Page 124 of Hard Count
Piper looked at the marble and said “Viv.”
“Yeah.”
“Thank you. Thank you for representing me and also for being on time for fucking once!”
Then she said, “Don’t thank me yet, Piper. I have spent years failing to do my job. I am about to do my job now. Thank me on the other side of what comes next.”
Tank turned to Vivienne. “Plan still in place? We need to go. Now.”
Vivienne said, “I know, Tank. I’m calling the car.”
Piper sat down on the stool. He went quiet for a moment. Then he said, quietly, mostly to himself, “I don’t feel saved.”
Vivienne was already on the phone. She paused. She held the phone to her shoulder. “What did you fucking say?”
“I said I don’t feel saved.”
She looked at him.
“What do you feel? You just stood up to one of the most powerful men in the world.”
“I just feel like a victim,” Piper said.
“Piper, my mother always told me victims die young, now get the fuck up, we need to get you the fuck out of Los Angeles.”
Chapter Forty-Four: Los Angeles
Piper packed in minutes. Jeans, t-shirts, hoodie, the Britney Spears memoir he had never read. No suit or blazer. Nothing he would have packed for Atherton.
He zipped the Gucci duffle. He turned off the lamp and raced downstairs.
Joan, where the fuck could they be taking me? Like I have not already been through enough. Jesus Christ.
Vivienne was on her phone in the kitchen.
She was speaking quietly. She had her coat on. Her Birkin was on the counter, the Glock poking out.
Tank went to the side door. He looked out the window.
He said, “Car’s at the corner.”
Vivienne hung up.
“You have everything, Piper? Give me your phone.”
She removed the SIM and put it in an envelope.
“Wifi only. No email, no social media, you can basically only use Spotify.”
“Okay,” Piper replied.
“Okay.”
She picked up her purse.
She looked at Piper.
“Walk to the corner. Ignore the media vans. If someone talks to you, ignore them. Do not stop walking.”
