Page 66 of Relentless

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Liam sprinted across the restaurant, dodging a waiter who turned into his path. Cade followed close on his heels. When he reached the hall, Liam drew his weapon and held it down by his side.

He and Cade ran down the hall to the women’s restroom. He signaled Cade to take the right side while Liam took the left.

Shoving the door open, Liam quartered his side of the room while Cade scanned the right. Empty aside from Piper’s pink purse on the floor. Windows in the bathroom were too small to climb through and located close to the ceiling. Piper hadn’t come out of the hallway into the main restaurant. They would have seen her.

“Must be an exit close by.” Scooping up her purse, Liam hurried to the hall and turned right. Fifteen feet away was a dimly-lit exit sign. His blood ran cold. Not again. He’d promised to protect her.

“Is something wrong?” Their waitress hurried toward them.

“My girlfriend is missing.”

Blood drained from her face. “What? No. That wasn’t supposed to…”

He thrust the purse in her hands, impatient to go after Piper. “Take this to Room 3217. One of my friends will take care of it.”

He and his teammate ran to the glowing sign and hit the exit door at a dead run. A woman’s muffled scream and a man’s vicious swearing drew Liam’s attention to a wooded area fifty feet away from the rear of The Copper Kettle.

He and Cade raced toward the trees. Liam’s jaw clenched when he heard the sound of flesh hitting flesh. He put on another burst of speed. They had to reach Piper before the man who took her reached a vehicle. The man wouldn’t be able to carry her a long distance, not with Piper fighting to free herself from her captor.

Cade signaled he was circling to the right and disappeared into the shadowy interior of the woods.

Liam shoved his fear for Piper behind a mental barricade and fell back on his training, divorcing his emotion from the task. He had to stay focused or risk losing Piper for good.

With careful steps, he tracked the noises for another quarter of a mile. Weapon up and ready, he peered around a large rock formation and saw Piper on the ground, hand pressed to her bleeding mouth. Five feet away from her stood a bald Caucasian male. He weighed three hundred pounds, easy, all of it muscle. Around six foot two, the thug had Liam by a good fifty pounds and five inches. Didn’t matter. He refused to let this man take Piper.

“Where is it?” the man growled at Piper.

“Where is what?”

“The package your stupid boyfriend left for you.”

“I have a lot of things from my boyfriend.” She spread her hands. “Tell me what you’re looking for.”

“Don’t mess with me, lady. I’m not in a good mood. You’ve been nothing but trouble in a job that was supposed to be easy, quick cash.”

Liam frowned. Baldy was a hired gun? That didn’t make sense. Why would Barone hire someone from outside his organization when he had plenty of blood-loyal talent at his disposal? Hiring an outsider posed a risk to Barone’s security.

“Give me specifics so I can give you what you want.”

Good girl, Liam thought. She stalled for time, trusting Liam to find her.

“Information.” Baldy lumbered closer. “You’re wasting time. I’m not a patient man and I have a mean, nasty temper.”

“I keep important information in my purse, the purse you threw on the bathroom floor. You’ll have to take me back to the lodge.”

A snort. “I ain’t falling for that.” He aimed the weapon at Piper’s chest. “I’m tired of your lies, lady. Where is the information? Tell me and I might let you live.” A lazy shrug. “You’ll tell me what I want to know. How much you suffer is up to you. Where is the information and how much do you know? Talk or the first bullet goes through your kneecap in five seconds.”

He’d heard enough, and Cade was in place. Liam stepped out from cover. “Drop your weapon.”

Baldy froze. “You won’t shoot me. My finger’s on the trigger and the gun’s aimed at her head.”

“You want information. Killing Piper before you’re sure the information’s in her purse risks mission failure. If you hurt her, I’ll kill you. Drop your weapon and you live. Simple choice. Make it.”

He looked at Piper and mouthed, “On three, move right.” Out of Baldy’s sight, Cade left tree cover, weapon up and ready.

Liam silently mouthed the countdown. At three, Piper threw herself to the right and rolled. Liam leaped, taking Baldy to the ground, trusting Cade to secure Piper.

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