by AS Teague
Lawson’s partner surveyed the scene and then jerked his chin to where his car was still running, parked in the middle of the road. “Get her in the back. I’ll take care of them.”
I looked over Lawson’s shoulder to see Hampton kneeling beside his husband, his hands running over his battered face.
I didn’t know how Hampton would ever get over this.
But I couldn’t stop to think about that. I needed to get Lawson in the car. And to the hospital to have his hands X-rayed and cleaned up.
The explanations, the healing, everything could wait.
43
Piper
One month later
“Hurry,” I moaned, arching my back to meet his punishing rhythm. “I’m so close, Lawson. Come with me.”
A growl emanated from his chest as his teeth clamped down hard onto my shoulder, his thrusting increasing in urgency.
“God, don’t stop,” I cried as his finger continued swirling my clit, pushing me closer and closer to the edge.
It didn’t matter how many times I felt him inside me, I never got enough of the way he worshipped my body.
Fast and hard, us both left panting and gasping for breath, or slow and sweet, hours of being connected in the most intimate of ways, it didn’t matter. Every time was better than the last, each orgasm he gave me more soul-shattering than the one before.
His teeth left my shoulder, soothing the sensitive area with his tongue as he kissed and sucked his way to my ear. He pulled my lobe between his teeth, this nip much more tender, and grunted, “I’m there, Pippie.”
“Yes,” I hissed as my head turned, capturing his mouth with my own. I didn’t tease, didn’t ask permission as I slid my tongue in to meet his.
His pace never slowed, his fingers expertly working me right in time with his cock, and it was only a second later as my orgasm crashed down on me. I moaned into his mouth and as my spasms wrapped around him, he found his own release, a strangled cry that I devoured.
His hips stilled, but he brushed a hand down my arm, kissing the curve of my neck. “I love you.” His words were muffled, but I still understood them.
“I love you too,” I whispered.
With a groan, Lawson pulled away from me. I hated that part, when I lost him and lost the completeness I felt when we were joined together. He growled into my ear, “You are a bad influence, Piper Kelley. Always have been. You know I hate being late.”
I glanced at the clock on my nightstand. “We’ve got half an hour before we’re supposed to be there.”
With his thumb and forefinger, he grasped my chin to turn my head to face him. His eyes were narrowed, but they were clear.
Satisfied.
He could grumble about being late all he wanted, but he was the one who had made the mistake of walking past me with no clothes on. I tipped my face to his to kiss him, but he pulled back. “It’s the first family dinner since…well, you know. Mom’s probably cooked enough food to feed the entire street.”
I did know.
It had been a month since he’d finally figured out the last piece of the puzzle. If it had happened to anyone else, I would have thought it was a story line written for Days of Our Lives. But, unfortunately, it wasn’t only real life, but our reality.
“Will Hampton be there?” I asked tentatively.
Lawson nodded. “Mom says he will. Which is another reason we can’t be late.”
I was surprised.
Since Smith had been hauled away in handcuffs, we hadn’t seen Hampton. He answered texts, although they were generic responses that could have been typed out by a robot, but aside from that, we got nothing from him.
Lawson stroked a hand down my arm, my flesh pebbling all over again, and I said, “Don’t even try to pin this on me. This is your fault.”
“What?” he asked innocently. “I can’t help it that I’m irresistible. It’s my geekish charm.”
My lips curved into a smile and I brought his fingers to my face to kiss them. “Nice try. But you’re still not supposed to use your hand much. And I’m pretty sure you used your hand a lot just now.” I looked at the knuckles that had almost finished healing. “You’re lucky you didn’t ruin them, you know. How would you have ever continued hacking without your hands?”
After Lawson had been treated in the emergency room for broken bones in his hand, we’d spent hours being questioned by the police, the FBI, and the DEA. It had been the longest night of my life, worse than even my most grueling rotations in medical school.
But it was through the questioning that I’d learned the truth.
Smith Jones Reed was a con artist.
His real name was Adam Stanley.
And he was the man Lawson and his partner Pieters had been looking for, without luck.
He’d spent years moving from state to state, using his good looks and charm to milk money out of people.
And it wasn’t just men he’d conned over the years.
It seemed he was somewhat of a chameleon and could be whoever he needed to be in order to get what he wanted. We learned he’d spent the last two years married to an older lady in Florida. The six months before that he’d been the play thing of an older gay man until he’d died, and for years before that countless other men and women.
We may never really know how many people he’d managed to take advantage of, and honestly, I didn’t think it would make any of us feel any better.
It was when his last money train had dried up that he’d joined forces with Josiah Shadblow and a few other men and had formed The Children of the Ministry. It had been an easy way to milk people out of money without having to get their hands dirty.
They used poor kids they knew would do anything for a few bucks and sent out letters requesting sponsorship. They’d managed to amass quite a large number of donors and stay under the radar of the government.
But Josiah had slipped up and landed on the government’s watch list.
And on Pieters and Lawson’s caseload.
It was pure coincidence that Smith had met Hampton at a bar one night.
And it was unfortunate for my best friend that Smith couldn’t resist the opportunity for one more con. And when Smith and Josiah had realized he could get his hands on drugs easily and sell them for a pretty profit, well, he hadn’t wasted any time taking advantage.
Lawson groaned and sat up in the bed, pulling me with him. “Let’s get this over with.”
“Can’t we call in sick?” I murmured.
He chuckled and pressed his lips to mine, his tongue licking the seam of my lips, and I opened for him. I always opened for him. He kissed me deep, his tongue swirling with mine. I was just beginning to melt for the third time that day when he pulled away. “What would we say? ‘Sorry, Mom, got tied up. No, really, Piper’s into some kinky shit and she tied me to the bed. I’ll catch ya next time.’?”
I slapped at his chest and laughed. “You know, tying you up might be kind of fun.”
“The only person who’s getting tied up is you.” He smirked. “Play your cards right, maybe we’ll try that tonight.”
“Piper!” Mrs. Reed squealed, wrapping her arms around me. “Your mother just told me the good news! When do you go back to work?”
I grinned as she pulled back and cupped my face in her hands. “Next week.”
It had taken a couple of weeks, but Mr. Wheeler had been able to file an emergency hearing with the board to get my license reinstated.
“Are you going back to Philadelphia?” she asked, the smile on her face widening.
“No.” I shook my head. “They filled my spot when I had my license suspended.”
Her face fell. “Oh, honey, I’m so sorry.”
“I’m not!” Georgia piped up from her seat at the table.
I stood on my toes and stuck my tongue out at her over Mrs. Reed’s shoulder.
“Why’s everyone standing around? Peg, isn’t dinner ready?” Mr. Reed bellowed.
I rounded the table a
nd threw my arms around his shoulders, catching him off guard. But it was me who was shocked when he pulled me in close and whispered in my ear, “Glad you’re okay, honey.”
I leaned back and peered into brown eyes that were the exact replica of Lawson’s. He winked as he released his hold on me and shouted again, “Hampton! Get your ass to this table. Your mama’s been cookin’ all damn day long and I’m starving.”
I glanced over at where Georgia sat, her eyes wide as saucers at her father’s unusual display of affection, and shrugged a shoulder.
Once we’d all claimed our seats and Mrs. Reed had begun bringing her parade of dishes to the table I cautioned a glance in Hampton’s direction.
My heart ached at what I saw.
His face was stretched thin. It was apparent he hadn’t been eating regularly. There were circles under his eyes that were so dark I wondered if they weren’t painted on there. But, worse than the physical changes that had occurred in barely a month’s time, was his eyes.
They were vacant.
The sparkle of mischief that had always been present in his emerald green eyes was gone. Like a candle that had been snuffed out. It hurt to look at him this way.
“Ham?” I said gently. When he didn’t look away from whatever spot he was staring at on the wall behind me, I tried again. “Hammy?”
Finally, our gazes locked and an understanding passed between us.
Whatever he was going through, he wasn’t ready to talk about it. I decided I wouldn’t pressure him today, but I wasn’t going to let it go too long before I forced him to say aloud what was so obviously constantly racing through his mind.
Lawson’s hand slipped over mine and he laced his fingers with mine. Hampton didn’t miss the subtle gesture, and the hurt that flashed in his eyes went straight to my gut.
“So, you’re not going back to Philly, huh?” Georgia asked, spearing a potato and taking a bite out of it. “What about you, Lawson? Now that your case here is wrapped up, they sending you somewhere else? Back to Vegas maybe? You know, you still owe me a trip out there.”
My head whipped in his direction. I’d never considered he’d be sent somewhere else. And my life, and new residency program, was here. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t follow him across the country.
He must have seen the panic etched in my face because he balled up a napkin and threw it at his sister while assuring me, “I’m not going anywhere.”
I blew out a breath I hadn’t even realized I was holding and then turned to glare at Georgia. “You’re such a jerk.”
She popped a fried okra spear in her mouth and grinned. “Yep.”
“Georgia Rose, you’re incorrigible, girl! We raised you to be a lady and you turned out to be a terror,” Mr. Reed bellowed.
I laughed as she poked out a lip and batted her lashes at her daddy, feigning hurt at his words. As I settled in to dinner with the Reeds I looked around the table at my family.
I loved them all just as fiercely as they loved me and each other. We’d weathered worse storms than this and I knew we would continue to get through this tragedy.
Just as we always had.
Together.
As a family.
A peace like I’d never felt before settled over me and I swear, for a moment, I saw Jack smiling back at me from the chair next to Hampton’s.
I smiled back and whispered, “We’re gonna be all right. Thanks for watching over us.”
Epilogue
Piper
One Year Later
“I thought I told you not to throw me a party!” I hissed a moment before the front door flew open and Hampton waltzed in, his arms full of wrapped presents.
“Happy Birthday, Pip!” he shouted. He dumped the presents on the coffee table and then turned to where I was glaring at Lawson. “The big two-seven!”
I rolled my eyes and grumbled, “Twenty-seven is not worth celebrating.”
“Of course it is,” Lawson quipped. “Every day you’re alive is worth celebrating.”
Hampton made a noise in the back of his throat like he was going to be sick. “God, how do you stand living with him?”
“Not really sure, to be honest,” I shot back and turned on my heel, stomping toward the kitchen.
It wasn’t that I didn’t love a good party. Especially one that was in my honor. But Hampton was still not himself since his marriage to Smith had turned out to be a sham. He was getting there, but there were moments I would catch the sadness in his eyes.
In true Georgia fashion, she’d gotten into a relationship that was doomed from the start. Since the man she had been dating for the better part of the last year had been her boss, the breakup had been anything but pleasant and she’d been pretty tough to be around for the last few weeks. As a matter of fact, the last time she’d been at the house, Lawson had stayed hidden in his office for the entire visit.
As if my thoughts were a beacon calling out to her, Georgia came gliding in through the door, carrying two bottles of champagne. “Sorry I’m late.” She held up the bottles. “Had to grab some champagne.”
Lawson wrapped an arm around her shoulders and said through clenched teeth, “Thanks for grabbing that, but I told you I had everything covered.”
She pulled out of his grasp and said over her shoulder, “These are for me.” She frowned in my direction. “Hope you don’t mind, but I’m pretending it’s my birthday and getting drunk tonight.”
I groaned as she plunked one of the bottles down and kept talking. “I can sleep in your room tonight, right, Piper? It’s not like that bed’s been used in what? A year now?”
I nodded as I pointed a finger at her. “Of course. But if you vomit in there, you’re washing the sheets tomorrow.”
“It’s not a party till Georgie gets wasted, makes Dad want to die from embarrassment, and then pukes in the sink,” Hampton proclaimed.
I sighed, knowing there was going to be a lot of hair holding in my future, and grabbed a champagne flute from the cabinet.
The space began to fill with more of our friends and family and soon I forgot I’d requested no party.
I’d been able to start a residency program in Atlanta not long after my license was reinstated, and I’d thrown myself into the work, trying hard to get back on track and erase the nightmare that had been the month prior.
I’d also continued to see the therapist about Jack’s death and had added being conned and nearly kidnapped at knifepoint to the list of issues to discuss. It was safe to say I’d be continuing therapy for a while to come.
I’d tried to convince Hampton to come with me to a session, promising it was worthwhile. He’d declined, insisting he was fine. It was the same lie he’d been telling everyone for the last year.
It was the same lie he’d been telling himself for the last nine years.
But I could only do what I could do. And that meant I was always there for him, but on my own terms. Because, as much as I’d hated to hear it that day Lawson and I had fought about it, he was right. I did let Hampton walk all over me. But those days had come to an end, and surprisingly, my relationship with my best friend was better than it had ever been. And even better than my own friendship improving, Hampton and Lawson’s relationship had taken a turn for the better.
Things had almost gotten back to a semblance of normalcy, at least as normal as life could be when you were in love with your childhood enemy. Life was good, we were happy, and time was marching on.
And then, six months ago, Lawson had come home and announced he’d been reassigned. The government wanted him to work on a case overseas in a war-torn country for the foreseeable future.
I thought I was devastated when they took my license away, but the way I felt then had nothing on the day and a half I thought I was going to have to spend the next few years without the love of my life.
Then Lawson had dropped the bomb that he quit his dream job with the government and had decided to start his own cyber security firm. We’d fought, I’d f
elt guilty, and he’d spent an hour convincing me he was making the choice that was best for him, not just what was best for me.
As the last guest was leaving, strong arms wrapped around my waist. “What are you thinking about?” Lawson whispered in my ear.
I leaned into him, relishing the feel of his solid body behind mine. “Thinking about how maybe I’m not so mad at my boyfriend for this party after all.” I dropped my voice in a conspiratorial whisper. “But don’t tell him that. He has an affinity for telling me he told me so.”
His deep chuckle vibrated through my body and I turned to wrap my arms around his shoulders. Standing on my toes, I sighed. “I love you, Lawson.”
He pressed his lips to mine, his kiss speaking of things he didn’t need to say aloud for me to understand.
He loved me too.
He always had.
Sometimes, the thought overwhelmed me, and I felt unworthy of the depth of his feelings for me. What had I ever done to deserve his complete devotion to me? Not a thing. But, on the nights I confessed my guilt, he always reassured me, without a moment’s hesitation, that it wasn’t my job to earn his love. The only thing I needed to do was accept it and return it.
And I did.
He broke our kiss and his eyes twinkled as he asked, “Ready for presents?”
My brow wrinkled. “I already opened presents.”
“I have a few surprises for you.”
I squealed. “You know I love a good surprise.”
Lawson led me to the living room and sat in the accent chair I’d added to his living room a few months ago. It was a bold teal, a bright pop of color to the otherwise drab gray couches he’d already had.
It was barely a week after he’d cracked the case with Smith and The Children of the Ministry that he’d given me free rein over his house. He’d pretty much declared I could do or have anything I wanted. I knew he would eventually change his tune, so I’d wasted no time turning the sparse house into a home.
