Chapter 32
Chapter Thirty-Two
PIPER
The car pulls up outside a converted warehouse complex in Brooklyn with sleek black-framed windows and warm light spilling from the riverside bistro on the ground floor.
I’m safe. I repeat the words in my head.
I’m safe.
I’m just meeting with a client.
And I’m with two bodyguards.
At that thought, I drag in a breath and open the car door.
The guards get out with me, and we walk toward the building.
I’m supposed to be meeting my client in a café by the river.
The guards don’t say a word; they just follow beside me. I like the silence. I don’t feel like talking.
I’ve seen people with bodyguards. I always thought it looked excessive and so over the top.
Having my own now for the situation I’m in, I see it’s not.
It almost feels like two hulking guards isn’t enough to keep me safe.
I didn’t exactly want to come out tonight. It’s late, but I couldn’t turn down the sweet older lady who called me raving about my website.
And she said Ellie Mae sent her.
There was definitely no way I could say no to her when I heard that.
She said she heard I was leaving for England on Sunday and really wanted to meet with me in person. She, too, is traveling tomorrow. So, we had to meet now or months later when I’m back.
Her name is Alice, and she has a pretty Southern drawl like Ellie Mae.
Apart from Ellie Mae, this is my first client meeting.
It’s one good thing in the chaos Reece has created.
After the fight at the office the other day, I didn’t know what to think or do.
I kept seeing the whole thing and feeling sick to my stomach when I remembered everything Reece said.
That was the first I’d seen him since the trial. It felt like being dosed with acid.
We reach the building, and I get my phone out to see if Alice has messaged. She said she would.
I frown when I see my phone has gone black.
There’s no way the battery is dead. I left it charging all day.
I tap at the screen to see if I can wake it up. Nothing happens.
Great.
Just what I need.
I put it back in my bag.
Thankfully, I remember the name of the café she said we should meet at.
Khristy’s. It’s supposed to be by the river.
Inside, the building smells like roasted coffee and a mixture of fine foods. People sit at small tables with laptops. They look like the after-work crowd.
I spot the café sign ahead.
“I’ll come in with you,” Martin, the tallest guard, says.
“Thanks. Can you guys just sit somewhere close by so I can sit with my client?”
“Of course.”
We move into the café.
It’s not too packed.
The guards sit across from me, and I take a seat toward the middle so Alice can see me when she arrives.
She knows what I look like from my website.
I’m gazing at the door, watching people walking in, when someone drops into the seat in front of me.
I’m about to tell them I’m waiting for someone when I find myself staring face to face with Reece.
Instantly, I recoil and move to stand, but he pulls out a gun and points it at me.
“Oh my God,” I gasp.
He smiles at my response, and with his free hand, he pulls out a little microphone-looking device.
“Hi, sugar. This is Alice. It’s so great to meet you,” he says. Through the device, his voice sounds exactly like the sweet lady I thought I was speaking to earlier. A crazy smirk lights up his face when he watches realization dawn on me.
I’ve been catfished. This was a trap.
“You fucking bastard,” I hiss.
“Smile, sweetheart,” he whispers. “Or I start shooting. I will shoot everyone in here if you don’t come with me. Get up.”
My whole body locks.
Nobody has seen what’s happening yet. But when I stand and Reece rises while aiming the gun at me, they do.
People start screaming and running out of the café the moment the gun flashes.
Martin and Peter, the other guard, are on their feet. Their guns are raised, but they can see there’s nothing they can do without harming me.
This was one hell of a plan.
The bastard just needed to get close to me without anyone near enough to protect me. He planned this perfectly.
“She’s going to come with me!” Reece shouts at Martin. “If you follow, I will shoot the barista over there and the little boy next to her.”
The barista had been serving the little boy. I glance at them out the corner of my eyes. The boy is no older than ten. And the barista looks like a kid herself.
Jesus. Reece is pure evil. Being in prison seems to have made him more deranged.
As I look at him, I know he’s serious. He will kill those people.
Terror swallows me whole, but I look at Martin and force my mouth to move. “I’m gonna go with him.” My voice sounds dead.
Martin looks furious. But fury can’t help me now.
“Move,” Reece orders, gesturing for me to go forward.
I do, and he hooks his arm around me, making my position so much worse.
He guides me out the door and toward the rear exit of the building.
We walk through, and the cool evening air hits. A black SUV waits near the curb with the engine running.
I gasp and try to pull back, but Reece’s grip tightens painfully around my waist.
“Don’t,” he says softly. “You remember what happens when you run.”
My stomach drops.
The woods.
The dark.
My ankle giving out beneath me.
Him carrying me back while I screamed.
My knees nearly buckle.
Reece shoves me harder toward the SUV.
“You’re going to come with me and do as you’re told.”
My heart is pounding so violently I can barely breathe.
“You need to let me go and leave me alone.”
“Ridiculous. You know I love you. I have always loved you.”
I’m going to throw up. “You psycho. You ruined my life. You don’t know what love is.”
“This is love, Piper. I’m fighting for you.” He holds the gun at my throat. “Things will be different between us, baby. We’ll leave the country and start fresh.”
He forces me closer to the car.
Then—
Police sirens suddenly split the air.
Reece freezes.
So do I.
Headlights swing viciously into the alley from the far entrance.
A fleet of police cars swarms the place moments later.
“Police!” shouts an officer, who jumps out of their car. “Drop the weapon!”
“Shit. Fuck. How did this happen?” Reece curses and yanks me backward against his chest.
“Don’t fucking move!” he screams in my ear. “You bitch. You did this.”
“How the hell was I supposed to? I was with you.”
More doors slam open around us.
More officers step out, guns aimed at Reece.
Then my gaze lands on one person.
Levi!
He rushes forward, bursting through the chaos. And… Arthur is with him?
“Piper!” Levi shouts, trying to get past a group of officers.
They hold him back while Reece drags me farther backward.
“She’s mine!” he snarls wildly. “You don’t get to take her from me!”
“Let her go!” Levi shouts back.
Reece laughs frantically, the sound completely unhinged now. “You think she loves you?” He presses the gun harder against my throat. “She belonged to me first!”
“Reece,” I choke out. “Stop this. Just let me go.”
“Shut up! You’re coming with me.”
Reece moves further, and I look back at Levi still trying to get past the police.
He stares back at me, and a moment passes between us.
Something changes and I realize Levi’s not looking at me like I’m helpless.
He’s looking at me like I’m strong.
Like I survived this monster once already.
And I can do it again.
The thought snaps something inside me, and I slam my heel down hard on Reece’s foot.
He shouts out and stumbles, loosening his grip around me.
That mere moment gives me a chance to wriggle free.
Then a gunshot rings out. Reece’s body jolts violently, and blood blooms across his chest as he crashes to the ground.
I don’t know nor care if he’s dead or alive.
I just run, run toward Levi.
With Reece down, the cops holding Levi back allow him through.
He rushes toward me, meeting me halfway, and I throw myself into his arms.
He holds me tightly, and I feel safe again.
My whole body starts shaking violently as Levi crushes me against his chest.
“I’ve got you,” he whispers against my hair. “I’ve got you, Butterfly.”