21. A Non-Reaction IS a Reaction
I SLAM THROUGH the door of the laundry room, blood boiling. I didn’t see the full interaction between Piper and Rick, but I saw enough to know what happened. And I’m ready to make him pay for thinking he had the right to put his hands on her.
But before I can even get close to him, Piper’s shoving my chest, pushing me back toward the hall. “Come on. We need to go.”
“You need to go.” I grab her around the waist and pull her body behind mine. “I need to make sure this piece of shit understands what happens when he fucks with what’s mine.”
“Ugh. Are you serious?” She grips the back of my shirt, yanking hard. “You can beat your chest another time, Caveman. We have boysenberry pie to bake.”
“Boysenberry pie can wait two minutes.” I twist free of her hold and stalk to where Rick is bent at the waist, both hands scrubbing at the eyes Piper unleashed an aerosol can of some sort of laundry shit into. I know he thinks he’s suffering now, but he has no idea. Grabbing the over-gelled hair on his head, I straighten him until his bloodshot eyes meet mine. Every inch of me wants to kill him. Send him straight to the hell Piper claimed was coming for him.
But I’m not willing to risk everything that’s finally within my reach for this prick, so he’s gonna get off with a few missing teeth.
I slam my fist into his face. The shift of flesh and bone under my knuckles is almost as satisfying as the scream of pain he lets out. It’s worth every bit of the bruising that will color my hand tomorrow and I smile as I let his hair go and watch him crumple to the floor.
“Are you done?” Piper’s tone is clipped. She waits until I face her and then thumbs over one shoulder. “Because we need to get the hell out of here.”
“Almost.” I sling one hard kick right at his ribs because one punch no longer feels like enough. The groan of pain is gratifying, and knowing he’ll carry the pain I gave him for days allows me to think of something besides violence. “Now I’m done.”
Piper rolls her eyes like I’m being fucking ridiculous. Like a man didn’t just try to force himself on her.
I move in close to her, looking over her face and arms. “Are you okay?”
Her brows pinch together like my question confuses her. “She motions to the door. “Just ready to get this freaking show on the road.” Piper bats at my hands as I run them over her skin, searching for a reason to give Rick another kick to the ribs. “Seriously. I’m fine.”
I go still. My earlier concerns about her non-reaction to what just happened flare back to life. “That piece of shit was going to rape you, Piper. How in the fuck can you be fine?”
She lets out a frustrated sounding groan as her head tips back, eyes pointing at the ceiling. “He’s not the first guy to try to push himself on me, Tate.” Her head drops and her gaze levels on mine. “Not by a long shot.”
There’s shouting out in the hall and Piper swings away from me. “We really need to get fucking moving or we’re going to miss our chance.” Without looking back, she storms through the door and into the crowd racing down the hall, leaving me staring after her.
I start to chase her out, but turn back and give Rick another kick, because he”s a piece of shit. And because I can”t kick all the other men who put Piper in that same situation so many times it doesn”t even phase her now.
The door swings back open and she ducks her head in, catching me in the act. “Are you fucking kidding me?” Piper rushes at me, grabbing my arm and hauling me out with her.
There”s a surprising amount of people hurrying down the halls. Usually fire alarms in hotels are pretty much ignored. Evacuating a building of this size is a huge undertaking and nine times out of ten they”re nothing.
Just like this one.
But maybe since it wasn”t one of the staff who pulled the alarm, they”re taking it a little more seriously. I see people from the front desk herding the IGL hopefuls out of the auditorium and conference room and toward the front entrance as Piper drags me in the opposite direction. She”s moving fast, not like she”s simply trying to get away from Rick, but with a specific mission in mind.
I am pretty sure I know what it is, and it couldn”t come at a better fucking time.
We hit the side door full force, racing out into the morning sunlight to find groups of patrons loitering around the side lot. One group in particular catches my eye.
I push Piper in their general direction as I dig the keys to the Jeep from my pocket. “Go make sure they”re okay. I”ll bring the car around.” I don”t wait for an answer because I know she”s got it handled. Better than I ever could.
Taking off at a full run, I race to the other side of the hotel where I”m parked. By the time I reach my door, I’m panting hard from pushing my body as fast as it would go. I don”t want to spend another fucking second here. I won”t survive it.
A few of them probably won”t either.
Starting the engine, I crank up the air as I back out, driving as fast as I dare around the back, grateful for the tint of my windows as I pass a group of Rick’s friends as they search the lot like they”re missing someone.
He’ll get to them eventually. And when he does, Piper and I need to be long gone. Rick”s a perfect example of how groups like this become what they are. I can only hope someday someone who has less to lose than I do gives him what he deserves.
I pull to a stop next to where Piper stands with a group of seven women and girls, flinging open my door before moving to the one behind it. I get it open and go to the back, lifting the hatch so we can pile everyone in as fast as possible. I don”t have quite enough seats, so the mother and her two daughters take the bench seat while the other four sit on the floorboards of the back end. As soon as everyone’s loaded inside, I close the hatch, the side door and get back behind the wheel, ready to put all of this behind me.
In every way possible.
Piper”s cheeks are pink and her eyes are bright as she swivels in her seat, talking to the little girls who are eerily silent. Their non-reaction to what just happened drags me right back to Piper’s, and I reach for her, needing to get my hands against her skin. Gripping her fingers with mine, I lift her palm to my mouth, pressing my lips to the palm.
Her eyes leave the little girls and come to mine, resting on my face. “Are you okay?”
I shake my head. It”s the best I can manage. I”m so far from okay, part of me worries I won”t get back there again without Piper beside me. With her here I know I’ll do whatever it takes to be better than normal. To finally dig my way out of the hole I was almost buried in.
Without her I’d probably fall deeper.
I glance over, wanting to get my eyes on her. Instead of making me feel better, seeing what she’s still wearing has me frowning. “We left your clothes.”
Piper shakes her head. “No we didn”t. We left the clothes Myra picked out for me at the Goodwill.” She shrugs. “There”s nothing I need in that hotel.” She flips open the glove box and fishes out her wallet, lifting it up. “This is the only thing I brought that really belongs to me.” She pats the side pocket of her skirt. “And my phone, I guess.”
“Are you sure?” I inhale slowly before making an offer I’m not thrilled to make. “I”ll go back if you want me to.” I don”t want to, but if there”s anything in her luggage she wants, I’ll figure out how to get my hands on it.
But Piper”s nose wrinkles. “I packed fully expecting to abandon everything we had, so it can all fucking rot there as far as I”m concerned.” Her eyes widen, like she just realized what she said. A tight smile curls her lips as she peeks into the seat behind us. “Sorry.”
It’s such a Piper thing to cuss in front of little kids that I relax a little. It”s done. I don”t have to watch her hide who she is and pretend to be someone else to make self-centered men think she”s worthy of being mine.
Piper looks out the windshield as I get on the interstate. “What now?”
“Now we go get everyone else and drive to Canada.”
Piper glances in the back. “I think we should keep the trio with us. We have the most room.”
“Whatever you want, Sugar.” I rest our joined hands on the console between us. Letting my thumb drag over her skin, I brace myself. “What you said in the laundry room about Rick not being the first…”
Piper barely shakes her head, eyes moving pointedly to the mother and kids behind us. “We can talk about that later.”
I don”t want to talk about it later. I want to talk about it now. I want names. I want locations. I want schedules. I want to punish everyone who”s ever hurt her. I want them to suffer. I want them to bleed. I want—
“You have to calm down.” Piper”s voice is low and soothing as her free hand comes to rest on top of mine. “These women are already scared. They need to feel like they can trust you, and you look like you’re about to murder someone.”
She’s not off the mark, but I would do anything for her, so I relax the death grip I have on the steering wheel and grit my teeth against the red edging my vision. “We should call Christian so he can start packing up.” I nod my head at where I dropped my phone into one of the cupholders. “Dial his number.” Piper”s got a free hand and both mine are occupied. I”m not letting go of the steering wheel or her, so for the time being, she”s going to have to do whatever else needs done.
She lifts it up, turning it my way to reveal the security screen. I give her my code without a second thought. This trip has been fucking awful, but it has made me accept something important. I want Piper to become a part of everything that”s mine. She can have every password. She can wear all my clothes. Eat all my food. Paint my walls whatever color she wants. Decorate my house in whatever way will make her want to live in it.
Whatever it takes to keep her with me.
The phone line starts to ring, the sound echoing through my speakers. Christian answers immediately. “How”s it going?”
“We have everybody and we’re on our way to you.” A little more of the tightness in my chest eases as I give him the good news.
We did it. We got these women out. And we did it with relative ease. Not a single one of them was traumatized in any way. No one had to run. No one had to fight. No one had to hide.
With the exception of Piper, but that”s something we’ll have to discuss later.
“You’re kidding.” Christian’s voice moves away from the phone as he relays what I just told him to everyone else. Then to me, he says, “That’s amazing.” There’s a pause and I’m not shocked when he asks, “Did everything go okay? Is anyone hurt?”
“None of us are hurt.” I smirk, thinking of Rick laying on that laundry room floor, eyes full of aerosol, mouth full of blood, ribs aching. “We were able to slip away during a fire evacuation.”
“Was there a fire?” Christian asks the question carefully.
Piper groans. “If you want to know something, just ask.” She huffs out a breath. “But for your information, I didn’t set anything on fire. I do have some self-control.”
More than me, that’s for sure.
“I wouldn”t have faulted you if you had. I know how those people can be. I just wanted to make sure I understood exactly what we were working with.” Christian’s calm tone is almost amusing. Like he hasn’t been paying any attention at all to the woman beside me.
And maybe hasn”t. Either way, he sure doesn”t know that taking that calm, placating tone with her is not gonna go over well.
To my surprise, Piper doesn’t go after him, ready to bite back. It shocks me so much, I glance her direction, and almost laugh out loud when I see the expression on her face. Her jaw is clenched tight, nostrils flared and her eyes are narrowed. I know she’s dying to lay into him but is holding back. Because there are little ears listening.
Her restraint is amazing and enviable, like everything else about her. The more I learn about Piper the less likely it is she”s gonna make it out of this without becoming my wife.
I never expected that desire would flare. Sure, I wanted someone at my side, but never did I expect to want that person to become my wife. My father had enough for both of us, and I always felt like if a woman wanted to be with me, she could. No strings attached.
Not that I ever did anything to make one stick around. I can see that now. I was talking out both sides of my mouth. Complaining that I was lonely while refusing to let anyone in.
Deep down I worried if temptation was dangled in front of me long enough, I’d start to want what my father wanted. It was in my blood and there might not be any way I could fight it. That ultimately, I would want to own whoever I was with. That the need for possession and control would finally hit me, and my worst nightmare would come true.
But no one will ever own Piper. I won”t be able to control her, and I don”t want to. If anything, I want to give her more room to be who she is. I want to be the one to maintain the perimeter so no one gets in her way and she can spread her wings.
The realization is fucking liberating. Like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.
Off my soul.
“The GPS says we’ll be there in forty-five minutes. Be ready. I want to get on the road.” I disconnect the call before Piper can tear Christian a new asshole for the tone he took with her.
When the call ends, she blows out a breath, letting her head drop back to the rest. “As soon as we get to the hotel, I”m changing into something comfortable.” She thinks for a minute before turning to me and lowering her voice. “We should make sure they’re comfortable too. It”s gonna be a long drive, and I don”t want them still feeling trapped in any way.”
And there it is. Another reason I never had a chance of staying away from her. Piper’s so many things I need, but she”s also so many things I want. Yes, she”s fearless and direct and independent, but she”s also kind and empathetic and gentle. The kind of woman who’ll put me in my place and then cuddle up to me on the couch.
“I think that”s a good idea.” I glance up in the rearview mirror, taking in the eyes staring back at me. “I bet Myra’s already thought of that. Hopefully we have everything we need and we can get on the road.
Piper checks her watch, chewing her lower lip. “At least we have most of the day left to drive. We should be able to get pretty far before the sun goes down and we have to stop.”
I turn to her, because she must have missed the part where we discussed what would happen after we left Mountain Oak. “We’re not stopping, Sugar.” I give her a grin, because even though I”m about to spend two days straight in a car, it”s also two days straight with her right beside me. “You might want to get comfortable, because it”s gonna be a while before we stop.”