Must Love Wieners (36 page)

Aiden held a hand to his chest. “I swear, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Save it,” she snapped.

“Look, little girl,” Larry said. “I don’t know what you think you heard—”

“Oh, but I’m sure the cops could help a little girl like me figure it all out. Because I’ve recorded your entire conversation.” She waved the phone in his face before tucking it into her bra for safekeeping.

Aiden still seemed dazed. He shook his head back and forth, like he couldn’t believe he’d been caught, Piper thought. “Let’s just talk about this.”

“Oh, I will.” Scooping up a growling Colin, she yanked open the door. “To the cops.”

Those eyes, that look of hurt, of innocence. Even now Aiden had power over her. His expression tugged something inside her, like he’d tied a string around her heart and trained it like a dog on a leash. How blind she’d been. How stupid.

“Piper. I love you.”

And her breath whooshed out of her in a grunt, like he’d taken that string and ripped her heart right out of her chest. Her nose tickled and her eyes stung with impending tears. She scowled, trying to clear them.

Larry gripped her arm, fingers digging into the muscle. He was stronger than he looked—she found that out the night of the fire. “You’re jumping to conclusions. You don’t have enough proof,” he hissed, his voice low now that the door was open.

“I don’t need any more proof.” Piper wrenched out of his grip and began to back out of the office. “Animals just have a way of knowing.”

Colin growled at Larry, lips curling over his bared teeth.

She spun on her heel, thinking, hoping, it was all over. That she could raise her chin and march right out the building to call the cops. But she realized they weren’t going to let her get away that easily when Larry grabbed her backpack from behind. Aiden ordered him to stop, but he kept tugging violently.

Piper plopped Colin on the floor and slipped her arms out of the straps, struggling against the jerking. Unfortunately, she also lost her jacket in the process.

Abandoning her school bag, she plucked Colin up and dashed down the hall toward the elevators. Old Spice called out behind her.

“Security!”

34

Wonder Wiener

One by one, heads poked out of their glass offices to swivel down the long hall in search of the commotion. It didn’t take them long to see that it was a bird. No, it was a plane. No, it was Supergirl—err, well, it was Piper charging down the hall with a black wiener tucked under her arm.

Piper faltered at the line of people between her and the exit. She considered barreling past them all to make it to the elevators, but then Veronica pounced to block the other end, her orange skin flushed vivid coral. Her arm whipped up and she pointed Piper out to two burly guards. They began charging at her. Piper didn’t like her chances. Because she wasn’t, in fact,
super
in any way.

An exit sign buzzed in an alcove to her right. She heard Old Spice grunt behind her and felt another tug, this time on her red cape. She wrenched out of his grasp and darted toward the emergency exit.

The sounds of heavy footfalls and shouting followed her. Mostly “Stop, you little bitch!” from Larry Williams. But others had joined the chase too, all babbling curiously.

“What’s going on?”

“Get that Supergirl!”

Aiden chased after her too. “Piper, wait. Please just listen. Everyone, stop!” he yelled, but his voice was drowned out in the commotion.

She burst through the exit and stumbled into the stairwell. His voice drifted after her, pleading with her that it must be a misunderstanding. Claims of innocence echoed down forty flights, following her down, down, down. Her feet flew over steps; her lungs gasped for air; her legs shook from fright. But it was her heart that hurt the worst. It ached. Only it wasn’t from the panic.

The stairwell spiraled on forever and it soon felt like Colin was the size of a Saint Bernard. Piper wished she did have Supergirl’s powers of strength. Even flight would help, or that handy laser eye thing.

People yelled above her; doors slammed; shoes clacked on steps, dress shoes, rubber-soled shoes. The noise bounced off the close walls, reverberating in the space and inside Piper’s head.

At each new floor’s landing, she expected the door to fly open and reveal security. Then it would all be over. Although just what that meant she didn’t want to dwell on. She already knew what the company was willing to do to protect their assets. She didn’t want to find out how far their limits went.

But no doors flew open; no one caught up to her; no one tackled her from behind. It wasn’t like this was Alcatraz, but the panic coursing through her veins could have fooled her.

Piper wasn’t sure why she was running.
She
hadn’t done anything wrong. She wasn’t sure what she expected them to do when they caught up to her. It wasn’t like they were going to off her. But when she snuck into Aiden’s office, she hadn’t expected to discover the hideous truth, or to be chased through the building by half the office, either.

So it was the unknown that kept her moving on sheer animal instinct, the instinct to survive. The only thoughts that raced through her brain were of Larry’s threats and those frantic footfalls behind her. She just needed to get out, to clear her mind, to figure this all out. But first, she had to get away. She focused on the rhythm of her legs, of increasing her speed. One, two, one, two.

Finally, she reached the door labeled
P2
in big bold letters. Holding Colin in one arm, she turned the handle and thrust her body against the metal door. She stumbled into the parking garage. It only took her a moment to scan the level for a Caribbean Aqua–colored convertible before she realized Addison’s car wasn’t there. Had they left? Did she get out on the wrong floor?

Behind her, muffled sounds of the angry mob thundered down the stairwell. She could either follow the slope up or the slope down, farther underground. Trying to remember how many levels they drove down when they arrived, she settled on up. If she didn’t find the car, at least she would have a chance of reaching street level.

She urged her legs forward. The muscles tightened in protest, aching from the long descent, and her shiny Supergirl boots—which were
not
meant for a quick getaway—pinched her feet. She stumbled halfway up to the next level and saw the blue uniforms of two security guards jogging around the bend.

“Down here!” one called. “She’s here.”

The other ducked his head toward the microphone clipped to his shoulder. “She’s on level P Two.”

Shifting her weight, Piper ran back the way she came and slipped past the stairwell door. From the corner of her eye, she saw it crack open. An arm reached out as she whipped past. It clamped down on her cape, dragging her back, choking her. She caught a glimpse over her shoulder, of dark hair, wild eyes, hissing close to her ears.

Tamara.

Colin shifted in Piper’s arms. Snarling, he snapped at the hand that held her. There was a yelp of pain and Piper was released. She lurched forward, not daring to spare a second to look back. The quick, sharp clicking noises behind her told Piper that Tamara was in hot pursuit—no surprise there—but her high heels were slowing her down.

“Thanks,” Piper said to Colin, and he nestled back into her arms.

Sprinting past Land Rovers never taken out of the city and sports cars used to drive to Starbucks, she followed the slope down and around and around until she ran out of parking garage to run through. There was no more down to go. No doors, no hiding spots, no exits.

Her head whipped back and forth, breaths coming in panicked gasps. Footsteps approached, pounding on the pavement, closing in on her. Backing toward the farthest, darkest corner, she did the only thing she could do and hid. She inched back until she hit the wall and squeezed in front of a car bumper.

Remembering the phone in her bra, she pulled it out to call the cops or, just as effective, Addison and Zoe. But there was no reception; she was too far underground. She held it in the air, angling it this way and that, but it was no good. Sighing, she tucked it back into her bra.

She closed her eyes, willing her heartbeat to slow. It sounded thunderous in her ears, banging like a drum, and she wondered if her pursuers could hear it too. Exhausted, her head fell against the wall with a thump. She waited, unable to do anything but cower there until they found her. Some Supergirl she was.

Colin remained quiet and cooperative in her arms, for once, like he understood the urgency of the situation, could sense the anxiety leaking from Piper. He gave her an encouraging lick on her hand as they waited in silence. She scratched him behind the ears, needing the comfort and contact. They were in this together.

Voices were getting closer, clearer. The hollow responses chiming in on the two-way radios echoed off cement walls. She opened her eyes, preparing herself for flight or fight, and stared at the car in front of her. Dents and scratches marred the bumper, one headlight blown out. She frowned at it. It was a Prius.

For some reason, the information nudged her brain with a mental foot, trying to wake it up. Her poor, frightened brain struggled to put the pieces together. She wanted to smack her head against the pavement to see if it would help.

The Dog and Bone came rushing back to her, when she’d been inches away from kissing the grill of a car. An electric car, she realized, remembering the high-pitched whine of the engine as it sped toward her. A Prius was a hybrid.

She scrambled away from the car, as though it would come to life all on its own and squish her against the cement wall. Tamara showed up at the center in Aiden’s BMW that weekend. He’d said that he loaned it to her because her car needed to go into the shop. She drove a Prius. This was her car.

Officer Tucker said Tamara was held up at work the night of their date. That must have meant Aiden helped her cover it all up. But why? And did he know she was crazy? Maybe he was just as crazy as her.

She hit the ground with her fist, pebbles biting into her hand. Was the whole damned company out to get her?

The mob closed in on Piper. She peeked over the dented hood of the car and saw blue guard uniforms approach, followed by a lot of white dress shirts and ties. She shrunk behind the car cradling Colin close, thinking this was what badgers felt like when hunted by dachshunds in their holes.

Somewhere nearby, tires squealed, the echo carrying down through the parking garage. An engine revved angrily, growling like a lion inside a cave.

“Stop!” someone yelled.

But the engine grew louder. There was yelling and more tire screeching.

Piper dared to crawl around the side of the car and peer out. Addison’s convertible came power sliding around the tight bend. The suits and security guards dove out of the way, rolling toward the safety of parked cars on either side. That’s when Addison saw the dead end ahead.

Her eyes widened. “Crap!”

“Look out!” Zoe screamed.

Addison slammed on the brakes, tires skidding. She looked back over her shoulder and threw the car in reverse, pulling into a space to turn it around.

Scrambling to her feet, Piper popped out and chased after her friends. Zoe noticed her first and told Addison to stop.

“Get in!” she yelled.

Piper plunked Colin onto the backseat. This time, she did pull a Dukes of Hazzard and threw herself into the back of the car in a way that would make Supergirl proud. The moment Piper’s butt hit the leather, Addison hit the gas, peeling out of the space.

By this time, the security guards had collected themselves and were converging. They leapt out of the way again as the three girls went round and round the parking garage, climbing each level, closer to safety.

Around the next bend, they passed Tamara. She hissed and dove for the car, like she was going to jump in the backseat. Addison swerved. The PA’s hand grazed the door handle, but her nails scraped along the paint, unable to find a grip. There was an
oof
as she landed hard on the pavement behind them.

When they reached the ground floor, the exit came into view. A plastic arm blocked their way out. Addison let off the gas. The attendant stepped out of his booth, looking curiously at the three of them, pausing on Piper’s Supergirl costume.

“Do you think they’ll validate our parking?” Zoe asked dryly.

“I bet Charlie’s Angels never had to pay for parking.” Addison said.

Piper heard the click of oxfords on cement behind the car. She turned to find Aiden closing in on them.

“Piper!” Aiden called between pants. “Please, can’t we just talk about this?”

At the sound of his voice, Colin jumped up and leaned his front paws against the backrest to say hello. For once his danger radar was way off. How could he not realize that Aiden was the biggest monster of them all?

“Why?” Piper said. “So you can pay me off? Shut me up? Maybe try to run me over with another car?” She heard her voice crack, and she clenched her teeth against the tears threatening to spill down her face.

“What are you talking about?”

“Save it. I’ve already seen Tamara’s car.”

He honestly looked confused, but there was too much evidence stacked against him. She wasn’t about to hear his bullshit excuses.

Addison argued with the parking attendant to let them through, throwing him every coin she had jingling in the bottom of her purse, but he kept insisting she return to a pay station.

Finally catching up to them, Aiden moved around the side of the car. “Piper, please…”

She threw him a look that stopped him dead. “Why did you start dating me? How did that fit into your master plans? Or was I the spoils of your hostile takeover?”

“Piper. I–”

“Don’t. Just don’t.”

Addison slammed a hand down on the wheel, fed up with the guard. “Ah, screw it.”

Throwing the car into gear, she crushed the gas pedal and blew through the security arm. With a crack, it busted in half. Piper ducked as it flew over their heads. She looked back to watch it land at Aiden’s feet. The guard started to yell after them, but Aiden held up a hand to stop him.