Page 134 of Relentless

“You’re doing great, Piper,” Logan said softly. “Stick to the plan.”

She trudged toward the ex-convict, her body trembling.

Liam gritted his teeth. Spencer would pay for scaring Piper. He shifted his body a fraction to the right to hide the movement of his hand toward the holster.

“You won’t get away with this, Jared,” Piper said as she neared the other man. “Do you think I’ll let you touch me? I despise you. I’ll escape the minute your back is turned. I won’t give up until I succeed or die trying. By the time I’m gone, you’ll wish you had never taken me from the man I love.”

“Shut up and get over here.” Spencer scowled at her. “Keep pushing me and I might decide you aren’t worth the satisfaction of taking you from McCoy. The only thing keeping you alive right now is the knowledge of how much McCoy will suffer knowing I have what he was too cowardly to fight for.”

He grabbed Piper by the wrist and dragged her toward him.

“Now,” Brody said.

Piper dropped to her knees. Spencer’s weapon lowered a fraction as he shifted his weight to maintain his balance and keep his grip on Piper.

Liam freed his Sig, aimed, and pulled the trigger. The bullet slammed into Spencer’s chest.

The man staggered back and sank to his knees, shock on his face. He slowly looked at his chest, then slumped to the sand as Piper scrambled away from him and ran toward Liam.

He stood and caught Piper against his chest. Liam kept his weapon trained on Spencer until Max raced from cover, his own weapon aimed at the man.

The operative stripped weapons from Spencer and tossed them away before checking the downed man’s pulse. After a moment, he rose, caught Liam’s eye, and shook his head.

Liam returned the Sig to his holster and wrapped his other arm around Piper, making sure she couldn’t see Spencer’s body. “It’s over, Sunshine.”

She shuddered. “Will we have to testify against him?”

He froze. Oh, man. He’d killed a man in front of her. Again. Yeah, Liam saved her life and his own. Still, he’d shot a man to death and didn’t feel one ounce of remorse. She’d seen his work first-hand for the second time. Would she still want him? “No. Spencer is leaving this beach in a body bag.”

“I’m not sorry he’s dead but I hate that you had to pull the trigger to protect me.”

“I’d do it again if it kept you safe.”

She captured his mouth in an intense kiss. When she eased back, Piper smiled. “I hope someone has the cops on speed dial because I’m ready to go home.”

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