Back off, Ben. She’d confided this detail to him earlier, and he’d gone all nuclear on her. “I…thought that maybe someone was following me home from the gallery. Once or twice.” More than that. “Actually, a few times. But whenever I look back, no one is ever there.” Piper forced a shrug. “I’m probably just being jumpy.”

Very slowly, Eric turned his head toward Ben. “You should have called me right away.”

“Look, I only found out all the details after the second break-in! And she didn’t want me to contact you, okay? I had to do it behind her back. You know how Piper gets about you! Shit, you make her nervous. Always have.”

She backed up a step. “She is here. And like I said before, this case isn’t what you usually handle, Eric. I got a new security system after the first break-in. I started making sure I left the gallery before dark. I took precautions.”

Eric glanced around her place. “But he just got past the new system.” He glowered. “You should have called me. My team could have installed it.”

Right, yes, she got that he thought she’d made a mistake. “Would’ve, could’ve, should’ve, all right? But, look, dammit, the problem was that the alarm didn’t even go off,” she muttered. So much for the grand she’d paid having the system installed.

“You can’t stay here until an updated system is in place. My system.” Eric rolled back his shoulders. “So pack a bag. It’s getting late, and you look dead on your feet.”

Piper winced. “You always say the nicest things.” She tugged at the edge of her shirt.

He blinked and cocked his head to the side. “Sorry. Should I have said…You look fucking gorgeous, but you’re too pale, and I just saw you tremble so I want to get you the hell out of here? Would that work better for you?”

Her lips parted. She started to look at Ben—

Eric moved to the side, blocking her gaze. Forcing her to stare straight at him instead. “We’re going to break that habit.”

He’d lost her. “What are you even talking about?”

Eric smiled. A slow, lip-stretching smile that let her see the slash in his cheek.

A secret about his lip-stretching smile…it usually made her toes curl. And despite everything, her toes curled in her sneakers.

“Will you please get a bag ready, Piper?” Eric asked her.

Holy shit, he’d just said please.

“I’ll do it,” Ben announced helpfully. “And you can come home with me, Piper. I told you that already. Not like you haven’t slept over at my place plenty of times. I don’t know why you wouldn’t stay last night.” His feet padded over the floor as he headed toward her bedroom.

Eric seemed to have turned to stone. He stared at her. Just stared.