Securing Piper

by Susan Stoker

  They both laughed.

  “We’re really lucky,” Piper said. “One day we were minding our own business and living our lives, and the next, here we are, living the American Dream.”

  “Exactly,” Caite agreed with feeling.

  They sat watching the men play with the kids for a while longer. But when Rocco came running toward the house, and the rest of the guys started herding the girls and heading their way too, Caite and Piper stood up in concern.

  “Don’t panic,” Rocco told Caite. “But we have to head out. The commander just called. We’re needed at the base.”

  “Shit,” Piper said under her breath. She and Ace had talked about the possibility he’d be sent out soon, but she wasn’t ready. Not today of all days. “But it’s late,” she said.

  Then he was there in front of her. He put his hands on either side of her head and tilted her face up to his. “I know. I’m so sorry.”

  Piper grabbed hold of his wrists and took a deep breath. “It’s fine. We got this,” she told him.

  He smiled. “Damn straight we do. On the bright side, the girls should be exhausted and will probably go straight to sleep when you get home.”

  She did her best to smile at him. “Do you think you’ll be headed out that soon?”

  “I honestly don’t know. This could be just a precaution. More information has obviously come through and needs to be reviewed immediately. We might ship out later tonight, or I might be home in a few hours. I’ll let you know either way.”

  “What about Gumby?”

  “We already talked about that. There’s no way any of us are gonna pull him from his honeymoon. If we have to ship out tonight, we’ll go without him.”

  “Is that safe?” Piper asked in concern.

  “Of course. We got this,” Ace said, echoing her words.

  Piper took a deep breath and nodded. She felt a pair of little arms go around her waist and looked down. Sinta was hugging her and looking up in concern. Kemala was standing nearby holding Rani.

  “Things are fine, girls,” Ace told them. He reached out and ran a hand down Rani’s damp hair and put his other on Sinta’s shoulder. “I’ve been called into work. I hope I’ll be home tonight, but I might have to leave right away. Be good for Piper. Okay?”

  Rani and Kemala nodded. Sinta held up her arms for Ace. He leaned down and picked her up. “What’s up, baby girl?”

  Sinta patted him on the cheeks. “Daddy be safe?”

  Piper closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. That was the first time any of the girls had called Ace “daddy”—and it sounded so good. Sinta had asked if they would be her mom and dad when they were still in Dili, but she hadn’t mentioned it again…until now. Piper could only imagine how Ace was feeling.

  She opened her eyes, and saw he was having trouble speaking. She could only assume it was because he didn’t want his voice to break, or to otherwise worry Sinta by being overly emotional.

  “Of course he’ll be safe,” Piper said, putting a hand on Sinta’s back. “If your dad has to leave to go help others, he has all of his friends to help him, and you already know how brave and strong he is.”

  Sinta nodded and leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek before wiggling to be let down. Ace immediately put her on the ground and stood still as she hugged his legs. Then she turned and ran into the house, yelling Hannah’s name as if she hadn’t just rocked her mom and dad’s world.

  “I help with sisters,” Kemala told them.

  “I know you will,” Ace said. “Don’t forget to take time for yourself too. We know you love the girls, but it’s important to do stuff you like to do.”

  They’d been working hard to make sure Kemala did things other girls her age might enjoy. She wasn’t their babysitter, and as much as her help was appreciated, they didn’t ever want her to think the only reason she was around was to look after the other two girls.

  “I will. I got new books at library. I will read.”

  “Good. I’ll look forward to you reading to me when I get home,” Ace told her.

  Kemala beamed.

  Ace held out his arms, and Piper handed Rani to him. He held the little girl up so they were face-to-face. “Is my little monkey going to be good while Daddy’s gone?” Ace asked.

  Rani giggled and nodded enthusiastically.

  “Good. Now, why don’t you and your sister go inside and see if you can find all of your stuff. It’s about time to go, and I’m sure your clothes are probably all over the house.”

  Rani smiled again, and Ace kissed her on the cheek before putting her down. She raced into the house, Kemala hot on her heels.

  Piper did her best not to cry. She wasn’t ready. Wasn’t ready for Ace to leave. It was stupid, he was a Navy SEAL. A damn good one. Of course he had to go when his country asked him to. But she wasn’t sure she was ready to be a single parent. Ace had helped more than she’d ever dreamed, and even thinking about trying to do everything herself made her breathing speed up until Piper felt as if she was going to hyperventilate.

  “Breathe, Piper,” Ace ordered, pulling her into his arms. “You’re going to be fine. Remember, you were going to do this by yourself. Piece of cake.”

  “But I haven’t done it by myself,” she protested into the warm skin of his neck. She could smell his perspiration from playing on the beach, and just plain ol’ Ace. It made her want to tie him to their bed so he could never leave…and so she could have her way with him one more time. “Please come back to me,” she whispered.

  Ace pulled back and kissed her long and hard. When he pulled away a minute later, they were both breathing fast. “I’m coming back,” he said firmly. “Tonight. Tomorrow. A week from now. I’ll always be there when you need me.”

  Piper nodded. She needed to be strong. Stop being a wuss. Caite and Sidney dealt just fine when their men left; she could too. “Okay.”

  “Okay,” he echoed. “You good?”

  “I’m good,” she told him.

  “I love you,” Ace said. “So much you’ll never know.”

  “I do know,” Piper said. “Because I love you the same way.”

  “If we’re being sent out, we won’t go right away. Text me when you get the girls down and let me know how things went. Okay?”

  “I will.”

  “I’ll head to base with one of the guys. I’ll put the keys to the Denali in your purse.”

  Piper nodded.

  He kissed her once more. A hard kiss that wasn’t nearly long enough. Then he brushed the backs of his fingers down her cheek and turned to head inside.

  Tears threatened, but Piper held them back by sheer force of will. He wasn’t leaving forever. Just for now. He’d be back. She could do this.

  Taking a deep breath, Piper headed after him to corral their kids and get them home before it got too dark.

  The second they got on the road, Rani fell asleep in her booster seat. Kemala and Sinta babbled back and forth about the day, and Piper concentrated on getting home safely. Her head was full of worry for Ace. They didn’t talk about his work much because of security issues, and she hated that she had no idea what part of the world he might be headed to.

  As proud of her husband as she was, Piper was realizing there were some parts of his job that she really didn’t like. But knowing she had to deal with them, she mentally pulled on her big girl panties and started thinking about all the things she had to do when they got home.

  She had to get the girls into a bath, first of all. They were sticky from the saltwater and probably still had a ton of sand on their little bodies. Then maybe, since it was Saturday night, they could watch a movie before heading up to bed. She also wanted to read a bit more of Harry Potter with Kemala.

  And, once the girls were asleep, she could break down and feel a little sorry for herself.

  Then she’d figure out what to do with the kids tomorrow. Maybe she’d see if Caite wanted some company back at the beach house. She was staying there with Hannah until S
idney and Gumby got home. If not, maybe they’d go to the zoo.

  Lost in thought, she opened one of the garage doors at the house and pulled the big SUV inside. She popped open the trunk and, as she climbed out of the car, said, “I’ll get Rani so she doesn’t wake up. Sinta and Kemala, if you could grab some of the bags, please. I’ll put your sister on the couch then come back out and grab the rest of the things.”

  “Okay,” Kemala said.

  Sinta merely nodded.

  Piper unclipped Rani’s seat belt and picked up the still-sleeping girl. Her head lolled on Piper’s shoulder, and she was completely dead weight in her arms. She marveled at her daughter’s ability to sleep through almost anything. Loving the feel of her sleight weight against her, Piper waited for Sinta to open the door to the house for her, then walked inside toward the living room.

  She’d just put Rani down on the cushions when she heard a noise behind her.

  Turning, Piper could only stare at the man in the middle of the room. He’d obviously entered the garage through the still-open door and walked right into the house.

  Paul Solberg was standing there with a frantic look in his eyes.

  Piper instantly remembered what had happened the last time she’d seen him—and panic rose hard and fast inside her.

  “Mr. Solberg,” she said, trying to stay calm. “Is something wrong?”

  “Yes, something’s wrong,” he said. “You’ve got my Kalee—and I’m taking her back.”

  “What?” Piper asked, dread filling her at the sound of his voice. It was flat and completely unemotional. Not only that, but the shirt he was wearing was wrinkled and stained. She’d never seen Kalee’s dad look anything but put-together and neat.

  And she had no idea what he meant by, “You’ve got my Kalee.” His daughter was dead…his words were crazy.

  The older man took a step forward, and Piper realized she couldn’t protect both Rani and the other girls at the same time. Hoping he hadn’t seen Rani on the couch, she stepped between Mr. Solberg and Sinta and Kemala, who had just entered the living room from the kitchen.

  “I’m here for my daughter,” Mr. Solberg said again, glaring at her, as if daring her to disagree with him.

  Making a split-second decision, Piper said, “Kemala, take your sister to the basement to the playroom and stay there.”

  On the lower floor, Ace had a sort-of safe room. It was more a room to house the weapons he owned, but they’d told the girls it was daddy’s “playroom,” and they were never, ever to go in there without one of them present.

  But just in case, Ace had shown Kemala how to get into the room using the secret switch he’d had built into the design. The door was always locked, but easy to get into if someone knew how.

  She hoped like hell Kemala would understand what she was saying. She had no idea what was going on with Mr. Solberg, but he was freaking her out—and she needed to get her girls out of the room. And making them go to the basement served a dual purpose. They could get inside the secret room, but it was also the only way to get them out of there without them having to get anywhere near Mr. Solberg, short of sending them back to the garage.

  “But—” Kemala protested, but Piper cut her off, using a tone she’d never used with her before.

  “Now! Do as I said.”

  Without another word, Kemala picked up Sinta and headed for the doorway to the basement, located next to the entrance to the kitchen.

  Breathing a sigh of relief that at least two of her kids were out of danger, Piper took a step toward the couch, intending to put herself between Kalee’s dad and Rani, who was still sleeping soundly on the cushions.

  But the huge man moved faster. He was standing by Rani before Piper could get to her.

  She had no idea what he was thinking, but instinctively knew it wasn’t good. She tried to remain calm. “Mr. Solberg, I’m glad to see you, especially since I haven’t heard from you. Would you like a cup of coffee?” She tried to keep her voice as level as possible.

  “No. I don’t want anything from you,” he growled. “I’m taking what’s mine and leaving. You’ll never see me or Kalee again!”

  “Mr. Solberg,” Piper said as firmly as she could. “Kalee’s dead. She passed away in Timor-Leste. I’m so sorry. I miss her as much as you do.”

  One second Kalee’s dad was standing ten feet away, and the next, he was right up in her face. His huge fist swung and slammed into the side of her head so hard, so fast, Piper didn’t even have the chance to defend herself.

  Her body flew to the side and she crashed into a bookshelf. Her head literally bounced off the edge of a shelf before she fell to her hands and knees.

  The pain in her head was excruciating, and Piper felt blood immediately start to drip down into her eye.

  “I shouldn’t have let you babysit her!” Mr. Solberg screamed in a high-pitched, maniacal voice. “I knew you were a bad influence on my baby! I can’t trust anyone. I’m the only one who cares for her! Don’t try to find us. I’m taking Kalee somewhere I know she’ll be safe. I’m going to protect her!”

  Piper was dizzy and her head hurt like hell, but she forced herself to get up.

  When she saw Kalee’s father start to bend to pick up Rani, she lost it. No way was he taking her little girl.

  Piper threw herself at the man’s legs, taking him by surprise and managing to knock him off his feet. She’d never taken any self-defense classes, so she had no idea what to do now, but she’d do whatever it took to keep Rani safe.

  For what seemed like hours, but was in reality probably only seconds, the two grappled on the floor of the living room. But even though Mr. Solberg was older, he weighed more than she did, was far stronger—and he was soon straddling her with his hands around her neck.

  When he looked at her, Piper knew she was in deep shit. His eyes were blank. It was as if he wasn’t seeing her at all. Wasn’t seeing his daughter’s best friend. The woman he’d had dinner with more times than she could remember.

  She was afraid he was going to strangle her, and Piper frantically began to struggle. She tried to use her knees to hit him in the back, but that didn’t even seem to faze him. She brought her hands up to his face to use her fingernails as weapons, but he realized her intent and quickly spun her body around as if she weighed no more than a child.

  Taking a deep breath, now that his hands weren’t around her throat anymore, Piper was relieved for a split second—until he grabbed her head and wrenched it backward, before slamming it down on the floor.

  The room was carpeted, but that didn’t keep pain from exploding in her forehead.

  Piper lay on the floor and tried to catch her breath and make sense of what was happening. He must’ve thought he’d knocked her out, because she felt his weight lift from her back.

  Fisting her hand, Piper spun to her back and sat up, aiming her fist even as she moved.

  She missed his groin, which was what she was aiming for, and instead only managed to hit his thigh.

  Growling in anger, Mr. Solberg grabbed Piper by the hair and dragged her across the floor to the sliding glass door that led to the deck on the back of the house. He fumbled with the lock as Piper did her best to twist out of his grasp, while at the same time still trying to do some kind of damage to the man.

  He seemed to not feel any of the blows she landed, as if he were on drugs or completely out of it. Somehow he managed to open the door and, before Piper could stop him, he threw her out onto the deck and she landed hard. Her tailbone was throbbing, as was her cheek where he’d hit her and her forehead where he’d slammed it into the floor.

  Piper got up on her hands and knees and crawled toward him. She wouldn’t give up. Not when it was obvious the man was out of his mind. Not when her daughters were in danger.

  Just as she reached for him, the glass door slid shut.

  Piper’s blood ran cold. She reached for the handle and jerked, but the door didn’t budge.

  He’d locked her out of her ow
n house.

  Watching in horror, Piper saw Kalee’s dad head toward the couch. He leaned over and picked up little Rani. The fact that he was gentle with the girl didn’t make her feel one bit better.

  “No, Mr. Solberg, please! Don’t take her!” Piper screamed from the other side of the door. She pounded on the thick glass, begging him to leave Rani alone. She had blood on her hands from the fight with the older man, and it also ran down the side of her face from another cut she’d gotten sometime during the struggle.

  But her best friend’s father ignored her. He strode quickly toward the open door to the garage with Rani sleeping in his arms.

  Crying only made her head feel worse, but Piper couldn’t stop the tears. They mixed with the blood dripping from the cut in her head, making it difficult to see much of anything.

  “Please! Not Rani—don’t take my daughter!” she screamed.

  Mr. Solberg, obviously hearing her even through the glass, turned right before he headed out the door. “You took mine!” he shouted with a glare, before disappearing out the door.

  “No!” Piper screeched, forcing herself to her feet. She couldn’t let him leave with Rani. She had to do something! She needed to get around the house before he could get in his car.

  Forcing herself to her feet, Piper stumbled toward the stairs that led down into the backyard, gripping the wooden rail to stay upright.

  She managed to get down half of the dozen steps before the world began to spin once more. Then nausea struck her hard and fast and she swayed on the stairs.

  “No!” she whispered. “I have to get Rani…”

  But it was no use. Her body gave out on her. Blackness crept in from the sides of her eyes and her foot misjudged the next step and slipped out from under her. She fell hard and slid down the last five stairs on her ass.

  Gasping in pain, Piper heard a car engine start from the other side of the house, and she cried out in frustration and horror.

  “Rani!” she screamed, but the word came out more as a whisper as what just happened finally sank in. The blackness that had been threatening expanded, until Piper couldn’t see anything. She fell over onto her side and knew no more.