CHAPTER TEN

Piper paused at the door and gave Tyler a frustrated look. "I do not want to be here."

"I got that,"Tyler agreed.

"I didn't even like hanging out with Imogen when the rest of the family didn't hate her."

"I got that too. But she's Mark's girlfriend so, well, can you do this for me?" Tyler waited until Piper gave a reluctant nod, then knocked on the door.

They only had to wait a few moments before Mark opened it. "Hi, come in." He ushered them through the door. They saw Imogen setting the table and she looked up and smiled when she saw them.

"Hi, great, to see you, dinner's almost ready."

"You cooked?"Piper asked cautiously.

Imogen looked awkward. "I heated up a takeaway."

"Great!"Tyler responded with a bit more enthusiasm than the situation really called for. "What are we having?"

"Mexican,"Mark answered, producing the plates.

They all took their places at the table and tucked into the food. Tyler was doing most of the talking, asking Mark about various relatives and his job, with Mark giving brief responses. Sometimes Imogen would chime in with a comment on something they'd done. It was all very civilised and normal. And it was driving Piper mad.

"You heard anything from Paige lately?"she asked.

To his credit, Mark only let the awkward pause last for a second. "Not directly,"he said at last. "I heard back from her solicitor recently. She's not going to contest the divorce and she's letting me buy her out of this place."

"You know she's still living with Dad?"Piper pushed.

"Yeah, well,"Mark continued to respond awkwardly. "Hopefully, with the settlement, she and Gabe can have their own place."

"You're already divorced, right?"Tyler asked Imogen.

She nodded. "Yeah, Daniel was always an expert at moving on. I guess the place in LA was my life more than his."

"You didn't mind giving it up though,"Piper pointed out bluntly.

Imogen paused. Mark took her hand and she smiled at him gratefully. "No, I didn't,"she confirmed.

Piper lapsed into silence. It should have felt strange seeing the two of them together and yet somehow it didn't. She watched them closely, seeing the way they looked at each other, especially when they thought no-one was looking, the odd little touches while clearing away.

"We'd better make a move,"Tyler announced, having apparently finally tired of being the peacemaker.

"Right, thanks for coming,"Mark agreed, as they all stood up.

"Yeah, thank you,"Imogen echoed, somehow managing to sound sincere despite the awkwardness.

Piper wanted to just leave. But something caused her to speak. "You seem happy,"she noted.

Imogen nodded decisively. "I am."

"It looks good on you."

Imogen grabbed her and hugged her. Things must be serious: They tended to average about one hug a year. "Thank you."

Piper extricated herself with a nod, mumbling a few goodbyes. Once they were outside and the door was closed, she let out a loud sigh and then saw Tyler looking at her knowingly. "Okay, you were right,"she conceded. "They're not that bad after all."

Imogen was running late. It didn't happen very often: She and Mark had managed to get a pretty tight schedule working for the mornings. The problem with schedules is that something unusual can throw them off. And having Tyler and Piper round had let her think that maybe, just maybe, she could get her family back and it wouldn't just be her and Mark against the world. The thought had churned around in her head, leaving her wired, so wired that even their typically intense lovemaking hadn't tired her out. She had lain awake in Mark's arms, sensing that he was still awake too. And so they had woken up ten minutes late: Not disastrous but enough for them to be in a rush.

"It was a good night, yeah?"Mark asked, somehow managing to try and hold a conversation while simultaneously brushing his shoes and putting his tie on.

"It was, yes." Imogen took pity on him and helped him knot the tie. "And we will definitely talk about it later. But for now…"

"Yeah, right." He decided his shoes were smart enough and pulled them on, before giving her a quick (but thankfully not that quick) kiss goodbye. "Meet you for lunch?"

"I don't know what I'm doing, I'll text you." Imogen grabbed her bag and ushered him out the door, before getting into her car and making the short drive to the office.

Whilst Imogen didn't tend to be late, she knew that the reception desk was usually manned. She looked around the empty foyer quizzically, but decided her best option was to get to her own desk as quickly as possible. She quickened her pace and headed into the lawyers' work area. To her astonishment, there was no-one sat at the desks there either.

Then she noticed a co-worker sat on the floor next to the nearest desk. "Angela, what's going on?"

Angela didn't speak but her gaze flicked to a spot behind Imogen. Imogen turned round and found herself facing a man she didn't know. A man who looked rather unkempt and desperate, and who was pointing a gun in her face.

"Get down on the floor,"he snapped.

When Mark arrived at the station, it was to the sight of uniformed officers piling out and heading to their cars. "What's going on?"he asked.

"Hostage situation,"replied one of the officers. "Law firm, Emmett & Coleridge."

Mark froze and then got in the back of the officer's car.

The two uniforms in the front turned and looked at him in puzzlement. "Something we can help you with, Detective?"one of them asked.

"Just drive,"Mark told them. He'd hoped to leave it at that but they continued looking at him. "I know someone that works there." He probably should have left it at that, but they still hadn't turned away. "My girlfriend,"he added.

Understanding, if not perhaps agreeing, the pair faced front again and the car pulled out.