Page 27

PATRICK

When the officer returned, I waved him over. Piper was currently in the corner having a mini meltdown, so this was my chance to fix things.

“I’d like to speak to you in private. There are a few things we need to clear up.”

The officer glanced at Piper, then back to me. “Sure.”

He unlocked the door and handed me my crutches, then led me down the hall to the so-called interrogation room. I took a seat and rested the crutches against the table as I waited for him to join me.

“So, what is it you need to clear up?”

“You know we’re in security.”

“That’s what your ID says.”

“The thing is, we’re sort of transporting someone…that we need to keep under cover.”

“That’s not what your teammate said.”

“It’s being kept hush-hush, but based on what she just said, it’s clear we can’t keep this a secret any longer.”

That had his interest. “Go on.”

“Her name is Deirdre. Deirdre Long.” I narrowed my eyes at him, waiting for him to pick up on the last name. It didn’t take long.

“As in…”

“As in the mayor of New York’s daughter.”

“He doesn’t have a daughter named Deirdre.”

I shook my head sadly. “Not that anyone is aware of, and based on what she just said, I think you can understand why they kept her a secret.”

His eyes widened as they flashed to the door. “You mean…”

“Crazy,” I nodded. “We were transporting her to a mental institution.”

“But you were…” He cleared his throat and leaned in closer. “You were being inappropriate with her.”

I pretended to be ashamed of that. “I never said I was a saint. She’s hot, and she came onto me. I can’t say it was my finest moment, but there you have it.”

“And she isn’t aware of what’s going on?”

“Her reality is somewhat skewed.”

“But all of those things she said?—”

“All made up,” I shook my head. “She concocted the whole story.”

For a moment, he looked like he believed me, but then he narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “She seemed awfully sure of the details.”

I burst out laughing at that. “Come on. Do you really believe we were on a stolen plane and then crashed midair?” I leaned forward and whispered, “I have never flown a plane before. What on earth would possess me to get in one and decide I could fly it?”

“Well—”

“And then we jumped out after nearly colliding with another plane?” I snorted in amusement. “Sure. I just somehow made a harness for her while we were crashing and then jumped out with her.”

He nodded, but then cocked his head at me. “You do have a broken leg.”

“That I got in a car accident. I can assure you, I’m not stupid enough to jump in front of a bear.”

“That does seem unlikely,” he said hesitantly.

“Unfortunately, this is not the first time she’s hallucinated stuff like this happening.

It was only a week ago that she broke into the Johnson Tower because she was sure her fiancé cheated on her.

James Johnson—the millionaire—can you believe that?

If we had let her wander around, imagine what might have happened. ”

“Shit.”

“You can see why we need to get her to this facility as soon as possible. The longer she’s off her medication, the more likely it is that she’ll lose all touch with reality and do something really stupid.”

He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. “I’m going to have to confirm this with the mayor?—”

“He’ll deny her existence. That’s why we’re transporting her to another location. You heard about his run for governor.”

His eyes widened. “No, I hadn’t.”

“As mayor, a scandal like this is nothing, but as governor…” I tsked as I shook my head. “The scandal of hiding her would be too much. He’d lose the race. I’m trusting you with this information,” I said, my voice turning grave.

“Of course.”

“And you can see why she has no ID, and we can’t let this story get out. The woman would be hounded at the institution. She’d never know a moment’s peace, and trust me, with those delusions, she needs a break.”

The officer swallowed hard, giving me a nod that I hoped meant he was going to let us go. The last thing we needed was to draw more attention to ourselves. “I’ll start the paperwork to release her.”

My hand shot out and I grasped his arm. “It would be best if it appeared she was never here at all.”

“Understood. I’ll escort you back to the cell to collect her.”

“I’d appreciate that.” I stood, grabbing my crutches, and followed him to the door. “You’re a good officer. I’ll be keeping my eye on you. The company is always looking for a trustworthy man who can handle a delicate situation.”

His chest puffed up in pride, and I almost felt guilty leading him on, but the man really should have verified the information first. Not that I was going to get upset over the win. As soon as Piper saw me, she stood and gripped the bars.

“When am I getting out of here? I need to get my things!”

I shot the officer a knowing look, to which he walked over and unlocked the cell. “Right now.”

Piper flinched in surprise. “That’s it? You’re just letting me go?”

“Mistake in paperwork,” the officer smiled. “You’re free to go.”

As soon as Piper opened her mouth, I knew I had to intervene. “My leg is killing me. Maybe I need to get back to the hospital.”

Piper’s face instantly went to my leg and she frowned. “I knew it was too soon to release you. What if you have a massive infection from the bear attack? Rabies or…we should get you back now.”

I turned and winked to the officer as Piper guided me toward the door. I hammed it up and pretended I was injured for all parties involved. I kept everything inside until we were just outside the car.

“Keep moving. Do not look back.”

“What happened in there? Why did they just let us go?”

I stopped at the car door and frowned, sure she was going to smack the shit out of me. “I may have implied that we were taking you to a mental institution.”

And with that, I got in the back seat and chuckled when she flung herself in beside me and glared.

“You told him I was crazy?”

“Piper, you were rambling on about planes crashing and bear attacks. To anyone normal, that sounds batshit crazy.”

She turned to me and glared. “Of course, it’s always the woman who’s crazy.”

“Really? Did you want me to tell him I was crazy? I wasn’t the one who was racking up more charges than a terrorist.”

She opened her mouth to argue, but quickly thought better of it. “So, he really believed you?”

I shrugged, pretty proud of my work. “After you started listing off all the crazy things that happened, it wasn’t too hard to make it believable. I told him you were Mayor Long’s daughter and no one knew you existed. They had to keep it that way if he wanted to be elected as governor.”

“Well, that’s slightly offensive, but I’ll take the win.”

“That’s what I thought you’d say. Now, should we continue to the storage facility, or would you like to tempt fate again?”

She knew exactly what I was thinking as my eyes roamed over her body. Hell, I’d go another round with her and risk being caught if it meant I got to sink into her pussy one last time. But she had more sense than me and shook the lust from her eyes, turning to face forward.

“I think that’s enough for one day.”

“Maybe,” I murmured. “But you’re gonna miss the fuck out of me when I’m gone.”

I loaded the last box into the back of the van we rented, wondering how the hell she fit all this stuff in that apartment she shared with the douchebag. The cargo van was completely packed with her stuff, but only five or six boxes contained personal items. Everything else was books.

“You know, when you said you needed to get your things back, I figured you were talking about family heirlooms or something.”

She walked up behind me and smiled at the contents of the van. “Hey, it took me a long time to collect all these books. Some of them are classics.”

I snorted at that. “Yes, some are classics, but who needs eight copies of Pride And Prejudice ? I haven’t even read it once. And do you actually read from each copy?”

The offended look on her face was comical. I did enjoy teasing this woman. “Nobody needs more than one copy of anything, but that’s the beauty of it. Each book is beautifully crafted, and the dust jackets are all different.”

“But all the same words are inside.”

“And?”

“And…” I looked at all the boxes and sighed. “How much money do you think is wrapped up in these boxes?”

“You can’t put a price on literature!”

That was fucking hilarious. I opened the box and pulled out one of her books. “ The Alpha’s Sexy Dominatrix.” I quirked an eyebrow at her. “Literature?”

She snatched the book out of my hand and glared at me. “Don’t judge it until you read it. I love all different kinds of books.”

“ Trolling For Love, ” I said, reading another title. Cocking my head at her and holding back a grin, I just couldn’t help myself. “Is this about trolls or some kind of twisted computer sex thing?”

She grabbed that one too. “You know, I don’t judge you for jumping out of planes.”

“No, but maybe you should.”

“And not all of them are fantasy. I have some great books in there.”

“Yes, all eight versions of Pride And Prejudice ,” I teased.

“If you think there are only eight, you’re way off base. Those are just the ones I’ve purchased so far.”

“So, you intend to go back for more?”

“Someday. Now, are we going to finish or just stand here all day debating my book choices?”

“That’s a tough one. I gotta tell ya, I would have no problem looking through these books and finding out just how fucking filthy you are.”

Her cheeks pinked, but she did her best not to show how much I affected her. The way she clenched her thighs was a dead giveaway. “I said debate my book choices, not read them.”

“How am I going to debate them if I don’t read them?” I took the book out of her hand and tossed it on top of the box, then snagged her around the waist and pulled her against me. “I’ve never wanted to read a book so much in my life.”

She sucked in a ragged breath as my lips skimmed hers. Fuck, she was so tempting. Just one more time…

“Hey, let’s get moving!” Chase yelled, tapping the top of the van. “We have a plane to catch.”

It was like a bucket of water was thrown at us, dousing the flames of what could have been another fantastic fuck. Any chance I had at seeing her naked one last time vanished into thin air with his words, and she stepped back, putting the necessary distance between us.

“Thankfully, Jeanie is still my friend and agreed to open a storage unit for me.”

“Any idea when you’re getting your new ID?

“I have to find all my paperwork first. I didn’t see it when I was going through the boxes. I wouldn’t be surprised if the asshole threw it out just to fuck with me.”

“Let me know if you have any issues. Maybe we can grease the wheels.”

She shot me a grin, but I knew she wouldn’t take me up on my offer.

An hour later, we had unloaded all her boxes—well, everyone else had. I basically stood there holding the door to the storage room open. With my gimp leg, there wasn’t much I could do. Now, I stood outside her friend’s apartment building, ready to say goodbye.

“Call me and let me know how you’re doing.”

“I would, but you never gave me your number,” she smirked.

“It’s in there.” I had written down all my information and slipped it inside one of the boxes she had taken up to her friend’s apartment. I knew it was unlikely we’d ever see each other again, but maybe if I was in town, I could swing by and relive some of our fun at the waterfall.

“Thank you for all your help. Even jumping out of the plane. James probably would have pressed charges if I hadn’t fled.”

“Who’s to say he won’t now?”

“Well, maybe he will, but I still have a few tricks up my sleeve.”

Somehow, I doubted that. I looked into her ex. He wasn’t the richest man in New York City, but he had enough friends to make her life hell.

I slid my hand around her waist and tugged her to me one last time. Her eyes widened as she pressed her hand against my chest. The sweet smell of vanilla invaded my senses, and I wondered if that was her usual scent or if it was just what she used this morning. Not that it mattered. I was leaving.

“Do me a favor.”

She licked her lower lip, nodding slightly as her big brown eyes searched mine. “Anything.”

“Don’t go jumping out of planes with any other guys. That’s our story.”

Her lips twitched in amusement. “I can do that.”

“And if you’re going to start hiking, for the love of God, don’t try to make friends with any bears.”

“I think I can safely say that I won’t be hiking anytime soon.”

“Good. And one final thing. This is a big one.” I leaned in closer, flicking my tongue against her ear. Just that one taste almost sent me over the edge, but mauling her on the street would just land us back in jail. “Those books…that’s for us. Only for us.”

I pulled her tighter to me, sliding my hand under the waterfall of hair cascading down her back, and pulled her in for one last kiss.

Tingles shot straight to my cock and something inside me snapped at the idea of leaving, but I pulled away, giving her one last peck on the lips before winking at her and hobbling away on my crutches.

Nick was smirking at me as I climbed back inside the car, but I ignored him, staring out the window at Piper as we pulled away from the curb and said goodbye to the city.

“You sure about that?” Chase asked.

“About what?”

“Leaving her. Seems like you two really had something.”

As we turned the corner, I tore my gaze from her building and looked back at my teammates. “Absolutely. It’s time to go home.”