Page 13 of Relentless

CHAPTER FIVE

Liam stepped outside the Cherry Hill police station a few minutes after midnight and scanned the parking area. A tall, broad-shouldered man dressed in black camouflage pants and a black t-shirt leaned against the hood of a PSI SUV.

He headed toward his team leader. “Thanks for picking me up, Trent. How is Piper?”

“Confined to the hospital for observation until tomorrow morning. Grace said she will be fine.”

Liam took his first free breath in hours. Grace St. Claire worked in Memorial Hospital’s ER. “I want to see Piper,” he said when Trent set the SUV in motion toward Otter Creek.

“It’s late.”

He stiffened. “Your point?”

“Visiting hours are long over and I hope Piper is sleeping.”

Anger simmered in his blood. No one was keeping him from Piper, not even a big, bad Navy SEAL. “I don’t plan on having a long, in-depth discussion with her. I need to be with Piper, Trent. She’s….” He paused, afraid to even voice out loud the first word that popped into his head. Everything. She was everything to him. Liam shrugged. “Mine. She’s mine.”

Bravo’s leader slid him a speculative look. “Like that, is it?”

“Who’s with her?”

“Simon’s at the door. Matt is in the room with her.”

“Any problems?”

“Aside from repeated questioning by the police, no.”

He scowled. “Why are they badgering her? I’m the one who pulled the trigger and dropped those two clowns in their tracks.” The Cherry Hill detectives had grilled him for hours.

“Have you been cleared?”

“Not yet. The detectives who questioned me said it looked like the shootings were justified but the final call on whether or not to file charges would come from the district attorney.” Their attitude, though, said they both thought he should be tossed in jail.

“The Fortress lawyer is on standby. Zane has been forwarding all the information about your case so she’ll be up to speed if she’s needed.”

“Let’s hope I don’t need her.” Liam didn’t want Piper to see him in a bad light. The prospect of the man she was dating being brought up on charges for killing two men might end their relationship before it had a chance to flourish.

Pain gripped his heart. He prayed that didn’t happen. “I had no choice, Trent.”

“Tell me what happened.”

Liam spent the rest of the drive to Otter Creek recounting the events of the night.

“You did what was necessary to protect Piper,” Trent said when he shut off the engine near the emergency entrance at Memorial Hospital. He turned to Liam. “If faced with the same circumstances, would you make the same choice?”

“Absolutely.”

A nod. “We have your back. Focus on Piper. The rest will sort itself out.”

Liam followed his team leader to the bank of elevators inside the hospital. On the fifth floor, they walked the corridor to Room 5235 where Simon kept watch. His best friend glanced up as they approached.

Simon clapped Liam on the shoulder. “About time the cops sprung you. How much hardware did you lose?”

“The Sig, the Beretta, Ka-Bar, and boot knife.”

He flinched. “Sorry, man.”

“I’ll get the Beretta and knives back eventually. Don’t know about the Sig.” Liam inclined his head toward the closed door. “How is she?”

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