Page 28 of Shrouded Past

Please don’t let me have lied to her.

Her arms circled his waist, holding him tight. For the moment, he let the danger closing in on them fade away. His racing heart confirmed he wasn’t dead after all, and it hurt to think that he might be so willing to let go of Jenna.

His buzzing phone broke them apart. He stepped back, his eyes glued to Piper’s, his rapid breathing matching hers.

Bryce retrieved his phone and scanned the message. “It’s from Will. He’s at the house.”

Piper placed Bella in her lap and picked up her cup, her hand trembling.

Bryce brought up the security system and spotted Will and several of his officers inside the living room.

“Will, it’s Bryce. I can talk to you through the video on the security system that’s above the fireplace if you need to ask any questions.”

Will glanced up at the camera. “Gotcha. We’ve got it covered.”

“Thanks again. I’ll sign off for now. Let me know if you need anything else.”

“You got it.”

Bryce closed the app.

Clutching the kitten close, Piper paced the kitchen. “I hate waiting. I feel like he’s playing with us.”

“That’s because he probably is. Why don’t we use this time to go back over things from the beginning of what you remember?” She swung toward him, and he held up his hand. “I know you’ve gone over it many times already, but humor me. Maybe something you haven’t thought about will come to mind.”

“Okay,” she said with a heavy sigh. “If you think it will help.”

“I do.” He pulled out a chair and waited for her to sit before taking the seat beside her. “Without thinking about it, tell me the first thing you remember about being at Protector’s house?”

She closed her eyes. “His face. I didn’t know how long I’d been there, but when I opened my eyes his face was there looming above me. I was so scared.”

“What did he say to you?”

“He told me I was safe.” She rubbed her forehead and opened her eyes. “But I didn’t feel safe. I had no memory of the past. No idea how I got there. No idea who he was. But the worst part? Was not knowing who I was.”

???

A single light shone from inside the house onto the yard.They were awake. Frustration spilled through his body. Time was running out.

He’d been given the order to bring her back days ago when word came of her location. This was his last chance. He’d failedhimbefore, and it had cost him greatly. If he failed again . . .

He’d thought when he found the old man his troubles were over. He’d kill the man and take her. Only she hadn’t been there. When confronted, the old man refused to say where she’d gone. He’d done his best to get her captor to talk. Despite the pain he’d inflicted, the old guy hadn’t broken.

In the end, he’d actually enjoyed killing the stubborn old codger.

When he’d searched the house without any results, he’d checked the basement. The open door confirmed she’d escaped. If she got away, he might as well keep running himself. But he knew he couldn’t run far enough to escape the wrath coming his way.

It had been a stroke of luck when he’d spotted her walking along the road. He’d parked the car and gone after her.

She never saw him coming.

It was almost too easy. He’d had her in his possession. He just had to deliver her. He hadn’t planned on being caught in the middle of a storm. Hadn’t planned on losing control of the car. Hadn’t planned on anyone intervening.

Her rescuer didn’t waste any time enlisting help either. It wouldn’t take them long to figure out what was happening. Especially if they located the old man’s house. Time was critical. He needed to eliminate this man and take her while he still could.

He eased toward the light. The weapon of choice now was no longer a knife. He’d need a way to take out the threat without being close enough to possibly lose the battle.

The Glock would take care of the problem.

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