Chapter 23
Much as Cara was coming to appreciate just how special Piper was, her stomach ached anticipating whatever “drama” the girl wanted to cook up.
Utterly oblivious to adult angst, Piper bounced on her toes with that particular energy teenagers had when they thought they'd solved an unsolvable problem.
She flicked a hank of dark hair back over a slender shoulder.
"Okay. So they're watching for you two, right?
They need to see Gabe and Cara leaving the bakery and going somewhere. "
She looked at Wade and Reagan. "So that’s what we’ll give them. Only with added… sprinkles."
Wade's expression didn't change. "Keep talking."
Piper swung on Gabe and Cara. "We record you guys having a fight. Like a real, dramatic argument. Think daytime TV level fighting. Then Wade and Reagan dress like you, get in Gabe's FBI car, and drive somewhere. The surveillance follows them thinking it's you."
Gabe cocked his head, a deep line forming between his eyes. “This operation is going to take time. We can’t give you an hour’s worth of recording.”
Piper started to roll her eyes, but stopped under the weight of her dad’s scowl. “I only need a couple minutes. Just enough material to run through AI. I have an amazing new program. I type in a script, then it synthesizes your voices. I just need some raw material to work with.”
Silence settled over the kitchen.
“That’s frightening,” Reagan said finally.
“Piper’s new tech, or the whole idea?” Gabe muttered.
Wade looked as terrified as his limited emotional range would allow. “Both. Definitely.”
Cara waited for someone to point out the dozen ways this could fail.
Instead, Tom nodded slowly. "Audio and visual deception. It could work."
"It's risky." Gabe's jaw tightened. "If they get close enough to realize it's not us, Wade and Reagan are exposed."
"They won't get that close." Wade's certainty was absolute. "Surveillance maintains distance. Especially if we're arguing. They'll hang back."
"Where would you go?" Reagan asked.
"Ruiz's motel." Gabe pulled up the location on his laptop. "It's logical follow-up. Makes sense I'd revisit the scene with new information from David's files. Far enough from the warehouse to draw them away."
"Perfect." Piper's grin widened. "So all we need to do is record this fight. And it has to be good. Emotional. That’ll give me the raw material I need."
"Any suggestions?" Gabe's voice carried caution.
"Oh, I have ideas." Piper rubbed her hands together. "Okay, so the setup is Cara wants to come to with when you head wherever we decide Wade and Reagan are heading, and you're being all overprotective FBI agent about it."
"That's not far from reality," Cara muttered.
"Right? That's what makes it work. Mr. Andreassen, my drama teacher, says all great performances come from reality.” Piper pulled out her phone. Started typing notes. "We need stakes. Emotion. Real frustration bleeding through. Reagan, you see relationship drama at the diner."
"More than I want to remember."
"What makes fights escalate?" Piper asked.
Reagan considered. "When people stop listening to each other. When it becomes about winning instead of understanding."
"Perfect." Piper looked at Gabe and Cara. "So you're not just arguing about the stakeout or whatever. You're arguing about trust. About whether Cara's capable. About Gabe needing control."
Gabe shifted. "I don't need control."
"See? That energy. Use that." Piper was in full director mode now. "Cara, you start defensive but then you get mad. Like really mad. Gabe, you start reasonable but then you get scared because you care about her and don't want to admit it."
The kitchen went very quiet.
Tom coughed. Wade's mouth twitched. Almost a smile.
Heat climbed up Cara’s neck.
"I'm just saying," Piper continued, oblivious, "it needs to sound real. So tap into actual feelings."
"Piper." Reagan's voice carried warning.
"What? I'm helping." She looked at Gabe. "You do care about her, right? That's not weird to say."
Gabe's expression went carefully neutral. "Let's just get this done."
"Okay but remember what I said about the emotional subtext." Piper positioned her phone on the counter. "Places, people. Cara, stand over there. Gabe, you're by the table. You need distance for this to work. Like you're physically pulling away from each other while arguing."
Cara moved to the spot Piper indicated. Caught Gabe's eye. He looked like he regretted every decision that had led to this moment. She certainly did.
"Ready?" Piper asked. "And remember, I need at least three minutes of material. We can edit it into a loop. So keep it going. Build the tension. Make it messy."
"This is ridiculous," Gabe said.
"That's perfect! Use that!" Piper hit record. "Action!"
Cara stared at her. "Action?"
"Sorry. Too much drama club. You know what I mean. Just start."
“Yes, ma’am.” Gabe drew a breath. "We go in, observe, and leave. That's it."
The authority in his tone made it easy for Cara to push back. "And if we see something? If there's evidence we can grab?"
"We don't engage. We document and call it in."
"That's playing it safe when we don't have time to play it safe."
"Cut!" Piper waved her hands. "Okay, that was good, but I need more emotion. Cara, you're furious that he's trying to control everything. Show me that fury."
"I'm not an actress,” she lied. Actually, that was at the top of her skillset.
"You don't have to be. You just have to be mad at him for treating you like you can't think for yourself.
And Gabe, stop being so FBI about everything.
You're scared something will happen to her.
Show me that fear under the control. We need to work it for the audience.
We want to keep these guys listening, right? "
They tried again.
"We observe only," Gabe said. "No unnecessary risks."
"Define unnecessary." Cara let frustration leak through. "Because from where I'm standing, unnecessary is wasting time when your brother could be in that motel."
"My brother isn't at the motel."
"You don't know that."
"I know enough to follow proper protocol. We don't have backup. We don't have jurisdiction. We don't rush in blind."
"Protocol? Seriously?"
"We do this right." His voice rose. "One mistake and we lose everything, the evidence, the chance to make a murder case stick, and any chance of finding David."
She let her voice climb. "You think I'm the one who's going to make a mistake?"
"I think you're willing to take risks I'm not comfortable with."
She snorted, extra drama added. "Nothing about this is comfortable. My bakery's destroyed. I'm being followed. And you want me to stand by while you play by rules that don't apply anymore."
"The rules always apply."
"Not when people are dying!"
Silence crashed between them.
Piper's eyes went wide. "Okay, that was perfect. Keep going."
Gabe's jaw worked. "I'm trying to keep you alive."
"I'm trying to help you find your brother." Cara's voice dropped. Sharp. "But you won't let me actually help. You just want me to follow orders."
"Because following orders keeps people safe."
"Or it gets them killed waiting for permission that never comes."
Something shifted in Gabe's expression. Real anger breaking through. "You think I don't know what's at stake? Every second we waste could mean David's dead?"
"Then stop wasting time trying to control everything.” Cara folded her arms, trying to throttle back the real emotions leaking through.
Gabe glared. For real, it seemed like. "I'm not trying to control everything. I'm trying to control the one thing that matters."
"What?"
"You." The word came out raw. "I'm trying to keep you safe because if something happens to you—"
He stopped. Closed his mouth.
The kitchen went silent.
"Cut," Piper whispered. "That's... that's really good."
Gabe turned away and ran a hand through his hair.
Cara stood frozen. Her heart hammering against her ribs.
"Let me edit this," Piper said. She hunched over her phone.
Nobody spoke.
Finally Tom cleared his throat. "I'll get my laptop set up."
"I'll check the vehicles," Wade said.
They scattered. Clearly grateful for excuses to move.
Gabe caught Tom's arm before he could leave. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"
They stepped into the hallway. Cara watched through the doorway as Gabe kept his voice low.
"You're armed?" Not a question.
Tom nodded slowly. "Always."
“Good. Keep yourselves safe. No hesitation."
Tom's expression shifted. Something hard underneath the quiet handyman exterior. "Copy that. No one touches my daughter."
Gabe held his gaze for a long moment. Then nodded. "Thank you."
He headed back toward Cara and caught her eye. “We need a word with Wade.”
They found the big man in the stairwell. Wade was checking a sleek handgun Cara hadn't seen him carrying.
"Coast Guard issue?" Gabe asked.
Wade looked up, expression blank. "Something like that."
"I'm not asking for your service record. Not tonight." Gabe's voice stayed low. Level. "But I need to know Reagan will be safe with you."
"One hundred percent."
"These people are dangerous. They've already killed. If they realize you're not us, if they move on you instead of just following, can you handle it?"
Wade's eyes went cold. The expression of someone who'd handled worse. "Won’t be a problem."
"You've done this before.” Gabe voiced the exact thought Cara had.
Wade didn't confirm or deny. Just held Gabe's stare.
"Okay." Gabe exhaled. "Stick to the plan. Drive to the motel. Make it look real. If things go sideways, get Reagan out and call the police. Don't try to be a hero."
Something almost like amusement crossed Wade's face. "You either."
They returned to the kitchen. Piper looked up from her phone. "Got it. Three and a half minutes of quality argument. I can loop it so it sounds like you're going in circles. Very realistic."
"Okay." Tom checked his watch. "Eleven thirty. We should move into position."
Wade tried on Gabe's FBI jacket. It was too tight across the shoulders but close enough from a distance. Reagan pulled on Cara's green coat. Both pulled on beanies to cover their hair.
While Piper checked that the recording played on Wade’s phone, Tom set up his laptop.
"I'll track your location and monitor police scanners. Anything weird, I call it in. But remember, there aren’t any traffic cams out here. I won’t have any way to see who’s following either you two or Wade and Reagan. Y’all are flying blind."
Wade grunted. “Way I like it.”
Piper handed Wade his phone back. "The recording will play through the speakers. Should sound like you're right there in the car. It would help if you cracked the windows a little," she added.
Reagan hugged Cara. "Be careful."
"You too."
"Okay." Wade's voice was steady. "Let's give them a show."
He and Reagan headed down the stairs from her apartment, their body language tight and rigid, as if they were already arguing.
Tom monitored his laptop. "They're in the vehicle. Engine starting."
Through the window, Cara watched Gabe's rental pull away from the curb.
"Wait for it," Tom murmured.
A dark sedan emerged from the shadows a block away, headlights off, following at a careful distance.
Piper grinned. "It's working."
They waited. Five minutes. Ten. Making sure the tail was solid. and no secondary surveillance hung back.
"Clear," Tom finally said. "You're good to go."
Gabe looked at Cara. "Ready?"
They slipped down the stairs and around the back into the alley where Tom’s truck waited in shadows.
Gabe started the engine, pulling away at an unhurried pace with the headlights off. Haven Cove slept around them, the midnight streets empty. The ocean invisible beyond darkened buildings.
Cara watched the town disappear in the side mirror.
Gabe's hands were steady on the wheel as he flipped on the lights, his gorgeous profile sharp in the dash lights.
He glanced at her. "Whatever happens tonight, I've got your back."
The words should have been comforting. They weren't.
Because the man promising to protect her was the same man who'd arrest her if he knew the truth.
And she was falling for him anyway.