Nash: A Rough Romance by Piper Stone (book series for 12 year olds txt) 📕

Everything about the man was authoritative as hell. As I shifted closer to the soft leather, I winced from the way my panties scraped against my ass cheeks. Damn him. Damn the situation.

Damn my life.

I didn’t expect his next words or the way I would feel hearing them.

“No one is going to hurt you. No one. If a single asshole attempts to lay a hand on you, the fucker will be forced to face my wrath. And Mitch, I assure you that the bastard. Will. Die.”

Chapter 5

Reaper

Damsel in distress.

Just my luck to have a woman in need of protection drop on my doorstep. I’d promised to protect her. Whether or not I chose to believe her was something else. I pulled the bottle of bourbon back to the middle of the table. It didn’t matter it was three in the morning.

“You need to tell me the story. All of it.” I poured another half glass for her, shifting the glass in her direction. When she didn’t budge at all, I sighed then moved to sit beside her. I took her hand, forcing her to wrap her fingers around the thick crystal. “Just take your time. We’re not going anywhere.”

Mitch gave me a half smile. “I’ve never been to Montana before. It’s beautiful here.”

“Yep. It is. Do you really have a friend with a cabin somewhere in these mountains?”

“Not a friend exactly. After threats were made on my life, the district attorney was the only man who seemed to give a damn. He gave me the address. I don’t think he was supposed to do that. I took my friend’s truck and left quickly.”

“Wait a minute. You’re talking about a safehouse?” What in the fuck was going on?

She nodded. “Yep. Isn’t that supposed to happen?”

“Don’t play naïve, Mitch. You’re a smart woman and you’re not pulling the wool over my eyes. Start from the beginning.”

Jesus Christ, she was still trying to play me as some kind of fool.

“It’s simple. I witnessed a horrible crime by a monster and did the right thing by telling my story to the police. The asshole didn’t take very kindly to me doing that, so he sent his thugs to terrify me against testifying on the stand.”

The conviction in her voice was almost believable.

“Uh-huh. What’s the asshole’s name?”

“Dante Giordani. From what I learned after the crime, he was some big gang leader. Drugs. Extortion. I witnessed him beating a man just outside a store I was in. The man later died. I was the only one to actually witness the crime who came forward. Of course, I learned why the hard way. You don’t open your mouth.”

I thought about the name. While it didn’t ring a bell, I’d been out of touch for so long that didn’t mean anything. A growl escaped my lips. “Let me guess. He wasn’t convicted.”

“Nope. Not enough evidence. I did testify and I’ve never truly witnessed evil until I sat thirty feet away from that pig.”

“And you weren’t given protection?”

“I had police protection for a few days, but when it seemed the bastard had moved on, the officers were reassigned. That’s when the games began.” She yanked the blanket more tightly around her then took a gulp of her drink.

“What are you talking about?” I asked, studying her face. She was definitely terrified.

“Giordani began to show up in front of my apartment. He’d just stand there. One time he was there for two hours. He never tried to break in, but I could swear he knew when I was looking out the window. He’d issue this kind of cold and calculating smile that I still see in my dreams.”

“Goddamn it. This happened in Chicago?” My anger increased exponentially. She couldn’t be that good of a storyteller.

Her hand was shaking as she brushed her fingers through her hair. “Yes. That’s where I moved to for a job. I guess that’s why I had no idea who the asshole was, although I’m not certain I would have done anything differently.”

An honorable woman. My hackles remained raised. “And they refused to put him back in jail?”

“He didn’t violate any laws. He was on a public street. After that, the calls started. While at first there was no one on the other end, I knew the asshole was on the other line. He was trying to terrorize me and in truth, it was working. When he finally spoke, telling me exactly what he was going to do to me, I called the police. They didn’t exactly laugh at what I told them, but they made certain I knew that if they bothered to trace the call, it would have come from a burner phone. After another horrible call, I got in contact with the district attorney. Mr. Porter couldn’t do anything either, although he did confirm what the police had told me. We have such a great system.”

When she started laughing, I could tell just how much pressure she’d been under. “What else happened?”

“My car was vandalized. As you can imagine, there were no fingerprints, nothing to indicate it was anything other than a random attack.”

“What forced the DA to send you away?”

“When I was sent a picture of a dead witness in the mail, the DA decided to take matters into his own hands. The DA did try to get a safehouse but given there was no direct evidence that it had anything to do with Giordani, his request was denied. So, he gave me the address of this cabin in Montana and told me to get out of town until things cooled off.”

“Then you’re likely safe.” For now, although I’d known assholes like that before. They wouldn’t leave a loose end. I glanced toward the window, trying to develop a plan of attack.

Mitch turned her head, gazing into my eyes. “I don’t think so, Reaper. You didn’t see him in the courtroom, the way he looked at me. You didn’t hear what he said, but that’s not what terrified me