Chapter 24
Holt
Piper is sitting quietly in the passenger seat as I drive us over to Sterling’s loft.
We showered, separately—unfortunately, and cleaned up the few dishes that were left from breakfast. While Piper was in the shower, Sterling texted and said that we should come over for a few hours.
I thought it was a great idea and told Piper to get in the truck.
She is nervously twirling her hair and I reach over to hold her hand in mine on the console.
This accomplishes two things— I can touch her and I stop her from basically pulling her hair out.
Her hand stiffens but I ignore it and squeeze it gently.
The tension seems to leave her, and we say nothing as we continue the trip. I clear my throat.
“What are you thinking about,” I ask her. I was dying to get a glimpse into her mind. She shakes her head and with her other hand tucks a lock of hair behind her ear.
“Honestly, you don’t want to know—I—,” all of a sudden her voice trails off. We are driving by her cafe and I hit the brakes. I pull into the parking lot.
“What the fuck,” I swear. Some asshole had broken the rest of the windows to her cafe and spray painted the porch and walls. They crudely spelled ‘whore’.
I look over at Piper, who has gone pale. My hand finds its way to the back of her neck to offer comfort. Suddenly, she unbuckles her belt and opens the door. I fly after her.
“Piper, wait,” I yell after her. Her penchant for running towards danger is a huge fucking problem. I catch up to her in a couple of quick strides. I grab her arm gently before she can run into her shop through what was once the large floor to ceiling picture window.
“I just need to see,” she chokes out. I pull her behind me and hold up my hand. If we are going in there, I am going first, at least. I pull the gun that I have out of the waist band of my jeans.
“Call Carter, and tell him we need back up,” I tell her as I hand her my cell phone. She takes it shakily. I hear the phone ring one time and Carter picks up.
“It’s Piper, Holt wants you to come to the cafe,” she says to him shakily. Piper is standing so close to me I can hear his serious tone.
“Yeah, we are okay—just come quick,” she says. The pitch of her voice a bit higher than it usually is. She hangs up.
“He is on the way,” she says and slides my phone back into my back pocket automatically. She grabs the back of my shirt.
“I don’t suppose I can talk you into staying in the truck with the doors locked, can I,” I ask her. She shakes her head no.
“Didn’t think so,” I murmured. “You will do everything I say,” I tell her. She nods emphatically.
“Stay behind me and keep close,” I order. I hate this entire situation. Obviously, the cafe’s alarm didn’t go off when this happened.
We approach the window, and my senses are on high alert. Glass is crunching under our feet as we walk through the window sized hole. It doesn’t feel like anyone is here, but I’m not taking any chances.
I have cleared the dining area, and am about to start towards the back with the kitchen when Carter arrives. He approaches pulling his own gun and nods at me. I nod back.
“Stay out here with her,” I say lowly. Carter nods and steps right next to Piper. Piper opens her mouth to refuse but thinks better of it when I give her a look.
It takes me 3 minutes to check the back, and confirm that we are alone. I come out to see Piper inspecting the smashed bakery cases and the trashed dining area. Whoever was in here had a lot of frustration to work out.
I raise my eyebrow at Carter who is watching Piper like a bomb that he may need to disarm. No doubt, something he is experienced in.
“We are all clear,” I state unnecessarily. Hoping that Piper will respond. She is mechanically sweeping up some broken glass. I see her nod her head jerkily.
“I’m going to make a few calls,” Carter tells me and tilts his head in Piper’s direction. Signaling that I should go to her. I approach her like I would a wounded animal.
“Piper,” I say softly hoping to not startle her. She whips around and looks at me blankly. The stress around her eyes is evident.
“I have to clean this up— I don’t know how I can open tomorrow with the place like this,” she says. She is bulldozing her way through this situation. In the short time that I have known her, I realize this is her way of coping.
“Piper, I don’t think you will be able to open tomorrow. There is a lot to take care of between now and then,” I try to say gently. She hasn’t seen the kitchen yet, but her equipment was trashed too. Piper’s shoulders drop in defeat.
“Who would do this,” she whispers. I’m not sure if the question is directed to me, but I step forward and wrap my arms around her.
“I will fix this Piper,” Piper nods into my chest once. I keep my arms around her for a few more minutes.