Undercover Obsession (9 page)

“We deserve a Bronze Star or Purple Heart for
our fucking sacrifice,” Brody grumbled, finding it difficult to
navigate the stairs with his cock so hard he ached. It was late
afternoon and Piper had finally become sated enough to fall into a
deep sleep, allowing them to head back downstairs.

“Yeah, but we both know our blue balls are
the only colorful recognition we’re going to get.” Ian was having
just as much trouble moving comfortably and now that Piper was
calmed, relieving his own frustrated lust was next on his agenda.
“Where’re you going?” he asked when Brody marched to the front
door.

“To find the lake,” Brody snapped, his cock
so fucking hard he was worried he was going to have to cut his
jeans off to free himself.

“I’ll be in the shower then.”

Thirty minutes later Brody pulled his jeans
back on over his wet body, his cock now happy enough to allow him
to zip up easily. June in Missouri made skinny dipping in the lake
pleasant and an easy way to jack off his frustration. Slipping his
shirt on, he left it open as he picked up his shoes and started
back towards Piper’s cabin which he had discovered was less than a
block from the lake. He wondered if the dock and small row boat
belonged to her, but picturing the girl he had last seen five years
ago maneuvering that craft out on the water was as difficult as
trying to figure out what was going on with her now. Gary Norton
wouldn’t have called him, worried about her and her absence, if he
hadn’t suspected something was wrong. According to the sheriff they
had trusted to keep an eye on Piper all this time in the slim
chance Charles would contact her, she never went more than a day or
two without coming to town and always contacted her friend, Haley,
if she was going to be late or not make it.

Brody and Ian had driven straight through to
Missouri from Virginia where they both kept apartments, and hadn’t
bothered to drive into Hope and check in with Gary before coming
here. Brody shocked himself by how worried and obsessed he had been
after getting Gary’s call. The level of his concern seemed out of
proportion considering his limited involvement with her so many
years ago, but it is what it is, he told himself. Right now, the
important thing was to find out if Piper’s absence had been willing
or not, and if not, what was the purpose? These were questions, he
knew, were going to have to wait until she awoke, which, given the
state of her exhaustion, probably wouldn’t be until tomorrow
morning.

He heard Ian cursing from the kitchen as soon
as he stepped through the door. Tossing his shoes down, Brody
padded barefoot in his direction to see what had him riled up.
“Didn’t you take care of that frustration in the shower?” he asked
his friend and partner when another curse was followed by the
slamming of the refrigerator door.

“Yes, which just made me even hungrier. Look
at this.” Turning, he reopened the fridge door and pointed, his
face a picture of bafflement and disgust. “What kind of person has
nothing but health food crap and beer?”

Peering inside, Brody saw fresh vegetables,
organic juice and milk, yogurt, as well as a few items he had never
seen or heard of and had no interest in. Below these, on the bottom
shelf, sat three six packs. “Maybe the beer’s for a boyfriend.”
Brody recalled the way a few glasses of wine had made her tipsy, so
he doubted the brews were for her. “Anything in the freezer?” He
sure as hell hoped so, because he was with Ian on needing something
substantial to eat, especially since they missed lunch.

“Fish,” Ian sneered. “Damn it, I need meat,
red meat cooked rare. We passed a greasy burger joint about a mile
up the road. I’ll drive over and pick up some burgers.”

“Get me two, and fries. Meanwhile, I’ll let
the sheriff’s office know Piper’s back.”

“Is that all you’re telling them?”

“Yeah, for now. Until we talk to Piper, we
won’t know what’s going on.”

“Have you considered she was taken to lure
Charles out, that Pasquino doesn’t believe he’s dead any more than
we do?” Ian asked, knowing they had to consider all angles.

“And they returned her when whoever’s here
watching for Charles to show up either saw or heard we were coming
instead? Yeah, I’ve thought of that, but I think they would’ve
stuck around longer, or kept her longer, just in case. Either way,
I’m sticking for a while. You in?”

“Rescuing a damsel in trouble is my favorite
thing to do when not catching bad guys. Besides, I’m just as
curious about what’s going on as you. But if we’re hanging, we’re
shopping for real food, including meat.”

At the thought of nothing but vegetables,
yogurt and fish, Brody said, “Make that three burgers.”

Catalina Island, Caribbean

“She’s safe, at least for now. Both agents
Pearce and MacGregor arrived today.”

Charles Sandoval closed his eyes in relief as
Doc gave him the news he had been hoping for, the guilt and worry
plaguing him this past week easing somewhat. “They’re with her, at
her cabin?”

“Yes. They arrived yesterday and seem
determined to help her, thank God.”

These past few days had been the longest in
his life and at finally hearing Piper was safe, he now knew there
wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do to keep her that way. “You know how
much I appreciate everything you’ve done.” Doc and Charles have
been friends since they met when they were twelve years old.
Neither had ever married, both of them too intensely driven with
their careers to take the time or the interest. If Christine hadn’t
died so unexpectedly, he knew he would still be with her, whether
they eventually made it legal or not, but he had never even come
close to feeling for another woman what he had felt for her, and he
still mourned her loss. And thanks to Doc’s quick thinking when he
got shot, he was able to get away from the casino before the feds
or Pasquino could stop him. Piper’s startled cry had given him the
split second warning he needed to throw himself sideways, allowing
both bullets to cut cleanly through his left shoulder. Immediately
seeing he was in no danger of dying, Doc managed to smear his
blood, making it look like he had been hit in the chest and worse
than it was.

“Let’s just hope this all works out, Charles.
I’ll bet Pasquino’s planning on buying the Empire if you’re
declared dead in two years. He really has it in for you and this
latest threat just proves he’s not giving up.”

“He won’t get the Empire, and he won’t get to
Piper now. Thanks again, Doc. Keep me informed, okay?” Charles hung
up and leaned back in his chair, his gaze moving to the stunning
azure view of the Caribbean Sea that he had from his veranda.
Fleeing Pasquino five years ago, he had opted to lay low on
Catalina, an island in the Caribbean that he had brought Christina
to and fell in love with and one that wasn’t owned by the United
States.

He had been pissed when he discovered that
two of his employees were undercover feds, but he hadn’t been
surprised. He’d been questioned more than once about his limited
association with the man the feds had been after for years and had
been very careful about keeping all records of their business
hidden. Now his life was a mess and he had no one to blame but
himself. He knew all about Antony Pasquino’s drug dealings before
Antony had approached him with his lucrative offer, but Charles had
been so desperate for cash to keep the Empire afloat during the
recession he had jumped at the chance to save it. The casino had
always meant everything to him, until Christina nothing was as
important as his business. After her death, once again nothing was
more important than that building, not until he saw Piper’s face
when she witnessed the attempt on his life. He had loved Piper
since she was a toddler, but it took that life altering moment to
realize how much Christina’s daughter had come to mean to him, that
his love for her was as strong as that of any parent for a child
despite the fact she wasn’t biologically his and he would use
whatever means necessary, even morally questionable ones, to see
that she was kept safe from his mistakes. He had spent the first
fourteen years after her mother’s death seeing that she got an
excellent education and made sure she didn’t feel abandoned by
diligently visiting her every month and he had naively thought that
was enough for a young girl. He could only hope now that he wasn’t
too late to make it up to her.

Chapter Five

Warmth from the early morning sun shining on
her face woke Piper. Rolling over with a groan, she struggled to
untangle herself from the twisted sheet while keeping her eyes shut
against the glare. “Why the hell didn’t I close the blinds?” she
grumbled as she finally managed to free herself and slid out of
bed. Since her bedroom window faced east, she always made sure to
close the blinds, especially if she had been up late the night
before and would want to sleep in. The first step towards her
bathroom elicited another groan as her entire body zinged with
soreness, a full body encompassing ache the likes of which she
hadn’t felt since those first weeks of making her daily two mile
trek into Hope. Shuffling into the small bathroom, she struggled to
remember what she had done differently yesterday to have caused
such a reaction, but for the life of her she couldn’t remember
anything. She had met Haley for dinner at the diner, talked about
some of her new designs she was anxious to show her then promised
to get some of them finished and to her today. Then they had walked
down to have a beer at Rowdy’s, Hope’s only bar. The last thing she
remembered was Crack, the gruff, tattooed, grey-haired ponytailed
owner of the bar, insisting on driving her home because it had
gotten dark.

Stepping under the shower, she tried to
remember how much sewing she had gotten done last night, which
items she had completed and were ready to display in Haley’s shop,
but couldn’t seem to recall anything past leaving the bar. That
totally blank slate had her worried as did the aches and pains
making themselves known. Running soapy hands down her neck and over
her breasts, she winced as that light touch proved her soreness
wasn’t limited to her muscles. With a vagueness that seem surreal,
she recalled her dream, the hazy image of Brody Pearce’s face
hovering above her, the even hazier recollection of his hands and
mouth feasting on her flesh, of endless orgasms, another hard, male
body, more hands, another mouth bringing her to climax after
climax.

“Hell of a dream,” she muttered, wishing she
could remember more and that the images and sensations weren’t so
vague. But when she cupped her palm between her legs, the soreness
in her pussy, and, God help her, the ache in her rectum couldn’t be
denied. She had masturbated more times than she could count to the
fantasy of having Brody back in her bed, but neither her fingers
nor her vibrator had ever made her sore and she had never even
thought about breaching her anus, had never even imagined pleasure
could come from that orifice.

Worry and an inkling of fear slowly took hold
as she quickly finished her shower, determined to get answers, her
eyes now wide open and focused enough to note small bruises on her
breasts and the insides of her thighs as she dried off. Fear now
took precedence over worry. Grabbing a pair of comfortable gym
shorts and tee shirt, her daily attire in the summer, she started
to reach for her phone on the bed stand when the sound of male
voices carried upstairs. The second floor of her cabin was an open
loft and the only door up here was on the bathroom, where she
headed after grabbing her phone. The distinct sound of Brody’s name
followed by a voice she recognized as his had her swiftly switching
gears, her steps taking her to the railing that overlooked the
great room below, her temper spiking just as fast when she spotted
him in her kitchen searching out pans and food as if he owned the
place. Despite her soreness, she flew downstairs to confront the
son of a bitch she had naively fallen for and had never managed to
forget.

Ignoring the presence of the other man who
looked familiar, her bare feet not making a sound even though she
stomped across the room, she fisted her hands on her hips and
demanded angrily, “Brody Pearce, what the fuck are you doing in my
house?”

Brody turned, staring in surprise at Piper
who stood glaring at him out of black fringed, snapping green eyes,
their color no longer hidden by dilated pupils, her face pale with
the exception of twin splotches of color on her cheekbones. Her
damp, black hair fell in disarray to her shoulders, the inky color
emphasizing her paleness. From her outburst and the look of
confused mistrust she was aiming at him, it was obvious she didn’t
remember last night.

Brody set the pan he was holding down and
moved towards her, his arms extended to embrace her, but she
quickly sidestepped him. “Piper, why don’t you sit down, I’ll fix
us something to eat and we’ll talk.”

“Why don’t you keep your hands to yourself,
talk then leave.” She didn’t know who she was more pissed at, him
for unexpectedly showing back up in her life, or her for her
reaction to seeing him again, a reaction that was just as strong,
if not stronger than when she had been a gullible college kid and
had allowed her infatuation to blind her to so much.

“That’s not what you were saying last night,”
Ian said as he leaned against the counter, folded his arms across
his chest and prepared for the fireworks he saw brewing between the
two. Suddenly this gig looked like it could be quite
entertaining.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Piper took
the time to look more closely at the other man and finally
remembered where she had seen him before. He was Brody’s FBI
partner, the other man who had been in her father’s employ under
false pretenses, pretenses she had wondered had anything to do with
his death.