Page 148 of Tangled Kisses
“Well,” I reply, my voice devoid of emotion, “she did. And he picked her up like it was planned. Private plane and all. How nice for them.”
A flicker of something sharp cuts across her face. “Shit. He’s been harassing her. Reese told me right before I left town. She said he kept calling and texting, wouldn’t leave her alone. She feared him, Griffin.”
“Reese didn’t look scared to me,” I snap. “She looked fine. Like she made her choice and it sure as hell wasn’t me.”
Piper rounds on me, eyes blazing. “Give me your phone.”
I point to my mobile on the counter.
“Not that phone. Your burner. The one you keep for work. I know you’ve got one. Give it to me.”
I blink, then turn and yank open the junk drawer by the sink. The phone’s buried under a set of keys, a bottle opener, and a pile of receipts. I toss it to her without a word.
She catches it and starts dialing before it settles in her hand.
Piper presses the phone to her ear. “Vander, this is Piper. Put my sister on the phone.”
She waits.
She stiffens, pacing small steps around the counter. “What do you mean she doesn’t want to talk to me?” Another pause. “Vander, I’m not kidding. Put her on the phone. Right now.”
Silence.
She shoves a hand through her hair, pacing harder. “You son of a bitch. He hung up.”
“Guess she doesn’t like you any better than she likes me.”
Piper stares at the screen like it’s radioactive, her hand shaking.
She sinks into the nearest chair, phone clattering onto the table, her voice barely audible. “Oh, my God.”
I rub my temples, the jackhammer behind my eyes unrelenting. “Piper?—”
“She didn’t go willingly,” she says, dazed. “Something is wrong.”
I stagger toward the kitchen counter, grab the bottle of aspirin, and toss two into my mouth. No water. Just a swallow of whiskey from a glass nearby. It burns like fire on the way down.
Piper watches, disgusted. “Jesus, you need an intervention.” She grabs a water bottle from the fridge and shoves it into my hand.
I crack the cap but don’t drink. “I think you’re overreacting,” I mutter. “She had the wherewithal to buy me off. She even reminded me that I meant nothing to her. Repeatedly.”
Piper’s head jerks toward me. “What the hell do you mean she bought you off?”
I walk over to the counter, pick up the envelope, and toss it at her.
“Like I told you,” I say, voice hoarse. “A hundred and fifty grand. I guess I don’t come cheap. Maybe I should up my prices, since I’m diving right back into being a whore again.”
“Griffin, shut up.” Piper stares at the check like it might explode. “Where did Reese get this? From Vander?”
“Said she cashed out her 401(k).”
“Her 401(k)?” Her voice rises, frantic. “Griffin, this is everything she had. You don’t understand. She would never touch this account. She saved it for when her life fell apart, for when she had nothing left.”
“What’s your point?” I lean heavily against the counter, struggling to process her words.
“If she gave you this,” Piper continues, stepping closer, the check shaking in her hand, “it wasn’t a buyout. That account was her last safety net, Griffin. And she handed it to you. Don’t you get it? You were hereverything.”
Piper’s words swirl around my whiskey-addled brain. “I don’t?—”
