnight.” After a thorough kiss that pushed the boundaries of his control, Liam nudged her toward the bedroom. “I’ll be here if you need me. Lock the door to the hallway but leave your door to the sitting room open.”

“I feel guilty about you sleeping on the couch.”

“This is luxurious compared to the nights I’ve spent in a tree, on a stone slab, or on the dirt.”

With one last lingering look over her shoulder, Piper walked into her bedroom and closed the door.

Minutes later, Liam had transferred his Go bag and his duffel into the sitting room and was on the phone with Maddox. “Thanks for taking care of the SUV, boss.”

“I need your head in the game when you’re deployed. Arranging for Bear to prepare an SUV for Piper is a small price to pay to have you in top form. How is she holding up?”

“Better than I’d hoped. She was shocked at first by the news about her car. Now, she’s furious. I don’t know what I did to deserve a woman like her, but I won’t take the gift for granted.”

“I understand, my friend. I feel the same way about Rowan and Alexa.”

Liam grinned, hearing the love in his boss’s voice for his wife and daughter.

“Keep me posted, Liam. We’ve prepared the papers you need for Piper, your mother, and sister. The safe houses are also ready. You can access the locations with the link I sent to your email. You’ll have to input your security code to see the file.”

Liam doubted anyone could break Zane’s encryption program. He appreciated the extra precaution anyway. “Thanks.”

After ending the call to his boss, he texted Simon who was still on watch, giving him an update. He touched based with Trent, then decided to call it a night. Although he didn’t want to admit as much to Piper, the short nights of sleep since he’d returned from deployment were catching up with him.

Once Piper opened her bedroom door and crawled into bed, Liam stretched out on the couch with his Sig close at hand. If anyone tried to break into her room tonight, he would take them down.

The night passed peacefully, and Liam was awake two hours before Piper. While he waited for her to wake, he pulled up everything he could find on her uncle’s company.

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