“Like Holt would have you anywhere else,” he says in a tone that makes me think he and Carter have talked about this situation. Holt clears his throat.
“What did you need, Carter,” Holt cuts in in a serious tone. I smack his arm and he grabs my hand.
“Rude,” I mutter. Holt chuckles. Carter pauses and clears his throat. The tone in the vehicle changes from good natured to tense.
“You may want to take Piper to your house,” Carter says grudgingly. My mouth drops open. Before I can tell him that is unnecessary, Holt cuts in.
“What happened,” he says tersely. He is clenching his teeth so hard I’m concerned for his oral health.
“Well, the good news is we have the asshole on camera. The bad news is that Piper is going to need new windows,” Carter says grudgingly.
“What the hell,” I can’t help but exclaim. This is just ridiculous. I look over at Holt. His hand is white from gripping the steering wheel so hard.
“Get over to my place, I want to take a look at the footage. We are 10 minutes out,” he says to Carter and hangs up the phone.
“This guy has a thing for windows,” I say trying to joke. Holt looks over at me and shakes his head again.
“Jesus, how can you joke about this,” he asks. His tone a mix of exasperation, worry, and admiration.
“Well, if I don’t joke about it, I may have a nervous breakdown. Trust me, joking is infinitely better than that,” I say seriously. Honestly, I’m trying hard to take this in stride. On the bright side, I could be dealing with this alone— at least I have a group of people rallying around me.
My poor house. I hope nothing inside is damaged. I guess I’ll find out from Carter once we get to Holt’s.
Chapter 36
Holt
All of my plans to tease Piper until she was begging to come flew out the window the second Carter broke the news. Of course, they didn’t fly far— because that would happen. It would just have to wait a bit.
I couldn’t believe Piper’s reaction. It was flippant and sarcastic. Piper has always been quick on her feet, but this situation is different. Of course, I don’t want her upset. It’s just her emotional display is way different than the last time.
Whoever the fuck this is is escalating, and while that is good in one way— it is bad in another. This is when shit gets dangerous. Taking Piper to my house will be safer.
We pull into the driveway and Piper hops out of the passenger side. She is walking towards the front door of my log cabin like she is on a mission.
“Woah, woah, Carter isn’t even here yet,” I say to her as I grab her hand. She looks up at me and nods her head.
“It’s just, I want to see the footage too. Maybe I will recognize this person, and this can end,” she says. The words rushing to escape her mouth.
“I know this is hard— and I’m sorry we haven’t gotten this guy yet,” she shakes her head and goes to interrupt me, but I put my index finger over her plush lips.
“I swear to you, I will get this guy and he will pay—just give me a bit of time,” I promise her. She is nodding her head. I lean down and kiss her quickly and then hear Carter’s truck pull up. I unlock the door and let her go in first.
“Hey man, thanks for coming so quick,” I say to him. He is just as pissed about this situation as I am. Carter just nods and walks in with his backpack slung over one shoulder. He looks relaxed, but I can tell there is a strain around his eyes. If you didn’t know him, you couldn’t tell.
Piper is standing at the bar in the kitchen with her hands clasped in front of her, trying to be patient. Her teeth biting her bottom lip.
“Hi Carter,” she says quietly, tucking a strand of tawny colored hair behind her ear. He nods at her and makes his way to the bar. Pulling out his laptop. He wastes no time logging in and pulling up the program.
“So, the cameras at Piper’s house were tripped about an hour ago, and it looks like he managed to get every window. Unfortunately, he is wearing a mask, hoodie, and pants. He also walked down the driveway, so we don’t have an ID on the vehicle,” Carter explains. I walk around to the side that Piper is standing on to watch the footage.
In it, the individual—my guess is a man— is wielding a baseball bat at all the windows, smashing them in. Piper only has about 6 windows, but they all will need to be replaced.
“I called the sheriff and tried to get out there, but by the time we both got there— he was gone,” Carter explains.
“I did call someone to come and board the windows up today. They will measure and bring replacement windows out to your place as soon as possible,” Carter tells Piper. His tone is as gentle as he can get.
Piper hits replay on the footage. Her face getting close to the screen. I can read the frustration on her face. Carter reaches over her shoulder and taps a button on the screen. It zooms in on the figure a bit more.
