“But I have a more suspicious nature,” Piper said. “I heard you took a swing at Coop when he fired your ass, so it’s not beyond the realm of possibility.”

Keith’s face flushed with anger. “I’ve done a lot of shitty crap in my life, but I’d never do that.”

Piper bore in—drilling him on where he’d been that night. At the bar working, as it turned out. Where he’d been this afternoon—asleep with no alibi. But Coop stopped paying attention. Whatever else Keith had done, he hadn’t been behind any of this.

While Pipe continued her interrogation, Coop took a pull on his beer and contemplated hidden enemies. He hated this. He wanted his enemies where he could see them, right across the line of scrimmage.

***

Soccer wasn’t Coop’s game, but Deidre Joss had invited him to Toyota Park to see the Chicago Fire play D.C. United, and he wouldn’t turn her down. He liked everything about Deidre, from her personality to her reputation, everything except how long it was taking her to commit to his operation.

He glanced across the stadium’s executive viewing suite at Piper. She managed to look both cute and sexy in a loopy orange sweater and a pair of jeans that actually fit. Her predictable dark tousle of a hairstyle wouldn’t work on another woman but somehow fit her perfectly. Pipe was the least needy female he’d ever been involved with, and their relationship was working out even better than he’d hoped.

He’d invited her to come with him right after they’d returned from last night’s confrontation with Keith. She’d launched into a predictable refusal—they weren’t dating, and this sounded like a date—then immediately reversed herself and accepted. He knew why. She wanted to keep him in her sights. Totally maddening and completely unnecessary. He’d nearly withdrawn the invitation, but then he hadn’t. He respected perseverance, no matter how misguided.

When he’d picked her up, she’d dropped a bombshell on him. A flood of online complaints about Spiral had popped up, complaints about everything from rude serving staff to dirty glasses to bad music—none of which was true. The reviews looked as though they’d been planted, and she’d already started the process of trying to get them taken down, but she’d warned him it would take time.

He was furious, and not even her reminder that she had years of experience handling problems like this had mollified him. She didn’t understand. She couldn’t. He had a new life, and failure wasn’t an option.

Deidre stepped away from the group she’d been talking to and caught his eye. He hoped like hell she hadn’t caught wind of the bad reviews. Forcing a smile, he went over to join her.

***