Chapter 23 Piper
TWENTY-THREE
Piper
The Silver Ridge PD contraband drop box was behind the station. I’d driven by it a thousand times at least.
And never had I imagined I’d be dropping off something here myself.
If Teller could see me now… Ugh, that wouldn’t be pleasant.
The sun was sinking as I pulled a baseball cap low over my eyes and got out of my car. Then grabbed a paper bag from my trunk. There were always cars in the station parking lot, but it wasn’t a shift change. Nobody was out and about.
There were still cameras, and at least one would be trained on the drop box. But according to official department policy, contraband could be left here anonymously, no questions asked.
And if Chief Nichols recognized me in the security footage and decided to ask questions, well, my memory would conveniently come up blank.
It was also possible Nichols would report all of today’s events to my brother. The two of them were still pretty close. But I would have to worry about that later.
Somehow, Danny was responsible. This was indirectly my fault. So I was going to fix it.
Moving at a steady walk, I headed straight for the drop box. Once I reached it, I lifted the lid and tossed the bag inside. The lid slipped from my fingers and clattered as it fell, making me jump.
Gah, I was wound up tight. My pulse wouldn’t slow down, and my breaths were shallow enough to leave me light-headed. Pivoting on my sneaker, I tried not to run as I made my way back to my car.
A relieved groan left my throat as I collapsed into the driver’s seat, shutting the door behind me. Thank goodness that was over.
I drove off. After taking a couple of turns, I pulled behind Grayden’s Dodge, which he’d parked several blocks away from the police station.
When I slid into the passenger seat of his truck, the cabin was toasty warm. His fingers were drumming a nervous rhythm on the dashboard.
“All set?” he asked.
“Yeah. It’s done.”
“Did anyone see you?”
“No? I don’t think so. Except the cameras.”
He groaned. “Cameras?”
“I knew about the cameras. It’s not a big deal.”
I explained about the department policy and my backup plan to deny, deny.
Grayden rubbed his eyes. “This is so fucked, Piper. All of it. Drugs showing up in my place, and then you having to get rid of them for me. If Ashford and Teller knew…”
“They’re not going to know.”
“Unless Teller’s friends in the department decide to inform him. For all I know, Officer Bronski is Teller’s new bestie and already texted him the gory details.”
I scoffed, though just minutes ago I’d been worried about Teller getting an earful from Chief Nichols.
Guess what your little sister has been up to?
“Hardly,” I said. “Bronski is a newer hire. The department’s had a lot of turnover. Teller barely knows him. But that’s beside the point. If any of our family hears about this, we’ll tell them the truth. That you didn’t do anything.”
“Why would they believe that? From the outside, it looks like I’m backsliding into illegal shit and taking you with me.”
Just tell them the whole truth, all the way from the beginning, I wanted to shout. Because there was still so much Grayden hadn’t shared with his siblings. There was plenty he hadn’t even shared with me.
But I understood what he was feeling. From Grayden’s perspective, the truth wasn’t always enough to fix everything. And that really sucked.
“Then we’ll just be Bonnie and Clyde,” I said. “Partners in crime.”
He snorted. “I shouldn’t be laughing. This is a mess.”
“But it’s our mess. Let’s get some dinner. Turns out a life of crime makes a girl hungry.”
He side-eyed me. “It might be better if you’re not seen with me.”
“So dramatic. Come on, let’s go to Main Street. I’ll get my car later. I’ve had a completely shitty day, and I want comfort food before it’s time to pick up Ollie. I think you owe me. I risked arrest for you.”
Shaking his head, Grayden put his truck in gear. “Alright, Bonnie. Comfort food, it is.”
As Grayden drove us toward Main Street, I checked my phone, just in case Ollie had texted again. All I’d heard so far was, Getting burgers and shakes!
Didn’t take much to make a nine-year-old happy. I was glad Ollie was having fun with his dad, though I was more on edge than ever.
“Has Ollie written?” Grayden asked.
“Yeah. He’s fine.” After confirming the GPS location of Ollie’s phone—a diner on Main—I tucked my phone away. “I’m meeting Danny at the park for the hand-off at seven.”
“Then we have a couple hours. Where would you like to eat?”
I considered the usual options, but only one place had the high level of comfort I craved right now.
“Let’s go to Silver Linings.”
“Thought it was already closed for the day.”
“Exactly.”
There was plenty of street parking available when we reached my coffee shop. My employees had closed up an hour ago, so I unlocked the back door, switching on more lights as I went inside and made a beeline for the kitchen.
The heat was turned down low, but the chill would be gone in no time once we had the fireplace going. I hung my coat on a wall hook.
Grayden followed more slowly, hesitating on the big winter mat designed to catch the worst of my employees’ muddy snow boots.
“Flip the lock?” I said over my shoulder.
“Got it.”
I was already heading for the fridge. “I don’t think you’ve tried my panini yet. What do you like? Ham? Turkey? Goat cheese?”
When I glanced back, he’d taken off his black canvas jacket. He pushed up his long sleeves, revealing his tattoos.
“I’m not picky. I trust you.”
A brief thrill lit up my chest. I remembered saying the same thing to him weeks ago when he first rented my mom’s house.
But a twinge of guilt followed. Because today, for one split second, I hadn’t trusted him. I’d seen that block of white powder wrapped in plastic, and I’d wondered if he could be lying to me.
“I’ll make you my specialty then.” I piled sandwich fixings on the stainless steel work table.
“Can I help?”
“Actually, if you get a fire going in the fireplace, that would be amazing. Instructions are right in that drawer.” I pointed. “Everything else is on the hearth. It’s easy, I promise. If Rina can handle it, anyone can.”
“I’ll be careful.”
He’d said that all husky, sending tingles racing over my skin.
I believed Grayden. He wouldn’t be involved with anything illegal. I refused to be one of the people who made assumptions about him simply because of his prison record.
We’d been through all this before. And yet, he kept on proving himself.
The split-second of distrust I’d felt was less to do with Grayden and everything to do with Danny. My ex had taught me how risky it was to give my trust away to the wrong man. To give my heart away.
But I wasn’t giving my heart to Grayden. No matter how much I felt drawn to him. So…I had nothing to worry about anyway.
After stuffing our house-made sourdough with all the goodies, I placed each sandwich on the panini press. “Drink?” I asked. “Espresso?”
Grayden was kneeling by the fireplace in the dining room, all his intense focus on his task. “Give me something different tonight. Whatever you’re having.”
After thinking a moment, I decided on flat whites. Something different, but not too different, and not too sweet.
Grayden approached the counter just as I was setting out the drinks. He brushed off his hands. “Smells great already. Fire’s going.”
“Thanks. Sandwiches are almost up. I’ll pour some glasses of water too.”
Once the cheese was good and melty, I piled everything onto a tray and carried it to the loveseat near the fire. Flames licked at the split logs beyond the grate, sending out light and warmth.
Ugh, I’d needed this.
The loveseat was the coziest spot in the entire coffee shop. Out of sight of the front windows and the door.
The tray fit perfectly on a little side table made from a tree ring. I took off my shoes and curled up on one side of the small couch, pulling my plate onto my lap.
“So this is what you meant by comfort food?” Grayden asked. “No shoes required?”
“Hush and sit down. Just wait until you taste this sandwich. I’ll have you know it won a blue ribbon at the last Hart County Fair.”
“Well, with a recommendation like that…”
Grayden sat heavily on the cushion beside me, shifting as he settled in. His thigh brushed the tips of my socked feet. I tucked my toes under his leg, and a tiny smile graced his lips as he grabbed his plate.
Then he took a big bite of the melty, cheesy panini, the crusty bread crunching in his teeth. And he groaned. “Damn, blue ribbon all the way. Fucking hell, Piper. How did I not know about this heavenly sandwich?”
“You could’ve ordered one before. It’s right there on the menu. Ask and you shall receive.”
The sideways look he gave me made those tingles start up again.
I took another bite of my panini, slowly chewing. The coffee shop had all its familiar scents, like ground coffee and hints of butter and cinnamon mingling with wood smoke.
Most of the main lights were off, which made the place feel smaller and more intimate than during the day. And outside, the sun was setting, which added to the pink and orange tint of the light coming from the fire.
Somehow, all of that just made Grayden stand out more. His strong silhouette, the cut of his profile. The dusky lines of the black rose tattoos on his neck. He looked like the coziest thing of all, and also by far the most exciting.
My heart sped up, forgetting a beat or two along the way.
When he’d almost finished his meal, Grayden asked, “Are you going to say something to Danny about the police showing up to my place? Might be better if you don’t.”
I set my plate on the tree-ring table. “I won’t in front of Ollie. But I have to. I have to do something. If Danny has anything to do with drugs, I can’t let him take Ollie for days at a time. Earlier today, he wanted to take Ollie for the entire weekend. No advance notice.”
“But you’re not letting him?”
“No way. Ollie already has a trip to Denver planned with Callum for the three-day weekend. But in the future…” I picked up my coffee, though I didn’t feel like drinking it anymore. My stomach was too jumpy. “Maybe I should call my lawyer. See what we can do.”
But those billable hours were expensive, and Grayden’s rent payments had just barely put my finances above water.
“I’m making things harder for you,” Grayden said gruffly.
“What?” My toes wiggled under his thigh. “What would have happened if you hadn’t shown up the day Danny broke in and put his hand on my throat?”
“Piper, I would step in and defend you or Ollie, anytime, anyplace. But Danny can use my history against you. What’ll happen when you speak to your lawyer and you tell her about how Danny has a grudge against your tenant?
And how your tenant has a record. If you have to go in front of a judge, how will it look for you to have me as a friend? ”
I hated what Grayden was saying. Yet it did make a twisted sort of sense.
How was it possible that Danny seemed so smooth on the surface, given his clean-cut looks and his Lexus and his professional career, when he had a rotten core underneath?
While Grayden, the truly good man, had a stain that would follow him for the rest of his life.