CHAPTER NINE
Liam’s stomach tightened into a knot at Stella’s news. He’d hoped for a different answer. Liam exchanged glances with Piper. Seeing her distressed expression, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “We’ll handle it.”
“Why do I have the feeling you’re not surprised?” Stella’s eyes narrowed as she looked from Liam to Piper and back. “I want to know everything you know or suspect. Nick and I are working this case together.”
He told her everything and played the voice mail message from Gavin.
Stella recorded the message on her phone. “Barone and his minions play for keeps, Liam. Don’t underestimate them.”
“I have too much at stake to be careless.”
“I can’t give you as much information as you want and need. Zane would be helpful.”
Liam analyzed what she said and what she didn’t. She was obliged to keep quiet about the case. However, Stella had learned something he and Piper needed to know. “I’ll contact him as soon as we leave.”
The detective’s muscles loosened. “What are your next steps?”
“Grabbing a meal, packing an overnight bag, and heading to the Copper Ridge Ski Resort.”
A frown. “You’re leaving town in the middle of an investigation. Did the Cherry Hill detectives tell you to stay in the area?”
“I’ll be an hour outside of town. If they need to talk to us, contact me.”
“Why shouldn’t I call Piper?”
“Her phone isn’t secure.” A stop by his house would solve the problem.
“When you solve the problem, I need the number.”
He inclined his head without comment.
Stella rolled her eyes. “Stubborn operative. I noticed you didn’t agree to give me her contact information. I have one of those encrypted phones, buddy. No one breaks Z’s encryption program. Her contact information will be safe with me.”
“You can’t keep the information from the Cherry Hill detectives. You, I trust. I don’t trust them to keep the information secure.”
At that moment, Piper’s stomach growled.
With a grin, Stella twisted and grabbed a file from the desktop. “I need to get you out of here so you can eat.” She handed them the statements to read and sign.
Ten minutes later, Liam and Piper were on the sidewalk in front of the station with Stella’s warning to be careful ringing in their ears. “Would you like to go to That’s A Wrap?” Liam asked.
“That sounds great.”
They walked to the deli owned by a fellow operative’s wife. As soon as they entered the shop, Darcy beamed at them and hurried around the counter. She threw her arms around Piper.
“I’m glad you’re safe.” She pulled back, scanned Piper’s face, and winced. “That bruise looks like it hurts.”
“A little,” Piper admitted.
“Come on.” Darcy tugged her toward the back of the shop. “The deli is a madhouse this time of morning.” She led them to a small break room. “Tell me what you want to eat and drink and I’ll bring your meals.” Within five minutes, she returned with a tray loaded with breakfast wraps, coffee for Liam, and hot tea for Piper.
After Darcy returned to the front of the shop, Piper sipped her tea and sighed. “Chamomile mint.”
Liam set Piper’s plate in front of her. “At least it’s quiet enough to talk back here.” He waited until she finished her wrap before capturing her hand and kissing her knuckles. “How are you?”
“Better now that I have food in my stomach.”
“Are you ready to pack your overnight bag?”
She nodded. “I want this over with.”
“Worried?”
“Aren’t you?”
“Yeah, I am.” Not for himself. For her. He didn’t want Piper near the resort and knew insisting she stay in Otter Creek wouldn’t do him any good. Piper could drive herself to the resort. Worse, she wouldn’t have protection and would be vulnerable to attack along the road. He’d rather she remained with him than attempt the drive to the resort alone.
“What will we do?”
“Hope for the best and plan for the worst.”
“Was that what you did in the military?”
He nodded. “Still do the same with my work now. We make plans and several backups.”
“Why?”
“Missions never go like we plan. Things happen we can’t anticipate even though we plan for every contingency we can think of.”
“What if you run through all your contingency plans?”
“We develop new ones on the fly. Don’t worry, Piper. I won’t let anything happen to you. Nothing matters more to me than your safety.”
“Your safety is just as important as mine. I don’t want you hurt because of me.”
An invisible band tightened around Liam’s chest. “We’ll watch out for each other.” He drew Piper to her feet. “We need to get going. The longer we wait, the more time we give Barone to prepare a counterattack. I’d rather keep him off balance.”
He escorted Piper to his SUV and tucked her inside. Minutes later, he parked in her driveway and turned off the engine.
“Do you want to go to your place while I pack a bag? I’m sure it will take me longer.”
Liam shook his head. “I’m not leaving you alone.”
“You took care of the kidnappers.”
“Your uncle or Barone could have sent more men.”
He walked with Piper to her front door and held out his hand for the key. “Let me make sure it’s safe before you go too far inside the house.”
“Overprotective much?”
“I care about you, Sunshine. Let me do this for you.”
She thrust her hand into her purse, grabbed her house key, and handed it to him. “Where should I wait?”
“Inside the front door. Don’t move until I tell you it’s safe.” When she nodded, Liam unlocked the front door and eased his weapon from his holster. Motioning for Piper to stay behind him, he turned the knob.
As soon as he crossed the threshold, Liam froze. Oh, man. Piper wouldn’t be happy when she saw the state of her house.
“What’s wrong?” She gasped when she saw the chaos. “What are the odds of a burglary hours after being kidnapped?”
“Zip.”
Piper stared. “Did the kidnappers trash my house before they threw me in the van?”
“It’s possible. Stay here while I check the rest of the house. I want to be sure you don’t have a visitor waiting for you and I need to know where you are while I search.”
She nodded.
Liam went from room to room, searching for a lingering intruder. He didn’t think he’d find one of Barone’s flunkies. Nine hours was a long time to wait for Piper to return home.
His frown deepened as he continued the search. Every room was trashed. Organizing her house again would take long hours.
When he’d cleared the house, Liam returned to the living room to find Piper in the same place, her gaze locked on the broken picture frames and glass, books scattered everywhere, DVDs tossed on the ground, their covers flung to various parts of the room. The desk drawers were upended, the contents dumped into a pile. Pictures had been ripped from the walls.
“Piper.”
She blinked and looked at him. “No unwanted visitors?”
He shook his head. “We have to call the police. Maybe they’ll find some prints.” He eyed her. “You don’t have an alarm system.”
Piper shrugged. “Couldn’t afford one. Delilah pays me what she can, but it’s not enough to install a state-of-the-art alarm system and keep up with the monthly monitoring fee.”
“I’ll call Fortress and see what they can work out. You need better protection, especially now that we’re together.”
“We’ll see.”
Yeah, they would. He didn’t want her life at risk because of money. If nothing else, he’d have Fortress take money from his pay and charge Piper a cut rate. He wanted her safe. Although he was careful, and Fortress scanned for mention of his name or work aliases, his identity could leak and provide a target for enemies. Piper would now be a prime target for anyone wanting revenge.
He grabbed his cell phone. “Pack your bag. Once the police arrive, you won’t be allowed to remain in the house. Touch as little as possible. We don’t want to contaminate evidence more than we already have. Cops will be here in a few minutes.”
“I’ll be quick.” Piper hurried down the hall to her bedroom as Liam tapped in the number for the police department.
When the dispatcher answered, he requested police assistance for a break in. Liam gave her what information he could. By the time the sirens sounded close, Piper returned with her bag packed.
He walked her to the SUV and placed her bag in the cargo area. At least now she’d have her own clothes and toiletries without worrying about when the police would release her house.
A prowl car arrived with lights and sirens, followed closely by a department SUV. Stella hopped out and headed for them. “What happened?”
“Someone trashed my house.”
“Let’s take a look.” Stella followed them into the bungalow and whistled low when she stepped inside the living room. “Does the whole house look like this?”
“Afraid so.” Piper scowled. “This will take forever to clean up. I’d love to get my hands on the person who did this and make them help me straighten the place.”
Stella trailed Liam and Piper throughout the house. When they returned to the living room, she asked, “Is anything missing, Piper?”
“My electronics are still here as well as my jewelry. I didn’t check for anything else.”
“The burglars were looking for something.” The detective waved a hand at the chaos in the living room. “No destruction of property. Everything is still intact, just dumped on the ground and rifled through. Do you know what they were looking for?”
Piper’s fists clenched. “Maybe the same thing the kidnappers wanted.”
“Did Gavin give you any indication in the previous texts what kind of information he had on Barone?”
“I wish. I don’t know what Gavin might have learned. He creates video games.”
“His father assumed he’d be loyal because of the blood tie.” Stella looked at Liam. “Have you talked to Zane yet?”
“Not yet.”
“Soon, okay?”
Liam blew out a breath. That didn’t sound good. “I’ll contact Z while we’re driving.” He was careful not to say too much. He hadn’t had time to search Piper’s house for bugs. No need to announce they were driving to Copper Ridge in case the burglars had left a bug behind. “Do you need us to stay?”
Stella shook her head. “I’ll contact you when the crime scene team finishes with Piper’s house. Take the day and enjoy yourselves. Let me worry about this.”
“Yes, ma’am.” In other words, get his woman out of here.
Liam threaded his fingers through Piper’s and led her to his SUV. On the way to his house, he called Zane.
“Yeah, Murphy.”
“It’s Liam. Need a favor.”
“Shoot.”
He explained what had been happening and said, “I need you to dig into Gino Romano, Matteo Barone, Gavin James, and Piper Reece.”
Piper’s head whipped his direction, her eyes wide.
“Piper? Isn’t that the woman you’re interested in?”
“Definitely. She’s in the SUV with me, Z. Say hello.”
A pause, then, “Piper, I’m Zane. It’s nice to talk to you.”
“Hello, Zane. The PSI teams mention your name with a great deal of respect in their voices.”
A deep chuckle filled the cabin of the SUV. “That’s because I have mad research skills and can make a computer do all kinds of neat tricks. Liam, what am I looking for?”
“Not sure. Stella Armstrong knows something about this situation that she can’t tell us. She encouraged me to contact you.”
“Huh. I’ll see what I can find out and get back to you. Anything else I can do?”
Liam slid Piper a look. “I need the accessories with trackers for Piper.”
“Where do I send them?”
“Copper Ridge Ski Resort. Piper and I will be there at least until tomorrow.”
“I’ll have the package to you in a few hours. Talk to you soon.” He ended the call.
“What accessories?” Piper asked.
“Jewelry with embedded GPS trackers. The men who took you from Wicks may have friends who want to do the same thing. If you have trackers on you, I don’t have to worry about areas with no surveillance or traffic cameras. For my peace of mind, will you wear the jewelry?”
“All right. What about you?”
“What about me?”
“Do you have jewelry with GPS trackers in case you’re kidnapped?”
He reached over and squeezed her hand. “Fortress operatives have trackers embedded under their skin. It’s not foolproof, but the trackers at least give reconnaissance units a starting point.”
Liam turned into the driveway of his ranch-style house located on a quiet street. “Come on. I won’t be long. Why don’t you grab a couple bottles of water and a few snacks for the road.” Although they wouldn’t be driving that long, the task would occupy Piper’s mind.
He unlocked the front door and turned to disable the alarm. His eyes narrowed. He’d set the alarm before he left Otter Creek for South America with his team. His alarm had been disabled.