Paws off the Boss, Casey Griffin [ereader for textbooks TXT] 📗
- Author: Casey Griffin
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Book online «Paws off the Boss, Casey Griffin [ereader for textbooks TXT] 📗». Author Casey Griffin
Taken by surprise, his step faltered. He pitched to the side, careening into the safety of the alcove with Sophie in his grasp. Holding Colin to her chest, Piper dove in the opposite direction and rolled on top of the Buick’s wide hood.
Aiden called out to her. She couldn’t see him. She couldn’t even see the car, but its blinding lights told her it was coming straight at her. Not Aiden. Her. And her money was still on the car.
Piper scrambled farther back on the Buick’s hood. Leaning against the window, she curled her body protectively around Colin. She thought maybe the car would avoid colliding with the solid Buick.
She was wrong.
The impact threw her forward, or maybe it pushed the Buick back. Metal crunched against metal; headlights flashed too close to her face. She flew off the hood and tumbled to the ground.
She twisted her body so she didn’t fall on Colin. Her bare arms scraped against rough bricks before she hit the pavement. Pain shot up her right side. Bits of gravel pierced her skin.
The Buick shifted next to her as the attacking car scraped by in the narrow space. Metal screeched and plastic cracked as the Buick inched closer to the brick wall, threatening to squish Piper.
Finally, the Buick’s movement stopped. Engine sounds faded into the distance.
Claustrophobia kicked in, compressed as she was between the Buick and the wall. Like a Piper panino. Dazed, scared, certain this was the end, Piper writhed in the small space.
Above the ringing in her ears, she heard someone’s name being called over and over again.
“Piper!”
Oh, it was hers.
“Piper, answer me. Can you hear me?”
Some part of Piper’s rattled brain told her it was a good idea to answer back. And then she thought, Oh, good, I still have brains. They weren’t splattered across the pavement.
“Piper!” Aiden called again.
“I’m here.” Her voice squeaked out, as tiny as a mouse’s, like she’d sucked out the entire contents of a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon. She cleared her throat and tried again. “In here.” However, she still hadn’t pieced together where “here” was.
She blinked and took in the dark space: the underside of a Buick, a brick wall. Right, she was in the alley.
From under the car, she watched Aiden’s feet move to the other side. Footsteps shuffled. The car hood banged. His face appeared in the narrow gap between the wall and the car. He squatted down and peered into her panino.
“Thank God,” he said, resting his forehead on the Buick’s hood for a moment. “Are you hurt?”
Hell yes, she thought.
She became aware of Colin grunting and squirming as he tried to extract himself from her vicelike grip. Relaxing her arms, she freed him and flexed her limbs to see if they all worked. Her right side throbbed from the fall, but nothing else seemed to hurt too badly.
“I think I’m all right.” She groped her head just to make sure it remained attached.
“Can you squeeze out of there?”
“I’ll try.”
Rolling onto her stomach, Piper wormed her way to the front of the car, ignoring the sharp bits of gravel that scraped her arms and the who-knows-what that squished under her hands. Colin scurried around, licking her face and shoving his snout in her ears and hair to assess for injuries.
“Not helping, Colin. Yes, I’m happy you’re okay too.”
Once she’d wriggled her way out, Aiden helped her to her feet. She didn’t even have a moment to catch her breath before he crushed her against his chest.
Piper held on to him for physical support as much as emotional. Her legs shook, her hip and elbow throbbed, and her world still spun.
She assessed the cramped space she’d been sandwiched in, Piper the juicy jam squished in the middle. It was a miracle she’d escaped. And Colin had tried to warn her. He’d sensed something was wrong, like he could smell the danger. It was that inexplicable instinct that animals had—they just had a way of knowing.
“Are you hurt?” Aiden asked, his eyes dark. His hands moved over her like he wasn’t convinced she was really there, safe in his arms.
With adrenaline flooding her body, Piper wasn’t ready to believe her senses. She took stock of her injuries, counting limbs and fingers to make sure they were all present and accounted for.
To her surprise, she found very little wrong. Some missing skin on elbows, gravel embedded in her palms. It was likely she’d discover new injuries for days to come as aches surprised her and bruises blossomed. Oh, how there would be bruises. Zoe’s dress, on the other hand, had seen better days. Piper’s dry cleaner would have to be a magician to save it.
Colin circled her feet, sniffing at her ankles, coming up with his own diagnosis. After a moment, he sat back on his haunches and barked up at her anxiously.
She bent down to pick him up and cradled him in her arms, letting him give her kisses. “I’m not bad. But the night’s still young.” She said it jokingly. Only, she wished she were joking.
“I’m not letting you out of my sight for another second.” Aiden pulled her back toward him. “I wish they’d find that taxi already.”
“The taxi?”
“Maybe there will be some clues as to who’s doing this. This can’t be a coincidence. It has to be related to the attacks on the center.”
Piper realized that he’d been blaming himself all this time, for the vandalism to the center, for everything. He thought it was because of his briefcase and the information contained in it. Meanwhile, she figured it had something to do with her.
She didn’t bother responding, since she couldn’t be sure who was right. The fact was, she pissed off a lot of people; at least, she had recently. It could have been the person targeting the center or Laura or Barney Miller. Of course, there was always Tamara—then again, a catfight in Aiden’s house was a far cry from vehicular homicide.
Piper frowned. “Did you see the plates on that car?”
“No.” He pulled out his cell phone. “But I’ll call the cops. Maybe they can track them down before they get too far.”
“I should have them on speed dial by now,” she said dryly.
He brushed a stray hair away from her face. “Hopefully this will be over soon.”
Piper hoped so too. Only, she hoped it was because they caught the guy. Not because he got what he wanted.
The elevator dinged as it reached the top floor of Caldwell and Son Investments. Remembering how things went for her the last time she’d been there, Piper hesitated before getting off. She dreaded facing that snooty admin assistant. But Piper’s assets were covered a great deal more than they were the last time. And, besides, what did she have to feel out of place for? The boss had invited her, after all.
Tightening the belt on her raincoat, she stepped into the foyer and strode right up to the reception desk. It might have been Piper’s imagination, but Veronica appeared more orange than the last time, as though she’d swapped her tangerine self-tanner for a lovely shade of marmalade. The woman must have recognized her, because Piper thought she smiled a little devilishly.
“Hello.” She peered over the desk like she expected to see the horse head.
“Hi. I’m here to see Aiden Caldwell?”
“Are you here for another singing telegram?” Veronica’s face lit up, not unlike a big jack-o’-lantern.
“Not today. I’m just here to speak with your boss.” Piper emphasized the word “boss.”
It had the effect she was looking for because Veronica’s mouth tightened like a drawstring purse. Standing up, she tugged her pencil skirt down and smacked the release button on the secure doors. “This way, please. He’s expecting you.”
Piper pressed her lips together to hide a triumphant grin. She followed Veronica through the glass doors and down the long corridor lined with offices. She was only limping a little. However, she’d had to skip the high heels for her telegram gigs earlier that day. But it could have been much worse.
It had been two days since the attempted hit-and-run, and the cops had found no leads. Nor did they receive any tips about the rescue center vandalism like she’d hoped they would after her appearance on the news. Their “one week” was up, and they had nothing.
Veronica led Piper down a hallway with top-to-bottom glass walls, including the door to each office that faced the corridor. She imagined the staff probably felt like the ladies did in their fish tank. However, each office was outfitted with blinds for privacy. The space and the furniture were modern, reminding Piper of Aiden’s home.
She saw Aiden long before he saw her. His office sat at the end of the hall, larger than the others, with a view of Montgomery Street below.
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