Chapter Thirty-Nine Dare
N iall squealed into Ava’s driveway on two wheels. The SUV had barely come to a stop when I threw open the door and jumped out onto the pavement. “For fucking sake, Dare, let me do a sweep!” Niall shouted behind me.
Ignoring him, I pounded up the porch steps. I grimaced at the sight of Brody lying in a pool of blood. Whoever had attacked had taken out the security team before entering the house.
After cocking my gun, I kicked in the door, sending it flying back on its hinges. With Niall and Ava on my heels, I started inside. My chest constricted at the metallic smell of blood assaulted my nose.
At the sight of Nick lying crumpled in the foyer, Ava raced forward. Before I could stop her, she dropped to her knees. When she rolled him over, his lifeless eyes stared back up at her.
A scream erupted from her lips. “NICK! Oh God, no!”
The world shuddered to a stop around me.
Where the fuck was Piper?
“Stay with her,” I ordered James.
“PIPER!” I screamed as I started tearing through the house. Niall followed close behind me.
Whirling around, I ordered, “Check the basement!”
“Yes, sir,” Niall replied as he flung open the basement door.
After climbing the stairs, I popped into her bedroom. The covers on her bed were rumpled, but she wasn’t under them. Bending over, I peered under the bed. “Piper, are you under here?”
The only response came in the form of Cheeto hissing at me. As I squinted my eyes, I saw the two kittens cowering behind a stuffed animal.
Rising up off the floor, I threw open the closet door. I called her name again while flicking through the clothes and toys. The ache in my chest began to grow when I raced into her bathroom, which I also found empty.
My breath came in ragged pants as I checked Ava’s bedroom and then the guest bedroom. When I got out into the hallway, I screamed at the top of my lungs. “PIPER!”
Only Ava’s sobs echoed back to me. Racing back downstairs, I threw open the garage door. “Piper, come out. It’s Dad–I mean, Dare.”
Dear lord, don’t let my sins take my daughter from me.
A sob choked off in my throat as I spun haplessly around the empty garage. Just as I was about to go back into the house, a giggle came from the back of Ava’s SUV. My heart shuddered and restarted. “Piper?” I choked out.
Her head popped up from the third row seating as she stared at me through the windshield.
My knees buckled at the sight of her, and I fell to the ground. As I bent over, I began thanking all the saints for keeping my daughter safe.
Piper poked her head out of the window. “Whatcha doin’ on the ground?”
Since I could put weight on my legs again, I rose to my feet. Racing over to the car, I jerked open the door. Piper grinned at me. “Did I win?”
My arms ached to pull her against me, but I was afraid I would squeeze her too tight. “Win what?”
“Nicky said we was playin’ a hidin’ game. He say to stay here and not come out til you or Mommy came to get me.”
Tears stung my eyes at Nick’s final act of protecting Piper. “Yeah, Pipes, you won.”
Her tiny brows furrowed. “Why are you crying?”
I forced a smile to my face. “Because I wanted to win, and you beat me.”
She giggled. “You’re silly.”
“I know.”
“I did so good, Dare. I didn’t even bweathe when the men came lookin’,” she related.
I pressed my forehead against hers. I couldn’t believe how close she had come. “You’re the best damn hider, Pipes. I’m so fucking proud of you.”
She beamed under my praise. “What’s my prize?”
“What do you want?”
Tilting her head, she appeared lost in thought. “I wants a dollhouse like Julesy has.”
“Then you will have it.”
She squealed before diving into my arms. Closing my eyes, I wrapped my arms tightly around her. “You’s sqooshing me.”
“I’m sorry.”
Niall appeared in the doorway. At the sight of Piper in my arms, he nodded before bending at the waist and heaving air in and out of his mouth. When he recovered, he righted himself. “Piper is safe and with Dare,” he spoke into his microphone at his shoulder.
“We need to get them out of here and back to Boston. Preferably Callum’s.”
Nodding, Niall came over to me. “I’ll take her.” When I refused to let Piper out of my arms, he gave me a sad smile. “I don’t think Ava will leave with anyone but you.”
With a resigned sigh, I handed Piper over to Niall. “Where we going?” she asked.
“We’re going on an adventure to Boston.”
“Can I see Julesy?”
“Yes, Niall is going to take you to Julianna's house.”
”What about my kitties?”
“They’ll be okay here.”
She shook her head furiously back and forth. “No, no. They need me.”
“Piper, we–”
“But Mommy says I has to take cares of them.”
Since there was no point in arguing with her right now, I replied, “You’re right.” Jerking my chin at Niall, I said, “Change of plans. You take her to Callum’s. Ava and I need to make a stop at her parents.”
“Gotcha.”
“Secure her in the car, and I’ll bring the cats.”
Piper wrinkled her nose. “But they don’t like you.”
Ignoring her, I headed back inside. After grabbing a can of tuna out of the pantry, I jogged back upstairs. One crack of the can’s lid and I was the hero of the hour. After depositing them into their carrier, I hurried them out to the waiting car.
After hoisting them through the window to Piper, I found myself rooted to my spot. The words were on my tongue that I so desperately needed to say. Considering how close I had come to losing her, I knew it was now or never.
“I love you, Piper.”
She blinked at me in surprise. Although I desperately wanted her to say the words back to me, I didn’t want to force her. I wanted her to say it when she was ready. “Drive on,” I commanded Niall.
He threw the SUV into reverse. As I started back into the garage, the SUV abruptly stopped. When I turned around, Piper’s head poked out of the backseat window. “I loves you, too, Darey!”
My lips broke into a wide smile as my heart raced in my chest. “That’s my girl,” I called back as I waved.
Any elation I felt over Piper’s proclamation was short-lived upon reentering the house and hearing Ava’s grief-stricken sobs hit me the moment I reentered the house. As I made my way over to her, the sound of her cries pricked my chest like knives.
“Love, we have to go,” I said softly.
Kneeling on the floor, she cradled Nick’s torso in her lap. She rocked him back and forth just as I assumed she had Piper when she was a baby.
After kneeling down beside her, I placed a hand on her shoulder. “Ava, we need to go.”
Shaking her head wildly back and forth, Ava argued, “I can’t leave him.”
“We can’t stay here. Whoever did this might be watching the house and come back.”
She tore her gaze from him to stare up at me. “How can I leave him here all alone? You know he hated being by himself.”
I cupped her cheek with my palm. “He won’t be. Some of my men are going to stay here and watch the house. More of my men will be arriving as well. We need to talk to your family about what funeral home to take him to.”
Her brows wrinkled. “But he was murdered. The coroner has to come.”
“No, love.”
“The police?” When I shook my head, she demanded, “Why not?”
“Because that’s not how we handle threats in our world.”
Anger flashed in her eyes. “Nick is more than a response to a threat.”
“I know. He is so much more.” As I gazed down at Nick’s lifeless form, tears once again filled my eyes. “He saved our daughter’s life.”
“He did?”
“He told her to hide and not come out until you or I came.”
Ava ran her hand over Nick’s face. “You were a good and true godfather.”
“Yes, he was.”
When Ava began weeping again, I knew I was going to forcefully take her. Thomas came into the room flanked by three soldiers we’d just recruited. They were so new that I hadn’t learned their names yet.
After rising to my feet, I bent over to sweep Ava into my arms. “No, no, no!” she cried as her fists beat against my chest.
“I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry,” I crooned into her ear.
She continued to fight against me until we got out to the car. I deposited her in the back seat of the SUV that the new recruits had taken. After Thomas took the wheel, I got in with Ava.
Through her cloud of grief, Ava had her first moment of clarity since finding Nick’s body. Her expression turned from anguish to panic. “Wait, where’s Piper?” she demanded.
“Niall is taking her to Callum’s.”
Shaking her head, Ava protested, “No! I need her!”
“She’ll be safe with Niall, and it’s a fucking fortress at Callum’s.”
Ava gripped the front of my shirt. ‘Please, Dare, I want her with me.”
“Love, she doesn’t need to see you like this.”
After glancing down at her blood-stained clothes, Ava shuddered. “Oh God. You’re right.”
When we turned down a familiar street, Ava stared at me in surprise. “We aren’t going to Boston?”
I shook my head. “We’re going to see your parents.”
“Do they know about…?”
“Yes, I sent two of my men over when the call with Nick went south. I’m sorry they had to hear it from them and not us, but I wanted to make sure they were safe.”
“Do you think they’ll know why the man wanted the necklace?”
“If they don’t, they’ll know someone who does.”
“How could it possibly belong to another family when Thea’s boyfriend gave it to her?”
“Is it possible your parents could have taken it and just pretended it came from Thea’s boyfriend?”
Her eyes bulged in horror. “You’re accusing my grieving parents of being thieves?”
“I’m just throwing out possibilities.”
“Fuck you, Dare!”
“I’m sorry. I was just trying to piece together some evidence.”
“There is no way on earth my parents stole that necklace.”
“I’m sure there’s a plausible explanation.”
Ava turned in her seat to stare out the window. I hoped, rather than believed, that her parents were the honest people she thought they were. She was already devastated by Nick’s loss. I couldn’t imagine what it would do to her to find out her parents weren’t what they claimed to be.
When we arrived at her parents, Tobias answered the door. Although we hadn’t called ahead, he didn’t appear surprised to see us. Maybe he thought Ava wanted to be with her family in her time of grief. Or maybe he realized that Nick’s death wasn’t random, and he had answers we desperately needed.
At the sight of Helena, Ava began sobbing again. She rushed forward to fall into her mother’s waiting arms. As they both clung to each other and cried, I walked over to Tobias. “I’m so very sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you. He was a good boy. Our only grandson for twelve years. Sometimes he felt as much my son as Nikolaos and Georgios.”
“He was a good man.” I then related to Tobias how Nick had saved Piper’s life. Tears streaked down his cheeks.
“It’s all my fault,” Ava wailed.
“No, no, sweetheart. It’s not.” Helena placed her hands on Ava’s shoulder and pulled her away. “If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s ours.”
“But it was your anniversary.”
Helena shook her head. “That’s not what I meant.”
Ava swiped her eyes on the back of her fingers. “What do you mean?”
“I think it’s best you sit down,” Tobias said.
Reaching forward, I grabbed Ava’s hand and steeled myself to hear the secret her parents harbored.