Page 131 of Relentless

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

“We have movement in Quadrant 6.”

Liam wrapped his hand around Piper’s. “Confirmation of target?” He spoke in low tones to Brody over the comm system that he, Piper, and the other operatives wore.

“Hold.”

“What do we do?” Piper whispered to Liam.

“Exactly what we’re doing right now.” He trailed the fingers of his free hand down her cheek. “Act as though we have nothing more important on our minds than enjoying a moonlit night, a tropical breeze, and each other’s company.”

Liam brushed her lips with his, pressure light, senses on high alert. “If this is Spencer, he has to walk in a quarter of a mile before he breaches the inner perimeter. We have time yet. The intruder might not be him.”

“You could cover that distance in two minutes or less. Stands to reason Spencer could do the same.”

“He could but he won’t.”

“Why not?”

“He’s Marine Recon, like me. He’ll expect a trap. If he runs in, he could miss one and end up injured or dead.”

Piper frowned. “Do we have traps set up?”

“Yes, ma’am. If we make the trek in too easy, he’ll know we set a trap and he’ll pull back to wait until he controls the encounter instead of us.”

“What if an innocent wandered into the trap?”

“Not likely, Sunshine. We chose the routes with the most cover, ones Spencer will choose. We don’t like open spaces. No place to take cover. Most civilians, however, prefer open spaces. We also didn’t activate the traps until nightfall.”

“We’ve been watching to make sure a private citizen didn’t stumble into the wrong area, Piper,” Logan murmured.

Sawyer broke in. “Target confirmed. Spencer just passed the first perimeter. Heading toward the second.”

“Copy.” Liam pulled Piper to her feet. “You ready?”

She nodded.

“We have your back,” Jesse whispered.

“Your friend is swearing a blue streak at the traps we set,” Brody whispered. “Guess he doesn’t appreciate all our hard work.”

Liam grinned, threaded his fingers through Piper’s, and led her from the deck to the hard-packed sand. He lingered at various places, pointing out a star or a shell to Piper as he gave his old teammate time to reach and observe them.

“Target approaching second perimeter,” Max whispered.

“Copy,” Liam responded. Two minutes, maybe less, before Spencer arrived. He exaggerated his limp and slowed his movements to give the appearance of a more limited range of motion. It wasn’t far from the truth. He’d do whatever was necessary to protect Piper and deal with the physical aftermath if their plan backfired and he had to take on Spencer one-on-one.

He guided Piper toward the place he’d chosen for this standoff. He still didn’t like the risk to her. In order to have the freedom to love her without fear of Spencer stalking them the rest of their lives, he’d deal.

He stopped and tucked Piper against his chest. Turning his back on an approaching enemy went against every ounce of his training but would entice Spencer from hiding. The Marine might suspect a trap, but he wouldn’t be able to resist the chance to taunt Liam with his cleverness. Arrogance had always been the man’s downfall.

“I love you,” he murmured against Piper’s ear. “After this is over, we’re going home so I can buy you the biggest diamond I can find to warn off all the other men in Otter Creek.”

“Remember the bonbons, sugar,” Max murmured.

That comment made Piper laugh.

Perfect timing because the skin on the back of Liam’s neck prickled.

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