Crave (Talon Security #1)(13)

“You’re bossy,” I mumbled petulantly.

She sat across from me with a mug of coffee between her hands. “I love you and I’m worried and I need to do something. So I’m being bossy.” She shrugged.

“Okay,” I agreed. “Are you missing work?”

She shook her head. “Ry’s mom has it handled,” she replied, referring to her fiancé’s mother.

Piper owned and operated a gorgeous boutique in Hawthorne called Dixie’s. Ryker’s mom had been helping out for a few months now. When I was of sound mind, I intended to ask her how that was going.

“Why didn’t you call me?” she asked quietly.

I sighed. “I was exhausted. And I didn’t want to bother you with this. You have so much going on, with the store just opening and your wedding right around the corner.”

“This is important, Sam. You are important,” she emphasized.

“I know,” I agreed. “I just… you know how I am.” I shrugged.

She smiled. “I know. That’s why I’m going to force it out of you.”

I groaned.

She held her hands up. “Later. First you need to eat. Then, later we’ll make some cocktails and have it out.”

“You have this all planned out, huh?” I grumbled.

“I do.” She nodded sagely. “I’m spending the night, so you’re stuck with me.”

“You’re a good friend.” I sighed, feeling like I could cry.

She winced, gesturing to my eyes. “Uh, babe, let’s not do anything to make that situation worse. Let’s stick to the light stuff for now. No waterworks.”

I laughed, amazed that I could and grateful that I wanted to.

****

“Is Ryker okay with you spending the night?” I asked later that evening as we lay sprawled out on the sofa with cocktails in hand. Ryker was notoriously overprotective.

She nodded, taking a sip of her drink. “He’s fine with it. He understands.”

We sat silently for a few moments in the cavernous-feeling space. Travis had stopped in earlier to make sure I was all right before going back to headquarters. I was worried he was going to work around the clock until they figured out who’d attacked me.

“Does it hurt?” she asked quietly, gesturing to my face.

I winced. “Yeah. I’ve never—I just can’t believe this happened to me. It’s like something out of a movie; a really terrifying horrible movie.”

Piper had been through her own hell when a rival biker gang had attacked her. I knew if anyone could understand, it would be her.

“So this Osip guy thinks you have his diamond?” she pressed. Clearly, she’d talked a bit with Trav.

I nodded. “That’s what it sounds like. I can’t believe Zitto would purposely put me in danger like that.” I grimaced. “He’s always been so kind to me.”

“Sid should point that out to him when he kills him,” she commented dryly, taking a sip of her drink.

I rolled my eyes. “I’ll be sure to tell him that.”

Her demeanor shifted as she eyed me intently. “And how about that elephant in the room, hmm?” she queried.

Feigning ignorance would get me nowhere. I took a much-needed sip of my drink. “What, Sid?”

She reached over and squeezed my hand. “Cade may or may not have mentioned that you two saw each other last night.”

“Traitor,” I grumbled.

“He loves you both. So do I.”

I sighed. “I know. Really, I should be thanking Cade. I would have never agreed to come if I’d known Sid would be there. And I ended up getting some shit off my chest. It felt pretty good, actually,” I explained, running the tip of my finger over the rim of my glass. “No one’s ever hurt me like he did. I want so badly to get over it, and maybe being able to get some of that out is a first step to getting there.”

“Good for you.” She nodded.

Piper had been my voice of reason and shoulder to cry on when everything with Sid first went down. I’d stayed holed up in her guest room in Nevada for the better part of a week.

I took a much-needed breath before continuing. “I just… I’ve never felt this way about anyone before,” I admitted, my voice cracking. “I’d dreamed about finally being with him and knowing that it was all a big mistake to him is so fucking gut-wrenching I can’t even put it into words.”

She reached over and patted my knee in a silent show of support. “Did you talk after you were attacked last night?”

I snorted before wincing. Snorting with a swollen nose was not a good combination. “He said that we’d talk when I was up to it. The last thing I need is his pity. What I need is a new place to live. I don’t think I can ever go back there.” I shuddered at the mere thought.