Page 97 of Relentless

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Piper strolled hand-in-hand with Liam from the museum, feeling the weight of someone’s stare on them. She fought the urge to glare at the man sent to retrieve Gavin’s information. Barone must be desperate if he resorted to having them tailed and intercepted in broad daylight.

What information was worth this much effort to retrieve? She scowled. The information wasn’t worth Gavin’s life or Liam’s. Maybe she should leave Hartman and encourage Liam and his teammates to do the same. Zane was resourceful. The Fortress tech genius would uncover Barone’s secrets without Gavin’s information.

Piper sighed, knowing that option wasn’t possible. Barone had to pay for murdering Gavin and Piper wanted to be part of his downfall. Gavin was a good friend before their relationship fell apart. She’d fulfill his request as a tribute to the good memories they shared.

If the security guard thought they had the information, he’d confront her and Liam, then take them to Barone. The crime boss wouldn’t let them go if they handed over the envelope in her pocket. They knew too much.

“I want to run,” she muttered to Liam. “And that’s saying something since I hate jogging.”

Liam chuckled. “You’re doing great. You’re a perfect partner in crime.”

Her lips curved. “We did steal the package without Barone’s security guard seeing us.”

“He’s not a sterling example of private security. He wouldn’t make the cut at Fortress or PSI. We’d have booted him from the school by the end of the first week.”

Liam unlocked his SUV and tucked Piper inside. He handed her the seatbelt and leaned in for a brief kiss. “You up for a field trip?”

“If the trip takes me out of this town and away from our creepy watcher, you bet I am.”

He flashed her a grin and shut the door. The operative took his time circling the back of the SUV and climbing behind the steering wheel. Liam slid the electronic signal detector into his pocket and cranked the engine.

“That’s a neat gadget. After this is over, I might ask your boss for one.” The thought of Liam’s enemies tracking her movements and threatening their children made everything inside her protest. No, she didn’t believe danger would dog her steps every minute. At the same time, she couldn’t afford to slack off on the vigilance. Liam depended on her to protect their family while he was on missions.

“It’s an important tool in my line of work.” He glanced at her before cranking the engine. “Are you worried about this man in particular or in general? I promise I’ll protect you until my last breath.”

She hadn’t meant to give Liam the impression that she didn’t trust in him or his protection measures. “I believe you. I was thinking about protecting our future family while you’re on missions. Having a signal detector would help me be sure no one followed us around Otter Creek or kept track of our movements with a tracking device.”

“You are one in a million, Sunshine,” he said, voice huskier than normal.

“Did you find a tracking device?”

He nodded. “I’ll go to a gas station and fill the tank. While I’m doing that, I’ll remove the tracker that clown slapped on the undercarriage of my ride.”

She smiled at his disgruntled attitude and words. “Won’t the guard become suspicious if the tracker shows we’re parked at the gas station for more than a few minutes?”

“Not if the tracker is moving.”

She stared a moment. “You’re attaching the tracker to another vehicle.”

“Yes, ma’am. Hopefully, it will be a vehicle that’s passing through town on the way to somewhere else. Won’t keep the goons off our tail for long but we’ll have enough breathing room to discover what information we have and how to pass it to the feds before Barone’s crew catches up.”

“Where are we going?” she asked as Liam drove from the lot.

“Amaretto. It’s the safest place I can think of to see what Gavin left for you and figure out our next move.”

She reached for her pocket, intent on pulling the envelope free and checking the contents.

Liam wrapped his hand around hers. “Wait until we’re in the lodge with my teammates. If we have access to traffic cams, so does Barone. My windows have a special protective coating on them to blur pictures taken with a camera. Still, someone will see you have something in your hands which would incite a feeding frenzy.”

Piper grimaced. Nice visual. Reminded her of sharks circling their prey, waiting to move in for the kill. Instead of giving in to her curiosity about the envelope’s contents, she contented herself with holding Liam’s hand.

Minutes later, he parked beside a gas pump on the opposite side of town from Amaretto. “Are you hungry?”

“Not yet.”

“You should be. You didn’t eat breakfast.” He gave her a knowing look. “You’re not a stress eater, are you?”

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