Piper wasn’t born Piper either. I’d gone to high school with him, back when he was better known as Jeremy Grayson.
Back when we were both assholes-in-training, one of us destined for the army and the other probably destined for hard time in prison. Instead, I became a security professional, and he became a professional criminal who’d somehow avoided prison. So far.
I nodded at Blazer or whoever the fuck he was. “Ronan Sterling,” I said.
Blazer hooked his right thumb deliberately into his jeans pocket, which pushed his jacket open, exposing the Secretary patch on his vest. Which meant he was one of the Kings’ officers.
Not a casual social call, then.
Big surprise.
I should’ve fucking known that Jude wasn’t gonna leave this to me to handle.
“Jude tells me you’ve got a situation,” Piper said.
“Not one I can’t handle.”
Piper grinned slowly, but it didn’t reach his eyes, and it made the scar down the side of his otherwise handsome face look even more unholy. “Humor me. Jude says this Sanchuk kid is a Sinners hangaround?”
“He’s thirty-six,” I said, deadpan.
“And yet he’s acting like a punk.”
I couldn’t argue with that.
“He broke into Summer’s house?”
It was instantaneous, the way my back got up when he dropped her name like that. “You know Summer?”
“We’re friendly,” he said, not really telling me a thing. Had to hand it to him, he had the dead-eye thing down. That look probably made lesser men shit their shorts.
But since I was dead inside myself, it didn’t really do much for me.
“How friendly?” I inquired.
“She doesn’t send me titty pics or anything. If that’s what you’re gettin’ at.”
“I wasn’t getting at anything. Just asking.”
“My brother has concerns,” he informed me. “His job is keeping Dirty and their families safe. He considers Summer part of that family. Which means I’ve got concerns of my own. He’s far the fuck away right now. Put you in charge. He needs my help, I’m here to help.”
Yeah, I got that. Brotherhood and loyalty and all that shit.
But I wasn’t so naive to believe that brotherhood was all this was about. The fact that the Sinners were somehow involved, however indirectly, was what had him here bright and early on a Sunday morning getting up my ass.
“Appreciate it,” I said. “Right now, I’m looking at anyone and everyone in Summer’s world, assessing the situation so I can keep her secure. And Blair Sanchuk didn’t break into her house. He climbed the wall to the balcony off her bedroom. That’s as far as he got before the VPD canine unit tore into him.”
“Fuck, I love dogs,” Piper said.
Blazer smiled. He hadn’t taken off his sunglasses, but he was definitely staring me down this whole time.
“How’s the good ol’ VPD handling things so far?” Piper asked me. “You get that restraining order yet?”
Jesus, did Jude tell him everything?
Yup. Of course he did.
“Not yet,” I said, carefully, wondering how much I was gonna tell him. “We’re waiting for it. I’m hoping Sanchuk will just sign the peace bond so we don’t have to go to court.” If he voluntarily signed it, agreeing to abide by the terms of the restraining order, it ended there, no need to press the matter.
That was our best case scenario.
“He’ll sign it,” Piper said.
I studied him. What the fuck was he planning?
My instinct was to tell him to stay the fuck out of my job. But at the same time…
I wanted Sanchuk to sign that piece of paper.
“You have something in mind?”
“Let’s just say he’ll be instructed on what’s expected of him,” Piper said.
“You can consider it a peace bond of our own,” Blazer added. He gave me a feral smile.
At a glance, “Blazer” looked more like a dude who belonged in a motorcycle ad aimed at coke-snorting stockbrokers who wanted to play biker on the weekend, than an actual biker.
Though the tats on his knuckles that said SHIT HEAD spoke volumes.
“All I ask of you in return,” Piper informed me, “is once the restraining order is in place, if this Sanchuk fuck breaks any of the conditions, you see him around or Summer tells you he’s tried to contact her, you tell me first. Me,” he stressed.
“First…” I repeated. “As in, before the police?”
“Before anyone. I want to know the second it happens, if it happens. Though I don’t think it’ll be too fuckin’ likely. What do you think, Blaze?”
“Not likely,” Blazer agreed. “Not after we have a little afternoon tea with him.”
Afternoon tea?
Yeah, I did not want to know whatever that meant.
Piper took a step toward me, getting a little too in my face for my liking. “You let me deal with it,” he said in a lowered voice, “and it will get dealt with. Case I’m not being clear, that means you don’t tell the cops a thing.”
“No offense, Jeremy,” I said evenly. “But I don’t want any debt to the Kings, and I definitely don’t want Summer having any.”
Piper laughed. Then his hand landed on my shoulder, and he squeezed. Not too hard, but hard enough. “Relax, Sterling. You’re really not that important to me. It’s got jack shit to do with you or her.” He stood back a bit and looked me up and down. “Hear my man Maddox is takin’ care of her right now. Tell him I say hi.”
Then he slapped the side of my face, gently.
I ground my teeth.
… takin’ care of her…
Fuck, I wanted to slug him in the side of his smug face for that. Right on the fucking button. I was fast enough and I packed enough power into a punch that I was pretty damn sure I could land that strike and have him on the ground, out cold, before his club brother knew what happened.
But he knew I wouldn’t. Which was exactly why he was pushing my buttons.
Because he knew he could get away with it.
I didn’t want any war with him, because a war with him meant a
