No Good Deed: A Small-Town Romantic Suspense Novel

21. The Good Fight

Troy dropped into warrior mode like he had when he’d been on missions in the military. They’d been trained to focus on their senses and the world around them.

Peripherally, he knew where Jim and Carl stood. He heard muted sounds from outside, and smelled the cleaning supplies they’d used the previous day to get the saloon ready for Piper’s presentation.

But he could also feel that Piper was there. The rightness of the mission clicked into place, and he turned predator. Ethan Westerlake didn’t stand a chance if he was still here.

Troy didn’t waste time as he headed silently to the stairs at the back of the kitchen. They’d only dusted and cleaned what people could see, which meant the lower part of the staircase. No one would have cleaned beyond that. Troy leaned around the corner, but couldn’t tell in the dim light if the dust had been disturbed.

He was about to risk a light to see when he heard a creak above his head.

Troy smiled grimly when he heard another creak. The bastard was moving toward the stairs. Towards Troy.

Instead of moving his feet and risking his own movements giving him away, Troy crouched where he stood. The sun had set, and his body would be hidden in the deepening shadows. He would have the element of surprise.

Nothing in Westerlake’s background showed military or martial arts training. He had a gym membership and used it, but Troy figured he was more than a match for the jerk in a physical battle. Plus, he had a whole lot of righteous anger on his side.

The creaks continued intermittently. Either the man was walking slowly because he was aware he wasn’t alone in the building, or he was being cautious. It wouldn’t matter.

There was a slim possibility that the person above could be Piper or an innocent bystander, maybe a squatter or kid exploring. Troy would be sure before he moved.

The next creak was from the stairs themselves. Not all the boards above creaked, probably the same as the stairs.

Troy slowed his breathing further and widened his senses, feeling the movement of the air around him.

No scent of perfume or cologne reached him, but the odor of sweat drifted down the staircase. It wasn’t Piper’s scent, but could still be someone else.

His gut told him it was Westerlake and he trusted it.

The air shifted as the person approached. Troy’s muscles were ready to move, but he wanted visual confirmation of who the person was before he reacted.

The feet were visible first. Dry, fancy winter boots suitable for the city but not for Phail living. Strike one.

Next were trousers that had been pressed to form a crease down the middle. They were dirty and rumpled, but Troy would bet they’d cost more than anything he owned himself. Strike two.

The man didn’t react to Troy’s presence. But he did show caution as he paused on the second bottom step, face still in the shadows, but gun visible in his hand.

The man bent to peek around the corner, and the light from the window was bright enough for Troy to recognize his features.

Strike three, asshole.

Troy rose from his crouch even as he gripped the man’s jacket with one hand and tossed away the gun with the other. He yanked Westerlake down the final steps and threw a punch to his jaw before any of the man’s muscles reacted.

He tried to stumble back, but Troy didn’t let go. Westerlake swung a punch with his right hand but Troy dodged it easily and threw another.

Westerlake grunted, and his hands dropped. Troy slammed him into the wall. “She better be all right, Westerlake, or you’re a dead man.”

“What? Who? Get your hands off me or I’ll call the police.”

Troy laughed. “Damn good idea.”

Jim and Carl raced into the kitchen from the front. He didn’t take any of his attention off Westerlake, didn’t need to, as Jim was already on the phone with Marcus.

Jim and Carl were great guys, but they weren’t soldiers, so Troy didn’t ease up the pressure on Westerlake yet. The man’s eyes widened, and Troy could see the fear.

“You assaulted me. You have no right to touch me. Get your hands off me and let me go.”

Troy ignored his babbling, and in less than a minute, Marcus and Sam entered through the back door.

Troy thrust the man at them and exploded up the stairs, calling Piper’s name. When there was no reaction, he ran harder. He threw open each door he came to. No one. Nothing.

What if he was wrong? What if this was his hideout, but he’s stashed her somewhere else? Maybe he should have followed him to see where he was going.

He threw open the door to the final room and nearly went down with relief. Piper lay in the corner of the room. A broken board at the top of the window let in enough light that he could see her eyes were closed.

Duct tape covered her mouth. When he was close enough, he saw it also bound her ankles and her hands behind her back. Her pulse beating in her neck was the best sensation he’d ever felt.

He hollered as loud as he could. “I need Lia.”

He knelt on the floor beside her head and lowered his voice. “Piper. It’s me, honey. It’s okay. We’ve got him. I’ve got you.”

She didn’t show any reaction, and his panic climbed again.

He used his jackknife to slice her bonds, and then he eased the duct tape from her mouth. She whimpered, and Troy felt tears pricking at his eyes. Any reaction was good news.

“Hey, Piper. It’s Troy. You’re safe. We’ve got him. He’s going to pay for what he’s done to you. You can wake up now, sweetheart.”

She whimpered again and that gorgeous mouth turned down into a pout. Her arms and legs flinched, and Troy guessed the feeling was coming back to limbs bound tightly for too many hours.

He resisted moving her, knowing he had to wait for Lia to check her over. With no immediate danger, moving her was dumb. Instead, he ran his hands over her gently, checking for injuries and hoping his touch would help her body know she was safe. He kept talking, telling her she was safe. “It slipped out the other day, but I want to tell you I love you when you’re awake and aware, so please wake up, Piper. Come back to me.”

* * *

Piper knew she’d been floating in and out of consciousness for a while. She had snippets of memory.

Ethan.

A gun.

Duct tape.

Fear. So much fear.

Did she remember Troy as well, or was that simply wishful thinking?

He’d said he loved her.

It was lovely, even if it was a dream.

If she opened her eyes, would she see Ethan with that gun in her face? Her body ached, but she didn’t think he’d shot her. Not yet.

He’d gone for the USB. For Troy.

Her eyes flew open, but the bright light had her closing them again. Was it morning?

“Piper. You’re safe, Piper. Open your eyes, honey.”

Troy. That was Troy’s voice. Unless she was hallucinating. She opened her eyes again and was rewarded with his face above her, concern evident in his gaze. “Troy.”

Tears filled his eyes, but he closed them briefly before opening them to smile at her. “There you are, Piper. You had me scared to death.”

She blinked up at him and all her questions faded away. “I didn’t tell you I love you.”

He laughed and leaned down to kiss her lightly. “Best news ever. I love you too, sweetheart.”

Her head was fuzzy. “You told me. I think. Did you tell me?”

He picked up her hand and kissed the knuckles. “I did. I wasn’t sure if you heard me. You were mostly unconscious.”

And that brought all the memories into focus. “Where are we?”

Lia Morena moved into Piper’s line of sight. “Hi, Piper. Nice to have you back with us. If you remember, I’m the local doctor. You’re in one of my treatment rooms at Doc’s, right beside the saloon. Can you tell me how you feel?”

She smiled at Troy. “I’m happy. He loves me.”

Lia and Troy both laughed at that. Lia responded. “I got that part, and I’m happy for you both. Not that everyone didn’t suspect that with all the hearts circling above your heads over the last few weeks. But I’m talking about your body. You have a bump on your head. Did he hit you anywhere else? Were you injected with anything?”

Troy’s hand tightened on hers at the questions, and she focused on that to keep the memories from overwhelming her. “It’s all a little fuzzy. There was a pinch on my neck, and then I hit my head. Or something hit me. I’m not sure.”

Lia immediately moved to examine her neck, and she scowled. “Definitely an injection site. All right, I need to ask you a series of questions to see if we can figure out what he gave you. Probably a sedative to knock you out, but let’s be sure.”

When Lia had taken blood samples and ruled out anything immediately toxic, she went back to her physical injuries. “Where else did he touch you?”

Troy’s hand tightened again. Probably thinking of sexual assault. She hadn’t even considered that until now. But she was fully dressed and felt mostly normal. “He kicked me in the ribs a few times and slapped me. He used the butt of the gun on my head, too. I don’t think he touched me when I was unconscious. I would feel that wouldn’t I?”

She hated that her voice shook so badly, but she had to know. Lia’s manner didn’t change, and she squeezed Piper’s free hand. “There’s absolutely no indication that he sexually assaulted you. Sexual assault is violent and there are no signs of that anywhere on your clothes or your body, except for the rip in the shoulder of your blouse. Do you remember how that happened?”

Relief flowed through her. It was bad enough that Ethan had hurt her and tied her up. She didn’t want to have to deal with anything more. “Yes, he yanked me up by the shirt and it ripped. Then he thew me to the ground and I hit my head again.”

Lia patted her gently. “I’m sorry you went through all that. He’s in custody now, and you’re safe.”

“Ethan’s in custody? You caught him at your house?” She looked at Troy. “He was going for the USB. I’m so sorry. I told him where it was. I thought you’d be out looking for me and with your security system, he would get caught breaking in. Did he hurt you? Did he hurt anyone? Oreo? Where’s Oreo?”

Her body was shaking and Troy took both her hands. “Easy, Piper, easy. It’s all good. Oreo’s fine and hanging out with Lia’s dog. Ethan’s in custody with Marcus. He didn’t hurt anyone else.”

Oh no. “He did hurt someone. Who did he hurt?”

Troy’s face softened and he kissed her forehead, her cheeks, then her lips. “You, Piper. He hurt you. But he’s locked away, and he won’t hurt anyone else.”

She hoped her head would clear up soon. She looked at Lia. “When can I go home?”

“From everything I’ve seen and heard, I think you have a mild concussion along with the remaining sedative in your system. You’ll need to rest a lot over the next few days. No quick movements or screen time. I’d like to get an X-ray to make sure he didn’t do any damage we can’t see. Once I have a look at that, we’ll know more. It won’t be long. I’ll bring the portable X-ray machine in here.”

She closed the door quietly behind her, and Piper blew out a breath, then looked at Troy. “So much is whirling in my head. Thank you for finding me.”

“I’ll always find you, Piper.”

Her heart melted completely at his serious words. “I love you. It’s not from the fear or the concussion. It’s because you’re an amazing man.”

He leaned over and brushed his hand over her hair. “I love you right back, Piper. And it’s not because of the fear either. You’re incredible and you’re going to find I’m not easy to get rid of.”

She managed a smile. “Good.”