Cade
The afternoon flew by. I’d decided a nap was in order after a night of sleeplessness and had returned to my room after the meeting. I’d woken mid-afternoon and made some lunch. The guys told me Piper had also stayed in her room, but no one had seen her since the meeting. Ryder told me he’d scanned her palm and entered her into the security system, so she was free to come and go at will. At least inside the walls of the gym.
I spent the rest of the day sparring with Oscar and Cruz. I had a fight coming up in two weeks and couldn’t risk being out of shape. We spent a couple of hours boxing, working on strategies and techniques, before I went to the locker room and showered off. I spent half an hour in the hot tub and then headed back to the dorms to get dressed and ready for the evening.
Our meeting with Alvaro and Domingo wasn’t until nine that night, but I planned to take Piper to dinner to determine how she was handling things. Only, when I knocked on her door, Levi came out into the hallway from his room.
“Ryder took her out to buy some things. She was low on toiletries and needed to get some new clothes. She’ll be back by eight thirty to go with you to the meeting.”
Disappointment filled me that Ryder had been the one to spend the evening with her instead of me, but I tamped it down, nodding to Levi before going to the kitchen to make a sandwich.
I was halfway through it when Ryder and Piper returned. She had three bags in her hands, but Ryder was loaded down with packages. I stopped mid-bite, watching the carefree look on Piper’s face and trying to rid myself of the jealousy that stuck up its ugly head when Ryder made a joke, and Piper threw her head back in laughter.
“Have a good time?”
Piper jumped, nearly losing the bags she held in her hands. Her face fell immediately when she saw it was me, and she tried to push back a lock of hair that had fallen from her ponytail.
“Oh, Cade. Sorry—I didn’t see you there.”
Of course you didn’t. You were too busy flirting with Ryder. I didn’t say that, though. Last time I checked I was still a man.
“You need to get ready. I like to arrive early to these meetups to make sure we’re secure.”
“Right. Of course. Just, um, let me put these packages down and change clothes.”
I turned my back on her, feigning indifference. I heard Ryder follow her to her room and the sound of the door closing.
“What was that about, man?” Ryder pulled a beer from the fridge, popping the top, and taking a long pull from the bottle.
“Nothing.”
“You two were foster siblings, right?”
“Yes.”
I hoped my one-word answers would deter his line of questioning, but no such luck.
“So, you were friends?”
I smiled then, but it wasn’t friendly. “Something like that.”
The bottle was halfway to Ryder’s mouth when he paused, blinking repeatedly.
“Dude, I had no idea.” He lifted his arms in surrender.
“No idea about what?”
“That you had feelings for her, man. I get it. She’s off limits.” Ryder walked back to his room, taking his beer with him. I almost felt bad for him, but he was right. She was off limits to any of my team members. I had plans to make up for all the years we’d lost, and I wasn’t about to let the young whippersnapper swoop in and distract Piper.
The door to Piper’s room opened, and she sauntered out, dressed in tight black leather-like pants; killer motorcycle boots that, from the shine on them, I knew she’d bought that day; and a tight red crop top that hit at her navel. Her hair was still up in a ponytail, but she’d made it wilder looking and completely seductive. The final icing on the cake was the bright-red lipstick she’d swiped across her lips. The woman was sex incarnate.
“You ready to go, or are you going to just stand there and stare at me all night?”
A grin twitched my lips, and I tossed the paper towel I’d used for my sandwich in the garbage. When I drew closer to her, I could see that she was all talk. Her breathing was ragged, her chest rising and falling too quickly, and I could see the pulse point jumping in her neck. She was nervous, and I was pretty sure she was a little turned-on as well.
Leather pants would do that to you.
“Let’s go.” I put my hand on the small of her back and directed her out to my bike. She must have been expecting it because she didn’t protest, just swung her leg over and took a seat at the back.
“Helmet?” She reached out a hand, and I took the one hanging off the back of the seat that I’d secured for her earlier that day and handed it to her.
I sat in front of her, buckling my helmet under my chin. “Hold on.”
Piper’s arms barely touched my waist, which meant if I had to make a quick turn, she’d go flying off. I grabbed both her arms and secured them in front of me, bringing her front flush with my back. “I said hold on.”
I felt her stiffen at the contact, but once we were on the road, she relaxed.
I’d chosen a different bar than Tino’s since it was still closed after the other night’s shooting. Plus, I didn’t figure Tino was quite ready to come face-to-face with Piper again. This bar was a little further out, so the ride was longer than it would have been to Tino’s. I didn’t mind. Having Piper hugged up against my back was a dream I’d had over and over the past twelve years.
Too soon, we pulled up in front of one of the bars the gangs frequented regularly. The meeting place was strategic not only for meeting with Alvaro and Domingo, but also to announce Piper’s connection with me to any of the other gangs in the area. No one wanted to cross me, and now that she’d made herself a target to Chavez and El Sangre, she didn’t need any more enemies.
We found a booth in the back and sat down. Piper hadn’t said a word since we’d left the gym, but of course talking on a motorcycle was hard to do.
I lifted my fingers to the bartender, indicating two beers. He nodded in response, and we waited for Chavez’s men to arrive.
“How are you handling things?” I thought maybe I could get her to open up a little, to kill the time. Get her used to me again.
“Fine.”
Okay—maybe this was going to be harder than I thought. “Have you spoken to Will since the dismissal went live?”
“No.”
“Are you only capable of giving one-word answers?” I lifted one brow, eyeing her across the table. She smirked and shrugged one shoulder.
“Yep.”
I chuckled. Fine; she didn’t want to talk, then I’d leave her alone. For now.
The bartender brought over the two beers just as the door to the bar opened, and Juan Carlos and Santiago walked in. They sat across from us, both wearing sneers directed at Piper.
“What’s she doing here, pendejo?” Juan Carlos jerked his chin at Piper.
Well, that escalated quickly. Instead of amigo, he was addressing me with curse words. Great.
“I can explain.”
“Then you better start explaining?” Santiago leaned forward, revealing his gold-capped front teeth.
“Why did you send Lacosta after her?” I decided to start with that and see what they knew.
“She’s FBI.” Juan Carlos acted as if that very fact alone was worthy of death. “And she held us up at gunpoint. Why do you think?”
“She wasn’t after you. And she was FBI. Past tense.”
“Nice try, but we looked her up. She’s a fed.”
Piper started to say something, but I put my hand on her leg under the table, squeezing slightly. She closed her mouth and sat back.
“You didn’t dig deep enough. She went off the reservation. Rogue. Fired her for going after her fiancé’s killer.”
“So, why is she here, then?”
“She heard it was a member of El Sangre. Traced him back here. Took a job as a bartender, waiting for them to show up.”
Juan Carlos and Santiago looked at each other, clearly trying to decide if they believed me or not.
“Why’d she step in, then? We could have killed them both.”
“She wanted the privilege herself.”
Juan Carlos glanced at Piper, who definitely looked the part of a badass rebel tonight. “That true?”
Piper nodded. “Yeah, it’s true. Bastard shot my fiancé. FBI canned me. Decided I’d find him on my own. I don’t need them.”
Santiago licked his lips, checking Piper out. I struggled to maintain control. Instead of losing my crap, I put my arm around Piper and pulled her closer. I felt the slight stiffening of her body, before she gave in and relaxed.
“She’s with us now. So, keep the fixer away from her.”
“The fixer’s dead. Your doing?”
I shook my head. “No, man. He was alive when I left. Roughed him up a little after he pulled a knife on me, but he was still breathing when I got Piper out of there.”
“Well, somebody killed him.” Santiago looked at Piper.
“It wasn’t her. She was duct-taped to a chair when I got there. And now she’s my girl. So, anyone messes with her, they mess with me. Got it?”
“Yeah, man. We got it.” Juan Carlos shifted in his seat. “Your buyer still good?”
“Spoke with him today. He’s ready to make the deal. When can you bring the merchandise?”
“Wednesday night. We’ll meet at the warehouse on Jones Ave. Know it?”
“Yeah, I know it.” It was an abandoned warehouse where there was regular gang activity, usually in the form of deals going down. Knowing where the sale would take place gave Shadow Force time to do some recon and get people in place in case things went south fast.
“Midnight. Come alone.”
“No way. Slater will be with me.”
“Fine. No one else.”
“Deal.” Juan Carlos stuck out his fist for a bump, and I tapped it with mine.
“When can I meet Chavez?”
Juan Carlos looked at Santiago who grinned widely.
“You can’t.” The two men stood, ready to leave.
“What do you mean, I can’t?”
“He doesn’t want to meet you. Especially right now with your connection to her.” Juan Carlos tilted his head in Piper’s direction. “Maybe his next visit. That’s not a problem. Right, amigo?”
Juan Carlos leaned down, his hands on the table and his face inches from mine. I could smell alcohol and cigarettes on his breath, but I held my ground, not looking away.
“Not at all. Maybe I’ll catch him next time.”
Juan Carlos laughed, slapping me on the back, and he and Santiago strolled out of the building without a care in the world. I hadn’t touched my beer, and by the looks of it, Piper hadn’t touched hers either. I threw some cash on the table and stood, taking her hand.
“Let’s get out of here.”
She squeezed my hand. “You don’t have to tell me twice.”