Page 70 of Relentless

Beside her, Liam went stock still. She glanced his direction and caught the slight shake of his head. Guess she would ask questions later.

Piper resumed her recitation of events. “I went to the bathroom to dry my jeans. Someone followed me in, moving fast. A bald, muscular man grabbed me and carried me out the back door of the restaurant with his hand clamped over my mouth.”

“How tall was he?”

“Over six feet.”

He glanced at Liam, eyebrow raised in silent question.

“Six two, at least 300 pounds.”

“What did he do when he took you outside?” Kerrigan asked, pen poised over her notepad.

“He carried me into the forest at the back of the lodge.” Goosebumps surged over her skin at the remembered panic and certainty she was going to die without having told Liam she was in love with him. She needed him to know the truth. She planned to fix that soon.

Liam rubbed her arm. “He can’t hurt you now.”

True. Baker, however, was only the next round of thugs waiting for a shot at her. What if next time Liam couldn’t get to her? She wanted to protect herself and knew the perfect person to teach her. Liam.

“Keep going,” Barrett prompted.

“I’m not sure how far he took me. I know I would have a hard time finding my way back without help. Every tree looked alike to me out there.”

The detective turned toward Liam again.

“A quarter of a mile,” he said. “Baldy was in good shape.”

“Baldy?” Kerrigan frowned.

“You haven’t seen the kidnapper?”

She shook her head. “One of the patrol cops drove him to the hospital. We’ll interview him after he’s received medical attention since he took a beating.” She glanced at Liam’s hands.

He snorted. “If I’d beaten up the guy, he’d have more injuries than a broken nose. Baldy kidnapped my woman and pulled a gun on me. He’s lucky to be alive. Anyway, he didn’t introduce himself. We had to call him something, Baldy was the default name.”

“So Baldy took you into the forest, Piper. What happened when he stopped?”

“I broke free and ran. He caught me and punched me. Baldy threatened to kill me if I didn’t give him what he wanted.”

“Which was?”

“Information. He said he wanted the information my boyfriend gave me and didn’t mind hurting me to get it.”

Kerrigan turned her accusing gaze toward Liam.

“Baldy meant Gavin, not Liam,” Piper insisted.

“What information?” Barrett asked.

“I don’t know. He wouldn’t tell me and neither did Gavin. Like I told you before, I haven’t spoken to Gavin in three years.”

“What happened next?”

“I asked questions, stalling to give Liam time to find me. Liam told Baldy to drop his gun but he refused. He tackled Baldy, took away the gun, and restrained him. Then Liam brought me to Matt.”

His gaze dropped to her mouth. “Did Matt stitch your cut?”

She nodded.

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