Dark Warrior Untamed (17 page)

The label was printed out on a computer. To Piper’s untrained eye, there was nothing special about the printing, but maybe a forensics lab would be able to tell more.

Byrne pointed at the address on the label. “Does all of the Thorsens’ mail come to the street address or do they have a post office box?”

Piper thought it was an odd question, considering the package hadn’t come through the regular mail. “The mail all comes here, but the mailman didn’t bring that package.”

“I know, Miss Ryan, but I wanted to know if receiving packages here at the house was the norm.”

He leaned down to study the label again. When he straightened up to look at Grey, his eyes were definitely frosty. “I assume by your accent that you’re not from here.”

“No, sir. I already told you that I only recently moved here. I’m still looking for a permanent place to live, but my personal belongings have not arrived from London.”

Sandor finally joined in. “Why are you asking, Detective?”

Byrne pointed at the label. “Because this return address is from London. Is it familiar to you?”

He stood back so that Grey could get a closer look.
Grey blinked twice before answering.

“Bloody hell. It’s mine.”

Fifteen minutes later, Grey watched the detective drive off. Turning away from the window, he gave Sandor a rueful look. “Well, I’d say that went well, but that would be a lie. At least he didn’t slap the cuffs on me when he found out the return address on the bomb was mine.”

Sandor clapped him on the shoulder. “Hey, he knew you weren’t stupid enough to mail yourself the bomb that damn near killed you.”

“There is that. Now that he’s gone, I’ll drive our piece of leather over to the lab.”

Sandor followed him back into the office. “Why don’t you let me do that? It’s not that far out of my way.”

“If you’re sure. I’d like to stick close by while Piper finishes up a few things in the other room that Kerry had asked her to look over.”

“Not a problem. So unless you need me for something else, I’m out of here.”

“Enjoy your weekend.” Grey sat down at his desk, ready to deal with the paperwork that was piling up.

Sandor paused on his way out. “I’ll be working from home, but don’t hesitate to call if you need me. Lena and I can be here in under ten minutes.”

Alone at last, Grey slammed his fist against the desk. Damn, he really wanted to punch something, or better yet, the bloody bastard who’d used Grey’s address on that fucking bomb. It wasn’t even logical. If
he hadn’t happened to peel off the paper and stick it in his pocket before the explosion, no one would have ever seen it.

Well, except for the shipping company. And certainly in the process of backtracking through the company’s records, Detective Byrne would have seen where package had originated.

However, if Hughes or Piper had been injured—or worse—by the explosion, Grey was sure he’d be behind bars right now. But even an overly suspicious, hardheaded cop like Byrne had to admit that it was unlikely Grey would have shipped himself a bomb.

Kerry and Ranulf had left earlier for their mountain retreat for the weekend, taking the three teenagers and Hughes with them. The cabin was located in the Cascades, less than an hour-long drive from the house. Once there, Ranulf would set his wards in place, ones no humans and few Kyth could breach. Short of artillery, no one was going to lay a finger on Kerry or the kids. They’d return when Grey had more men on hand to guard the Dame’s house. He’d issued orders transferring more Talions into the area, but they wouldn’t arrive until Monday.

It would be a relief not to stand guard all weekend. Once Piper finished a few things, they would leave together, and the sooner the better. He reviewed his plans for their evening, the kind that had him horny and restless as he counted down the minutes until they could get naked together.

The king-sized bed in his room was perfect for what he had in mind, and he was betting Piper would
enjoy the oversized tub with the jets running full blast. Room service was just an added bonus.

It was tempting to go hunt her down and see if he could hurry things along. Unfortunately, he had a handful of e-mails he needed to read before leaving for the weekend. He clicked on one from Rolf, a Talion who he wanted to transfer to Seattle permanently. Good, he’d arrive by Sunday night. The next two were updates on ongoing investigations across the globe, neither one anything major, just annoying.

And the last one was from the firm he’d hired to do a more in-depth background check on one Piper Ryan. The short message was a status report, revealing nothing that hadn’t already been in Sandor’s notes. The investigator said the full report should be completed within the next few days, after he heard back from a couple more sources.

As Grey scanned the message, he heard Piper coming down the hall and closed the file. Vetting employees was part of his job, and even though they’d taken their relationship to a different level, he still had to do his job. Yet it felt strange to be investigating someone he was sleeping with. It was definitely a first.

Piper walked in just as his phone rang. He was too busy savoring the hot look she shot him to pay attention to who was calling him. Damn it all, it was Harcourt.

The arrogant bastard got right to the point. “I’m still waiting, Danby. Do I need to call the Dame myself and tell her that you’re ignoring calls from her subjects?”

Grey fought to keep his voice calm, uncomfortably aware that Piper could hear him. “You’re bluffing.”

“Rest assured that I’m not.” Then Harcourt paused for a few seconds. “I hear that you’ve had a bit of a mishap. Something about a package.”

“All you need to know is that I’m investigating the situation. When I manage to track the shipment back to its origins, there will be hell to pay. No one threatens the Dame or her people and lives to tell about it.”

He didn’t want to listen to the sputtering coming from the other end of the line, so he hung up.

“Sorry you had to hear that.”

She gave him a worried look. “Is whoever that was a suspect in the bombing?”

“Not really. He’s more of an interfering jerk.” Another lie, but he wouldn’t point the finger at Harcourt before he could prove anything.

“You ready to go?”

She swung her pack over her shoulder. “What kind of food do you want to pick up?”

He pulled her in for a quick kiss. “I thought we’d go to my hotel and have something delivered.”

“Hmmm … let me think about it.” Her eyes were laughing as she hooked one of her long legs around his, pulling him tightly against her.

He groaned. “Keep that up, and we’ll find out how comfortable the top of your desk is.”

She reached behind her to run her hand over the desk’s surface. “Not too bad. What do you say?”

“I say we get moving while we still can.”

He grabbed her hand as he stepped back and all but
dragged her down the hallway and out the front door. When he gunned the engine and peeled out, Piper laughed.

“In a hurry?”

He smiled. “Do you have a problem with that? I’ve been waiting all day to get you alone—just you, me, and a bottle of wine.”

Piper settled back in her seat. “I love a man with a plan.”

“Any more of that fried rice left?”

Pleasantly exhausted, Piper nudged the box in Grey’s direction. They were both sitting on the floor by the coffee table, boxes of Chinese food spread out between them.

She was wearing a thick terrycloth robe, compliments of the hotel, just like the one Grey had on. Neither of them had felt like getting dressed for dinner, not when they had every intention of picking up where they had left off when hunger had driven them from the bed. Piper studied her companion, trying to decide where she wanted to start.

He had been concentrating on his dinner, but looked up as she bit her lip while she stared. His hands froze halfway from the box to his mouth.

“What’s the matter? Did I spill on my robe?”

“No, I was just thinking how much I’m going to enjoy having my wicked, wicked way with you again. And again.”

“Really?”

“Oh, yes, really.” She ran her tongue over her lower lip.

His eyes tracked every movement she made, but he remained right where he was. “Can I finish my dinner first?”

“If you really want to.” She set her chopsticks and food aside. Making sure she had his complete attention, she tugged her belt loose and let the robe fall open.

He took one last bite of broccoli before setting his food aside. “Come and get me if you want me.”

Her robe slipped down her shoulders as she crawled over to where he sat. She knelt in front of him, freeing up her hands to get past the terrycloth to all that warm and wonderful skin underneath. Grey didn’t stop her, but he didn’t seem in a big hurry to help her out.

Fine. Two could play that game. She ran a hand up his leg, starting at his ankle and working her way up until she found what she was looking for. A stroke, a gentle squeeze, and a soft caress was all it took to have those sparks of blue fire dancing in her lover’s eyes.

She loved the little catch in his breath when she repeated the process from his other ankle. This time, she wrapped her hand around his cock and briefly dipped her head down toward his lap. She immediately straightened back up.

“Your robe seems to be in the way of my plans. Do you want to fix that little problem?”

He looked mildly insulted as he shrugged out of his robe. “I’ll have you know, there’s nothing little about my problem.”

Looking down at the hard evidence, she had to
agree. “You have a point. I suppose I could make it up to you somehow. Any suggestions?”

He leaned back on his elbows and shifted his legs so that she was sitting between them. “You were headed in the right direction when my robe got in the way.”

“Well, I aim to please.”

And she did.

Harcourt’s voice sounded tinny and worried as he pleaded with her to answer. “Adele, please, where are you?”

She counted off the seconds, waiting for her father to speak again. It didn’t take long.

“I’ve been trying to reach you for two days, Adele. I know you’re busy with classes, but it’s imperative that I speak with you. There seems to be a problem with your credit card. Someone bought an airline ticket with it.”

Yes, someone had. She had, in fact, but how was that any of his business? Granted, he paid her bills, but that was a father’s duty. If the credit card company had questions about her spending habits, they should have contacted her.

She sighed. What would he do if she continued to ignore him? Cause her more problems, no doubt. If the nitwit got it in his head that someone had stolen her identity, he might just cancel her cards altogether. That simply wouldn’t do. Why couldn’t the stupid wanker just leave her alone?

She smiled. Her father would totally lose it if he heard her use such language. A lady wasn’t supposed to use street language or even know what it meant. Sometimes she wondered how her father managed to remain so out of touch with the real world.

He probably thought she was still a virgin. If he only knew.

But for right now, she still needed to play the game, to be his pure and innocent daughter. She hit his number on speed dial and waited for him to pick up. As much as she prefered to leave a voicemail rather than actually speak to him, it would only delay the inevitable. But luck wasn’t with her—or perhaps it was. Either way, she’d leave him a message and get on with her plans.

“Father, I’m so sorry I missed your calls. Silly me, I forgot to recharge my phone, so I just got them all now.”

She paused, trying to decide what to do about the charges. “I’m sorry about the mix-up on the credit card, but I took care
of it. No reason for you to be concerned. They promised it would be straightened out on the next statement.”

By the time he found out she was lying, she’d be on the other side of the world. Once she passed through Customs in the States, she’d start using the cash she’d saved for just this purpose. It should slow him down considerably when he tried to track her down.

“I’m in the midst of my exams. I’ll be busy with studying for a while, so don’t worry if you don’t hear from me.”

When she disconnected, she shut the phone off in case he tried to call her back again. She simply did not need the distraction.

Two more days of exams and then she’d be on a nonstop flight to San Francisco. There, she’d rent a car and drive up the coast to Seattle. She couldn’t wait. For the first time in her life, she was going to be on her own, free of the constraints her father and Kyth society had placed on her from day one.

There was a lot about being Dame that she wasn’t excited about, but having power over life and death was a serious rush.

It was rather ironic that her father was worried that someone had stolen her identity to charge a few measly purchases on a credit card. The one who had really robbed her of her birthright was Kerry Thorsen. Since no one had raised an uproar or rushed to Adele’s defense, she would eliminate that problem herself. So far, she’d used an intermediary to launch
the opening salvos. She savored the knowledge that she—and she alone—controlled the fate of people halfway around the world. Little did they know that soon, very soon, she’d take a much more hands-on approach.

But right now, she had exams to study for. After all, the future Dame of the Kyth couldn’t risk failure of any kind.

P
iper took her time walking from the bus stop to Kerry’s house, thinking about her fledgling relationship with Grey. They had talked all weekend—well, not
all
weekend. It would be more accurate to say they’d squeezed in a few conversations between other activities.

She’d been unable to think about much else since Grey had dropped her off at home last night. Once again he’d insisted on seeing her to the door—and inside.

The man was nothing if not thorough. There wasn’t a square inch of her apartment—or her—that he’d overlooked. She hoped he’d gotten some rest after he’d left. Her head had hit the pillow right after she kissed him good-bye, and she’d slept straight through until her alarm went off.