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“Shit, I forgot to tell you they were coming,” said Piper, walking up behind him. “I called them while you were interrogating the hellbull. I didn’t want them to hear about the attack from anyone else. They wanted to come see me this morning, I told them I’d be here. Is that okay?”
“Of course. They’re your family. They’re always welcome here. I’ve already buzzed them up.”
“Thank you.”
He sighed. “Quit being so formal. You don’t have to thank me. Besides, I like them.” They’d invited Levi and Piper to dinner twice over the past two weeks, and they’d both been warm and welcoming toward him. As that made things easier for her, he was grateful for it.
Within minutes, Whitney and Joe were breezing into his apartment. They didn’t spare their surroundings a glance. They went straight to Piper, anxious and fussing.
“I’m fine, I promise,” she assured them. Several times.
Joe turned to Levi and stuck out his hand. “You’re going to say that gratitude isn’t warranted, but I still want to thank you for getting to our girl and bringing her to safety.”
Levi shook his hand. “No thanks are necessary.” He almost grunted as Whitney hugged him hard.
“We can still be grateful,” she told him, pulling back. “My stomach sinks every time I think of how differently things could have ended. Please tell me you have some idea of who wants my daughter dead.”
They gathered in the living area while Levi gave them a rundown of what the hellbull told him before stiffly adding, “Basically, I have no way of linking him to whoever hired his crew.”
Whitney looked at Piper. “I heard that Jasper confronted you last night. The whole lair considers him the likeliest suspect at this point. Don’t think he’d make an effort to seem innocent and be nice to you in order to cover his ass. Others might put on such an act, but not him.”
Joe nodded. “He’s petty and vindictive, but he has no cunning or smarts. He’s also used to his father lying and covering for him.”
“I’ll be questioning Jasper today,” said Levi. “I might not be able to brand him guilty of being the person who’s targeting Piper, but I can certainly hold him responsible for confronting her. He was warned to stay clear of her.”
“Don’t hesitate to make him hurt,” said Whitney, more bloodthirsty than he would have guessed.
“Your mother and I think it would be a good idea for you to move in with us for a while,” Joe told Piper. “We don’t like the thought of you alone.”
“Neither do I,” said Levi, “which is why I asked her to stay with me. No intruder would bypass the security measures in this building. She agreed.”
Joe gave a satisfied nod. “Even better.”
“I’ll pack your things and bring them here,” Whitney offered. She held up a hand when Piper went to protest. “Let your mom feel useful. There’s nothing I can do to help with all that’s happening. It’s driving me crazy. Let me do this one thing for you.”
Understanding why her mother would need this, Piper lifted her hands in surrender. “All right, if it means that much to you. On a lighter note … Levi and I formed the anchor bond.”
Whitney beamed. “That’s amazing! Congratulations to both of you.”
Joe echoed her sentiments, adding, “That means you’re psychically stronger. I like that. If there was ever a time you needed that sort of boost, it’s now.”
“You ain’t wrong,” said Piper.
Joe’s smile dimmed. “I know Celeste won’t react well and … I’m sorry she acts the way she does, Piper. Don’t say it’s not for me to apologize. It is. Because it occurred to me recently that I let you down in a very big way. I was always so careful to treat you both the same. Or I thought I was. But lately, I realized all my efforts to keep the peace actually also resulted in me putting her feelings first. For your sake, I’d placate and calm and coax her. But that gave her all the attention, didn’t it?”
“It wasn’t only Joe who made mistakes in that regard.” Whitney bit her lip. “I’m guilty of the exact same thing. I just wanted you girls to get along. I thought if we could just make Celeste see that she was loved, she’d stop feeling threatened by you; she’d leave you be. Instead, it seemed to encourage her to act out; seemed to fill her with this sense that her wants and needs should come before yours. And it must have also filled you with that same sense. I never wanted that. Joe never wanted that.”
Joe nodded. “You’re not second to either of us, Piper. We love you. And we are so sorry for the ways in which we let you down. Things will be different moving forward—I promise you that.”
