Chapter Nine #2
Sawyer smiled at Tag. “This isn’t my first gig, Tag.
I know what I’m doing. Trust me?” Tag seemed to hesitate, then reluctantly nodded his agreement.
“Good. We’re going to make that fucker think that he’s getting exactly what he wants, and then we’re going to nail his ass to the wall.
” Sawyer called the station and filled them in on the change of plans, telling them exactly what to do.
There was no way that he was going to risk Piper’s life; Lorna would kill him.
Letting Joe think that he had the upper hand was the only way to keep Piper safe and make sure that Joe never hurt anyone else in his family again.
Joe arrived in town with Piper and made her drive around the block twice.
He had her drive so that he could keep his gun on her and be able to watch for anything suspicious.
He didn’t see her bodyguard all day, and that put his guard up.
The overprotective goon didn’t usually leave Piper alone, though he did have Lorna to deal with.
Beating up Lorna turned out to have been his best decision yet, since it diverted Sawyer’s attention from protecting Piper.
Hell, he was so busy watching over Lorna, he all but forgot about Piper and her security.
“Pull behind the building into the alley, there,” Joe ordered. He pointed to a spot next to the bank’s back door. That would give him a quick escape if someone got in his way. Piper did as he asked. He got her out of the car and hid his gun in his coat pocket.
“Do anything stupid and I’ll shoot you just like my brother shot your parents.
Do you understand?” Piper gasped and nodded.
The fear in her eyes told him that she wasn’t about to give him any trouble.
“Good girl. Let’s go. You’re going to ask the nice bank manager to transfer the money into my bank account.
Tell him that I’m your uncle Joe, from New York.
If you give me away or do anything to tip them off, I’ll kill them too.
” Piper nodded again, taking a deep breath.
“You’re no different from them, are you? You’re exactly like your brothers,” Piper sobbed.
“See, now you’re catching on. All those years, I had everyone fooled, including my two big brothers.
They thought that I was too stupid to know that they were robbing that place.
I knew what they were doing—hell, I secretly wished they let me go in with them, but they told me to stay in the car.
I watched as they shot your parents and that cashier, and it made me want more.
It was like I found my calling that day.
I knew exactly who I wanted to be. I claimed to be innocent, and my brothers even swore that I had no idea what was going on in that store.
They didn’t know that I snuck in the back and watched.
I still served time, even though I didn’t pull the trigger or take anything.
I was punished. So, I thought, why not? If I’m going to do the time, I might as well have some fun committing the crimes. ”
“You’re a monster! You just let my parents die, and you did nothing?” Piper was trembling, and he took some satisfaction from knowing that she was terrified of him. He nodded, not dignifying her question with a response.
“After I got out, I took odd jobs. You know, for people who didn’t want to get their hands dirty but had no problem paying someone to do the dirty work for them.
I made a few bucks here and there, always scraping by.
But then I saw how your dear old grandma left you millions.
More than you can spend in one lifetime.
So, I thought to myself, why not? I worked out the details, and here we are.
You’re about to make me a very rich man, and then I’ll let you go back to your hubby.
Don’t fuck with me, Piper, or you’ll be sorry.
” She shivered at his threat, and he pushed her towards the entrance of the bank.
He was so close to having what he wanted, he could almost taste it.
Sawyer watched from the empty storefront across the street from the bank.
The manager who was helping Piper transfer money to Joe’s account was a deputy from town.
Piper didn’t let on that she knew him, so things were going as smoothly as they could, given the circumstances.
The deputy stalled to give everyone time to get into place.
They were able to forge the documentation so that Joe would believe that everything was on the up and up.
Piper and Joe stood to shake the bank manager’s hand and then made their way to the back of the bank.
He was going to leave through the back door, which played right into Sawyer’s plan.
Joe turned and said something to Piper, and then he disappeared through the back door.
At least the asshole kept one promise—he left Piper behind after he got what he wanted.
Piper stayed inside the bank, and Sawyer gave the signal to go.
Once he walked through the door into the alley, Joe didn’t know what hit him.
Sawyer had five officers surrounding him, forcing him to surrender.
They cuffed him and had him in the squad car by the time he and Tag found Piper.
She was huddled in a chair, rocking and sobbing.
Tag pulled her into his arms, cradling her against his body.
Sawyer couldn’t watch them together. Piper was so raw it nearly broke him.
He was supposed to keep her safe, but instead, he let her fall right into the hands of a murderer.
“I’m so sorry, Piper.” Sawyer went out through the back door and found his boss.
He had a shit ton of paperwork to do, and then he would hand in his resignation to Piper.
If he couldn’t keep her out of harm’s way, she would need to find a bodyguard who could.
He would stay on with the Sheriff’s Office, but Lorna was his priority now.
Having her in his life distracted him, and he couldn’t let that fuck up his abilities to take care of Piper. She deserved better.