Page 114 of Relentless

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Liam held Piper back from barging into Gavin’s bedroom. From this angle, the room looked clear, but his instincts screamed that something was off. This whole thing was too easy. He’d expected some resistance to their plan. Maybe they were just lucky.

He frowned. Maybe they were being lulled into thinking no one watched.

Liam turned on his electronic signal detector again and watched until the green light appeared. He still didn’t like it. “Let’s go. We need to hurry. Someone from security will be checking on us soon.” If they didn’t, the security team needed to be fired.

Piper went to the wall of video games and movies. She scanned the titles for a few minutes until she came to one near the end of a shelf crammed with movies.

She pulled the movie off the shelf and opened the cover. The silver disk gleamed in the dim light of the lamp Piper had turned on.

“How did you know which one to choose?”

“This is my favorite movie but Gavin wasn’t fond of it.” She frowned. “I don’t understand. The information should be here.”

Liam walked up behind her. “Check behind the disc,” he murmured. He glanced around the room, uneasy. He needed to get Piper out of this house.

Piper popped the disc free. She turned it over and there, taped to the back, was a folded slip of paper with her name on it.

Liam snapped a picture of the writing on the paper and sent it to Zane and Maddox. “Come on.” He turned off the lamp and propelled her from the room.

Gino sat up. “Well?”

Piper gave him a short nod. “Ready to go?”

“I’m better now.”

She and Liam helped Romano to his feet. When she’d retrieved her tea mug, the older man slid his hand into his pocket and walked from the sitting room ahead of them.

As Liam suspected would happen, they were met in the hall by a security guard, suspicion in his gaze.

“Everything all right here?” he asked.

Romano clapped the man on his shoulder. “Matteo kindly allowed me to lie down for a few minutes. Cancer is taking its toll, I’m afraid.”

A scowl. “This is Gavin’s suite. You shouldn’t be here.”

“I was walking to a guest room when my legs gave way. Gavin’s sitting room was the closest place for Liam to take me. We disturbed nothing. Check for yourself.” With that, Romano moved toward the staircase. “I think I should return home now, my dear,” he said to Piper. “Feel free to stay and visit with your Hartman friends if you wish.”

“I’ve already expressed my condolences to Gavin’s parents. There’s nothing more for me here. Besides, I don’t want to leave you alone.”

Liam gripped Romano’s arm and assisted the older man down the stairs. As much as he tried to hide his weakness from Piper, Romano was trembling with fatigue and weakness.

He needed to talk to Matt about Romano soon. Liam had a feeling Piper’s uncle wouldn’t last as long as the doctors projected.

As they entered the stairwell, Liam glanced back to see the guard slip into Gavin’s sitting room. After returning the tea mug, Piper, Liam, and Romano left the mansion.

Outside on the stairs, Liam turned to the older man. “I’m parked two blocks away. Can you make it or should I bring the SUV to you?”

Romano walked down the stairs. “We shouldn’t remain on the grounds. More chance to be stopped and searched if security becomes more suspicious.”

Ten minutes later, Liam drove toward the Romano estate. He activated his Bluetooth and called Zane. “You’re on speaker with Piper and Gino Romano, Z.”

“Copy that. I checked the information you sent. It’s enough to take care of your problem.”

Thank God. The ball of ice in his stomach melted. “Can it be sent to the feds without involving Piper?” The one thing he didn’t want to do was trigger a situation where she’d be sent to a safe house, especially now that Liam knew how sick her uncle was. Liam didn’t want to be separated from her and if she went into a safe house, Piper wouldn’t be able to see Romano.

His gaze shifted to the rearview mirror for an instant. Liam also didn’t want Romano caught in the crossfire from Barone.

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