Page 129 of Relentless

Brody grunted. “Some hardship. Baking in the sun with a beautiful woman by his side.”

Liam smiled and held out his hand to the Fortress doctor. “Thanks for everything, Doc. Don’t worry about me returning to work without permission. Piper won’t let me go back before my leave time is up.”

“No way,” she said. “I want every minute with you before I let Fortress have you for a month.”

“Ah, but just think, Sunshine. I’ll be able to romance you from a distance. You never know what will arrive in the mail to remind you of me.”

“Hmm. In that case, let’s get you well. You have my curiosity aroused.”

He chuckled, then winced as his cracked ribs reminded him of the still-healing injury.

Brody and Jesse assisted Liam into the wheelchair for the trip to the SUV. Within an hour, Liam lay propped up on the bed at the back of the Fortress jet with Piper at his side.

Jesse patted his shoulder. “The pain meds I gave you should hold you until we land. When we reach the beach house, I’ll give you more.”

“Still hate taking them,” he groused.

“Yeah, you and every other operative I’ve treated since I joined Fortress say exactly the same thing. You’ll be glad you succumbed to my order by the time we land.”

Jesse’s assessment was spot on. By the time they landed in Florida, he was sore and hurting although he tried to hide his pain from Piper. At least she’d been able to rest while they were in the air. He couldn’t get comfortable. The only thing that made the hours tolerable was holding Piper while she slept. He could so get used to that.

After the team loaded their gear into two SUVs Zane had rented for them, they drove to the isolated house with a large private beach front. The eight-bedroom yellow structure came complete with an elevator and a double kitchen.

“Do any of you clowns cook?” Liam eyed each member of the Texas team.

One by one, they shook their heads.

“I’m excellent at take-out,” Logan said.

“Me, too.” Sawyer smiled. “I also excel at shopping in the frozen food aisle in the grocery store. I make a mean frozen pizza.”

“Lucky for you I can cook.” Piper glanced around. “Find paper and a pen and I’ll make a list. We’ll test Sawyer’s grocery shopping ability.”

“I’m up for the task, sweet thing.”

Liam narrowed his eyes. “You have a death wish, don’t you?”

Laughter filled the sparkling, cheerful kitchen.

For the first week of his stay, Liam spent much of his time sleeping and eating the amazing meals Piper prepared.

At the beginning of the second week, Jesse cleared him to walk on the beach with Piper. Three or four times a day, they walked the flat portion of the beach with a couple operatives trailing in their wake, far enough to give them privacy but close enough to help if needed.

At the ten-day mark, Liam cornered Brody. “It’s time to set the trap for Spencer. I’m more mobile and stronger. I can’t take him on one-on-one but with you and your unit at my back, I don’t have to.”

Brody eyed him a moment, then nodded. “All right. Let’s get to work.”

Over the next two days, Liam and the Texas team planned and plotted, bounced ideas off each other, ragged on each other, and pointed out weaknesses in each option. On the third day, Liam insisted on walking the grounds to find the best places for line of sight and he rehashed the plan with the team until they finally outvoted him on the best option.

Liam shook his head. “I don’t like it. Too many things could go wrong. It’s too dangerous for Piper.”

Piper cupped his jaw. “How can it be? You’ll be right there.”

“She’s right.” Brody folded his arms. “Think like a soldier, not a man in love.”

Easier said than done. He wanted Piper more than his next breath. Liam couldn’t live without her now. They were right, though. This was the best option. He gave a short nod. He still feared for Piper’s safety.

However, he’d witnessed more than once over the past few weeks how strong his woman was. Piper could handle a disgruntled Marine just fine.

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