Page 2 of Relentless

CHAPTER TWO

Liam McCoy turned right on Poplar Avenue and drove toward Wicks. Piper should be working, and he couldn’t wait to see her. He’d spent three weeks in a backwater cesspool country with his black ops team tracking and rescuing a diplomat’s daughter, a hostage of terrorists. On the way home, Fortress had sent his unit into Venezuela to assist another team.

He’d gone too long without seeing Piper Reece’s beautiful eyes. Liam had planned to ask if Piper was interested in an exclusive relationship with him. Bravo had deployed unexpectedly in the middle of the night and he wasn’t able to broach the topic before his team left the country.

If Piper agreed to exclusivity, he would give her the secured cell phone he’d obtained for her to use. He’d missed her like crazy while deployed this last time. At least with a secured cell phone, Liam would be able to talk to her when he was on a mission.

He snorted. For a man who prided himself on operating in the field without support for weeks at a time, the fast attachment to Piper puzzled him. Somehow, she had slipped under his skin.

Liam parked in front of the candle shop. The lights were off. He glanced at his watch. Thirty minutes before the shop was due to close and the place appeared deserted. Maybe Piper was in the office.

He exited the SUV and walked around the side of the shop toward the rear of the building. Since he didn’t want to scare her by banging on the back door, Liam grabbed his phone and called Piper’s cell.

He heard the ring tone she’d chosen for him and frowned. Was she in the dark alley? Why wasn’t the security light on over the back door?

Liam ended the call, slid his phone away, and palmed his weapon. Something was wrong. Worry for Piper’s safety gnawed at him.

When he reached the mouth of the alley, Liam peered around the corner of the building and froze. The door to Wicks stood open, and Piper’s purse and keys lay on the ground outside the door.

On silent booted feet, Liam approached the doorway, weapon up and tracking. If nothing was wrong and he scared Piper, he’d apologize profusely and convince her he’d been worried about her safety. But he wasn’t wrong. The woman haunting his dreams at night adored that ridiculous pink purse. She’d never leave the handbag and shop keys on the ground in an alley.

He paused at the door and listened. No sounds coming from the interior of the building. Liam moved into the candle shop. Still no sign of life.

Urgency beating at him, he walked toward the office, senses on alert. Where was Piper? Within two minutes, he’d determined the woman he sought wasn’t in the building.

Liam returned to the alley, leaving everything as he’d found it, and ran to his SUV.

He called Josh Cahill, an instructor at PSI and a cop on the Otter Creek police force. “It’s Liam. Piper’s missing.”

“Sit rep.” Josh’s clipped tone and military jargon forced Liam to focus.

“I’m at Wicks. The shop’s rear door is standing open and Piper’s purse and the shop keys are lying in the alley. She’s not inside Wicks.”

“Did you touch anything?”

“No, sir.”

“I’ll call it in and be at the shop in ten minutes.”

“I won’t be here. I’m calling Zane to see what he can tell me.” Zane Murphy was the tech guru at Fortress Security, the parent company of Personal Security International. “If Zane gives me a direction, I’m going after Piper.”

“Understood. Keep me in the loop. Remember, you’re not a cop.”

“You remember the same. I’ll do whatever is necessary to protect Piper.” No matter what it took. Liam ended the call to Josh and contacted Zane.

“You just returned to Otter Creek, Liam. I thought you’d be too busy with a certain woman to call me,” Zane Murphy teased.

“I need help.”

“Talk to me.”

“Piper is missing.” He gave Zane the address of the shop. “I need you to hack into traffic cams in the area.”

“Time frame?”

“I arrived at Wicks at 5:30 p.m. The back door was open with Piper’s purse and keys on the ground.”

“I’ll contact you the minute I find anything.”

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