CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“What is taking so long?” Piper pivoted and walked the other direction. She’d been pacing the length of the suite’s living room for the past two hours and the clock had just ticked past midnight. She was ready to demand a member of Bravo drive her to the police station and insist the police release Liam and Simon. “This is ridiculous. Simon defended himself and Liam protected me. They didn’t do anything wrong.”
Trent St. Claire stretched his legs out in front of him. “Police investigations take time. Don’t waste your energy.”
“Those are your teammates. You should be raising a ruckus to get them released.”
“First, Liam would have my hide if I ended up tossed in jail because he’s more concerned with your protection than his own comfort. Second, Matt and Cade are searching Gavin’s room before it’s cordoned off. Third, the lawyer will do more for Liam and Simon than I can. She knows the ins and outs of the law far better than I ever will. That woman is a shark and Fortress pays her a large retainer fee to be available 24/7 for their operatives. You can trust her to vigorously defend Liam and Simon.”
Piper scowled. “Did the Fortress lawyer have to be a woman?”
Bravo’s leader chuckled. “She’s happily married with two kids under five. She’s a threat to police plans for Liam and Simon, but no threat to you.”
Feeling catty, Piper held up her hands in surrender. “How soon will Matt and Cade return?”
“Anytime.”
Someone inserted a key card into the lock and opened the door. When Liam and Simon walked in, Piper breathed a sigh of relief.
She threw herself into Liam’s open arms and the tension riding her for the past seven hours disappeared. “Liam.”
“Are you okay, Sunshine?” he murmured against her ear.
“I am now. What about you? Did they hurt you or Simon?”
Liam shook his head. “Barrett and Kerrigan are slow but they’re good cops. We’re fine.” He cupped her face between his callused palms. “Thank you for doing as I asked and calling in my team.” He glanced at Trent. “Thanks for watching over Piper.”
“No problem. Matt and Cade are searching Gavin’s room.”
“Barrett and Kerrigan are returning to the resort soon to search his room.”
“Catch up later.” Simon frowned. “Piper, is the kitchen open this late?”
“No, but we ordered food from room service before they closed. The plates are in the oven.” She set the plates on the small table and retrieved the canned drinks and bottles of water the other operatives had purchased for them.
Liam seated Piper before seating himself and uncovering the meal. A large serving of lasagna filled the plate along with two foil-wrapped breadsticks. “This looks terrific. Thanks.”
The two men scarfed down the food and polished off a soft drink by the time Cade and Matt returned to the suite.
“Did you show them the dessert you ordered?” Matt asked Piper.
Simon’s eyes brightened. “Dessert?”
“One piece of strawberry cheesecake and one of chocolate cake.”
“I call dibs on the cheesecake.” He rubbed his hands together, anticipation on his face.
Liam laid a hand on Piper’s shoulder when she started to stand. “I’ll get them. Did you find anything we can use, Matt?”
The medic settled on a barstool at the breakfast bar. “Not me. Cade did, though.”
The EOD man’s gaze flickered to Piper then back to Liam. “Two passports. One a male with Gavin’s picture on it with a different name. The second one belonged to a woman with the name Sienna Chambers. Looks like old Gavin was planning to skip the country with a woman.”
Piper stiffened, her hand fisting on top of the table. She shouldn’t be surprised. Three years had passed since Piper had last seen him and Gavin always had a woman on his arm. “What does she look like?”
Maybe she knew the woman. If so, she may be able to answer questions. At the very least, Piper planned to warn her that her life was in danger. If Barone was protecting himself, he wouldn’t balk at hurting an innocent woman who had the misfortune of dating Gavin.
Cade pulled out his phone, tapped the screen, and turned it around. “Do you recognize this woman?”