That was the thing with Eric. The guy could be so incredibly bossy. Yes, he ran a huge company. And, yes, he was the boss man there. But right then…Piper just sighed. “I know the word please has to be in your vocabulary, somewhere. I mean, I’ve met your parents. They’re great people, and I know they taught you manners.” She pointed to Ben. “He says please. And thank you. And he acts courteous and gentlemanly, and—”

A low growl came from Eric. “Ben’s the charmer. We all know that shit.” Eric took a step toward her. A ripple of muscle. A glide of sensual movement. Why did she always notice that stuff about him? Voice rumbling, he continued grimly, “But you don’t need charm right now. You need someone who can kick ass. That’s what I do. I eliminate threats. I make problems go away. You have a problem, so I will make it vanish.”

“Out of the goodness of your heart?” Her head tilted. No, she wasn’t buying that bit. Any goodness Eric had inside had never been directed at her.

“I’ll do it because you’re in danger, and you know it.”

Her body iced. She did know it.

“You’re trying to bluff and act like you’re tough, but you’re scared. Ben knows it, he can see past your lie. That’s why he called me. I can see past the lie, too. You look at what this SOB did to your place, you look at the rage, and you’re afraid.”

Yes, she was. And she was trying to act tough, but so what? A woman had to keep her shit together in this world.

“The fact that someone was here before, that someone fucking messed with your underwear…” Eric’s hands clenched and unclenched at his sides. “I’ve seen situations like this get bad, fast.”

She cleared her throat. “The cops said there was no way to know if it was the same intruder—”

Eric just gave a hard shake of his head. “If you’ve got a stalker, if you’ve got some jerk who’s obsessed with you, he’s accelerating. Accelerating leads to bolder acts. And it can lead to physical attacks.”

Something she already feared. Was this the time to tell him that there had been a few instances when she could have sworn someone was following her? She’d told the cops, right after the first break-in, and they’d just nodded. Nodded and said that without any evidence, they couldn’t do a thing. They’d advised her to start taking a different route home from work. Told her to vary her walking routines. She had and the feeling of being watched, followed, had just persisted.

“Piper.” Eric’s eyes assessed her. “What is it?”

Ben edged closer. “Tell him or I will.”