Page 19 of Relentless

CHAPTER SEVEN

Piper’s heart sank. Had Rock been telling the truth about having captured Gavin? If so, how would she find him? Rock and his buddy were dead. She shuddered to think what would happen if Gavin was bound in a place only the two dead kidnappers knew. “Did you talk to the resort owner?”

Nick sat in the chair at the side of her hospital bed. “He said Gavin paid in cash for two days. Doesn’t matter to him if Gavin left early or not, as long as he left the key card in the room. I checked the resort records for his vehicle registration. Do you know what Gavin drives?”

“Last time I saw him, Gavin drove a fully-loaded Escalade. His father is generous with money, though. I don’t know what he drives now.”

“He still drives an Escalade and his vehicle isn’t in the parking lot. Do you know where he might be?”

She shook her head. “I don’t have my phone. If he called to set a meeting in a different place, I wouldn’t know. Delilah is bringing my phone to the hospital along with clothes for me.”

“When you have the phone, check for a message from Gavin. I need to know if he contacted you. I’m not sure what’s going on, but his life might depend on me locating Gavin and bringing him in.”

Worry formed a knot in her stomach. “I’ll let you know if I hear from him.”

Nick turned to Liam. “I talked to Piper about last night’s events. It’s your turn.”

Piper hated for Liam to endure another police interrogation. Although he hadn’t said, she suspected the Cherry Hill detectives grilled Liam over the highway incident. Otherwise, he would have been at the hospital sooner.

This time he wasn’t alone. She captured his hand and tugged him down beside her again. Although he looked surprised at her silent demand, he didn’t protest as he settled against her side.

Nick’s eyes glinted with amusement as he retrieved his notebook and pen. “Start at the beginning.”

Liam summarized what happened, his words terse and unemotional.

The almost robotic recitation made Piper’s heart hurt. He buried emotional baggage in order to do his job with logic instead of emotion.

“What do the detectives think?”

A snort. “That I set up Piper’s kidnapping to play hero.”

“Are you surprised?”

“Wouldn’t be the first time law enforcement accused an operative of grand standing.”

“He didn’t do it,” Piper insisted. “Don’t waste your time going down that rabbit hole, Nick.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes.” No hesitation or doubt.

“Anything else either of you want to tell me?”

Liam cupped Piper’s chin and turned her face toward his. “Tell him about Gino and his buddy.”

Her cheeks burned. “Is it necessary?” Admitting how gullible she’d been about her uncle was embarrassing.

“If Gavin isn’t guilty, then his father might be. For his own safety, we can’t allow Nick to walk into this blind.”

Liam was right. Nick needed to be prepared for the dangerous players he might face. “All right.”

When Liam released her, Piper told Nick what she’d told Liam. The longer she talked, the grimmer the detective’s expression grew.

Nick dragged a hand down his face. “I’m familiar with Matteo Barone’s work. I didn’t know you were connected to him and his minions.”

“I’m not.” Her hand fisted on the blanket. “That’s why I left Alabama. I didn’t want anything to do with my uncle’s association with Matteo. I thought Matteo made his money with his casino. I didn’t know about the rest of his money-making schemes or that Gavin was Matteo’s son because I made it a point never to be around him. I freely admit to being the most gullible woman on the planet.”

Liam pressed a soft kiss to her temple. “You look for the best in people. That’s your nature, Sunshine. When you discovered Gavin’s deceit and his connection to Matteo, you did the only thing you could. You walked away.”

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