When We Fall (Take the Fall, #2)(53)

“I can’t lose you. Promise me you won’t retaliate. Promise me you won’t lay another hand on him.”

“He shook you, Piper. He hit you.” His touch is gentle, a direct contradiction of his furious tone. “He deserves to f*cking die for what he tried to do.”

“I know…I know.” I sniff and wipe at my face, hissing when I touch my tender cheek. “Can we please go home?”

The look in Jase’s eyes is chilling. “We go file a report at the police station, or I don’t keep my promise.”

I nod, swallowing back more tears. “Take me there.”





Jase


An hour later, we’re lying in my bed. Piper is snuggled up against me so tight that I doubt a piece of paper could fit between us. Hell, there’s no air between us.

“What made you show up at the last minute?” she asks.

“Didn’t realize it was so late. I came to apologize for pouting. Should have gone earlier tonight, then nothing would have happened to you.” My f*cking pride almost got her…I swallow.

“It was no more your fault than mine,” she says softly.

“You were brave tonight.” So brave. When I pulled up on my bike, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. My Piper, so helpless in my eyes, fighting like hell against an attacker twice her size. My Piper getting slapped around. My Piper being shaken so hard that her head seemed disconnected from her body.

“I was scared,” she disagrees.

“Bravery isn’t the absence of fear. It’s filing a report on an * who assaults you.” Gingerly moving the ice pack, I inspect her cheek. It’s red, but the swelling seems to have come down a lot. Other than a few light bruises, there is nothing else on her that would indicate she brought the hammer down on a would-be rapist. I know that’s what would have happened, all the way down to my bones, if I hadn’t decided to man up and be there.

Icy fear seizes my heart. What if I hadn’t come? What if I had held on to my pride and stayed home to work on my Mustang?

Piper laughs a little, but it’s not that tinkling sound I’m used to hearing. “Then I’m the world’s bravest woman.”

Turning to one side, I cup her unmarked cheek. “I need to be brave just like you.”

“You were brave. You stopped Mark.”

“The physical stuff—that’s not a problem for me. I can use my fists to break up fights and my dick to make a woman smile, but my heart…that’s an entirely different matter.” I caress her cheek. “You see, I love you. More than I ever thought it was possible to love someone.”

Her beautiful eyes fill with tears. “I love you, too.”

That empty spot in my heart, the same heart I’d been so afraid of giving to her, fills with her love. She f*cking loves me. I’m not empty anymore. Every bit of her love and kindness and sweetness makes me a whole man again.

A new man.

The man who walked out of Western Prison is not the same one lying with Piper Ross in his arms tonight. She’s helped change me for the good.

Her mouth quivers. “What if Mark says I’m lying? Do you think my dad will defend me?”

I’d like to think her dad would take his only daughter’s side. She’s never gotten in trouble before and tells the truth like no one’s business, but she’s also betrayed what they view as their trust by moving out. And now that she’s openly dating me…

“Fernandez seemed like a decent guy—I think he believed your story.”

She sighs, bowing her head a little. “Lie to me, Jase. Lie to me and say that everything will be okay.”

With a heavy heart, I look her straight in the eye and say, “Everything will be okay, Piper.”





Chapter 18





Jase


The next weekend, Piper and I decide to have some friends over and grill out in the backyard. Okay, so I allowed Piper to have a themed backyard party, because I’ll do anything to make sure that f*cker didn’t ruin life for her.

For the most part, I think the incident, as she calls it, made her a little less innocent and more wary of people in general. But she’s having a good time. Every time she laughs, my gut clenches at the sound.

Seth and Rowan are there, along with a few of our neighbors whom I went to high school with. Everyone is talking, eating, and generally having a good time like her. Okay, like me, too. I could get used to shit like this.

“This is fun, right?” Piper asks, kissing my cheek. She’s dressed to match the theme of our party in a checked sundress and four-inch heels that have ribbons lacing up her shapely calves.

I’m so going to f*ck her while she wears those. Swear to God she wore them just to give me ideas.

I flip a couple of burgers and check the chicken that’s grilling below the patties. “If you’re having fun, then I’m having fun.”

Piper pouts a little. “My party is fun, admit it.”

“There’s no fighting. No loud music. Too many adults.” I wink at her. “And we’re all discussing local events. Art events, by the way.”

“Things have changed around here.” She smiles up at me. “Thank you for letting me invite people over.”

“Anything for you, kitten.”