Easton's Claim (Colebrook Siblings Trilogy Book 3) (4 page)

Just as her hand shot out to grasp the knob, Greg grabbed her shoulder and yanked her back toward him. “
Piper
.” His sharp voice cut through the tension like a whip. “I need it, do you understand? They’ll kill me otherwise. Tell me where it is.”

“I told you, I don’t
know
.” She clawed at his hand, ready to fight him tooth and nail to get free if she had to.

He was bigger, far stronger, and he was trained, both by the military and then law enforcement. She was counting on him having one last shred of decency to release her before things got ugly. Even during their worst fights when he’d been wasted, he’d never physically harmed her. But he’d never been afraid for his life before, and she didn’t know what he was capable of now.

“Think, dammit! You must know where it is!”

“Let me
go
,” she said between gritted teeth, then wrenched her arm free.

Her legs shook as she snatched her purse from the bench and darted out the back door, heading for her car parked in the driveway.

Behind her Greg was shouting her name, the terror and grief in his voice sending chills down her spine but all she could think about was getting the hell away from him. She caught a glimpse of him standing on the side doorstep as she backed onto the street. She didn’t pause, just threw the car into drive and hit the gas.

Shit, her hands were shaking. Paranoia and lingering fear kept her checking her mirrors as she sped down the street, but she didn’t see anyone following her. At a stop sign a few blocks away she fished out her cell phone and dialed 911.

Her throat was tight, her entire body trembling as she relayed to the operator what had happened, and that Greg had violated the restraining order. The operator told her to stay calm and assured her the police were on the way to her house.

Piper ended the call and set the phone down in her lap, afraid to stop driving. Greg was screwed up, but he wasn’t stupid. He’d be long gone before the cops arrived to pick him up. But what about her? What if whoever was after him had seen her? They might come after her now. And her car was red, easy to spot.

Easton.
She had to tell him. He’d know what to do.

She dialed his number, gripping the steering wheel tight with her free hand as she drove through town and prayed that he’d pick up.

****

Easton’s phone rang while he was in the middle of getting dressed.
Piper.
He smiled as he answered. “Hey, beautiful. What’s up?”

“Greg just barged into my house, demanding to know where my grandmother’s furniture is. And he was
clean
.”

The distress in her voice slammed into him like a punch to the gut. He froze in the act of shrugging into his button-down shirt. “What? Where are you?” He whirled for the dresser, grabbed his keys.

“In the car.”

He started for the door, not bothering to finish buttoning his shirt. What the hell was going on? “Are you safe?”

“I think so. I got out as soon as I could and called the cops. They’re on their way to my place. If he’s still there when they arrive, they’ll arrest him. He thinks someone is after him, and from the way he was acting, they have to be close.”

If he was clean like Piper had said, Greg would be long gone before the cops got there. Shit. “Where are you now?” He kept his voice calm as he rushed down the stairs, quickly shoved his feet into his boots.

“I’m just outside of town. I didn’t know where to go.”

She sounded so lost, it sliced at his insides. His father got up and shuffled out of the den but Easton shook his head and rushed out the door. “You wanna come here?”

“I don’t know if I should. What if someone was following him, and now they’re following me?”

Ah, hell. “Go somewhere public and wait for me there. I’ll meet you. I’m leaving now.” He just wanted to get to her, make sure she really was okay. And if Greg or some other asshole had followed her, Easton would take care of it.

“Okay.” She named a gas station just off the highway.

“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes. Don’t move from there, okay?”

“All right.” She let out a shaky sigh. “I’m sorry about this.”

“Nothing to be sorry for.”
Damn you, Greg.
“Just hang tight. I’m getting into my truck.” The door alarm chimed as he climbed into the cab. “Want to stay on the line with me until I get there?”

“No, it’s okay. Think I’ll just park and get myself together before you get here.”

“No need, sweetness.” He didn’t want her to have to compose herself before seeing him. He wanted her to feel comfortable with him no matter what was happening. “Call me if you want in the meantime, okay?”

“I will.” A pause. “Thanks, Easton.”

“No worries.” He was halfway down his long driveway when he ended the call. By the time he’d reached the gas station, he was livid. He couldn’t believe that lowlife asshole would drag Piper into whatever shit he’d gotten himself into this time. Wasn’t Greg supposed to be in another rehab program out of state right now?

He spotted her little red car next to the service station building and pulled into the parking lot. She climbed out of her car as he parked beside her, her expression sheepish.

And mother of Christ, she looked sexy as hell in that deep blue dress, her golden blond hair all shiny and spilling down her back in soft waves.

“Hey. Thanks for coming,” she said as he got out of his truck.

He didn’t want her thanking him for that. “You all right?” he asked, placing both hands on her shoulders, her skin warm and smooth under his palms.

She nodded, staring at the middle of his chest where his shirt gaped open. He wished it was because she wanted to look at his naked chest, and not because she was embarrassed. “I’m fine. This was just…a shock.”

Easton settled his hands on her back and drew her into a gentle hug instead of crushing her to him the way he wanted to. His girl was shaken and afraid and he’d do anything he could to protect her and make it better.

His heart beat faster when her arms encircled his waist and she leaned her cheek on his shoulder. Her soft floral scent teased him, her warm curves nestled against the hard planes of his torso. She felt amazing and he had to force himself to drop his arms and release her before she noticed the erection growing in his jeans. “The cops call back yet?”

“No. I’m sure he would’ve left when I did. Maybe they’re out searching for him.”

Maybe. “Can I do anything?” God he hated seeing her sad and worried.

She shook her head, lowered her gaze to the pavement between them. “This is more than enough.”

Not by a long shot, but his plan for the evening was all shot to shit now, so his campaign to woo her was going to have to wait. “Come into my truck and tell me what happened.”

When she climbed in, he noticed the thin gold chain wrapped around her ankle. “You still have the anklet?”

She glanced down. “Yeah. I always wear it. It reminds me of you. You gave it to me for my birthday one year, remember?”

“Of course I remember.” He’d been fifteen when he’d given it to her. His dad had pitched in the extra thirty bucks Easton hadn’t been able to come up with in time for her twenty-first birthday. If his old man had guessed at his true feelings for Piper back then, he hadn’t said anything. It touched him to know it still meant so much to her. “I’ll have Wyatt and Austen come pick up your car and drive it to the farm.”

“Okay.”

Rather than sit in the parking lot, he drove them back toward town while she filled him in on what happened. He kept checking his mirrors to make sure no one was following them, just in case. “What would he want with your grandmother’s furniture, anyway?” They’d split almost a year ago now. She’d been waiting for the anniversary to hit so she could file the divorce papers, and that had been two months ago. Why would Greg suddenly want anything of hers now?

“He must have hidden something in it. It’s the only thing I can think of.”

Weapons? Drugs? Money? Anything was possible when it came to Greg. The once proud and celebrated Army vet had sunk to new lows before Piper had left him. It infuriated Easton to think of her being subjected to that kind of treatment, being humiliated and ruined by the man who’d vowed to protect, honor and cherish her for the rest of his life.

Easton had heard the vows firsthand, because he’d been at their damned wedding. He’d gone for her sake, and her sake alone, dying inside as he’d watched her pledge herself to another man.

That’s all he remembered, because as soon as the ceremony ended he’d left and gotten shit-faced drunk to avoid thinking about losing the woman he loved. Easton had known even then that Greg had a drinking problem, but even he wouldn’t have guessed how fast things had gone downhill after the wedding, or how bad it had been for Piper.

Whatever shit was going down now, Easton would be damned if he stood by and allowed Greg to hurt her anymore.

“You still hungry?” she asked, taking him by surprise. “I was in the middle of getting ready to meet you when he showed up.”

He’d made reservations at a fancy B&B in the next town over, had intended to tell her that his feelings for her went way beyond friendship, but obviously now wasn’t the best time to take her there and lay his heart on a platter. “I already canceled our reservations. Are you hungry?”

She made a face. “Not really, but I guess I should eat something. I was so busy today I haven’t had anything since breakfast.”

“What do you feel like?”

“I don’t care.” She’d put on a confident façade over the past few minutes, even though he knew perfectly well she was still upset. It bothered him, because he didn’t want her to feel like she had to pretend in front of him.

“How about we grab something quick? Feel like a milkshake?” She’d always loved the chocolate shakes from the diner just off the highway.

“That sounds perfect,” she said with a relieved smile.

He drove them there and grabbed milkshakes and fries to go. When he came out she was on the phone. Her hazel-green eyes met his from across the cab of the truck, wide and full of shock. Easton shut the door behind him, set the food down and waited, his muscles tensing. What now?

“Yes, okay, I’ll be there as soon as I can.” She ended the call and looked at him with haunted eyes, her face so pale the smattering of freckles on the bridge of her nose stood out. “Greg wasn’t there but the police said my place was trashed. There was apparently some kind of struggle and there are bloodstains…” She hitched in a breath. “I need to get to my place as soon as possible.”

When Easton pulled up to the curb in front of her house a few minutes later, Piper’s stomach was a giant knot of anxiety. The driveway was blocked off with police tape and patrol cars lined the street on both sides. Neighbors were out watching from their lawns and staring from their windows, waiting to see what was going on. That old familiar shame crawled up her spine.

Oh God, I just can’t deal with this shit anymore.

Dreading what she would find inside, she got out of the truck and started up the driveway, Easton right behind her. They hadn’t spoken a word on the drive here. As much as it humiliated her to have him see yet another example of the kind of shit she’d dealt with in the last few years of her marriage, this was by far the worst and she was glad to have his steady, solid presence there to bolster her.

A group of deputies were standing on her front porch. She knew pretty much every deputy in the area, and thankfully they had all been friendly with her after she’d left Greg. One of them detached from the others and started toward her. When he stepped out of the shadows and into the sunlight she recognized Frank, a thirty-something deputy who used to work with Greg.

“Piper. You all right?”

She forced a nod, her heart thudding against her sternum. “How bad is it?”

“There’s a fair amount of damage.”

Ugh. “Can I go in?”

“Not yet, the forensics teams are still working inside. And Greg was definitely attacked and kidnapped. One of your neighbors saw him being dragged out of the house by two men.”

“Oh, Jesus,” she whispered, feeling sick at the thought.

His gaze shifted between her and Easton. “Come sit in my patrol car and tell me what happened,” he said to her.

She glanced at Easton, who nodded, then followed Frank to his car. After rehashing everything that happened with Greg, he told her what they’d found so far, then radioed the forensics team and got the okay to bring her inside.

Before letting her out, he paused, his eyes full of sympathy. “I’m so sorry about all this,” he said. “I hate seeing him wind up like this.”

Yeah, her too. “Any leads yet?” Whoever had come after Greg must have shown up within minutes of her leaving, because the cops had arrived under ten minutes after her call.

Her neighbor had seen two men put Greg, who had appeared unconscious, into a black car and drive off. Whoever had taken Greg might have seen her, waited for her to drive off before attacking. It made her skin crawl to think that someone that violent had been watching her and her house.

“No. We’ll need to get the samples analyzed before we know if it’s his blood or not. It’s not a large amount, so whoever was injured, we don’t think it’s severe. And if the attackers wanted to kill him, they would have just done it and left him here. So there must be some reason he was taken alive.” He straightened and reached for his door handle. “You ready?”

“Yes.” Bracing herself, she climbed out onto the foot of her driveway. Easton pushed away from his truck and started toward her.

“Want me to come inside with you?” he asked.

“Yes please,” she murmured, thankful he was here.

He stayed close beside her as they followed Frank up to the front porch, but didn’t touch her. Officers and techs moved out of their way as they approached, and Piper hated the pity in their eyes.

It was happening all over again. By morning the entire town would be abuzz with rumors and gossip, and her good name would once again be tied to Greg and this incident as people speculated about what had happened. Yet another reason she wanted to get the hell away from here, but this latest incident meant her departure was going to be delayed even longer.