CHAPTER TWELVE
“I want to see. You might be mistaken.”
Liam shook his head, holding Piper tight as her body reacted to his news about Gavin’s death. Tremors wracked her frame. “You don’t want your last memory of Gavin to be of him like this.” He’d seen plenty of death in his years in black ops. Piper didn’t need the sight of her former boyfriend with a bullet through his heart burned into her brain.
She buried her face against his neck.
“I’m sorry, baby.” He held Piper while she wept. When the tears slowed, Liam bent until his mouth was beside her ear. “You aren’t safe here.”
When she gave a slight nod, he started them down the mountainside.
“We can’t allow Barone to find the information and destroy it or Gavin’s death will be in vain.”
“We’ll talk later.” When they couldn’t be overheard and Liam wouldn’t worry about bullets flying toward them.
He tightened his arm around her waist and lengthened his stride. Urgency gripped him. He needed to get Piper under cover. This whole thing felt like a setup.
On the other side of Piper, Simon scanned the area as he pulled out his phone and made a call. “Z, we’ve got trouble.” In terse words, he gave updated the tech guru. “We need everything you can find on Gavin James.” Simon glanced at Liam. “And tell the lawyer to stay on standby.”
Piper wiped tears from her face. “What will we do, Liam?”
“Whatever we have to do.” Despite the pitfalls of reporting Gavin’s death, Liam didn’t have the heart to leave the man’s body for a hiker to stumble upon or for the wild animals to devour.
His only hope of staying out of jail lay in the time of death and the fact Gavin hadn’t been seen for hours before he and Piper registered at the resort. Definitely not an air-tight alibi, though. Liam hadn’t stopped on the way to the resort to minimize the risk to Piper, a problem now that he needed proof he wasn’t in the area prior to registering at the resort.
He hoped Zane could hack into the traffic cams on their route and get the time-stamped footage of their SUV passing various points along the way. Liam’s gut tightened into a knot. That would take time and meant being separated from Piper again. At least Simon was here to protect her if the cops hauled Liam in for intensive questioning. Unfortunately, they might question Simon as well, which would leave piper without a bodyguard. Liam had to be sure she was covered. “Everything will work out, Piper.”
“How can you say that? These people killed Gavin. I don’t want to lose you.”
Something startled wildlife to their left.
He tightened his hold on Piper’s waist and propelled her faster through the woods. Simon dropped back to cover them.
Liam scanned to his left and noticed a bright reflection. His gut knotted. “Gun!” He shoved Piper behind a large boulder and dragged her to the forest floor as shots rang out. He covered her body with his. Shards of rock flew in every direction, some peppering him and Piper. “Stay down,” he murmured, getting into a crouch beside her.
He glanced at Simon. “Get a bead on his location?”
“Ten o’clock. Stay with Piper. I’ll circle around and take him down.”
Although he longed to go after the thug himself, Liam nodded. Keeping Piper safe was his priority. “We need him alive.”
“That’s up to him.”
“Watch your back, Simon. He might have a friend.”
He was gone with a whisper of movement.
“Where’s he going?” Piper started to get up.
Liam laid a hand on her shoulder. “Not yet. Simon is hunting for the shooter.”
Her eyes widened. “Go with him. He shouldn’t go alone.”
“Simon knows what he’s doing. One of us needs to stay with you in case the shooter has a friend using the shots as a distraction to capture you.”
More shots rang out, this time from a different location. On alert, Liam maneuvered to the right side of the rock and surveyed the dense brush and trees, wishing he had his M107 sniper rifle instead of a Sig. Would have looked odd striding into the forest with his sniper rifle strapped to his back, though. He’d have to make do with the shorter-range weapon.
A single shot was followed by a loud yelp from the left. Then there was silence.
Piper gripped Liam’s forearm. “Simon?”
“Not the one who yelled.” He hoped his friend had winged the shooter.
Ten minutes later, Simon strode into view with his hand gripping a big bruiser by the arm. The thug’s hands were restrained behind his back and his mouth moved continuously in a string of inventive curses.
Simon shoved him to the ground in front of the rock formation. “Watch your mouth. There’s a lady present.”
The man glared at the operative and glanced around with cold eyes. Looking for an escape route, a partner, or Piper?
Liam reached down and helped Piper stand. “Did he have friends?” he asked Simon.
“One. He won’t be a problem.”
“It’s your fault,” the stranger growled, his gaze fixed on Piper. “You’re the reason he’s dead.”
Who was he referring to? The second shooter or Gavin? Liam stepped in front of Piper, blocking her from the shooter’s view. “He’s dead because of his own choices.” He pulled out his cell phone.
The shooter smirked. “No signal out here, dude.”
He ignored the verbal jab. “Get his prints,” he told Simon. Zane could run them while he and the others waited for the local cops to arrive.
More cursing filled the air as Simon shoved the stranger onto his stomach, jarring the shoulder with a bullet wound, and proceeded to press the man’s fingers and thumbs to the screen of his phone, one at a time. When he was finished, Simon slapped the back the man’s head. “Shut up or I’ll gag you.”
Another hate-filled glare Simon’s direction but the man subsided.
With Piper at his side, Liam reported the murder and attempted murder to the police. He gave the dispatcher their coordinates and promised to wait for law enforcement to arrive. Although he’d rather get Piper out of here, he couldn’t leave Simon to deal with the cops alone. He’d defended himself when the two thugs shot at him. Liam had been inside the cave with Gavin’s body as he was sure the remaining shooter would be happy to inform the police. Anything to muddy the waters and separate Liam from Piper.
He caught Simon’s eye. “You okay here for a minute? I need to talk to my woman alone.”
“Yeah.” He gave a slow smile. “Our new friend and I will get better acquainted.”
For the first time, the thug looked uneasy. He should. Simon was a top-notch interrogator. Whatever this guy knew, Simon would find out before the cops arrived on the scene.
Liam ushered Piper deeper into the trees. He stopped far enough away that they wouldn’t be observed but close enough to aid Simon if he needed help. A muffled yell sounded behind them.
Piper turned back. “Something’s wrong.”
“Simon’s asking the shooter a few questions.”
She stared a moment. “Doesn’t sound like a friendly question-and-answer session.”
“Don’t ask me anything about that. Take this.” He dragged an envelope from his pocket and held it out to Piper. “Don’t open or read it right now.”
She frowned. “What is this?”
“Gavin left it for you. Hide it.”
Piper sat on a nearby fallen tree and unlaced her hiking boot. She arranged the envelope inside, slid her foot in, and tied her laces. “Why give the envelope to me?”
“There’s an excellent chance the police will take me into custody and transport me to the station for interrogation. I don’t want them to get their hands on this.”
“Liam.” Piper’s voice sounded choked. “Not again. This isn’t your fault. You didn’t kill him.”
He cupped her jaw and leaned in to brush a soft kiss over her lips. “I’ll be their primary suspect.”
“You didn’t know Gavin.”
“I’m involved with you. They’ll assume I’m a jealous, insecure boyfriend who felt threatened when Gavin contacted you and asked you to meet him.”
“You aren’t jealous or insecure.”
“Not insecure, no. Jealous?” He cupped her nape. “Don’t kid yourself, Sunshine. If I thought another man was a rival for your affection, I’d have a hard time with it. Any man would.”
“You don’t have any reason for that. I haven’t looked at another man since I arrived in Otter Creek. The only man I want is you.”
Liam drew in a shuddering breath. “You don’t have any idea how badly I want to kiss you right now.”
“Why don’t you?” Her lips curved into a smile. “I won’t tell.”
He gave a rough laugh. “No way. I want to be where I won’t worry about your safety. The woods where we were shot at a few minutes ago is not the place and this isn’t the time. Soon, though. I promise.”
A siren sounded in the distance.
“We need to go back.” Liam reluctantly moved away from her. “The police will separate us. I want Simon to stay with you but that won’t happen. Use your new phone to call Trent. The numbers for each of my teammates, Zane Murphy, and Brent Maddox are programmed into the phone already. Lock yourself inside the suite and stay there until one of my teammates arrives.”
He moved toward Simon and the prisoner despite his driving need to drag Piper against his chest and kiss her until they both forgot about anything but each other. Liam had never wanted to shirk his duty as much as he did at that moment.
He couldn’t. Piper’s life was at stake. The best thing to do for both of them was discover what Gavin had dragged them into and find a way to get them out.
Bravo had a month in Otter Creek before they were up for deployment again. Liam would rather spend his time courting the beautiful woman by his side than hunting for a killer. Worse, if he didn’t unmask the killer before their leave time was up, he’d be forced to leave Piper’s safety to Durango or one of the PSI trainees. He didn’t think he could do it. He’d have to wrap this up before his leave ended. There was no other option that he could live with.
When they returned to the small clearing, Simon stood near their prisoner. The thug’s face was pasty white.
Liam stopped Piper before she moved too close. “What did you find out?” he asked Simon.
“Dude’s name is Mark Oberfeld. According to our tech friend, Mark has a record a mile long. He likes to play with guns and knives and doesn’t think twice about hurting people. Takes pride in his free-lance work and is well-paid for his efforts. His boss won’t be happy with him.”
“Who sent him?”
“He’s a gun for hire. He doesn’t know who put money in his account to shoot you.”
Liam stiffened. That’s not what he’d expected to hear. “Me? Not my woman?”
“Somebody doesn’t want you near the lady.”
Leaving her vulnerable to attack. Barone’s handiwork? Her uncle’s? “What about our friend in the cave?”
“He doesn’t know anything about that.”
“You believe him?”
Simon snorted. “He told me everything in less than two minutes.”
Liam’s gaze shifted to Oberfeld. “What about your friend? Did he know anything about the body in the cave?”
“Never saw him before today,” he muttered. “The person who hired me said to expect another person to take the woman. My job was you.”
“Loused that up, didn’t you?” That crack earned Liam a glare.
“Cops will be here in less than five,” Simon murmured. “Get what you need now.”
He grabbed his phone, checked the email Zane sent, and brought up the picture of Gavin. Liam turned his phone around so the thug could see the picture. “Know this guy?”
Oberfeld glanced at the picture and shook his head. “Never seen him before.”
Liam showed him the picture of Barone and Piper’s uncle. “What about these two?”
Another head shake. “Told you. I don’t know who hired me. It’s part of my protection.”
Terse voices and running feet heralded the arrival of the police. Liam pressed a kiss to the top of Piper’s head. Now the real fun would begin.