Perfect Target, page 28
"Well, that might have been your fault," she admitted.
A smile curved his lips. "I was being stupid."
"I scared you."
"That's true. You've been scaring me for a while. I reacted badly. I never let myself get distracted on a case. I've always been disciplined, but you knocked me off-balance. And when you started talking about how you felt, I realized how I felt, too, and how close we'd gotten so fast. I'm not good at emotion. I'm not good at relationships."
"Neither am I," she said. "And it wasn't one-sided. You knocked me off-balance, too. It wasn't like I was looking to fall for an FBI agent." She lifted her head at the sound of a helicopter. "I think help is coming."
"It took them long enough," he said, as they both watched a helicopter searchlight sweep across the ocean. "The burning boat will be easy enough to spot."
"What about us? We've drifted away from the fire."
"They'll find us, Piper. Don't worry."
"You called for help before you boarded the boat, didn't you?"
"Yes."
She looked into his eyes. "You were supposed to wait for backup, weren't you?"
"I wasn't going to wait one more second to get to you."
"I wasn't going to have many more seconds," she said, her mouth trembling again.
"You're going to have a long life, Piper, and every one of the remaining men will go to jail. I promise you that."
The searchlight suddenly lit them up. She waved her arm. "I think they see us."
"They do. Now kiss me again before they make us go to the hospital and take a battery of tests, and I don't see you for hours."
As the helicopter hovered overhead, and a fast-moving boat approached, she covered his mouth with hers.
Beck was right about not seeing each other for hours. After being airlifted to a hospital in LA, they were taken to different examining rooms. She underwent a thorough exam and was treated for more abrasions and cuts than she'd been aware she had, including a gash on her leg that required stitches.
At some point, a nurse showed up with a bag and said Agent Kane had dropped it off for her. She was surprised to see her own clothes in the tote bag as well as a hairbrush. Apparently, Savannah had gone to her house and raided her closet, and that was just fine with her.
She changed into a pair of black leggings and a T-shirt and pulled a comfy sweatshirt over her head. She still felt chilled from her time in the ocean. Then she slid her feet into a pair of walking shoes and got into the wheelchair the nurse insisted on using to wheel her out of the department.
When they reached the ER waiting room, she found Beck's team camped out. Flynn and Savannah were there as well as Wyatt and a few others she didn't recognize. Flynn jumped to his feet and helped her out of the wheelchair and over to a more comfortable seat on the couch next to Savannah.
"Thanks for the clothes," she said to Savannah.
"I thought you'd feel more comfortable in your own things. I hope you don't mind me going into your home."
"Not at all. I feel so much better now. But what's happening with Beck? Is there any news?"
"They're still testing to see if he has retained his superpowers," Flynn joked.
She smiled, but she could see the tension in his eyes. She needed to believe that Beck would come through this, but he'd been hit hard on the head, and she had no idea if he had any other injuries.
"He'll be fine," Flynn added, meeting her gaze. "Beck is tough. I just wish I'd been faster, that I'd gotten to the harbor before he took off, so I could have gone with him."
"How did he know where to find me?" she asked, realizing she had no idea how Beck had managed to locate her on a boat in the middle of the ocean.
"Once Beck realized you were gone from the cemetery, we shut down the event and put everyone in the church. That's when we saw that Joel was missing and so was his security guard," Flynn said.
"We were able to pick up the vehicle that they used to take you away from the church," Savannah continued. "It belonged to Joel's security guy. Beck tracked it to the harbor, but the vehicle was gone by the time he got down there. He checked with his friends at the port to find out what boats had recently left, and surprisingly, one of them was rented in your name."
She nodded at Savannah's questioning gaze. "Joel said he'd planned to set me up with another boat explosion. He was going to make it look like I killed his father and tried to kill him, but he managed to get away just in time. He said he had a plan to lure me down there tomorrow, but when I recognized him as the guy who assaulted me seven years ago, he had to move up the timeline. I guess the boat and the explosives were ready to go."
Savannah gave her a thoughtful look. "I didn't realize you had been assaulted, Piper. Beck was vague about your motivation in going after this group of men."
"He was trying to protect me. I didn't know who attacked me because I'd been drugged. I figured it out today when Joel's ringtone went off. I panicked and ran in the wrong direction. Once Joel had me trapped on the boat, he admitted that he killed his father. He was responsible for everything else, too. Killing Spalding and injuring the security guard. He thought I'd seen him when I was on Larry's yacht. That's why he kept going after me. I had seen a boat going by, but I didn't see him on it."
"We checked all the boats that passed by the yacht," Flynn said. "We couldn't find a lead."
"Because Detective Spalding changed the list," she said. "He was Joel's guy on the inside. Oh, and Joel was also behind the death of Kevin Richards."
"Busy guy," Flynn said.
"I had no idea that Joel was involved with those predatory men, but it makes sense. Joel was a conduit for getting young girls to their parties. I guess he stayed away from me after he assaulted me because he was afraid that I'd figure it out." She paused. "He seemed to have other issues with his dad, too. He implied that his dad wanted to keep him out of things, but his father's friends were happy to have his connections."
"But why kill his father?" Flynn asked.
"His dad was standing in his way. Joel couldn't have the political career he wanted with his father in front of him. Joel told me that his father treated him like shit. That it was the Larry show every minute of his life. He was over it."
"I wonder if Joel was behind the death threats that his father received," Flynn speculated. "He might have been setting up cover for his own plans, make it look like it was some radical fanatic."
"Maybe. Joel said he had blackmail material on everyone. I don't know where he was keeping it, but it's somewhere. And whatever Larry had for insurance is somewhere, too. Like father, like son, I guess."
"We'll find all of it," Flynn reassured her, pausing as a doctor came into the waiting room.
She drew in a nervous breath, hoping for good news.
"Agent Murray will be fine," the doctor said with a smile. "He has a concussion and two fractured ribs. He'll need time to recover, but his prognosis is excellent. We'll keep him here overnight to make sure there are no complications from the head trauma, but after that, he should be good to go."
"Can we see him?" she asked.
The doctor's gaze took in the large group of people in the waiting room. "Why don't we limit it to two of you? He's in Room 306."
"Thanks, Doctor," Flynn said.
"Happy to report good news," the doctor replied.
"Why don't you and I see Beck, Piper," Flynn said.
"I would like to see him, but if you and someone from your team needs to go—"
"They'll see him tomorrow. I suspect the only face he really wants to see is yours."
"Okay." She got to her feet, the good news about Beck making her feel stronger.
"You sure you're fine to walk?" Flynn asked.
"I'm good, better now that we know Beck will be okay."
"I'm impressed," Flynn commented as they walked down the hall. "What you've been through the last week would have taken down a lot of people."
"But I'm still standing," she said, as they got on the elevator. "Beck has had a lot to do with that."
"He cares about you. When he realized you were missing, he was ready to rip people apart."
"I owe him my life."
"He might owe you, too. I heard he passed out when he hit the water. And when he came to, you were holding him up."
"I was terrified that he wasn't going to make it, that I wouldn't be able to keep his head above water, but there was plenty of wood floating by, and I found us a raft. Luckily, it didn't have to work for long."
He gave her a thoughtful look. "I don't know everything that has happened to you, Piper, or to your friends, but we're going to nail those bastards for you and for them and for all the silent victims."
"I hope so, Flynn. They never should have been allowed to get away with what they were doing for this long."
"It ends now."
She liked his confidence. Like Beck, Flynn wasn't a man who took no for an answer, not when it came to getting justice.
When they walked into Beck's room, his eyes were closed.
They both paused. "Maybe we should let him rest," she said quietly.
"Good idea."
"Hold on," Beck said suddenly, drawing their gazes back to him. "You can come in. I'm not sleeping. Just resting my eyes."
"You should be sleeping," she said, as they walked over to the bed.
He gave her a smile. "I think you ordered me to stay awake not too long ago."
"That's when I was afraid you'd never wake up, but the doctor says you'll be okay."
"I will be." His gaze moved past her. "Flynn, thanks for sending help."
"Always," Flynn said. "How are you feeling?"
"Like a million bucks."
"Liar. You look terrible."
"No, he looks good," she said, smiling down at him.
"Okay, I'm going to leave you two alone," Flynn said with a laugh. "Do you want me to stay and give you a ride somewhere, Piper?"
She thought about that. She didn't even know where she would go.
"Stay at my place," Beck said. "Flynn can keep an eye on you there. I don't want you to go home alone yet. I know Joel is dead, but there are others out there—"
"I'm going to stay here with you. On that chair over there." She pointed to the armchair in the corner.
He frowned. "You don't have to do that. You won't be comfortable."
"I'll be fine. I want to stay here, Beck."
"I don't even know if that's safe."
"I'm putting security on your door," Flynn said. "Just until we figure everything out. If Piper wants to stay, you'll both be safe."
"All right," Beck said wearily. "As long as there's a guard outside."
"I'll stay until there is," Flynn said. "See you in the morning."
As Flynn walked out, closing the door behind him, Beck said, "I thought he'd never leave."
"He's worried about you. Your whole team is. They're all downstairs."
"Well, hopefully, they go back to work. There's still a lot to do." He paused. "I need to go over everything with you, but my brain is fuzzy."
"I filled Flynn and Savannah in on what Joel told me. There's time for everything else." She sat down on the side of the bed, her gaze sweeping his handsome but battered face. A bandage covered most of his forehead where the deepest gash had been. "Are you in pain?" she asked.
"Not much. What about you? You're bruised and not just from the explosion. Joel hurt you."
"Not as much as he wanted to, and he's dead, so that's one more evil man down. But there are still others who need to pay. Flynn said he'd make sure that happened."
"I'll make sure, too. Thanks for saving my life."
"I owed you one."
"You owe me like ten," he joked.
"But who's counting, right?"
He smiled back at her. "I have a lot I want to say to you, Piper."
"Not tonight. I want you to rest."
"I am feeling tired," he admitted.
"Don't fight it."
"I have to say one thing. When you disappeared from the church, your mom was really worried about you. Genuinely scared. You should call her, tell her you're all right." Beck's eyes drifted closed as he finished speaking. She thought about what he'd said. She didn't want her mom to worry about her, but also didn't have any of her phones. She got up and walked into the hall. Flynn was still standing outside.
"Everything okay?" he asked.
"I need to text my mom and tell her I'm alive, but I don't have a phone."
"You can use mine."
"Thanks." She texted her mom, telling her she was at the hospital with Beck, and she'd contact her in the morning, but she was okay, and everything would be fine. She'd fill her in tomorrow. She handed Flynn his phone. "My mother will text back and ask where I am and say she's on her way. Don't tell her."
"Got it. I'll just reassure her that you're safe." He tipped his head to the approaching guard. "This is Mitch." He'll stand watch until morning. "Mitch, this is Piper Nolan. She'll be sitting with Beck tonight."
The guard nodded. "I'll make sure you're both safe."
"Thanks." She walked back into the room and saw that Beck was asleep. For a moment, she just looked at him, feeling a wave of gratitude that she hadn't lost her life and he hadn't lost his. No matter what happened in the future, she wanted him to be all right.
Feeling weary, she sat down in the chair, which also reclined and had a footrest. It was more comfortable than she'd imagined. As soon as she got settled, exhaustion crept over her, and her eyes closed.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Piper woke up to a sunny Tuesday morning, and a nurse checking on Beck. She got up, used the bathroom, and then walked into the hall where the guard was getting an earful from a very annoyed woman.
"Mom," she said in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to see you, of course. Your friend finally told me this morning where you were."
She felt sorry that she'd put Flynn in the line of fire. "Let's go somewhere else." She ushered her mom down the hall and out a door leading to a patio.
"What is going on?" her mother demanded as they sat down at a table.
"So much. Unfortunately, I can't tell you most of it because it's part of an FBI investigation."
"They weren't just looking for you yesterday, they were looking for Joel Brixton. They suggested that he kidnapped you. Is that what happened? Did he hurt you?"
"He tried, but he didn't succeed, and now he's dead."
Her mother stared back at her. "I'm going to need more than that, Piper. You have to give me some details."
"Okay. The first time Joel attacked me—"
"The first time?" her mother interrupted in surprise.
"Just listen. Seven years ago, I went to a yacht party, and someone put something in my drink and then assaulted me. I fought back. I knocked over some candles and started a fire, and I got away."
"I can't believe you didn't tell me about that."
She ignored her mother's look of distress. "I didn't know it was Joel until yesterday. I knew he would try to hurt me again, and I ran. But I ended up in the cemetery, and he knocked me out. Apparently, with the help of his security, he got me away from the church and put me on a boat and took me out on the ocean. He was going to kill me, but Beck showed up and stopped him."
"You sound so matter of fact. What you went through is terrifying."
"I'm trying not to think about it too much," she admitted.
"And Joel?"
"He's dead. He also killed Larry, Mom. He thought his father was in the way of his ambition."
Her mother shook her head in bewilderment. "I can't believe it. I thought Joel was a nice kid. You should have told me what happened to you seven years ago."
"I told the police what happened, but they didn't do anything. Shortly after that, the smear campaign started, and everything fell apart."
"You should have talked to me."
She met her mother's gaze head-on. "I couldn't. You already believed the worst of me."
"I didn't want to, Piper, but you had gone down a bad path. If you had told me that you were assaulted, I would have fought for you. You didn't give me a chance to help you."
"That's true. I was ashamed. My silence was a mistake, but I can't change it now. And I don't want to keep rehashing the past, especially not today. I'm too tired."
"Well, I'm glad you're safe. What about Beck?"
"He'll recover. He has some cracked ribs and a concussion, but he'll heal. He saved me, Mom."
"Because he loves you. I saw the way he was last night. He was out of his mind with worry. It wasn't a completely fake relationship, was it?"
"It started out that way, but it turned out to be more," she said.
Her mother smiled. "You're in love, too."
"I might be. It's strange, because we hardly know each other, but I feel like we know all the important things."
"Like whether you'd be willing to die for each other—literally."
She nodded. "Yes. We know that."
"I loved your father that way," her mother said, surprising her with the statement.
"You did? You never even wanted to talk about Dad."
"Because it hurt too much. He was to me what Beck is to you, someone I could count on, someone who made me feel safe and loved. When your father died, I didn’t know how I could go on, but I had you, and I had to pick myself up. I didn't let myself love again because it was too hard. That's probably why I became obsessed with your career."
"I don't think you even let yourself love me," she said sadly.
Pain filled her mother's eyes. "I always loved you, Piper, but I might not have showed it enough. I thought taking care of you, making sure you had your dreams, and you had security, was love."
"But I wasn't living my dreams; I was living yours."
"It was so fun in the beginning. Don't you remember? You loved pretending to be someone else. You and I would read the lines, and we would laugh, and you would hug me, and it was our thing. But as you got older, I pushed too hard. I got caught up in the money, the glamour and the luxuries of a life I had never known before."
"You forgot about me, about Dad, about love," she said honestly. "We can't go forward if you can't see that. There was a point where you stopped protecting me, where you ignored every warning sign, because those shiny dollar signs and luxury trips blinded you."
