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What is that feeling, if not love?
“Hey,” Piper climbs into the shower with me and wraps her arms around my body. Her blonde hair is messy and tousled, but she’s got a bright smile on her face. “Good morning, handsome.”
“Good morning, sweetie.”
I kiss her, quietly promising her once more that everything is going to be okay. I’m going to protect Piper with everything I have, with everything I am. I’ll protect her if it’s the last thing I do. Tad might be free from prison, but he’s not getting anywhere near my girl.
***
It’s mid-morning when we arrive at the police station. As promised, Dylan is ready and waiting to take Piper’s statement. She seems surprised when Dylan comes forward and doesn’t shake my hand. Instead, he wraps his arms around me in a tight hug.
“I’ve missed you, brother.”
“Missed you, too, man.”
He doesn’t ask me if I’m coming back, but I know it’s on the tip of his tongue. Dylan and I worked together for a very long time, and even though I’m no longer on the force, there’s no one I trust more than him. He’s a good man and a damn good cop. Maybe one of these days I’ll get him to come to Anchored and meet a nice girl he can settle down with.
“And you must be Piper Queen,” he turns to Piper and shakes her hand. Piper suddenly looks nervous, but she squares her shoulders and stands up straight. She’s determined. I’ll give her that much.
“Nice to meet you, officer,” she says.
“Dylan is fine,” he says with a smile. He shoots me a sideways glance, and he doesn’t have to speak for me to know what he’s asking. I nod slightly, and he smiles. “It’s so great to meet you,” he adds to Piper, and I roll my eyes.
Yeah, Dylan can read me like a damn book.
He wants to know if Piper is the one for me?
Yeah, she’s the one for me.
She’s not some random hook-up.
She’s not just “some girl.”
She’s the one I want to be coming home to forever and always.
“I’ve got a room we can speak in,” he says. “It’ll be private and a bit more quiet. As you can see,” he motions around the room filled with desks and noise. “Things are a little crazy today.”
He leads us to a quiet space and brings Piper a cup of coffee. Once we’re all settled, I hand over the bags full of letters from Tad. Each letter is in its own bag, and although they’ve already been compromised from Piper touching them, having the letters in plastic will reduce further contamination if the police department decides to run them for prints.
“So the guy’s a talker,” Dylan picks up one letter, and a frown spreads over his face as he reads it. He looks up at me, and something silent passes between us, something Piper doesn’t pick up on.
Dylan instantly hates this asshole just as much as I do, and together, we’re going to catch him and make him pay for what he did to Piper. He’s not going to hurt her again. He’s going to go right back to prison and this time, it’s going to be for good.
“All right, Miss Queen,” Dylan pastes a smile on his face and turns to Piper. “Why don’t you start from the beginning?”
Piper takes a deep breath, looks at me, and squeezes my hand.
Then she starts talking.
Chapter 11
Piper
By the time we leave the police station, it’s past noon, and I’m completely emotionally exhausted. Talking with Dylan wasn’t as scary as I thought it was going to be, but it did dredge up a lot of painful memories, things I’d rather leave buried.
I didn’t really want Maddox to see all of my baggage.
Not this soon.
