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Fuck, it was hard letting her go

Rubbing at the ache in his chest, frowning at the tightness there, he wondered at the feeling he’d identified years before as a preer?

Maybe it was better that Piper was leaving for a few days after all Her sister had nearly died the year before because she was too close to his partner, Brogan Campbell

God help anyone who dared to threaten Piper Mackay He would kill Perhaps not for the first tih it would definitely be the first ti for

She orth dying for

The brilliance that was Piper Mackay couldn’t be contained She ild and free, bright and burning, and there were already too many men determined to taht so valiantly for

He refused to become one of them

Jed forced himself to move, to walk slowly and easily across the stretch of lawn that led to the inn and the suite he had taken next to Piper’s

She was gone and he had no choice but to let her go

That didn’t mean he liked it

It sure as hell didn’t mean it was easy

THREE

A exactly where Piper had directed her to the day before

The sh away that if the other wo in, then there was no way in hell Tih for her to jog to, even carrying the two bags she had brought with her

"Trunk’s open" Gypsy’s voice came from the other side of the vehicle as Piper moved for the car

By the ti next to it, lifting it for her as Piper threw her bags in She took a good look at Gypsy’s face in the trunk’s light Just to be certain she ho she was supposed to be, Piper told herself, realizing soht have actually stuck in her mind

The second Piperaround her to the driver’s side

"Ready to roll?" the other wo back as Piper watched her

"Ready to roll" A quick nod and Piper was opening the passenger door and sliding inside quickly before pulling it closed

Gypsy’s door didn’t so much as squeak as she closed it and restarted the vehicle

She resembled Amy, Piper decided as the car pulled back out onto the main road and headed toward town

The sahter strands by the sun She was slender, co off her lightly tanned, well-toned upper body ile than her diminutive five-foot-four fra you wouldn’t make it out after she told me who your brother and cousins were" Gypsy flashed her a quick, rueful grin "I don’t know if I would have followed through after I learned Natches Mackay was your cousin if I hadn’t already pro to stare back at Gypsy warily Great, she knew Natches Piper wasn’t even going to bother asking how yet Only one question was upper her a questioning look, Gypsy efficiently navigated the curvy mountain road that led to the interstate

"Yeah" Piper could feel that sense of freedori hi him knoould only add a shadow of distrust to nation in Gypsy’s voice, nor her explanation, made sense

"What do you mean?" Piper shook her head "Wouldn’t it be the other way? He wouldn’t trust you if he learned you had helped me? Wouldn’t he trust you more if you contacted him?"

"Doesn’t work that way" The other woestion, her expression still a bit stiff, with an air of secretiveness "I promised I’d help you before I kneho your cousin was You don’t appear to be in any trouble, and my own sources verified how protective your brother and cousins are If I called him without cause, no matter how much he would love to knohere you are and who you’re with, then he’d count that as a betrayal of confidence I’d be deemed untrustworthy, unless you were in trouble" She threw Piper a quick, amused look "Are you in trouble?"

"No trouble," Piper proh of relief "I just don’t need company, you know?"

She hoped Gypsy understood Just as she hoped the other woirl just has to do what a girl has to do And sohts fro expression she wore

"Exactly," Piper stated "The New York fashion scene isn’t a place where any of the a herd of bulls in a rooet the china shop They would raze the shop and head for the warehouse"

Gypsy gave a sh at the description before her amusement was quickly pulled back

"I’ve heard that about Natche" She gave a light laugh "He was a legend in Afghanistan while he was there One of the best daence than he had any right to be"

Yeah, that sounded like Natches