Chapter 7
Piper tried to gather herself. Kian had told her that if she hurt Raider again she’d have to answer to him. She didn’t blame him. What she’d done to Raider was unforgivable. If they all knew the truth, they would never even speak to her. Raider certainly wouldn’t be here helping her now.
She leaned against the sink and tried to push all the pain and sadness and grief back down deep in her soul. What’s done is done. There was no fixing it. She’d had to move on and she’d known she couldn’t do that if she saw Raider every day. The loss hurt her, but she’d never get over the hurt she’d caused him. Had she spared him by not telling him the facts behind her reasons? At the time, she thought she had. Didn’t matter how often she told herself she’d done the right thing, the truth still hurt so damn much. She couldn’t bear to think he’d have been in as much pain as she was. But in the end, aren’t the people you love supposed to help you through this kind of thing? She hadn’t helped Raider, and by not telling the truth, she’d denied him the opportunity to help her.
She dialed her boss. “Chambers,” his voice came down the line.
“It’s me.”
“Where are you?” he demanded.
“At a small motel just outside of Hilo. Are you here on the Big Island?”
“Yes, but we’re around the other side. We’re trying to get set up with the locals but with the volcano, no one has time for us. We don’t have any resources. We’re kind of screwed here. What the hell were you thinking getting on that plane?” His voice was harsh and full of the anxiety that she felt down to her toes.
“I…I was thinking it’s our chance to get the guy in charge, the one who killed Marta. I?—”
“The only thing you’re gonna get is yourself killed,” Chambers cut her off. “We’ve got nothing here. Locals are all caught up in the volcano shit and the ATF office on Oahu is involved in some big bust. They might be able to swing some help but they’re not sure.” John Chambers swore again. “Jesus, Piper, the higher-ups are all over me on this. Even if we get you out of this, I’m not sure you’ll have a job left to come back to.”
That was a punch to the solar plexus. All the air left her lungs. No job…what the hell had she been thinking? What were they supposed to do? She disobeyed a direct order. “I…I get it. I’ll…worry about that later. In the meantime, this is what’s going on.” Piper spent the next few minutes filling her boss in. “Look, I gotta go. I’m not sure if I’ll get a chance to call again but I’ll do my best to reach out.”
“Piper…just be careful.”
She let out a half laugh. Too late for that. She hung up and stared at herself in the mirror for a second. No question she’d really screwed up this time. She came out of the bathroom and sat down at the table facing the door. She needed to keep physical distance from Raider, or she just might throw herself into his arms. It was the only place she’d ever felt truly safe.
Raider closed a drawer and stood facing her. “Nothing here we can use as a weapon.”
“No,” she agreed. “I already looked.”
She held the phone out to Raider. He grabbed it as the room door opened with no warning. Raider immediately palmed the phone. Piper stood and the two turned towards the doorway. Denlo stood there his hand on his gun. “We’ve got to move. They just declared this an evacuation zone. Cops are going to be coming around. We need to be out of here ASAP.”
Raider grabbed the blueprints off the bed and rolled them up. Piper followed him and Denlo out of the room to the van. She got behind the wheel and they pulled out of the lot.
“Where to?”
Denlo was on his cell but whoever he was calling wasn’t answering. “Fuck. I don’t know. We need to be close. Let me think.”
“Are there other motels?” Baker asked.
“Yes, moron but they’re all in the zone. We’d have to go well outside of Hilo to be outside of the zone and now they’re saying the lava might cut off the highway. We need to stay close.”
Piper glanced in the mirror and met Raider’s gaze. The pure clusterfuck factor was getting worse by the minute. She regretted pulling him into this. She should’ve toughed it out on her own. If anything happened to him—It didn’t bear thinking about. She tried to apologize to him with her eyes. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to get the words out later.
Raider broke off the eye contact. “We could go stay in one of the developments that are in the earlier evacuation zones. Those houses are all empty. No one will be looking there. The cops have already swept through. They won’t be going back. Everyone who would leave has already gone. As long as we avoid anyone who stayed we should be fine.”
Denlo glanced back at Raider for a minute but then nodded. “Yeah. That works.” He glanced at his phone screen and started giving directions. Twenty minutes later they were driving through a deserted neighborhood. The houses all looked abandoned. They did pass one that had a dog outside on the front porch but that was the only sign of life.
Denlo directed her to go further up the hill. “Stop,” he said a few minutes later. They were at the mouth of a road. It was narrow but there was a mailbox so she assumed it was a driveway, but she couldn’t see the house. “Turn here.” He indicated the driveway.
She made the right turn and started up. The driveway curved to the right and then the house appeared. It was a ranch-style house, all on one level but it was large. Tropical plants and flowers in neat beds added a riot of colors. The house had large windows and was painted a soft gray with white trim. A two-car attached garage was on the right side of the house.
“Stop here.” Denlo got out and went to the front door. He rang the bell and waited. No one answered. He knocked but again no one answered. He rattled the knob but the big red door was locked. He looked in the side windows. Suddenly, he pulled out his gun and used the butt to break the glass. He made a hole large enough to put his hand through and a second later he opened the door, then disappeared inside.
Piper fought the urge to throw the van in reverse and get the hell out of there. She reached for the gear shift when the garage door suddenly started up. Denlo must have realized his mistake because he was squatting down with the gun pointed directly at her. So much for that plan. She should’ve been faster.
She pulled the van into the garage, and they all piled out as the garage door rolled closed. They trooped into the house through a mud room and into the kitchen. It was weird breaking into someone’s home. Piper sent up a mental note of apology and then walked from the kitchen into the great room area.
A massive pool took up a good amount of space in the backyard, along with a barbeque area. Neat and tidy landscaping was pleasing to look at, and it was clear whoever lived here was house proud. They also had money. White cabinets, light wood floors, and white stone countertops created a designer look in the kitchen. The appliances were stainless steel. There was even a TV on the wall opposite the great room so someone could watch it while making dinner. She walked back in and opened the fridge. Whoever lived here had left in a hurry because the fridge was fully stocked. Her stomach rumbled.
“You”—Denlo said as he came from a hallway across the great room, pointing the gun at Raider—“come with me.” He swung the gun toward Piper. “You too.”
Piper glanced at Raider but did as she was told. Her heart slammed against her ribcage and she shoved her hands in her pockets to hide the tremor. They went down a hallway into a large bedroom. It had to be the primary one for the house. The floor was covered by a cream carpet and the bed had a cream duvet with lots of accent pillows in reds and yellows and blues. A bathroom was off to the left and a set of sliding glass doors led to a deck on the right.
“In here,” Denlo said. He pointed towards the closet.
Piper glanced at him as she went by but he just glared at her. The walk-in closet was huge by closet standards, with clothes all along the perimeter and a large island in the middle with a stone surface that matched the kitchen’s. There were some clothes on it along with a towel. No windows in the walls to provide light, just a skylight above the island. She turned towards Denlo. “What the hell is going on?”
Raider was standing in the closet off to her left.
“Me, Baker, and Wells are going to get the equipment for tonight. You two are going to stay here. I’m locking you in. Don’t do anything stupid.” With that, Denlo closed the door and then there were muffled sounds from outside. She went over and tried the knob. It turned but she couldn’t budge the door.
“It’s not a regular closet.” Raider was leaning against the only bit of exposed wall.
“What do you mean?” Piper put her shoulder to the door and shoved again, but all she got for her effort was a sharp stinging pain.
“I think this is a redo of something else. Maybe it was a garage bay at one point, I don’t know but the floor is concrete, and the door opens out. He’s got us trapped. I assume he moved some kind of furniture or something in front of the door. We’re in here for the duration.”
Piper stifled the scream surging up her throat. The closet might be big by closet standards, but she did not want to be in there with Raider. “Shit. Is there any way out?”
Raider shook his head. He slid down the wall until he was sitting on the floor with his legs stretched out in front of him. He crossed them at the ankles. “Might as well get comfortable. We’ll be here a while. Good time to get some sleep.” He closed his eyes and tilted his head back against the wall.
Piper stared at him. She couldn’t decide if she wanted to strangle him or jump his bones. Heat bloomed in her lady parts answering that question, so she looked up at the skylight. It wasn’t that high. Shoving an old towel aside, she climbed up onto the island and stood up. The skylight was on an angle so she could actually see out. “Holy shit!”
Raider was on his feet in an instant. “What is it?” he asked as he scrambled up beside her.
They both stared out of the skylight at the glowing river of lava. It was flowing down the mountain in the distance. It wasn’t coming towards them but running on a parallel route. “Raider, this is crazy.”
“Yeah,” he agreed. “We should get out of here. The hell with the bank job and catching Snake.”
He turned toward her. She blinked. She wanted to agree but…Marta’s death still haunted her. She bit her lip. This was as close to the Snake as she’d ever come.
“Forget I said that.” Raider jumped down. “But I’m telling you right now, if the lava gets closer, we’re out of here, Snake or no Snake.” He settled back down on the carpet.
Piper stared out the skylight. He was right. This was stupid. She was risking both their lives and there was no guarantee she was going to meet the Snake. She bit back a sigh and started to hop off the island. She slipped on the towel and went sailing off backward. Arms clamped around her and the two of them hit the closet floor, Piper on top of Raider.
“Oof.” Raider made a sound as they landed.
Piper took a second to gather herself. She was plastered down the length of her ex-husband and it felt glorious. She lifted her head. “Are you okay?”
He opened one eye and met her gaze. “You’ve lost weight.”
She rolled her eyes. It was time to get up or she might do something that she’d regret. Or that he’d regret. She pushed against him to get up when he suddenly flipped her over so she was on the bottom and he was on top, nestled between her thighs. She stared up at him, mouth open in surprise.
“Why?” His gaze bored into hers.
She knew what he was asking but it was too much, too hard to answer. “I can’t, Raider. Just let it go.”
He didn’t budge. “You never once told me the truth. Why? It’s not like we had kids or even a dog but I was still your husband and I deserve to know.”
She swallowed convulsively as panic gripped her throat. Could she tell him the truth? She desperately wanted, to share the burden but she knew in her heart of hearts he’d never forgive her. It was better that he hated her for kicking him out than hated her for what she’d done. This way he’d get over it. If she told him the truth, she was afraid he never would. She wouldn’t.
“Raider, please let it go,” she pushed against his chest.
“No. I deserve the truth.” He shifted so he covered her entire body with his. He put an elbow on either side of her head. “I’m not letting you up until you tell me.”
She closed her eyes. This wasn’t the way she wanted to say it. Not here. Not like this. She didn’t want him to find out like this. “Raider, this isn’t the time.”
“Like hell. It’s as good a time as any.”
She knew by the set of his jaw that he wasn’t going to give up but there was no way she could fight him. The weight of him on top of her made her nipples harden. She could tell him but he’d be so angry, so devastated that he’d lose focus and then their lives would be in even more danger. At least that was her excuse. His face so close to hers, there was no choice, no choice at all. She lifted her head and kissed him. Put her lips on his and then opened her mouth.
Raider didn’t hesitate. He kissed her back, his tongue doing a familiar dance with hers. God, she’d missed this. Their connection…the man. Piper wound her hands around his back and arched her hips into his. He lowered her head to the carpet and deepened the kiss. Piper reveled in it. There had been times she’d thought she’d die from missing his touch, his kiss, his everything. Every emotion she’d crammed away surged through her.
She moved her legs out from under his and wrapped them around his legs as she arched higher against him. He ran his hand down her side until he found the edge of her t-shirt then he pulled it up. She gasped when his hand landed on her breast and then pushing her bra aside, he tweaked her nipple. She let out a groan.
Running her hands down over his ass, she pulled him closer as she rubbed against his growing hard-on. She wanted this so badly. Not a night went by when she didn’t dream of it. There hadn’t been any other man in the five years since she’d kicked him out. She just couldn’t bring herself to let another man touch her. She was Raider’s. Always had been his no matter what she’s said or done.
Piper was reaching for his belt when there was a sound at the door. Raider was up on his feet in seconds. She was slower but managed to get up and sorted by the time the door opened. Denlo stared at the two of them. His eyes narrowed but he didn’t say anything. He stepped back, hand still on the damn gun. “We brought food.”
Piper started out of the closet. Great. Food. Too bad that wasn’t what she was starved for.