“How is it going with the girl?”

“Well, but it’s crowded.”

“In the room? Can you get away and call me back?” Isaac demanded.

“No problem,” Luke offered casually, standing to his feet and holding up a finger to Sebastian and pointing to his phone to explain his leaving. “Now you and I need to talk,” he accused Isaac.

“We do. If you’re not honest with your handlers, we will have to call you back in,” Isaac asserted without preamble.

“Just hold on a second. Why were you with Piper?” Luke sputtered.

“C.O., Luke. Case officer. Officer. I hold rank, that’s why. Why did you lie to me that Piper is with you.”

“She wasn’t when we saw her with you. We had just found her, because she ran away from us when we were trying to get out of town. Then I lost her again after we saw you. I was so shocked that you were there, she ran out before I could approach her.”

“And now?”

“We followed her to New Jersey, but then she disappeared again.”

“Don’t lie to me again, Luke. I can trace your cell phone and her cell phone. You’re together.”

Damn it, Luke complained silently. “I just…”

“Look, it’s not that unusual for an agent to think he’s in love with his first assignment as a raven. My first was a six-foot tall Russian agent, but I still thought I loved her. Almost didn’t live to tell the tale…but you are not in love. She’s just a mine for information, I promise. You will learn the difference soon enough.”

This man had no soul, Luke thought. “I’m not stupid. I don’t think I’m in love.” Though my cousin might be. “I’ve got this,” Luke assured his supervisor. “You don’t need to help. I’ll do it.” Everything inside of him cringed away from the process, mostly because he loved his cousin. Even more annoying, Luke actually cared about what happened to Piper. Guess I’ll have to dig into that feeling. Both of those were as compelling a reason for Luke to follow through as if he loved Piper himself – in the long run, he was a better option than Isaac.

“Who was that?” Bash interrupted as Luke reentered the room. Bash had spent the ten minutes of the phone conversation staring at the ceiling, frustrated that he could not hear the conversation of the women above it. He was highly unsatisfied with how he had treated Piper, or at least with how she had taken it. But he didn’t know what he could have done differently – he couldn’t regret that she was safe with him instead of running all over the state with a cartel on her heels.

“Isaac,” Luke replied. “After Molly mentioned the Perucañas, I decided I could go a little more legit here. If I’m investigating crimes committed on foreign soil, he can provide me more intel without raising eyebrows. He can also grant me official authority.”

“Does he have any advice for us?”

“Not really,” Luke lied. “He checked out Peru, but it’s Peru. Pretty stable near Lima. Pretty unstable – well, everywhere else. Couple of expat deaths near the Brazilian border. Couple of tourists disappeared sightseeing in the Andes. They left their group. No particular cartel activity outside the expected areas, and nothing that would connect to New England gang activity.”

Bash rubbed his temples. “So, nothing to connect to the Prados either. But those guys in Jersey were Perucañas. You saw the tatts.”

“Being ignorant sucks, doesn’t it? Something, somewhere makes sense, though, cuz. I just have to persuade the right person to give me the answers I need.” He sighed at the double meaning of the words.

“Yeah, I don’t like it,” Bash complained. “I’m not letting Piper out of here if she insists on doing this alone. This is just too unpredictable.”

“Um, Sebastian, you don't have any choice. She is an adult, and if you hold her against her will, it's called taking her hostage. She has the right to leave you any time she wants to, or find someone else to help her.”

With a disgusted sigh, Sebastian rolled onto his stomach, hiking his elbows up on a pillow. “I don't mean I'll force her to stay here. I just mean, I'll persuade her.” Sebastian grinned as he shoved up into a sitting position.

“She has resisted your charms so far,” Luke laughed.

“What charms? I haven't unleashed any charms. And if you remember correctly, earlier tonight, she basically melted against me.”

Luke gazed at his cousin in disbelief. “You were sitting next to her. You were the closest person available.”

“You think you could do better?” Sebastian challenged, and Luke raised an eyebrow.

“Would you like me to try?”

Sebastian shrugged. “If it will make her stay with us, then yes.”

Guilty at getting permission to do what he was attempting surreptitiously, Luke shook his head. “You have lost it,” he accused. “The only reason she hasn't already agreed to stay with us is because I haven't pulled out my badge just yet. Once I do, I imagine she will follow me wherever I lead.” Still, Luke’s adrenaline sped his heartrate as he considered seducing Piper Hayes. Until that moment, he had held himself back for his cousin. What if his cousin gave Luke the green light? If Bash gave Luke the green light, Luke would have to find another way to restrain himself. His more animal tendencies certainly wouldn’t restrain him with a girl like her.

Despite his desire to remain disinterested, the words actually wrenched Sebastian to a seated position. If Luke could convince Piper to stay, Bash didn’t really care how it was accomplished. He tossed the pillow across the room. “Have at her, then,” he leveled, forcing nonchalance into his tone.

+++++++++++

Piper’s eyes popped open, staring at the grey of darkness between herself and the ceiling. She had no idea what had disturbed her, but she had only just begun to doze off when she felt herself wrenched awake. When the gentle tap sounded again, she drew in a steeling breath. She could have ignored the door, but she didn’t want to risk waking Molly. The girl had suffered way worse than Piper, even though Piper couldn’t really feel the difference. Piper just recognized it in her mind. Her emotions had taken a severe battering for almost 72 hours, and she didn’t know how much longer she could keep pushing herself.

Still, remembering Molly, Piper pulled herself regretfully out of bed and padded to respond to the tapping.

When she cracked the door, she was surprised to see Luke standing in the shadows on the other side. Reining in the glare she had planned for Sebastian, she held up her finger indicating that he should wait a second, then she grabbed a complimentary robe from the armoire and stepped into the hallway. She carefully shut the door behind her. Molly’s assertion about Luke stole Piper’s confidence, but she forced herself to appear casual.

“What is it?” she wondered.

“Can we talk downstairs?” Luke reached for her hand as if to lead her. “I know you’re tired, but I just want a few minutes.”

Piper shook her head. “If this is about going easy on Sebastian, I don’t want to hear it.” She could still feel Sebastian’s arms restraining her, and the thought brought her fury to the surface. In all of her uncontrollable day, his disrespect was probably the most personally infuriating.

“No,” Luke assured her, a conspiratorial smile twisting his lips. “Bash is the last thing I want to talk about right now. I want to talk about tomorrow. I want to talk strategy. I value your input.”

Intrigued, Piper nodded her agreement. “That sounds okay,” she hedged nonchalantly. Still, she felt more than gratified that Luke seemed to respect her. As he led her to the stairs, his hand still in hers, she paused. “Is Bash down there?” She sounded like a scared little girl.

Luke gritted his teeth but said nothing. Instead, he just shook his head. “Just you and me.” He peered down at their joined hands, and Piper found her chest tightening.

Forcing a fortifying breath, she continued her trudge with him downstairs to the table. She pulled her hand away and scudded across the dimly lit kitchen, grabbing a glass and pouring herself some cold water. “Would you like a glass?” she asked Luke, who just shook his head again before offering her a seat.

“Let’s strategize,” he encouraged with a smile, and Piper set her glass down on the table. “I have a couple of ideas I’m batting around in my head. Though I hate to abandon you right now, the most logical idea has me leaving early in the morning with Molly to take her to your sister’s.”

“Or maybe her mom’s house, if she would like that better. But what am I doing in this scenario?” Piper wondered. If he was so interested in Piper, why was he insisting on driving Molly? Certainly, Luke’s attraction to Molly made more sense to Piper, but Luke seemed quickly to dispel that thought.

“I really don’t like leaving you.” Luke placed his hand over hers where it rested on the table. “I just thought you would feel safer with Bash than with a virtual stranger."

Confused, Piper stared at their hands. Electricity poured from his skin, and she found herself licking her lips. “Um, Bash isn’t much more than a stranger,” she admitted. “And I’m not sure I would prefer sending her with him either, since I wasn’t impressed with his general respect levels today. Molly is in a vulnerable position.”

Luke pierced Piper with his translucent eyes, now showing fully green in the light, and Piper bit her lip. She would absolutely not let him attract her, though he seemed determined to do so. “It is not your job to look out for her,” he insisted. “Not when you need someone to look out for you.”

Though she had hardly noticed Luke’s attractiveness before, she now realized that his face held the same chiseled lines as Bash’s, but Luke’s face was leaner. Hungrier. She had thought him more casual on their first introduction, but now she realized she had thoroughly misjudged him. His nonchalance hid a dark intensity. Piper found herself pulled into his expression. “I…” she stuttered, “I’m fine. I can take care of myself.” She also didn’t like the breathlessness in her tone, so she drew in a draught of air. Still, she didn’t move her hand from beneath the warmth of his. It…thrilled her.

“Piper,” Luke leaned in, not releasing her gaze, “You need to let someone help you. Of course you are strong – anyone can see that. But you have to rely on people who have shown they care.”

Piper breathed deeply, trying to force her heart to calm. Luke had leaned to within a few inches of her face, his hand sliding to where her arm rested on the table, and she found herself peering up into intense green starbursts with a deep ebony ring around them. Her breath stopped for a moment as she registered the latent hunger in his face. What made him so desperate?

“You don’t need to worry about me. I will do that,” she assured him, pulling her hand out from under his.

Who had shown they cared? With Luke, Piper sensed some form of manipulation, not concern. His words rang subtle and tantalizing, and she wanted to listen to anything he said. But unlike Sebastian, Luke’s pursuit if her seemed to hold a purpose – to gain control of Piper. She could not deny the attraction, but she still sensed that dangerous pursuit, and she needed to get away.

Standing to her feet, she started toward the door, and Luke followed her. Just as she reached for the door, he slid in front of her, and she barely managed not to crash into him. Now they stood mere inches apart, and Luke placed his hand on her waist. Her heart raced.

“What I meant,” he persisted in a low voice, his breath warm on her temple, “is that you can rely on me. You can trust me.”

For several seconds, Piper couldn’t move, and she couldn’t breathe. She closed her eyes. Luke’s hand remained on her waist, heat burning through her t-shirt, and she couldn’t think of anything to say to break the moment. Finally, her mind kicked in.

“I don’t trust anyone,” Piper managed, turning up the bravado. Only Molly and my sister.

Instead of responding to her words, Luke reached his hand to brush a strand of hair from her face, and Piper couldn’t force herself to move. When he dropped his hand, he reached to his belt, and Piper’s anxiety spiked as she remember the gun from the day before. Anticlimactically, Luke just dug in his back pocket and pulled out a wallet.

“What is this?” Piper begged, completely baffled.

“Open it,” he commanded, lowering the leather into her hand.

Piper obeyed, raising it to her face and flipping the front over to see inside.

“CIA?” she whispered.

“Yes,” he whispered back, amused at her dramatic reaction.

“That explains all the inexplicable confidence and sketchy skillset. Is Sebastian?” she wondered, and she thought she caught a look of irritation pass over Luke’s brow.

“Bash is just my cousin,” he divulged dismissively.

“But that guy with the gun. If Sebastian isn’t CIA or something, how did he fight that man?”

This is not going to be easy, Luke lamented, discouraged by her continuous questioning about Bash. “He’s not CIA,” Luke answered shortly. “All that fight meant is that he’s apparently stupid. But he’s also been training with me,” Luke explained. “For fun, not in any official capacity. He’s just a grad student. What he did there was dumb luck – I have a thousand other methods to fight the people who are after you.”

“So, if you’re CIA, why haven’t you brought in law enforcement?”

“I’ve notified the right people, but I’m not officially allowed to help you on American soil,” he averred mysteriously. “I’m sort of being given some slack because I’m not really acting as law enforcement for the time being. Though I can if I decide I need to.” With every hint of intrigue he dropped, Luke stepped closer to Piper. Piper stepped backwards, though, and he had to drop his hand from her waist or risk a repeat of Bash’s earlier snafu. Luke could not push her if he intended to manage his goal.

Finally, Piper found the strength to move, and, holding her breath for a moment, she proceeded out the door. Something was not right, whether Sebastian, his cousin, or both. Piper couldn’t ignore the allure, but she would not let it affect her decisions. At the last minute, Piper spun back in the doorway, her hands landing on Luke’s chest as he caught her.

“You need to understand something,” she leveled, the heat of her anger finally supplying the strength she wanted. “Since I was a child, I have protected people. It’s who I am. I protected my little brother and sister, I protected my friends, I even protected my parents and older sister on occasion. Maybe you have a job title, but protecting Molly is my right as her friend. I have paid the dues of commitment as thoroughly as you did when you earned your badge. I have spent my energy and love for her benefit. It’s who I am, and it’s what I do. And if it means protecting her from you or Sebastian, then that’s what it means.”

Luke sucked in a breath, gritting his teeth. “You’re fighting the wrong enemy,” he murmured, his careful control slipping as he held her against him. They stood in charged silence for several seconds before she found her voice.

“I guess I’ll find out,” she declared, spinning out of his grip and storming out the door.

Blowing out a breath, he followed Piper out the door. He would do what he needed to if it would save Piper – it would probably save Bash, too, since the alternative would have him at odds with Isaac.

Piper rushed up the stairs, not looking back, though Luke watched her all the way up. Finally, Luke eased back into his own room so he didn’t wake his cousin with all the stealth he had learned over the past couple of years. After what he had tried with Piper, he was not at all eager to look his cousin in the eye.