In Too Deep

Chapter Two (Scene 3)

Piper sent West a look that could’ve shaved stubble off his smug face.

Sanctimonious prick.

He knew—of course he knew—her mother would give her the third degree if she insisted on finding somewhere else to sleep. And no doubt he presumed that she’d overreact. The old Piper, the wiseass teenager who couldn’t control her temper, would’ve lost it. The new Piper, the seasoned police officer who’d learned to somewhat control her tendency to blurt out whatever popped into her head, would not.

So she closed her mouth with a snap and forced her lips to peel back into a smile. “Thank you. That’s very kind.”

“All settled then—and you’ll both come for breakfast with Ben and Shaye for a family meeting.” Glenna rubbed Piper’s arm. “I’d best be off. Bill—?” Bill turned from where he was trying to slip out the back door. “Be a dear and close up for Ryan tonight, will you?” She blew him a kiss. “West can take Piper home. My poor baby’s ready to drop.”

“Righto.” Bill gusted out a sigh and trudged back through the kitchen. “I’ll nip into the pub and turf out the hardcore hangers-on.”

Few could resist a direct request from Glenna. Except Piper, who had finally learned how after being away from her mother for so many years.

She whipped the towel off her shoulder. “I’ll wipe these counters down.”

“Don’t be too long, you’re looking decidedly peaky.” With a toodle-oo wave, Glenna swept out the way she’d come—leaving her and West alone.

Piper’s heart tapped out a little two-step routine.

West leaned against the stainless steel counter. “I’ll finish up here and take you home. My bike’s around the back.”

A vision flashed into her mind of sitting precariously balanced on a mountain bike’s handlebars while West pedaled madly behind. The bemused disbelief vanished when she remembered the old motorbike he’d slaved over as a teenager. “You still have the Suzuki 250?”

She put some distance between them by crossing the kitchen to slot the roasting pan back in its place under a countertop.

“No, I sold the Suzuki years ago. Got a BMW now.”

“Really?”

“An R100-GS.”

“Oh…nice.” This conversation was so awkward-high-school that she expected to begin her next sentence with the word “like” and giggle uncontrollably.

Why was she acting like a dumbstruck teen when men dominated her everyday working environment? Some of them hot men—and men in uniform. Yet, for all the jokes her friends made about handcuffs and batons, none of her fellow cops got under her skin with one sardonic glance like West had. “Look, give me directions to your place and I’ll make my own way.”

He raised both eyebrows but didn’t shift from his casual stance. “It’s almost eleven, and as Glenna said, ‘You’re looking peaky.’ I’ll take you home on my bike.”

Sitting behind West, snuggled up against his back with her arms around his waist? Not going to happen. She ignored the lurch in her stomach and slowly dried her hands on the kitchen towel before draping it over a rail.

Piper untied her apron and tossed it into the hamper. “I’m a cop who’s used to long hours and hard physical work whether I’m peaky or not. I’ll walk. Just give me the directions. Please.”

“Your call.” His tone mild, West rattled off a series of lefts and rights.

“And where’s the spare key? I don’t want to get Ben out of bed to answer the door.”

“It won’t be locked. You’re not in the city anymore, Piper.”

“Right.”

His lips curled into a half smile. “I’ll probably beat you back anyway, but if not, my office is on the top floor, and the linen cupboard is in the hallway. Make yourself at home.”

 The beer she’d drunk earlier curdled at the thought.