Dylan walked to his car and climbed in, then fired it up. Bracing his hands on the steering wheel, he leaned in and tried to think. Tried to get some clarity. He was good at that usually. Dissecting things, breaking them down until he had answers. All he could see was the absolute despair on Piper face when he’d doubted her.

Know that maybe who did this is setting her up to get at you. Joe Trainer’s words finally took hold inside his head.

Was that what this was? Had whoever was after his family decided to come at him through Piper? He hadn’t even thought of that angle, because he’d let emotion rule his head.

Looking at the building she was in, he fought the urge to go back inside. He didn’t care that her cousins were in there; if he wanted to see her, he’d do what it took to get there. But he doubted she’d want to see him again

His head hurt from all the thoughts churning around inside it.

Was Piper guilty? Or was she just another pawn in the game someone was playing with him?

Resting his jaw on the cool glass of his window, he tried to get some relief from the ache. Joe’s punch had been a good one.

He had doubts now that reality was setting in. When his mother had told him, the anger had robbed his sanity. He’d lost the ability to think clearly, but now... hell, now he had a feeling he may be wrong, and after what he’d just done, it was fair to say that if he was, he was in a pile of shit.

Chapter 34

Piper sat at the kitchen table surrounded by her family. Dylan believed her guilty of poisoning his mother. The pain was so fierce she hadn’t even been able to cry. She’d finally given her heart to a man, and the rat believed her capable of trying to kill his mother.

“Bastard!”

“What?” Luke looked her way.

“Nothing.”

The pain eased away, and in its place came white-hot rage, an all-consuming anger that had her wanting to track Dylan Howard down and hurt him any way she knew how, just as he’d hurt her.

“There you are!” Maggs came running inside. “What the hell’s going on? I just saw Fin at the ranger station and he told me you’d been taken in by Chief Blake for questioning because Mary Howard was poisoned and they think it was you.”

“What were you doing at the ranger station?” Piper asked.

“Milly ordered a piece of art for Bart for their anniversary and I was delivering it.” She hurried to Piper and hugged her. “Christ, girl!”

“I know.”

“I can’t believe that bitch would think you’d do something like that.”