CHAPTER NINETEEN
Liam sprinted across the restaurant, dodging a waiter who turned into his path. Cade followed close on his heels. When he reached the hall, Liam drew his weapon and held it down by his side.
He and Cade ran down the hall to the women’s restroom. He signaled Cade to take the right side while Liam took the left.
Shoving the door open, Liam quartered his side of the room while Cade scanned the right. Empty aside from Piper’s pink purse on the floor. Windows in the bathroom were too small to climb through and located close to the ceiling. Piper hadn’t come out of the hallway into the main restaurant. They would have seen her.
“Must be an exit close by.” Scooping up her purse, Liam hurried to the hall and turned right. Fifteen feet away was a dimly-lit exit sign. His blood ran cold. Not again. He’d promised to protect her.
“Is something wrong?” Their waitress hurried toward them.
“My girlfriend is missing.”
Blood drained from her face. “What? No. That wasn’t supposed to…”
He thrust the purse in her hands, impatient to go after Piper. “Take this to Room 3217. One of my friends will take care of it.”
He and his teammate ran to the glowing sign and hit the exit door at a dead run. A woman’s muffled scream and a man’s vicious swearing drew Liam’s attention to a wooded area fifty feet away from the rear of The Copper Kettle.
He and Cade raced toward the trees. Liam’s jaw clenched when he heard the sound of flesh hitting flesh. He put on another burst of speed. They had to reach Piper before the man who took her reached a vehicle. The man wouldn’t be able to carry her a long distance, not with Piper fighting to free herself from her captor.
Cade signaled he was circling to the right and disappeared into the shadowy interior of the woods.
Liam shoved his fear for Piper behind a mental barricade and fell back on his training, divorcing his emotion from the task. He had to stay focused or risk losing Piper for good.
With careful steps, he tracked the noises for another quarter of a mile. Weapon up and ready, he peered around a large rock formation and saw Piper on the ground, hand pressed to her bleeding mouth. Five feet away from her stood a bald Caucasian male. He weighed three hundred pounds, easy, all of it muscle. Around six foot two, the thug had Liam by a good fifty pounds and five inches. Didn’t matter. He refused to let this man take Piper.
“Where is it?” the man growled at Piper.
“Where is what?”
“The package your stupid boyfriend left for you.”
“I have a lot of things from my boyfriend.” She spread her hands. “Tell me what you’re looking for.”
“Don’t mess with me, lady. I’m not in a good mood. You’ve been nothing but trouble in a job that was supposed to be easy, quick cash.”
Liam frowned. Baldy was a hired gun? That didn’t make sense. Why would Barone hire someone from outside his organization when he had plenty of blood-loyal talent at his disposal? Hiring an outsider posed a risk to Barone’s security.
“Give me specifics so I can give you what you want.”
Good girl, Liam thought. She stalled for time, trusting Liam to find her.
“Information.” Baldy lumbered closer. “You’re wasting time. I’m not a patient man and I have a mean, nasty temper.”
“I keep important information in my purse, the purse you threw on the bathroom floor. You’ll have to take me back to the lodge.”
A snort. “I ain’t falling for that.” He aimed the weapon at Piper’s chest. “I’m tired of your lies, lady. Where is the information? Tell me and I might let you live.” A lazy shrug. “You’ll tell me what I want to know. How much you suffer is up to you. Where is the information and how much do you know? Talk or the first bullet goes through your kneecap in five seconds.”
He’d heard enough, and Cade was in place. Liam stepped out from cover. “Drop your weapon.”
Baldy froze. “You won’t shoot me. My finger’s on the trigger and the gun’s aimed at her head.”
“You want information. Killing Piper before you’re sure the information’s in her purse risks mission failure. If you hurt her, I’ll kill you. Drop your weapon and you live. Simple choice. Make it.”
He looked at Piper and mouthed, “On three, move right.” Out of Baldy’s sight, Cade left tree cover, weapon up and ready.
Liam silently mouthed the countdown. At three, Piper threw herself to the right and rolled. Liam leaped, taking Baldy to the ground, trusting Cade to secure Piper.
An elbow shot to the ribs stole Liam’s breath and shoved him off the thug who rolled to his back. Liam dove on top of Baldy and slammed his fist into the thug’s face, breaking his nose. Howling in pain and rage, Baldy swung his weapon toward Liam.
He clamped a hand around the man’s wrist with a punishing grip and pinned his arm to the ground. Liam stripped the weapon from his hand and tossed it aside. He dodged a blow to the throat and pressed his forearm against Baldy’s carotid artery. His opponent’s face reddened as he fought to free himself. The struggles weakened, then ceased as he slid into unconsciousness.
Breathing hard, Liam waited another few seconds to be sure he was down, then flipped Baldy onto his stomach. He secured his wrists behind his back with zip ties. That done, he stood and faced Piper.
When she threw herself into his arms, Liam hugged her tight. “Are you okay?”
She nodded but he knew adrenaline had poured into her system and blocked pain. Once she crashed, she’d notice any injuries.
Liam tilted her head up. His gaze zeroed in on her bleeding mouth. Jaw clenched, he turned his head and stared at Baldy, who was still unconscious.
“No.” Cade moved between Liam and Baldy. “We need to know who sent him. Can’t learn the identity if you kill him. Take your woman to the suite and send Simon or Trent. We need to interrogate this clown, hand him over to the cops, and leave Copper Ridge.”
Liam shifted toward the fallen thug, fury riding him hard. Baldy had deliberately hurt Piper to scare her into cooperating. A soft hand on his forearm brought him to a halt.
“I need my purse. Hopefully, someone hasn’t walked off with it.” She scowled. “That’s my favorite purse.”
“I handed it to our waitress with instructions to take it to the suite.”
She started to smile and winced. “Ouch. That hurts.”
Liam took her arm. His need to take care of her trumped the desire to teach Baldy a lesson in manners. “We’ll ask Matt to look at your lip.”
“And you’ll leave the bald man for the police to handle?”
“No promises.” If her injuries were more serious than a split lip, he’d dole out a suitable punishment to the creep who enjoyed hurting women.
Liam slid his arm around Piper’s waist, tightening his hold when he felt her body trembling. When they broke through the tree line, he guided her to the lodge’s side entrance and into the stairwell. He lifted Piper into his arms and carried her upstairs despite her protests. “Indulge me, Sunshine. I need to hold you. You scared me.”
Piper kissed his jaw. “Scared me, too. I knew you would find me, though. Did you activate the trackers?”
He shook his head. “The restaurant hallway had one exit that led outside. Cade and I heard you scream and tracked you.”
“Having the jewelry gave me peace of mind.”
He squeezed her gently, grateful she was alive. “I’d go to the ends of the earth to find you. With GPS help or not, I wouldn’t stop until you were my arms.”
Liam exited the stairwell on their floor and walked to the suite. He set Piper on her feet and unlocked the door.
Trent turned from the French doors and scowled when he saw the injury to Piper’s face. “What happened?”
Matt entered the suite with his mike bag, Simon on his heels. “Cade texted me.”
“Piper was kidnapped from the women’s restroom at the restaurant. Cade requested you or Simon interrogate the kidnapper before we notify the police.”
“I’ll go,” Simon said. “Coordinates?” Once he had the location, the spotter left the suite.
“While Matt checks Piper, tell me details.”
Liam relayed the events of the last hour while he watched Bravo’s medic assess Piper’s injuries. As Liam finished his report, Matt grabbed a chemically-activated ice pack and pressed it to Piper’s mouth.
“You need stitches. Would you prefer a hospital or me?”
“You.”
“All right. While we wait for the lidocaine to numb your lip, I’ll treat your scrapes.”
Liam sat beside Piper and gathered her close when he heard her teeth chattering. “It’s adrenaline dump, Piper. The shakes will pass soon.”
“Afterward, you’ll want to sleep.” Matt wrapped a blanket around her. “All of us experience different reactions to adrenaline dump. The shakes and heavy, dragging fatigue are common.”
She shivered and huddled deeper into the blanket and against Liam’s side. “How do you and the rest of Bravo handle this when you’re on missions?”
“We’ve experienced adrenaline dump so many times, the reaction isn’t extreme.” Liam kissed her temple. He held her while Matt cleaned the cut and slid the needle into her skin to administer the medicine.
The medic patted her knee. “Snuggle with Liam for a few minutes.”
Liam unwrapped her blanket and positioned Piper against his chest. He draped the cover over her back and looped his arms on top.
She groaned. “Not only do you have superb kissing skills, you’re as warm as a furnace. That’s it, Liam McCoy. Your days of playing the field are over. I’m keeping you.”
Matt and Trent grinned.
Liam chuckled. “Good to know I won’t have to fight off other would-be pursuers.”
“Not a chance.”
Matt moved to stand behind the couch. “Extend your right arm, Piper.” He treated the scrapes and cuts on her hands and arms. When he finished, he tossed the medical detritus in the trash and returned. “All right. Let’s see if the lidocaine has kicked in.”
He pinched various spots close to the cut. She didn’t react. “Excellent. You’ll have to turn around, Piper. The stitches will take five minutes, maybe less. Afterward, huddle with Liam until the shakes stop. We’ll bring you a soft drink with sugar to help combat the shock. Are you ready?”
Piper nodded. She turned to face Matt who now stood in front of the couch.
Matt tugged on rubber gloves. “Lean your head back against Liam’s shoulder. If you’re not a fan of needles, close your eyes.”
“Ha. I’d rather see that needle than be taken by surprise.”
“You’ll feel tugging and pressure. No pain.”
“Go ahead.”
Liam stroked Piper’s hair as the medic worked. True to his word, five minutes later, Matt was finished.
“Shouldn’t leave much of a scar. I used small stitches.”
“Unlike what you do with us,” Trent pointed out.
“I stitch wounds while we’re on the move. Can’t do delicate work when tangos are on our trail.” Matt handed Piper the ice pack wrapped in a washcloth. “Keep this is place for twenty minutes. We’ll repeat every two hours. The cold reduces swelling.”
A knock sounded on the door.
Trent checked the peephole and admitted Cade.
“Cops will be here soon.”
“What did you learn from the kidnapper?”
“He doesn’t know who hired him.”
Liam scowled at Cade as Piper huddled against his chest again. “How was he contacted and paid?”
“Anonymous email for the arrangements. Once he agreed to the terms, half the money was mailed to a P.O. box he uses for business. The other half would be collected on job completion.”
“What was the job?”
Cade’s gaze shifted to Piper. “Once he retrieved Gavin’s information, he was instructed to kill her and hide her body.”