Pippa forced a smile. The serene one she’d learned to wear so long ago to survive. “It really does suck. How much do I owe you?”
Liliana waved a hand. “Nothing. It wasn’t a big deal, and us gals have to stick together.”
The kindness pricked tears into Pippa’s eyes. “No. You had to drive quite a way, and you worked hard. Please let me pay you.”
Liliana eyed the still-full plate of cookies. “Put those in a bag for me? We’ll call it even.”
Her throat clogging, Pippa moved into the kitchen for a bag. The table caught her eye, and she stilled, staring at it. Oh God. Anger finally punched through the fuzzy fog of shock. That total dick. Grasping a bag, she returned to the living room and packed the cookies for Liliana. “Thank you for everything,” she whispered.
Liliana patted her awkwardly on the shoulder. “It’s okay. He wasn’t worth it, right?”
“Right.” Pippa’s chin lifted. “You’re exactly right.”
Liliana took her cookies and left.
Pippa stared at the closed door. The barrier that had protected her from the world until he’d moved in next door. Malcolm was an undercover cop currently working on an undercover operation. He’d sabotaged her car and wanted her to stay right where she was. Was he part of the family? If so, how did that make sense? Why not bring her in right away?
If not, then what was his case? If it was the family, then was he working her to get to them?
She didn’t have any answers other than it had to have been Malcolm who’d messed with her car. Everything in her wanted to wait for him to get home and confront him. Maybe kick him in the balls. But what if he somehow had a good explanation?
Yeah, that was her ovaries talking.
She was so tired of being prey. So fracking tired. Turning, she grabbed keys out of her junk drawer and hustled through the back of the house and over to Mal’s sliding back door. It was locked. Biting her lip, she used the key Mrs. Maloni had given her so long ago. Mal hadn’t had time to change the locks, probably.
Nope. The door slid right open.
Feeling slightly victorious, she stepped inside and went through kitchen drawers, finding two hidden knives and another gun. The weapon was heavy in her hand, and she quickly returned it to its hiding place.
The living room was next. Nothing interesting.
His scent was all around her. Warm and wild. She moved into the bedroom and found another gun, as well as a manila file folder in the dresser by his bed.
Holding her breath, she slowly opened it to see pictures of herself as a kid.
When she’d lived with the family.
Betrayal snapped something inside her with an almost audible crunch.
Oh God. It was time to grab her hidden bag. She had to run. Now.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“This thing probably has a weight limit,” Raider observed, shifting his body as the elevator descended to their offices.
Malcolm winced. “You had to say that.” The interior was way too jam-packed with the six of them. The two prisoners were cuffed and hooded, so they had no clue who was in the elevator with them. They were also oddly silent. Finally, they reached the basement and the doors opened. Raider escaped before Mal, but it was close.
When he’d gotten clear, he turned.
Force had Eagle by the arm while Wolfe had Leroy. “We’ll be right back.” Force pushed the guy he was holding toward the small doorway, which he opened with a key from his pocket. It swung inward.
Mal moved to his desk and yanked out his folding chair to sit. It was already around noon. The booking and then wrangling of the two burglars had taken a surprising amount of time. He wanted to call Pippa. Check on her, make sure she was all right.
Raider looked around. “Which desk should I take?”
Mal shrugged. “Whatever you want.”
Brigid Banaghan strode out of the computer room with a stack of paper in her hands. She’d ditched the prison jumpsuit for jeans and a sweatshirt. Her hair was in a ponytail, and her eyes were clear in the morning hour. “Angus sent me the prints on your two guys. I did a deep dive, and this is what I found.” She handed the papers over to Raider and then waited, her feet shuffling.
