CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
“We have movement in Quadrant 6.”
Liam wrapped his hand around Piper’s. “Confirmation of target?” He spoke in low tones to Brody over the comm system that he, Piper, and the other operatives wore.
“Hold.”
“What do we do?” Piper whispered to Liam.
“Exactly what we’re doing right now.” He trailed the fingers of his free hand down her cheek. “Act as though we have nothing more important on our minds than enjoying a moonlit night, a tropical breeze, and each other’s company.”
Liam brushed her lips with his, pressure light, senses on high alert. “If this is Spencer, he has to walk in a quarter of a mile before he breaches the inner perimeter. We have time yet. The intruder might not be him.”
“You could cover that distance in two minutes or less. Stands to reason Spencer could do the same.”
“He could but he won’t.”
“Why not?”
“He’s Marine Recon, like me. He’ll expect a trap. If he runs in, he could miss one and end up injured or dead.”
Piper frowned. “Do we have traps set up?”
“Yes, ma’am. If we make the trek in too easy, he’ll know we set a trap and he’ll pull back to wait until he controls the encounter instead of us.”
“What if an innocent wandered into the trap?”
“Not likely, Sunshine. We chose the routes with the most cover, ones Spencer will choose. We don’t like open spaces. No place to take cover. Most civilians, however, prefer open spaces. We also didn’t activate the traps until nightfall.”
“We’ve been watching to make sure a private citizen didn’t stumble into the wrong area, Piper,” Logan murmured.
Sawyer broke in. “Target confirmed. Spencer just passed the first perimeter. Heading toward the second.”
“Copy.” Liam pulled Piper to her feet. “You ready?”
She nodded.
“We have your back,” Jesse whispered.
“Your friend is swearing a blue streak at the traps we set,” Brody whispered. “Guess he doesn’t appreciate all our hard work.”
Liam grinned, threaded his fingers through Piper’s, and led her from the deck to the hard-packed sand. He lingered at various places, pointing out a star or a shell to Piper as he gave his old teammate time to reach and observe them.
“Target approaching second perimeter,” Max whispered.
“Copy,” Liam responded. Two minutes, maybe less, before Spencer arrived. He exaggerated his limp and slowed his movements to give the appearance of a more limited range of motion. It wasn’t far from the truth. He’d do whatever was necessary to protect Piper and deal with the physical aftermath if their plan backfired and he had to take on Spencer one-on-one.
He guided Piper toward the place he’d chosen for this standoff. He still didn’t like the risk to her. In order to have the freedom to love her without fear of Spencer stalking them the rest of their lives, he’d deal.
He stopped and tucked Piper against his chest. Turning his back on an approaching enemy went against every ounce of his training but would entice Spencer from hiding. The Marine might suspect a trap, but he wouldn’t be able to resist the chance to taunt Liam with his cleverness. Arrogance had always been the man’s downfall.
“I love you,” he murmured against Piper’s ear. “After this is over, we’re going home so I can buy you the biggest diamond I can find to warn off all the other men in Otter Creek.”
“Remember the bonbons, sugar,” Max murmured.
That comment made Piper laugh.
Perfect timing because the skin on the back of Liam’s neck prickled.
“Target is 100 feet and closing,” Brody said. “Status, Sawyer.”
“Green light,” came the reply.
Liam kissed Piper’s temple. “I’m trusting you with her life,” he whispered to the other sniper.
“I’ve got her.”
“Liam,” Piper whispered.
“We’ll be fine. Follow the plan and remember how much I love you.” He nuzzled her cheek, shifting to more fully protect her with his body.
“Fifty feet,” Brody said. “Weapon in his hand. He’s still on the move, checking for traps.”
“Locked on target,” Sawyer said.
“Thirty feet.”
“I love you, Liam,” Piper whispered.
Liam settled his mouth on hers for a quick, intense kiss before he pulled back far enough to look into her eyes.
“Show time,” Brody murmured.
Liam cupped her face between his palms and waited for Spencer to make his move. He didn’t have to wait long.
“Well, isn’t this cozy,” a raspy voice drawled. “The traitor and the fair maiden.”
Liam stiffened. He slowly removed his hands from Piper’s face and turned to his nemesis, careful to keep his body between Spencer and Piper.
“Jerome, what are you doing here?” Piper’s voice conveyed the perfect amount of shock. “Do you live around here?”
A harsh laugh escaped as he lumbered a few feet closer. “Aren’t you the sweet one? No, honey, I don’t live around here. I followed you.”
He stared at Spencer. Prison hadn’t been kind to him. Yeah, he had bulked up, having nothing but time on his hands. Spencer must have skipped the stretching part of his regimen because his dexterity had suffered. Lack of sunlight had left his skin pasty. On top of that, his hair had thinned. He looked fifty instead of thirty-three.
“His name isn’t Jerome, Sunshine. Jared Spencer was in my Marine unit.” Liam scanned the man, noting at least two handguns, one in his right hand and one at his waist in a holster. A large knife was strapped to his thigh. Probably more weapons were hidden on his body. Jared had come prepared for a fight.
He should feel flattered at the indication of how dangerous Spencer thought Liam was despite his injuries.
Fury and hatred gleamed in the eyes of the man who had targeted Piper to draw Liam into a trap. To achieve his objective, Jared wouldn’t have hesitated to hurt Piper. That was something Liam would never forget. “What are you doing here, Spencer?”
“What? No warm welcome? I just got out of prison, McCoy. A prison you put me in. You’re the reason I lost five years of my life.”
“Your choice to steal antiquities and profit from selling them to the highest bidder put you in that cell.”
A slow nod. “I’ll give you that. I did choose to profit from a few black market deals. You should have ignored the transactions. No one was hurt.”
“You stole Afghani history. You hurt every citizen of that nation by stealing their heritage.”
“They’re nothing but a bunch of sand eaters. They don’t know anything about heritage or loyalty.” Spencer tilted his head. “Kind of like you, McCoy.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“You forgot the Corp’s heritage and loyalty. We watch each other’s backs. We protect our brothers in arms. But what did you do? Stab me in the back and sell me out. You cost me everything, man. My job, my career, my freedom, and my woman.” His gaze drilled into Liam. “I’ll take all of that from you.”
Liam’s blood ran cold at the implication of Spencer’s words.
Piper gasped. “You’re crazy.”
“Better hope I’m not, sweet Piper, or the rest of your life will be unpleasant.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Simple. McCoy owes me. I’m collecting. You’re the payment.”
Liam’s hands fisted. “You’ll have to go through me to take her.”
Spencer gave a harsh laugh. “I saw you walking. A good gust of wind would blow you down. Thought I’d have to be clever and fast to deal with you. You’re a disappointment, old buddy. You’ve gone soft since you left the Corp. One punch and you’ll be finished. Taking your woman will be a cinch.”
“I won’t go with you.” Piper’s hand rested on Liam’s back as though she knew he was holding himself in control by a thread. “I’ll die first.”
“If you don’t cooperate, I’ll shoot your man. He looks like crap. How well do you think he’ll recover from yet another wound? Yeah, I heard he was near death’s door. I haven’t had a chance to shoot a gun in years. I might hit something vital by accident, Piper. You want to chance it?”
“You wouldn’t.”
“Don’t bet his life on that, honey. Either way, you’ll be warming my bed instead of his for the rest of your life. Of course, I can’t guarantee how long that will be. Depends on how much you please me.”
“Hold steady, Liam,” Brody murmured.
Hard to do when he wanted to wrap his hands around Spencer’s throat and squeeze the life out of him. Still, he understood the game Spencer played. A man out of control reacted with emotion instead of logic. If Liam went into a fight that way, he’d die, plain and simple.
Spencer gestured at Liam with his weapon. “I know you’re armed. Drop the weapons on the sand. Do it slow or I’ll pull this trigger. Can’t guarantee the bullet won’t hit your woman, though.”
Liam kept his face blank as he divested himself of his weapons. Two handguns, a knife, and two throwing stars. He held his arms away from his body and slowly turned so Spencer would see he was unarmed.
He faced his nemesis again.
“Now, Piper,” Sawyer murmured.
Liam felt her small hand sliding the Sig she’d been hiding into his middle-of-the-back holster. “What now, Spencer?”
His expression was one of disgust. “You won’t fight me to keep her? I thought you loved Piper.”
“I’m crazy about her.”
“You have a funny way of showing it, man. You don’t deserve a woman as fine as she is. Get on your knees.”
Liam stilled. No way. Piper was in the line of fire. Spencer could hit Piper by accident.
“Do it, Liam,” Brody ordered through the ear piece. “Trust us.”
Spencer’s eyebrow rose. “You want to test me?”
“Liam, please,” Piper whispered.
“Piper, shift to the right,” Sawyer said. “Liam’s concerned Spencer will shoot you by accident.”
“I’m waiting, McCoy,” Spencer snapped. “You have three seconds. After that, I’ll shoot you and Piper can take her chances with the bullet.”
Liam held up his hand. “All right.” He slowly dropped to his knees, his grimace real as the injured muscle in his thigh protested the movement. Jesse had badgered Liam through rehab exercises for the past week to build his mobility for this confrontation. The medic had done an amazing job for the short time they’d had to work.
As Liam lowered himself to the sand, Piper moved to his right.
“Come here, Piper.” Spencer’s eyes glittered. “Unless you want to watch your man die.”
“Don’t hurt him.”
“Move it, beautiful. I want my hands on you.”
“You’re doing great, Piper,” Logan said softly. “Stick to the plan.”
She trudged toward the ex-convict, her body trembling.
Liam gritted his teeth. Spencer would pay for scaring Piper. He shifted his body a fraction to the right to hide the movement of his hand toward the holster.
“You won’t get away with this, Jared,” Piper said as she neared the other man. “Do you think I’ll let you touch me? I despise you. I’ll escape the minute your back is turned. I won’t give up until I succeed or die trying. By the time I’m gone, you’ll wish you had never taken me from the man I love.”
“Shut up and get over here.” Spencer scowled at her. “Keep pushing me and I might decide you aren’t worth the satisfaction of taking you from McCoy. The only thing keeping you alive right now is the knowledge of how much McCoy will suffer knowing I have what he was too cowardly to fight for.”
He grabbed Piper by the wrist and dragged her toward him.
“Now,” Brody said.
Piper dropped to her knees. Spencer’s weapon lowered a fraction as he shifted his weight to maintain his balance and keep his grip on Piper.
Liam freed his Sig, aimed, and pulled the trigger. The bullet slammed into Spencer’s chest.
The man staggered back and sank to his knees, shock on his face. He slowly looked at his chest, then slumped to the sand as Piper scrambled away from him and ran toward Liam.
He stood and caught Piper against his chest. Liam kept his weapon trained on Spencer until Max raced from cover, his own weapon aimed at the man.
The operative stripped weapons from Spencer and tossed them away before checking the downed man’s pulse. After a moment, he rose, caught Liam’s eye, and shook his head.
Liam returned the Sig to his holster and wrapped his other arm around Piper, making sure she couldn’t see Spencer’s body. “It’s over, Sunshine.”
She shuddered. “Will we have to testify against him?”
He froze. Oh, man. He’d killed a man in front of her. Again. Yeah, Liam saved her life and his own. Still, he’d shot a man to death and didn’t feel one ounce of remorse. She’d seen his work first-hand for the second time. Would she still want him? “No. Spencer is leaving this beach in a body bag.”
“I’m not sorry he’s dead but I hate that you had to pull the trigger to protect me.”
“I’d do it again if it kept you safe.”
She captured his mouth in an intense kiss. When she eased back, Piper smiled. “I hope someone has the cops on speed dial because I’m ready to go home.”