Piper
It had been many years since I’d shared a room with someone—and never had it been willingly. Even in college, I’d been able to get my own dorm room, rather than having a roommate. There had been the years of living in group homes and the couple of foster homes that hadn’t worked out in my favor.
So, naturally, there was a feeling of fear and of excitement as I moved things around and created space for Jolie Phillips to move in the next day. The tiny woman seemed to have a very big personality, and I smiled to myself at what it was going to be like to share my space with someone with such spunk.
A knock sounded at the door, and I called over my shoulder, “Come in.”
Turning around, I watched as Cade entered, taking a seat on my bed. “Hey.”
“Hey.” I returned my attention back to clearing out a couple of drawers in the dresser for Jolie.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, fine. Sore. But, you know, hanging in there.”
“Good.”
“Yeah.”
Okay, this was not us. We were generally not awkward and shy around each other, so what had changed? Oh, right. Everything.
“Look, I—”
“Cade, can we—”
We both started talking at the same time and then relaxed into laughter.
“Why are we being so weird?” I dropped the clothes into the drawer and faced him.
Cade had moved from the bed, walking towards me, his attention laser-focused on my face.
Without another word, he cupped my face in his hands and lightly brushed a kiss over my lips. Once, twice, three times before he stepped back. “Let’s start over. Hi.”
I grinned, my cheeks warming as butterflies flittered in my stomach. “Hi.”
Glancing down at my pajamas, I motioned to them, shrugging. “Sorry; I wanted to be comfortable.” There was nothing sexy about the royal-blue, rubber-ducky flannel pants and yellow cami I sported, but Cade’s eyes roved over my body as if I was standing there in black lace.
“You look great to me.”
I snorted, an unladylike habit I’d picked up years ago working around men full of BS. He was lying of course. I had zero makeup on, my hair was pulled up in a messy bun, and the flannel pants were three sizes too big.
“Thanks.” It hit me that he’d just returned from meeting with the buyer for tomorrow’s exchange with Chavez. “How’d the meeting go?”
Cade shrugged and sat back down on the bed, pulling me by the hand to sit next to him.
“Fine, I guess. A little odd.”
“Why odd? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing you need to be worried about.”
“Last time I checked, I was a part of this team too.” I tried to stand up, but Cade pulled me back down by the hand he’d yet to let go of.
“You are. Rubio just made some comments about El Sangre’s demise. Makes me wonder if he knows more than he’s letting on.”
“Should we go forward with the buy?”
“Yes. Cruz and Oscar will be out of sight, and Levi will be with me. Ryder will stay in the van as our communication coordinator. We’ll be fine.”
“And where will I be?”
“Here, of course.” My temper rose, and I saw the minute Cade recognized it. “You’re hurt, Piper. And Chavez’s men are already suspicious of you. Having you there could jeopardize the operation.”
It hurt that he was right, but I was not going to be left behind while they all risked their necks. “I understand. But there is no reason I can’t help Ryder from the van.”
Cade was quiet for a few moments, and I thought he was going to argue. Finally he nodded, pulling my hands up to his lips and placing two kisses on my knuckles. “Okay. I’ll talk to Levi, but I can’t see any reason that you couldn’t stay in the van with Ryder. He could use the help.”
“Thank you. I can’t stand the thought of staying here while you guys are out there. It will help me to know what’s going on.”
“I get it.” Cade rose, pulling me with him and wrapping me in his arms tight around me. “Do you need anything else before I turn in?”
I didn’t want to ask him. It showed weakness and dependency on another person that I wasn’t comfortable with. Not to mention, I was the one continuously putting those boundaries up between us, but Cade kept crashing through them, and after last night, I wasn’t sure I was able to be alone.
“Would you mind—” I swallowed, my mouth suddenly dry. “I mean, if it’s not too much trouble, do you think you could—”
“Do you want me to stay?” I was embarrassed at how relieved I was that he’d figured it out without me having to ask. But it wasn’t fair to him. I needed to speak up about my needs and desires.
“Yes. Cade, would you mind staying with me tonight? I’m not sure I can be alone.”
A sad smile crossed his lips as he bent down to press his lips to mine. It was a sweet kiss, the kind that lingered for just a moment before he started to pull away. I was tired of Cade being the one to set the pace for us, so I gave in to the feelings coursing through my body and wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him back down.
My lips crushed against his, fueled by frustration and desire. Cade got on board real quick, tracing the seam of my mouth with his tongue. I opened, allowing him entrance to explore, his tongue sliding against mine in a sensual dance. A moan rose up between us, and I wasn’t sure if it was from him or from me. And I didn’t care.
Pressing closer, my hands went to his hair, running through the silky-soft strands then sliding to the bristles along his jaw. Cade’s hands slid down my back, under my cami, tracing little circles against that sensitive spot right above my butt. My skin was too tight. Too warm.
“Cade—” I begged, not sure what I was asking for but knowing that he was the only one who could give it to me.
His husky chuckle just fueled my longing. “What do you need?”
I shook my head. Why was he asking me that? “I don’t know.”
“What do you want?”
I couldn’t tell him that either.
Sighing, Cade took a step back, and I felt the loss of his warmth immediately. “I—” I didn’t know what to say. I wanted Cade. All of him. And yet, something held me back. Something I couldn’t articulate or explain to him.
“I’m sorry.”
Cade hung his head, stepping to the door. “I know. It’s fine.”
“It’s not fine. I’m just—I can’t seem to—”
He lifted one finger, stopping the nonsense pouring from my mouth.
“It’s okay.” Then he took two steps towards me, his body pressing against mine. “When you’re ready, there will be no turning back. No regrets. Just you and me. Always.” His head dipped down, and he placed a kiss against my lips, my eyes closing as I savored the feeling.
When I opened my eyes, he was gone.
I went about my regular routine, brushing my teeth and my hair. Then I slid under the covers, waiting and hoping that Cade would return. I wouldn’t beg him or ask him again. If he was uncomfortable with where I was emotionally and couldn’t stay with me, I understood that. Even if I was disappointed.
My eyes grew heavy, sleep pressing in with every second I relaxed against the sheets. The door to my room opened, and Cade entered, moving to the other side of the bed. He slid under the covers, his arm circling my waist and pulling me back against him. He placed a chaste kiss on the top of my head and sighed heavily.
“Night, Piper.” His voice was a whisper in the darkness.
“Night.”
***
I woke up to an empty bed at an hour much later than I was used to. Apparently, sleeping next to Cade was good for me. I hurried through showering and dressing so that I could join the team in preparing for that night’s buy.
When I entered the computer room, Ryder was typing away.
“Hey, Piper.” Ryder spoke without turning around or even pausing in what he was doing. Pretty incredible to watch.
“How’d you know it was me?”
“You smell good.”
“Oh.” I was grateful his attention was focused on his computers so he didn’t see the blush that was creeping up my neck and cheeks. “Where is everyone?”
“At the warehouse scoping out the area. Oscar took some ‘surprises’ just in case they run into any trouble tonight.”
“Cade told me about the bomb in the cigar box he delivered to El Sangre. Very creative.”
“Oscar is a master. A creative genius. And a little bit crazy.”
“So I’ve seen.” I dropped my head, unsure of how to bring up the subject of riding along with him that evening. “Not sure if Cade told you or not—”
“That you’ll be working with me tonight?” He glanced at me over his shoulder, a grin tugging at one side of his mouth. “Sure did. How are you on a computer?”
“I’m no slouch, but I’m nowhere near as good as you are.”
“Very few people are.” He waggled his eyebrows and motioned for me to sit in the chair next to him. “I’ll show you how our communication devices work. We’ll only have one channel to monitor tonight, so that will be a breeze, but it will be nice to have an extra set of eyes on the cameras.”
I sat down next to him as he pointed to one of the monitors. “See, the guys already attached these tiny cameras around the area at the meet point for tonight.” There were several monitors covering the walls, and now that I knew what I was looking at, I could tell that each screen, except the one in front of him, held pictures of the Shadow Force team and the surrounding area at the warehouse.
“That’s pretty cool.”
“It is, but Cade and I both have a bad feeling all of this work will be for nothing.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, Chavez is antsy. That usually means a change of venue right before the meet happens, giving us zero time to get anything in place.”
“So, why set this place up if it’s just going to change?”
“We don’t know for sure that it will. So, in the off chance this is where it will take place, we’ll have things ready to go. And if it doesn’t, we have a backup plan.”
“What’s that?”
Ryder jumped out of his chair and over to a cabinet. He took keys out of his pocket and unlocked it, then pulled out a drone.
“This!” He looked every bit a ten-year-old boy with a new toy.
“A drone?”
“Yep. We have two of them. Ever flown one before?”
“No.”
“Then you’re in for a treat. Let’s go.”
“Where are we going?”
“To practice.”
I followed Ryder into the gym and back to the cage. We stepped inside the cage, and he placed both drones on the mat.
“We’ll start here. The high ceilings will make it easy to practice without chancing losing or crashing one of these bad boys. They’re worth thousands of dollars. No pressure. “
“Wait—what do you mean, no pressure. I’m not flying that thing tonight, am I?”
“Most likely no. But I can only operate one at a time. We’ll only use yours if we need extra surveillance. I’ll do the hard stuff like following Chavez or anyone else that we might need to track.”
Ryder went over the controls with me, and after several minutes of near crashes, I finally got the hang of it. Since I wouldn’t need to follow anyone, but instead scan the area as another set of eyes on the ground, I felt pretty confident I’d be able to handle myself.
Ryder left me, to go do whatever it was that he did, while I stayed to practice on my own. After a couple of hours of flying the drone, I dropped it off with Ryder and decided to get some exercise in. I changed into workout clothes and hit the gym. I had to be careful of my ribs, so I steered clear of the punching bags and opted for the treadmill.
I started at a slow pace, giving my body time to warm up. My ribs were still pretty sore, but the bindings helped tremendously to keep the pain at bay. As I pushed myself a little faster, my mind whirled with all the events from the past few days. Tied up twice. Betrayal from my foster father all those years ago. Cade entering my life again. His feelings for me and mine for him. It was a bit much to process.
I knew one thing for sure—I needed to come to peace with Jake’s death before I could fully commit myself to Cade and the love that I knew was still there even after all the years apart.
Jake’s memory hung over my life like a dark cloud. Instead of dwelling on the good times we’d had, the joy we’d brought each other, all I could dwell on was his untimely death and how he’d died in my arms. How Julio Varga had killed him and needed to pay.
I wanted closure, but that closure would never come until Varga faced me and told me why he’d killed Jake and then paid dearly for what he’d done.
When my ribs cried out for relief, I cooled down and hit the shower, taking care to unwrap the bindings so I could rewrap them when I was finished. Cade had texted that the team would be meeting to go over the final plans for that night, so I rushed through my routine and met them in the conference room.
The rest of the evening passed with the hustle and bustle of activity. The meeting was brief, with Oscar being the most animated as he explained all of his little “gifts” he had planned—some for the warehouse location only, and then a drone option in case things were moved. It seemed Ryder wasn’t the only one who liked his toys. Oscar seemed way more excited than any person should be about blowing things up, but it made for a fun show.
Dinner, takeout from a local restaurant, was quiet, everyone lost in their own thoughts. The danger that was before us was clear and palpable. At ten-thirty, we met in the back lot where the garage was that housed the gear and weapons we’d need for the evening. Everyone was suited with Kevlar, even Ryder and me.
Cade helped me with the vest, gently pulling on the straps around my ribs.
“Too tight?”
I shook my head. It would be uncomfortable to sit in, especially with the bruised ribs, but better than a stray shot piercing the van and my vital organs.
“The DEA has been contacted?” I knew that Levi had said they were in place, but the thought of that quantity of heroin and AKs being out on the street made me extremely nervous.
“Relax. We’re doing everything in our power to mitigate the chances of Rubio getting away with the merchandise. I trust Kennedy with my life. He’ll do his part to ensure this stuff never reaches the streets.”
“I know. I just worry. What if… you know?”
Cade pulled me close, wrapping his arms around me and placing a soft kiss on my forehead.
“I know.” His whispered words against my temple rustled the baby hairs around my face.
“Are you sure you want to go?”
“I’m fine. I promise. I’ll go stir-crazy here. At least I can be some help to Ryder.”
“Don’t get out of that van. Do you understand? Not for any reason. If anything goes south, you and Ryder get the hell out of there.”
“Don’t talk like that. Nothing is going to go wrong.”
“I know. But just in case.”
I caught his hand that brushed a lock of hair from my face. “You promise me you’ll come back to me. Got it?”
“I promise.”
He leaned down, his mouth crushing down on mine with possessive force. He tasted of need and fear, and it was that fear that had me pulling away quicker than I wanted to.
“Don’t do that! This isn’t goodbye. Don’t you dare kiss me as if it’s the last time!”
Cade smirked, his eyes crinkling at the corners and only causing him to look even more devastatingly handsome.
“Yes, ma’am.”
I swatted his arm as he turned me around and lifted me into the van.
“See ya later.” His grin had turned cocky, as if he knew the secrets of my heart and was patient enough to wait on them to reveal themselves. I couldn’t help but smile back.
The trilling of a phone broke the moment as Cade turned to take it out of his pocket and answer the call.
“Montgomery… yeah.” Cade pushed his hands through his hair, releasing the tendrils from their bind at the nape of his neck. He sighed heavily, and I stepped out of the van, circling him so I could see his face. He shook his head. “No. Geez, Juan Carlos. Fine. We’ll be there.”
He ended the call, and his eyes full of fury met mine.
“Change of plans.”