Piper looked over the financial statements on her computer while she replayed the morning through again and again in her head. Someone had shot at her. Or rather the car she was in. That was some scary shit. She should be hyperventilating. Instead, she was feeling settled. Almost serene. Her stalker had shown his hand. The police had chased him, he couldn’t hide forever.

The only distraction was when Colleen barged into her office, her eyes lit with a fire that made Piper want to duck and cover.

“I’m surprised to see you here,” Colleen said through gritted teeth.

“Why? I’m back from my… honeymoon or wedding thing.”

“I just thought, never mind. Here, the numbers you demanded.”

Piper took the folder. “I think I asked nicely for them, if I recall correctly?”

“Whatever,” Colleen said, spinning on her dagger-like heels and stomping out.

Her mind kept going back to what could be happening, or not happening. Maybe it had been over for hours and she was worried about nothing. She couldn’t hope though, it was too tempting and the world too unsure to even think it could be over.

Eden had ordered lunch for her and they ate together in her office. Eden had her feet propped up on the desk in a very un-assistant like manner. Piper slurped down her noodles and listened to Eden talk about what it was like being on tour with Bliss Hartley. The hotel rooms, the bad food. It didn’t sound all that bad to her. Staying in a different city every night and rock concerts on demand? That was a life.

“It’s bullcrap. It was fun the first year. Now I feel like I’ve been at a demented summer camp for way too long.”

Before Piper could respond, Eden’s phone rang. She answered and her eyes shot to Piper’s. “Really? Yeah, I’ll let her know.” She ended the phone call and grinned at Piper.

“SPD arrested one Jerry Loe after he crashed his truck into a tree. There was a gun found in the cab of the truck and they will be pulling video footage to corroborate Hudson and Anson’s account.”

Piper put down her noodles. “They got him?”

“Yes, and they’re going to be getting warrants to search his place. I don’t know what they’ll find, but hopefully enough to tie him to the shooting, your stalking, and the blackmail.”

“Does that mean he’ll go away? Like for a long time?” Piper was holding her breath.

The door to her office swung open and Anson was standing, filling the space. His face was tense but relieved when he saw her.

“He’s going away for a long time,” Anson answered.

Darn that Kindred hearing.

Eden stood up, “I think I’ll leave you two alone for a while.”

Piper stood as Anson came around the desk, he swept her into his arms and kissed her. Kissed her until she was struggling for breath. She looked up to Anson when he finally let her up for air. “I’m afraid to believe it,” she admitted.

“Believe it. He’s in custody. I’m thinking about asking Detective Hank if I can have some time alone in a room with him.”

“Detective Hank?”

“Hank of Clan Kenaz, he’s a tiger and a cop. Sadly, he doesn’t owe me a favor. I wish he did.”

“I’d rather know Jerry’s locked up behind bars and concrete.”

“That’s going to happen. It means you might have to testify, do you think you can do that?”

“Might?”

“Depends on what they want to charge him with. The shooting and extortion might be what they can get him on.”

Piper pushed him away. “I’m sorry, you mean he could go to jail but not for driving me crazy for years?”

“Babe, it may not seem fair, but the end result is the same.”

Piper saw that he was relaxed and his face looked happy. She could see this was what they had been working towards. Piper needed more time. She needed to let it settle in. Anson saw a wide open door and was racing towards it.

Taking a deep breath, “Yeah, yeah, it’s ended.”

“How should we celebrate?”

“I want to go to my house. Sleep in my bed, maybe paint?”

“Anything you want. Do you want to finish work?”

“I should, I mean, back to normal, right?”

“Babe, I don’t think you’ve had normal for a very long time. I think you should just do what feels right.”

Piper stepped away from him, her hands landing on her hips. “I don’t know what feels right. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. I have my work, but now I have you. What do regular people do? Does it all just go away? The fear? Will I forget that it ever happened?”

Piper felt her breath coming in faster, her heart felt heavy and she knew she was moments away from crying. She couldn’t cry in her office, people would see or hear. She didn’t have to worry because Anson grabbed her and walked her to the corner, shielding her from any prying eyes.

“I—I—can’t…” she gasped. The horror of her life that she had controlled for so long came crashing down on her.

“Sshhh… Piper, I’ve got you. I’ll always have you.”

“He made my life hell… and why?” she cried. “Why? What did I ever do to him? He ruined my relationships, my weddings. He scared me, followed me, and sent me fucking pig hearts! And why?”

“Babe, he was sick. He’s mentally ill. He didn’t see anything wrong with what he did.”

Piper struggled to get out of his arms. “You’re defending him!” she screamed.

“Piper, I am not. I want nothing more than to rip his throat out. That’s why I’m here and not down at the station. In my book, he doesn’t deserve to live. He’s non-value added to this world. He’s taking up space and air. Neither of those things he deserves. But that’s what the old me would have done. The new me, the mated me, wants to hold his mate and rub her back. I want to wrap you up and never let you go. I can’t change your past, I can only make your future better.”

The tears started to fall, then they poured, her heart ached and her head hurt. Her whole body hurt. It was like her muscles and her body just couldn’t take any more.

“That’s it, we’re leaving.” Anson swept her into his arms and she put up a feeble fight.

“You can’t c-carry me out. They’ll see,” she wailed.

“Fuck them. You aren’t walking out of here.”

Piper couldn’t process what was going to happen next. She couldn’t put together the pieces of Anson carrying her through the maze of cubicles, of Eden following behind them with her purse and jacket. What strangers on the street must have thought about a large Kindred man carrying a sobbing woman out of a building.

“This is embarrassing,” she choked out when Anson put her in the car.

“To who?”

“E-Everyone,” she said with a hiccup.

“Everyone is nobody.”

Piper choked out a laugh. “You’d say that because nobody laughs at you.”

“No one was laughing at you. All I saw was worried faces.”

“How am I supposed to go back? They’ll think I’m weak.”

“Not really, I let Eden tell them you were in a high-speed chase this morning with someone shooting at you. They’ll be talking about that, not me carrying you.”

Piper let out a moan. She didn’t know if that was worse or not.

“Hudson, let’s head to her place,” Anson directed.

Piper closed her eyes to the city speeding by. She didn’t want to think, feel, or even acknowledge the outside world anymore. If there was a dark hole somewhere she could drop herself in, it would be a relief. The drive felt like forever. She knew it took about thirty minutes with traffic. The backseat of the SUV was warm and the hum of the engine almost soothed her into a light sleep. Maybe it wasn’t sleep, it was more akin to complete mental exhaustion.

When the car stopped, her brain acknowledged it distantly. She was picked up, there was some walking and then she was placed like a fine china doll on her white fluffy bed.

“It’s too early for bed.”

Anson sat next to her and started taking off his boots. “It’s a nap. They’re good for you.”

“I don’t nap. Kids nap.”

“Babe, shut up and close your eyes. Today, you nap.”