Eric sighed. “Detective Lopez has questions for you, Piper. That’s her with Simon. Hell, maybe it is a good thing that you came down here. We can get the questions out of the way, then you can go home.”

Her home was currently sectioned off by yellow tape—

“Our home,” he corrected immediately, a slight edge in his voice.

Ben’s hand slid away from Piper.

It wasn’t their home. It was his place, and, no, she wasn’t just going to run and hide behind the security there. Someone had killed Grady. She needed to do something.

The detective had reached their little circle. Her dark stare seemed to assess them all. Her skin was a perfect, warm olive, her lips unpainted and full. Small pearls dotted the lobes of her ears. “Piper Lane?”

She nodded.

“I’m Detective Layla Lopez, and I’m going to need you to come to the station.”

“What?” Eric’s immediate response. “Why? You can just ask your questions here and—”

“No, I can’t.” Her calm response. “Because I have a great deal of questions. Because this is a homicide investigation, one that I am managing. And, no, I won’t do any favors for you, Eric, despite our past relationship.”

Shit. They’d been involved?

The detective lifted one brow in a delicate arch. “This is very serious business.”

Of course, it was. It was murder.

The detective’s focus was on Piper. “I’ll be taking you to the station. Your guards can certainly come along, but you won’t be leaving my company, not until all of my questions are answered.”

It was Ben who surged forward. “What in the hell? Why are you treating Piper like she did something wrong? She’s the target here!’

Detective Lopez shook her head. “She’s not the target. My victim is the man who was tied to a chair and tortured for what I expect was an extended period of time. He was her ex-lover, and when my techs just opened his computer—a computer that was stashed inside the house—they found an email from Piper.”

That wasn’t possible. “No,” Piper denied. “I haven’t contacted him since—”

“The email was dated six days ago. It came from your account at your gallery, and the note specifically asked Grady to come and see you.”

Her breath came faster. Desperate, her stare darted to Eric. “I didn’t. I swear, I didn’t!”

“In the email, you told him that you missed him. That you wanted him back. That you’d even arranged a place for him to stay down here. One close to you.” The detective put her hands on her hips. “So, we’ll be going down to the station. You’ll be answering all of my questions. And, yes, before you even ask, you might want to get yourself a lawyer.”

Chapter Twelve