Piper
It’s getting dark out, and Vanni wants the yard kept that way, although he’s keeping an eye on everything via the CCTV camera that overlooks the compound, front, back and sides. There are premises here that constantly need watching – a small bar they open up to the public on weekends, Dragon’s tattoo studio, a garage and workshop for bike repairs. They’ve got a whole little industry going on here, but until Vanni’s dealt with Vierra, they’re all closed off to anyone but club members and their family; those of us who are being kept here, on lockdown, ‘cause Vanni doesn’t know just what kind of shit my father’s really going to deal out, who that shit will be aimed at, it may not just be me he’s gunning for now.
“You OK?”
“You shouldn’t be out here. There are cameras everywhere now, you know that.”
He doesn’t move, he leans back against the wall beside me and follows my gaze.
“Looking at the stars, huh?”
“You should go inside, Logan.”
“I need some fresh air.”
“I thought Vanni had called church.”
“It’s finished.”
“How close is he? Vierra?”
“Close. Two nights ago he was seen in Vegas, checking out Vanni’s compound. But he’s heading here now, Piper. We have to assume that he’s already in L.A., so we’re on standby. We’re just waiting now.”
“Jesus…”
My stomach pulls itself into a knot so tight I can’t breathe.
“You should be the one to go inside, Piper. You’ll be safer in there.”
“I don’t feel safe anywhere, Logan.”
I look up at him, and I’m feeling everything from fear to confusion, I feel sick with nerves and a realization that maybe I was right. Maybe I stopped running too soon, stopped at someone like Vanni because he was there and I was in a panic, and I just needed that safety. I needed it. Did I really need him?
“Once this is over, Logan… what happens then, huh?”
“What do you want to happen?”
I can’t answer that question. I think it’s safer to stay quiet. “I’d better get back inside, huh?”
“Piper, hang on!”
He follows me inside, follows me into mine and Vanni’s room, kicking the door shut behind him.
“Jesus, Logan, what are you doing? Vanni is just outside…”
“I don’t give a fuck anymore, Piper.”
He shrugs, and that fear I felt before, it’s a hundred times worse now, so strong I have to swallow hard to keep the nausea down.
“I don’t. I mean, Jesus, I’ve had worse shit thrown at me, faced more terrifying crap than the prospect of Vanni Colletti taking me down…”
“Which he will do, Logan, if he catches you in here.”
“What do you want to happen, Piper? ‘Cause you haven’t answered that question yet.”
“It doesn’t matter what I want…”
“What do you want to happen, Piper?”
His eyes are boring into mine, I can’t break the stare, he’s got me, and I’m floored. I’m scared and confused and I thought I was safe, with Vanni, but now I know that the second I laid eyes on Logan Sandero that safety disappeared. And now – now I’m in way more danger than I was before, the walls of this clubhouse can’t keep me safe, not when the one thing that’s put me in that new line of fire is right here inside it.
“I want this all to go away,” I whisper, even though I know that’s no answer, it means nothing. It tells him, nothing.
“And then what? Then what, Piper? What do you want, when all this is over?”
I step back from him, noises outside in the corridor are making me jumpy, setting me on edge, this is suicide.
“When all this is over, Piper, what the fuck do you want?” he hisses through gritted teeth, and I look at him. His eyes are blazing now, his frustration pushing him close to breaking point, I’ve seen this in so many men both here and back home.
“You need to go, Logan. Please.”
He shakes his head and comes toward me, but I back even further away, I can’t do this, I can’t. I love Vanni, I need to keep telling myself that. I love Vanni, I love him, the man who promised to protect me. I love him. I owe him.
“Please, Logan…”
He reaches out to take my hand, and I try to pull it back but he’s too quick, his fingers just grasping mine before I can move them away.
“You force me to face up to something then deny me the chance to express how I feel? That’s goddamn cruel, sweetheart.”
I shake my head as he pushes me back against the wall, his fingers tightening around mine, he’s so close I can feel his breath on my shoulder.
“So here’s how it is, OK? I thought I couldn’t have you, but I can have anything. Vanni doesn’t own you, nobody owns anyone, not really. And you want me, too, I can see it, right there in your eyes. Yeah, you’re not the only one who can read people, Piper. You think you can hide how you really feel forever, huh?”
“I won’t be here forever. Vanni and me, we’ll be heading back to Nevada once all this is finished…”
“This’ll never be finished, not really. You and me, we’ll never be finished. You might very well go home, leave California behind, but me? No, you won’t leave me behind, you won’t be able to do that…”
“So arrogant…”
His mouth crashes down onto mine, and even though every fiber of my being is screaming at me to push him away, to kick him back from me, I can’t. I don’t. And when he pulls back just a little, rests his forehead against mine, his thumb lightly stroking my cheek I feel a twisted kind of calm take over, flooding through my veins like someone’s just given me a shot of something.
“I tried, Piper. I tried to leave you behind but I couldn’t do it. And when you turned up here, I started fighting those feelings again, because having you around all the time, it was fucking torture, it hurt like hell. But I kept trying. And fucking you, yeah, that was good, but it wasn’t helping me forget, it was only making things worse, because I wanted you. From the very first second I saw you, I wanted you. Everything else I said or did to try and make myself believe that wasn’t true, that was just an act. A preventative measure, something to try and block out what I was really feeling. But what you said to me, this morning, it hit home, baby. It fucking hit home. I want you. And I need to know if you want me, too.”
“Logan, we can’t…”
“Do you want me, too, Piper?”
“Yes.”
And I mean it this time. I’ve said it before, but I was never really sure, but I mean it now. I want him.
“Then we need to work something out. But not now, OK? When this is done, when it’s over…”
“Then what, huh?”
He lets go of me like I’m on fire, and we both look over at the door because Vanni’s standing there, his face a dark mask of anger, and I’ve never felt so terrified.
“You gonna answer my question? Either of you?”
He looks from one of us to the other, but it’s like I’m shutting down, like my body’s just giving up, closing itself off to this nightmare scenario. And then he walks over to me, grabs me by the arm and flings me back against the wall, his face so close to mine I can feel that anger spilling out of him.
“Is this how you repay the man who promised to keep you safe?”
I can’t speak, I can’t even tell him I’m sorry, my throat’s just closed up. Am I sorry? Yes, I am, but it’s happened. Logan Sandero came into my life and fucked it up even more than it already was, and I was too weak to stop it; to stop him. I was too weak. And now we both have to pay that price.
“Let her go, Vanni.”
Vanni drops his head and laughs, but it’s not that deep, low laugh of his, this laugh is laced with a dark foreboding that fills the room with an air of something terrifying. “You want me to let her go…” He keeps hold of my wrist but turns his head to look at Logan. “So, what, Logan? So you can whisk her to safety? Her Death Knight in shining fucking armor?”
“Just let her go. You’re hurting her.”
“I’m not hurting her, am I, darlin’?”
He turns his face toward mine, but I don’t recognize the man I married. He’s gone, what I’m seeing here is the man Vanni really is.
“Am I hurting you, Piper? This man wants to know the answer to that question.”
“No.”
And that’s a lie, Logan knows that, but he doesn’t push it, even though I can see he wants to.
“See? I’m not hurting her. She’s fine. For now.”
His words send a trickle of fear coursing through me, tearing through my body so fast I feel my head start to spin.
“I said, let her go, you crazy asshole.”
I can’t stop the gasp of horror that escapes as Logan pulls his gun on Vanni, but still Vanni keeps hold of my wrist, swinging me around until I’m in front of him, his arm now keeping me pinned back against him. “You a good enough shot to miss her? Think you can do that, son?”
“What’s all the fucking noise…?” Bullet stops dead in the doorway as he tries to process the scene in front of him. “Jesus, Logan, put the gun down, man.”
“Your brother here’s right, Logan. You might want to put down that gun, and let’s talk about this like adults, huh?”
“Let her go. Or I’ll fucking shoot you, Vanni, so help me god…”
“Logan, please…”
But even my pleas aren’t getting through to him, he’s not listening anymore, he’s someplace else, he’s too focused. And it’s only when we all hear a gunshot ringing out from within the clubhouse that he loses that focus; that Vanni lets go of me, his hand automatically reaching for his own gun as more shots are heard, and I don’t know what to do. I’m frozen in fear, my feet won’t move, even when everyone else rushes toward the door. But then Logan looks back at me, and in an instant we both know what we have to do, it’s our only chance.
He quickly glances over at the retreating figures of Vanni and Bullet as they race toward the main part of the clubhouse, the sound of gunshots and screams and a sickening commotion filling the air, it’s a terrifying sound. And I want to be sick, I can feel my mouth go dry then fill up with bile but I haven’t got time for that, I need to swallow it down and run.
“Come on…”
Logan holds out his hand and I take it as he drags me down the hallway to the back door, kicking it open and looking outside. It seems strangely quiet out here, although the sound of what I’m assuming are my father’s men and the Death Knights facing off is still deafening, and I want that numbness to take over again. I don’t want this to be happening, it’s too much.
Logan pulls me around the back of the clubhouse until we reach the small path that takes us out front, and then he stops, pushing me flat against the garage wall before he carefully peers out into the compound.
“Shit!” he mutters, which causes my stomach to contract again, and I double over and vomit, but his hand grabs mine and pulls me away before I even have time to finish throwing up. “Come on. We need to get out of here.”
I close my eyes and breathe in deep as we run out into the yard, Logan dragging me behind him, and I try not to take notice of the two lifeless bodies lying by the clubhouse entrance, I don’t know whether they’re club members or Vierra’s men, I don’t look that closely, I’m trying to keep my eyes focused straight ahead.
“Get on the bike,” Logan instructs, and I don’t know whether it’s his bike or just the first available one he came to, it doesn’t really matter, it’s our escape. “Those bastards have already opened the gates for us…”
I look over toward the gates, they’re wide open now. I can only assume that the men lying dead outside the clubhouse were the men Vanni had guarding the gates; that they were forced to open them then shot dead in cold blood, I don’t know, I’m only assuming. Because I don’t know what the hell is happening here, I only know I need to get away, we need to get away.
Logan kicks the bike into action and we speed off in the direction of Venice, and I don’t know whether we should be going there, going anywhere that Vierra might think I could be, when he finds out I’m not at the clubhouse. Because he will find out, soon, and he won’t give up looking for me. That isn’t going to happen. We just need to get away from here, as fast as we can, because police sirens are now mingling with the sound of gunshots, all kinds of shit is about to kick off.
I hold onto Logan as we speed through the streets of L.A., and yet, the further we ride away from the clubhouse – I still don’t feel safe. I don’t know if I’ll ever be safe again.
When we reach Vanni’s place in Marina del Rey Logan leaves the bike in the underground garage and we head up to the condo, my hand clinging onto his, I’m too frightened to let go of him. And as we close the door behind us I take a second to breathe, because it feels like I haven’t done that since we left the clubhouse. I take a second to catch my breath, to let the whole fucked up situation sink in, and then that fear takes hold again, sweeping over me so fast I have to sit down.
“Here. Drink this.”
I look up as Logan hands me a glass of what I’m assuming is whiskey. And I knock it back in one mouthful, waiting for the alcohol hit to take over, but it’s going to take a lot of whiskey before I feel any effect. I’m too numb, too detached from everything now.
“We aren’t safe here, Logan. Vierra won’t give up, and this condo… It’ll be one of the first places he’ll come looking for me. And Vanni…” I drop my head and stare into my empty glass. And I don’t finish that sentence, I don’t think I have to.
“We just need a few minutes, Piper. To calm down and think.”
“What’ve we done, Logan?”
He sweeps a hand through his hair and throws back his head, sighing heavily, but he can’t answer that question.
“They must’ve found out, what Vanni was gonna do. Vierra, he must’ve brought more men, come ready to do battle, it isn’t just my life they’ll want to take now. Everyone’s in danger… Jesus, Logan, what about Reba? If Marco finds her there…”
He looks at me, and he isn’t scared, there isn’t a trace of fear in his eyes. “It’s gonna be OK, Piper.”
“How can you say that?”
“Just trust me, all right?”
“You see, people keep telling me to do that, and then shit happens.”
“We need to keep riding.”
“Where to?”
“Away from here.”
“Yeah, I kind of got that.”
The sound of someone banging on the front door manages to startle even him, briefly, and I feel another wave of fear rise up as I stare at Logan.
“You really think they’d knock first, Piper?”
That doesn’t make me feel any calmer, any less scared, it doesn’t ease the fear.
“Logan? Are you there?”
“Jesus… that’s Reba…”
He runs down the hall to the front door and I sit back, drawing my knees to my chest, closing my eyes as I try to breathe, try to feel anything other than terrified. I can hear voices out in the hall, muffled talking, and I squeeze my eyes even tighter shut – in the hope that I’ll wake up and find out this has been nothing but some crazy nightmare?
It’s only when I hear something – a noise, like someone, something clattering around outside, it’s only when I hear that coming from the back of the house that my eyes snap wide open and I jump off the couch, my stomach churning as I look toward the French doors, I can barely process what’s happening here. Once again it’s as if I’ve suddenly become detached from the terrifying reality in front of me; like I’m watching this play out from the sidelines, as though I’m not really a part of it. But I am, this is real, and I’m frantically trying to get my head together here but I’m struggling. And then I see him, there on the terrace; see him slowly slide open the French doors, walk inside, and I can’t move. I’m frozen, consumed by an icy fear that’s rooted me to the spot because he’s standing right in front of me now, cold, calm and collected, he doesn’t look like he’s been involved in any kind of shoot-out; doesn’t look like he’s just clambered up onto Vanni’s terrace to get to me, he’s not even broken a sweat, Jesus! And I still can’t get my head around any of this, and I need to. I need to get it together fast, or I’m gone. I’m finished.
“Still as beautiful as ever, Piper.”
Just hearing his voice, that guttural drawl, it makes me sick to my stomach.
“Get the fuck away from me.”
“I’m sure I remember your daddy telling you not to speak to me like that.”
He’s alone, why is he alone? And I can still hear Logan talking out in the hall, should I scream? Make some kind of noise? But before I can even think about doing any of that Marco’s hand clamps tightly over my mouth as he pulls me back against him, the feel of cold metal pressing hard against the small of my back.
“It wouldn’t be wise, princess. To do anything stupid. ‘Cause your man out there, he’s being distracted nicely by my wife. It’s just you and me in here. We’re all alone.” He laughs, a deep, humorless laugh and that sickness in the pit of my stomach intensifies. “Just like old times, huh?”
They got to Reba. She can’t escape now. And I can? I can only pray that Logan gets back in here, that he sees through whatever shit Reba’s been instructed to carry out, I can only pray…
“You’ve wasted a lot of our time, Piper, and I’m really not happy ‘bout that ‘cause there are way more important things to be getting on with than tracking you down. But your daddy, he wants this job finished, you hearing me? He wants this finished. So let’s not waste any more time.”
He digs the gun harder against my back and that’s when I snap; when a red mist of anger and hatred and pure adrenaline kicks in and I bite down on his hand, an action that shocks him just long enough for me to spring away from him. But I have to be quick, and I reach around and pull out the tiny pistol Logan had slid down the front of my jeans as we’d ran from the clubhouse. I didn’t know what it was at the time, I’d just felt him shove something at me, and it’s only just registered with me now that it’s there; that Marco didn’t feel it when he pulled me back against him, Jesus, he must be slipping. But I grab it, and I raise it, and he stares at me, a slow grin taking over his hard, worn face.
“Seriously, Piper, you really think this is how it’s going to go down?”
He raises his own gun and pulls back on the trigger, and I don’t even think anymore, I just fire, and that first shot misses him, it doesn’t even graze him, my hands are shaking too much. And my mistake gives him time to return fire, but Logan racing into the room distracts him, and the bullet hits my upper arm, the pain ripping through me but I don’t have time to feel it. I’m only aware of Logan raining punches down on Marco, of Reba’s screaming, of the gun Marco had aimed at me skidding across the floor as Logan grabs his wrist and twists it around, a sickening sound of bone snapping filling the air. And that feeling of detachment, it’s back, it’s taking me over, shutting me down little by little and I aim my pistol down at the floor where Marco lies, battered and broken, ‘cause Logan isn’t stopping. But I need him to. I need this to end. So I fire, over and over again until I’ve used up every round, even though I’m almost sure that first bullet through his skull probably killed him. And maybe that was too peaceful an end for him. Maybe I should’ve let Logan carry on, make his last few minutes on this earth as painful and disturbing as possible, but I was tired. I’m still tired, and as I sink to my knees and drop my head I keep the pistol in my hand, my eyes closing, I’m letting that darkness descend, I’m inviting it in…