Piper: YouKNOWthings?
I roll my eyes again at this conversation. I won’t be telling her that we shared a bed last night. It will just make her worse. And honestly, there isn’t anything to tell. Nothing has happened.
I’m so wrapped up in texting Meg that I don’t realize Holt is standing over my shoulder, until I hear him chuckle. I yelp and almost drop the phone.
“Bells! I’m buying you bells,” I exclaim. It is the only thing I can think of. The ninja thing is cool, until you are having a heart attack every 5 minutes.
“We need to work on your situational awareness,” he says. I can tell he isn’t really joking. He hands me the coffee that must have brewed while I was distracted.
“We will eat breakfast and then get a game plan for today,” Holt continues. Agame plan? I guess he has a point.
I sit down at the table in the kitchen and watch as he gracefully maneuvers through my kitchen. It is almost like he knows where everything is. I am envious of how comfortable he is in any space he occupies.
I see he has thrown on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, it doesn’t detract from his appeal—at all. I roll my eyes at my train of thought.
“Do you know of any handymen that come out on a Sunday,” I ask Holt, thinking about my broken door. I really need to get that fixed. Holt shakes his head as he turns around with a plate full of scrambled eggs, a couple slices of bacon, and some toast.
“I put a call in to Dustin, he is coming out tomorrow. I already gave him the measurements that he needs, so it won’t take long,” Holt answers as he places the plate in front of me.
“Oh, I-I—thanks,” I stutter a response. A girl could get used to someone like Holt taking care of her. I feel the feminist in me shaking with rage at the thought. Holt smirks at me.
“No problem, Piper. Now eat,” he directs. I grab my fork and focus on my plate for a minute.
Chapter 24
Holt
Piper is sitting quietly in the passenger seat as I drive us over to Sterling’s loft. We showered, separately—unfortunately, and cleaned up the few dishes that were left from breakfast. While Piper was in the shower, Sterling texted and said that we should come over for a few hours. I thought it was a great idea and told Piper to get in the truck.
She is nervously twirling her hair and I reach over to hold her hand in mine on the console. This accomplishes two things— I can touch her and I stop her from basically pulling her hair out. Her hand stiffens but I ignore it and squeeze it gently. The tension seems to leave her, and we say nothing as we continue the trip. I clear my throat.
“What are you thinking about,” I ask her. I was dying to get a glimpse into her mind. She shakes her head and with her other hand tucks a lock of hair behind her ear.
“Honestly, you don’t want to know—I—,” all of a sudden her voice trails off. We are driving by her cafe and I hit the brakes. I pull into the parking lot.
“What the fuck,” I swear. Some asshole had broken the rest of the windows to her cafe and spray painted the porch and walls. They crudely spelled ‘whore’.
I look over at Piper, who has gone pale. My hand finds its way to the back of her neck to offer comfort. Suddenly, she unbuckles her belt and opens the door. I fly after her.
“Piper, wait,” I yell after her. Her penchant for running towards danger is a huge fucking problem. I catch up to her in a couple of quick strides. I grab her arm gently before she can run into her shop through what was once the large floor to ceiling picture window.
“I just need to see,” she chokes out. I pull her behind me and hold up my hand. If we are going in there, I am going first, at least. I pull the gun that I have out of the waist band of my jeans.
“Call Carter, and tell him we need back up,” I tell her as I hand her my cell phone. She takes it shakily. I hear the phone ring one time and Carter picks up.
“It’s Piper, Holt wants you to come to the cafe,” she says to him shakily. Piper is standing so close to me I can hear his serious tone.
“Yeah, we are okay—just come quick,” she says. The pitch of her voice a bit higher than it usually is. She hangs up.
“He is on the way,” she says and slides my phone back into my back pocket automatically. She grabs the back of my shirt.
“I don’t suppose I can talk you into staying in the truck with the doors locked, can I,” I ask her. She shakes her head no.
“Didn’t think so,” I murmured. “You will do everything I say,” I tell her. She nods emphatically.
“Stay behind me and keep close,” I order. I hate this entire situation. Obviously, the cafe’s alarm didn’t go off when this happened.
We approach the window, and my senses are on high alert. Glass is crunching under our feet as we walk through the window sized hole. It doesn’t feel like anyone is here, but I’m not taking any chances.
