Page 11 of Relentless

She smiled. “Not bad considering I was kidnapped, tossed into a van, and ended up in an accident within one hour’s time.”

Nick moved a chair close and sat. “I know you talked to Detective Ralston. Go through the same information. Don’t leave anything out, even something minor. If you need a break, tell me and we’ll talk about my beautiful nieces and nephew or my drop-dead-gorgeous wife for a few minutes.”

His brown eyes were kind as he took in her appearance. She had no idea what she looked like in the aftermath of the past few hours, but she wasn’t at her best.

How much should she tell him? Piper trusted Nick and Josh Cahill but she’d promised Gavin to keep silent. He’d stressed that no one could know where he was.

Gavin might not be involved in what happened. Knowing the type of work he did, her kidnapping could be connected to Liam’s job.

She froze. If her kidnapping was related to his work, Liam was in danger. Did he know or suspect the root cause of his troubles might lie in his background instead of hers?

“Piper?” Matt touched her hand. “Are you okay?”

“Sorry. I zoned out for a minute.”

He didn’t look convinced. A lame excuse and Matt knew her well enough to recognize she wasn’t telling him everything. The medic was observant.

Piper turned her attention to Nick and walked him through the events. “Matt and Simon brought me here to see Dr. Anderson.” She wrinkled her nose. “The doctor admitted me for observation.”

“You should be released tomorrow morning,” Matt said.

“Why were you closing the shop early?” Nick’s pen hovered over his notepad.

Piper’s heart sank. She was a terrible liar. The other policemen hadn’t asked her that question because they didn’t know the shop’s hours. Nick did.

“Who are you protecting?” Nick asked, his voice soft.

Matt stiffened. “You’re protecting someone?”

“A former friend.” Piper focused on the detective as her cheeks heated.

“Name?”

“Gavin James.”

“Was he involved in your kidnapping?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t heard from him in three years, but he called me a little after five tonight, begging me to meet him. Nick, I have to get out of here. Please talk to Dr. Anderson and convince him to let me leave.”

“In my line of work, we don’t believe in coincidence. Gavin called you for the first time in three years, then two men kidnapped you, demanding that you give them information or they would hurt your boyfriend. Obviously, they didn’t have Liam. Who is Gavin James to you?”

Piper felt Matt’s gaze on her, but she hadn’t acted without honor. “I told you the truth. We used to be friends.”

The detective raised an eyebrow and waited.

“We used to be more than friends,” she finally admitted. “We dated for a year, but I haven’t seen him.”

“What did he want?”

“For me to meet him. He sounded scared and made me promise I wouldn’t tell anyone. I broke my word to him.”

He shrugged, not looking the least apologetic. “No secrets in a police investigation. You parted ways amicably?”

Piper flinched. “Not exactly. I found out he was having an affair with my best friend. I confronted him in a restaurant.” Her cheeks heated at the memory. “Not my finest moment.”

“Did he want to continue your relationship?”

She nodded. “Gavin said he made a mistake and begged me to take him back.”

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