Page 17 of Shrouded Past

Piper hesitated. “I don’t have any money. I-I can’t pay you.”

“Don’t worry about the cost,” JT assured her. “We want to help.”

“Thank you. That’s very kind.” Piper felt humbled by their generosity.

“Don’t worry about it,” Rachel said with a sympathetic smile. “We all need help from time to time.”

Bryce pulled out one of the chairs for Piper as everyone in the room sat down. She slid into it and brushed back golden-brown hair from her face. Fear appeared to be permanently etched there. Dark smudges beneath her hazel eyes spoke of the horror she’d escaped.

Bryce slipped into the seat beside her and squeezed her arm.

The smile she gave him was filled with gratitude and sent a jolt through his system. He’d been so focused on helping her and taking care of her injuries that he hadn’t noticed Piper had a beauty about her that very few possessed. She didn’t have a drop of makeup on. Her high cheekbones were pronounced. Her hair looked as if it hadn’t been trimmed in years, and she appeared gaunt. Still, her beauty couldn’t be hidden by any of those things.

“Bryce filled me in on some of the things that’ve happened to you, Piper. I realize this is difficult to speak about, but if you could walk us through what you remember, that would help us get an idea of what we’re dealing with,” JT said.

Though there were many things Bryce hadn’t told his neighbor about his past, JT hadn’t pried.

“I don’t remember anything before three years earlier,” Piper said in a hoarse whisper.

Bryce wanted to reach for her hand and hold onto it for comfort, but it was too soon.

“You have no memories of your life before that?” Rachel leaned forward, her full attention on Piper.

“That’s right. I woke up and I was inside a basement. I have no idea how I got there, and I couldn’t even remember where I came from or who I was.”

“How long were you held?” The question came from the red-haired woman who had been introduced as Janine.

“Three years, or at least I believe it was three years. I had no way of keeping track other than marking off each day in a notebook that I found.” Piper paused for a breath before she continued. “A man around fifty who called himself Protector brought me food each day. There was a bed and a small bathroom. Books to read. He kept me locked in the basement the whole time.” Piper explained what he looked like. “He told me he was protecting me from the devil.” She pulled in a breath. “When I tried to get him to tell me more, he wouldn’t.”

Listening to Piper explain again about the nightmare she’d gone through, and not knowing about her own past, was hard to hear.

She told how she’d escaped the house only to be taken by someone who appeared far worse than Protector, Bryce found himself wondering what Protector believed he was hiding her from. Had someone wanted her dead or silenced? If so, why?

“And you believe the man who kidnapped you was one of the people this Protector spoke about?” Declan’s question pulled Bryce from his thoughts.

“He told me he’d killed Protector . . .” Piper began and then stopped suddenly. “Wait. There’s something else I’d forgotten about. I think he had some type of badge hidden in the center console.”

“Wait . . . what?” This had Bryce’s full attention. Why would someone who clearly was up to no good reveal something this damaging . . . unless he didn’t plan on letting her live?

“When we wrestled with the knife,” Piper explained. “He slammed my hands against the center console and the compartment sprang open. There was a badge inside.”

“Could you tell anything about it? What county was it from?”

She shook her head. “No, I only got a glimpse.”

“Did you see a name? Was there a town or county listed? A number?” If they could narrow the precinct where the kidnapper served—assuming it wasn’t a fake badge—they might be able to identify him.

“No, it happened too fast. I only got a glimpse of it before the lid slammed shut as he regained control of the knife. I was so afraid he’d use it to kill me.”

It’s time to go home . . .

Those words kept replaying through Bryce’s mind. Where was home?

Bryce’s phone rang. Eric’s number popped up on the screen. “I need to take this. Excuse me. I’ll be right back,” he told Piper before leaving the room.

Bryce checked on Bella before stepping outside to answer the call.

“I have the name on the plate,” Eric said once the pleasantries were over.

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