Page 71 of Take Me to Church
By the time I break the edge of the crowd, the heavily tattooed man is flat on the floor, body twitching. Piper stands over him, a triumphant smirk on her lips. "I told you to get your fucking hands off her." She swipes across her face with one forearm, pushing at the mess of tangled hair sticking to her sweaty skin. The taser I told her not to carry is clutched tight in one hand as she glares down at the incapacitated man, her shoulders heaving as she tries to catch her breath.
I push Simon in her direction, not wanting to leave Piper to fend for herself, but also needing to get my hands on Lydia. To see that she's safe. But the crowd of people in the bar cinches in, hoping to get a look at the source of the commotion, making it a difficult task. With each second that passes my pulse speeds faster and fear turns to anger.
I should have kept my eyes on her. Should have sat closer. Shouldn't have allowed myself to get distracted by the conversation I was having. Should have—
The door leading to the back hallway opens, catching my eye. Lydia steps out, carrying a box. Her eyes widen as they sweep across the scene in front of her.
I shove through the crowd, the air rushing from my lungs when I reach her side. I snag the box from her hands, balancing it in one arm as I use the other to pull her against me. I've never felt so relieved in my life. Those few seconds of not knowing where she was, thinking maybe someone managed to drag her away in the chaos, were unbearable.
"What happened?" Lydia sticks close to me as she surveys the bar. "Is everything okay?"
"Not that guy’s nuts." Piper strides in our direction with Tate close on her heels, carrying her weapon of choice.
Lydia presses her lips together, shaking her head. "I told you he was going to be a problem." Her flattened mouth tips into a frown. "I didn't like the way he was talking to his girlfriend. He would lower his voice when I walked past, but he didn't know I have years of watching men abuse women under my belt, and I knew exactly what he was doing."
"Well he found out exactly what I did." Piper looks pleased with herself. "I think for a second he thought I was going to hit on him." She snorts. "Like I just go around trying to put my hand on a strange dude’s junk." She makes a face. "I wouldn't touch that one with a ten-foot pole." Her head tips to one side. "Might with a baseball bat though."
A decade ago I might've been shocked to discover women like Piper existed, but not now. Now, a few of my brothers are married to women with strikingly similar personalities, so her confidence and brash attitude don't surprise me at all. If anything, they make me like her even more because I see them for what they are: a shield she uses to protect an unexpectedly tender heart. At least that's the case with the women I know like her.
The swinging door beside me shoves open and a familiar face rushes out. Stella looks directly at me. "What in the hell happened?"
I hold up my free hand, taking it off Lydia for only a second. "Wasn't me."
Stella's focus swings to the next most likely cause. Piper beams at her, smile wide. "The prick at table ten wound up like he was going to backhand his girlfriend after berating her for twenty minutes straight."
Stella's head tips back, face pointing toward the ceiling as she slowly inhales. "Please tell me you did not take that fucking taser to a customer’s scrotum."
Piper deflates a little. "What did you want me to do? Just let him hit her?" She crosses her arms, posture going stiff. "He might get away with that shit at home, but not when I'm standing there."
"This is my business, Piper." Stella seems more resigned than angry. "I am responsible for what you do and that means it's my ass on the line right now, not yours."
Piper’s shoulders slump. "But I'm the one who did it. Not you."
Stella reaches out to pat Piper’s arm, her own soft heart showing for just a second. "I don't think what you did was wrong, but sometimes the world looks at things differently." Her eyes snap to the entrance as the door opens. "Especially in a legal sense."
The next hour is a blur of cops and statements and feeling a little too close to both for comfort. As a rule, I generally try to stay as far from the police as possible, especially given my past endeavors, but there’s no escaping them tonight. At least this time I'm nothing more than a witness.
Stella ends up closing the bar early, locking the doors once the tasered man has been hauled away and the cops clear out.
Unfortunately, they don't clear out alone, and Lydia and I end up at the station, waiting while they decide what to do with Piper.
It's well after midnight by the time we get home, and all three of us are exhausted. Piper's high wore off hours ago and her steps drag as we make our way from the detached garage behind my house to the back door. Lydia leans against me as I unlock the door, the security alarm beeping as it opens. Piper trudges in behind us, going straight down the hall toward the stairs. "I’m going to bed." She pauses, looking back our way. "I'm really sorry."
Lydia shakes her head. "You don't have anything to be sorry for. That guy deserved everything he got."
Piper gives Lydia a sad smile. "I'm not so sure the police will feel the same way.” Her smile falters. "Or Stella." She turns away, disappearing up the stairs, leaving Lydia and I alone in the kitchen.
But we're not alone for long. The knob on the back door jiggles and I spin that way just as Myra knocks on the glass between us. She gives me a wave.
I flip the lock and open the door. "Where in the hell did you come from?"
"I was across the street talking to Felicity." She closes and locks the door, the alarm beeping as it resets.
I point toward the front of the house. "I didn't hear the gate alarm."
Myra waves me off. "I don't use the gate. I can never remember the code."
I'm starting to realize Myra learned a lot of tricks in her time, figuring out ways to get around locks and alarms. Whether they’re put in place for control or protection is irrelevant to her. "Then how did you get into the yard?"
