Page 31 of Persuading Piper
Chapter 25
Piper pouredtwo fingers of whiskey for each of them, then sat in a wing chair near the dead fireplace. She gave the two men her sharpest look and said, "Now. Explain."
When the two remained silent, she said, "Since neither one of you is jumping in, Daddy, you go first."
Her daddy blinked like an owl. She'd never known him to be at a loss for words. This must be bad indeed. She shifted her gaze. "How about you, Ian?"
Ian glanced at her daddy, rotated his glass of whiskey in his hands and looked at the floor.
"The two of you look like a couple of kids who've been sent to the principle's office." Picking up on the tone of her voice, Ham growled softly from his place at her feet. She put her hand on his back to hush him.
"Piper, you have to understand that we've been protecting you from worry." Her daddy said into the silence.
And her blood began to boil. "Protectingme? Why do I feel like this is some macho BS that you two have cooked up?"
"It was your daddy's decision to make. He's got the right to protect his child." Ian said.
"Are youhearingyourself?" She asked indignantly.
Ian flushed bright red.
"I wanted you to know what was going on, but I respected your daddy's decision to keep it quiet." Ian carefully didn't look at her daddy.
She figured it was because he didn't want to get the death ray look her daddy had always been so good at giving when he was angry about something. It was legendary in this house.
She shifted in her chair. Sipped from her glass of whiskey, enjoying the burn of it going down her throat. She'd been scared to death earlier when the breaking glass had shattered their moment together. Being told to stay there and hide hadn't gone down well with her. And now, these two macho men were sitting here like statues with no explanation.
Ian was no doubt the weak link. At least tonight, fresh from their lovemaking and renewed declarations to each other.
"If you think I should know, then you should go ahead and tell me." She said to him.
Ian glanced at her daddy who looked weary enough to sleep on the floor. The older man gave a short nod.
"I came back to town on an assignment with my new employer." Ian began. "My cover story is that I'm visiting my mama."
She narrowed her eyes and he flinched.
"Tell me more about the organization you're working for and what it has to do with my daddy and you."
"I work for an organization called the Brotherhood Protectors. It's based out of Eagle Rock, Montana." Ian replied. "It's a group of former military personnel, who for a wide range of reasons, aren't in the service any more. I went to work for them after I left the Navy."
Piper nodded. So far, so good. "And what does that have to do with your being here in Mercy?
"You're daddy hired me to protect him from a mob hit."
The words fell into her world like a bomb and the room swirled around her.
She came back to herself, still seated by the fireplace in her childhood home.
Ian and her daddy still sat across from her looking sheepish.
And Ham still sat at her feet.
But the world was a totally different one than she'd live in five minutes ago.
"Mob hit." She repeated in a voice that sounded far away to her ears.
"You damn fool!" Her daddy shouted at Ian. "What were you thinking saying flat out like that?"
She pulled herself back from the brink. Raised her hands. "Stop! Don't go crazy one me. I don't think there's any gentle way to tell that to someone." She took a deep breath. Let it out. Okay. Steady as she goes.
After she'd pull the full story from both men, she stood and paced.
"Right. Ian needs to move in here so he can be on site all the time. Ya'll should have told me from the get go and Ian should have been in the house from the time he arrived." She pointed a finger." And Daddy. No more going anywhere alone. There have been four attempts so far. I don't know how these things work or if there's a timeline involved."
She bit back the tears that threatened. This was not the time to lose her grip.
