Dangerous Rock (Dangerous Noise 3)

She shakes her head, not buying it. "I'm going to forgive you, but only because I know how much you've done for Kit."

"Generous, thanks," I tease.

"Seriously, Joel… I… I really do appreciate how much you've done for him." She wipes her eyes with the back of her hand. "Fuck, you're going to make me cry."

She has plenty of reason to be sentimental. Her fiancé is a recovering addict. He'd be in bad shape if I hadn't blackmailed him into rehab.

Maybe not dead…

But not good.

Piper clears her throat. She blinks hard. When she stares back at me, she's no longer wearing that sweet expression.

Her voice is demanding. "You should have told me."

"It's all over gossip."

"That makes it worse." She folds her arms. Her lips press together. "Well…"

"Well?"

"Come on, Joel. You can't show up with a wife and not explain." She looks at me with an earnest expression. "You and I have always been above bullshit."

"We have?"

"Yeah."

"What about when you were sneaking around with Kit?" I ask.

"What about when you were telling Kit not to be with me because Ethan and Mal would kick him out of the band?" she asks.

"They would have."

"No…"

I nod.

"They didn't."

True, but only because Violet was around to talk Ethan down. I love Piper like a sister, but Kit is family. Even if he's not blood.

He'll always come first.

But I'm not about to get all sentimental with her.

I keep my voice light. "Sorry, sweetheart, but Kit's always going to have my loyalty. And I'm always going to be straight with him."

She presses her palms together and shoots me a puppy-dog look. "You're not giving me any details?"

Damn. She really wants to know.

And Piper gets what she wants.

The woman is a force. She's used to holding her own with her over-protective older brothers.

Hell, she was strong enough to break down all the walls around Kit's heart.

It's hard to shake her.