It Wasn't Me - Lani Lynn Vale Page 0,53

you pissed off lately? Anybody that could quite possibly hold a grudge over something that you did?” the detective pushed.

I opened my mouth to deny that, too, but Piper placed her hand on my thigh and interrupted before I could.

“The cab driver in Vegas. You turned him in, remember?” Piper suggested.

I closed my mouth and frowned.

I had done that.

I’d called the cab company and first asked if he worked there. After doing that, I’d reported him. I’d then pretty much done my level best to ensure that he would never do that to another tourist ever.

“And that woman on the plane and her daughter,” Piper continued. “The hacking woman that you told was disgusting, and the daughter that you called spoiled.”

My lips twitched.

So did the detectives.

“Then there was the woman at the apartment complex. You looked into the matter of me not getting in, and you found out that she signed her friend into that lease for a hundred bucks less than what she was charging everyone else,” Piper pushed.

I sighed.

“And that woman at the grocery store yesterday. You called her lazy when she put that large block of meat on top of the Snickers bars next to the checkout,” she continued.

I placed my hand over Piper’s mouth.

“You’re not making me look good, here,” I told her.

She grinned behind my hand.

“Those all sound fairly petty,” he said. “And for the most part, I wouldn’t think that any of those incidents would cause someone to get pissed off enough that they’d push you into oncoming traffic.”

I agreed.

“He also has someone that wants to buy his land,” Piper muttered.

“Our land,” I corrected. “And she’s speaking the truth. I have someone that’s been offering for it for a while now. I opened a letter this morning that was the biggest offer that I’ve ever gotten.”

“How much was the offer?” Captain Morgan asked curiously.

“Eight million,” I answered. “I looked my property up on the county website today. They have it listed at half a million.”

“Which begs the question…why?” my wife asked. “It’s all undeveloped land except for the one acre that the house is on.”

Rios jotted down the information in his notepad.

“I don’t think this is something that would cause someone to get that pissed off either. But I’ll look into it,” he said. “You have a name of who’s sending the letters?”

“I do,” Piper said as she pulled out the letter. She looked over at me with a grin. “I was going to have my dad’s friend look into it. He’s a guru on the computer.”

I squeezed her hand and sat up, wincing slightly at the soreness in my body.

“All right, Mr. Crew.” The nurse came in. “You’re all ready to go.”

I looked at my nearly naked state.

I was in a pair of boxer briefs and nothing else.

She laughed. “I have a set of scrubs in the back I can get you.”

I waved her off and looked over at Piper. “I have a gym bag in the back of my truck. Could you go get it?”

Piper nodded, pressing a soft kiss to my cheek. “Yes.”

Then she was gone, leaving me with two men who were staring at me with curiosity.

“What?” I asked grumpily.

“You love her,” Captain Morgan said.

I gave them both a look of disgust. “Of course I fuckin’ love her.”

Rios grinned. “It’s just surprising. You’re the biggest asshole at the station. You don’t like anybody…not even your brother. But her? You love her.”

I thought about that for a long moment, then shrugged.

“I do.”

Chapter 14

People say I’m condescending. (That means I talk down to people.)

-Text from Piper to Pru

Piper

“Are you sure that you want to go?” I asked worriedly.

Jonah rolled his eyes and took the keys out of my hand, pocketing them before opening my door.

Even in his hurt state, he was still being courteous and solicitous.

I loved him.

God, how I loved him.

When that police officer had come to the door earlier and told me that Jonah had been in an accident, I’d been a wreck. Hearing that he was okay hadn’t dampened my fear.

As Jonah prowled around the hood of his truck, I watched him. Watched as he didn’t limp or look hurt at all.

Hell, if it wasn’t for the stitches on his face, you wouldn’t be able to tell that he’d been in an accident period.

When he got inside and fixed the seat that I’d had to pull forward an entire foot, I continued to watch him.

It was only after we were pulling out of the parking lot that I repeated