“Elle. You need to--”
I stop pacing and gesture sharply. “How did you know my dad? Don’t try to lie, or tell me I don’t need to know.” My voice dims, but I stare at Liam with all the rage I can manage. Just the mention of my father has the sadness creeping back in. But I can’t let it show. I need to focus on my anger.
Liam holds my furious gaze for a moment, then sighs. “Fine,” he says with firm conviction. “I’ll tell you.”
I hold in a sigh of relief. I’d expected Liam to tell me it was none of my business, just like he has been. “Go on,” I command as though I have authority.
“Your dad didn’t want me to tell you, but I think you deserve to know.” He waits a moment and then breathes in deep. “Your dad needed money, bad,” he begins. “He came to me to place a bet--”
“Bullshit!” I interrupt. I’m furiously shaking my head. Lies. More lies. “He wasn’t a gambler--”
“Do you want me to tell you how we met or not?” Liam snaps. “I have no reason to lie to you.”
We stare at each other. I don’t know if I believe him or not. Regardless of what he tells me, I don't know if I'll believe him. “Are you going to listen to me?” he asks. There’s a hint of condescension in his voice, and it pisses me off.
I glower and cross my arms over my chest, but reluctantly nod.
He waits to make sure I have my anger under control, and then he tells me everything. About my father needing the money fast and not being able to sell the house. I listen as he tells me how my father came in and practically forced him to take 22 Wyoming. He tells me how they got close.
I don’t know what to believe. I don’t want to believe any of it. My head’s spinning. He’s a liar. That’s all I can think. Daddy would never do that. He wouldn’t go to a bookie. He couldn’t have done something like that. Moreover, why would Liam have gone out of his way to help him?
I shake my head. “I have no reason to believe anything you say. It’s all a bunch of lies.”
“It’s not. He was desperate for money, so I gave it to him.”
“Why would you do that?” I ask him. I don’t see why he would. He’s just trying to make himself look better. He’s lying to me again.
“'Cause he reminded me of my own father.” I stare at him wordlessly, not believing what he’s saying. My armor cracks a bit as I realize I don’t know anything about Liam’s father. I didn’t even know he was dead. He only ever talks about his brother, Zac.
After a moment, Liam adds, “He died when I was younger.” My heart sinks and feels heavy. A sadness passes his eyes, and I want to go and comfort him. But I don’t know what to believe. I heave in a deep breath. My fingers itch to grab his hand and squeeze. I clasp them together instead. Even though I hurt for him, I can’t forget that I have a fucking hitman after me because of him.
“I’m sorry,” I manage to say. “About your father. I’m sorry.” I wipe under my eyes and shake my head. I look him in the eyes and calm my breathing. “But I don’t trust you. And I wish I'd never met you.”
Liam goes still. He looks… emotionless. Like he’s hiding everything from me. I feel sick. It’s not true. What I said isn’t true and I want to take it all back. At the same time, he hurt me. And I just hurt him back. I feel like such a fucking bitch. I hold my breath, scared of what he might say next.
But he says nothing, Liam walks out of the room not saying a word. I hear the sound of the door clicking shut and I finally breathe out slowly.
I’m left in silence. Silence so heavy it feels like I’m being suffocated. I clench my fists, wanting to scream at Liam. At the same time, I wish he’d come back so I could hold him and he could hold me. This is so fucked.
I wanna know if it’s all true. If he really gave daddy that money to try to save his life. A sob leaves me unexpectedly, and I cover my face with both hands. Did he really do that for him? I take in a ragged breath. I don’t know what to believe.
It all feels wrong, and my head is spinning with disbelief.
I wish I could just leave and pretend like this is all fake.
As though I don’t love him. I never did.
But as I walk over and lie across the bed and begin bawling my eyes out, deep down in my heart, I know that’s a lie.
I love this man. But I don’t know if I believe him.
Chapter 23
Liam
It’s late and I don’t want to leave Elle, but at least one of these fuckers needs to die tonight. And the one I pick is Stephen. The fucker who tried to kill my girl and ruined everything I had with her. His life is over.
Zac’s got his home address. Tyler said his wife’s there. If she’s there, he’s gotta be there at some point.
I have to calm myself down, but I’m struggling. I’ve been on a knife's edge ever since she said those words to me.
I pick up my phone and swallow the lump in my throat. I’ll make this right and that starts with killing these fuckers. I’ve got my gloves; I’ve got the wire. It’s a silent easy kill. I know what to do. My uncle taught me. Tyler’s father. When we went to live with him, I learned how to deal with shit the way the mob deals with it.
I shove the gloves and the wire into a small black bag and call my brother. It only rings once.
“You almost here?” I ask him without waiting for a hello.
“Just pulling in now.” Perfect fucking timing. I walk to the foyer and look up the stairs. She’s in my bedroom up there, and she’s pissed. She deserves to be. But she’s going to have to get over it. The doorknob turns and Zac pushes the door open. My brother’s silent as he walks in.
“Just stay here and watch her while I go take care of this.”
He nods his head. “I know. I’ve got my phone on me.” I look up the stairs one last time and he follows my line of sight.
“She’s still pissed?” I don’t answer him. I told him what happened; he should know she's pissed. I'd be pissed. My lips are pressed into a straight line. My body heats with anger. This is how she’s introduced to the only family I have.
It’s fucked up. It’s all fucked up, and it’s all my fault.
“Tyler’s on his way too.” I give my brother a nod. I know he is. I almost had both of them stay here with her, but I can’t be stupid about this and I need someone with me.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
My brother’s hand falls hard on my shoulder as I open the door wider to leave. I look back at him. “Make it quick and easy,” he says.
I keep his gaze and nod. I’d like to draw it out. I’d like to make him suffer. But I need to get back here. I don’t like leaving her. Not until both of those assholes are dead.
Ian Dracho and his lackey are fucking dead. Then I can make it up to Elle. She’ll forgive me. My heart lurches in my chest as I walk out into the cold. She has to forgive me. She has to.
I nod at Tyler as I make my way down to the end of the street. He’s in his car and on the lookout in case anything happens or anyone sees what’s going on. He could’ve done this, but I wanted to do it. I want to be the one to put an end to his life.
I sneak through the night, walking a few houses down and hide in the bushes at the back of the house, walking along the brick building. According to Tyler, he comes in this way. He parks in the garage and slips in the back. Like a fucking rat. He’s afraid to come in the front door. He should be. He should be fucking terrified.
I peek in the small window above the kitchen sink and see a television on in the living room. I can’t hear it, but I can see the back of a woman’s head and the edge of the screen. She shouldn’t be bothered. He won’t see it coming; he won’t even have a chance to scream. I resume my position in the cold night and stand behind the bushes next to the door. I’m completely still, dressed entirely in black. My thick leather gloves are on and the wire is wrapped tight over both hands. There’s a good seven inches of slack. Enough to go around his throat.
My heartbeat picks up as I see him park his car. The
lights shine on the door to the garage before it slowly opens. I can faintly hear the bass beats to whatever song he’s listening too.
Time passes slowly and my heart beats even slower as his car disappears into the garage. I have to wait. Tick. Tick. Tick. Time goes slow. So fucking slow. I have to rein in my anger. I have to wait until he’s here. So I can choke the fucking life out of the man who shot at Elle. He tried to kill her.
The longer I wait, the angrier I get, the tighter the wire is on my fingers. Finally, I hear a faint beep of the car’s alarm. The side door opens and he starts walking along the pavers to get to the back door of his home. The night air is cold and I use it to calm myself. His keys jingle as he reaches for the right one to unlock the door. His head’s down. He’s not looking. It’s fucking perfect.
I jump out and reach my arms up and over his head. His keys fall to the ground with a loud clink, and he tries to scream. But he barely gets any sound out as I pull the wire tight around his neck.
He could’ve killed her. It’s all I think as I pull the wire tighter. My lungs stop working and my muscles scream in agony as I fight against this fucker. He wanted to kill her.
I pull the wire harder with everything in me. The thin wire digs into the gloves and feels like it’s going to cut my skin, but I know it’s not. I lift up as high as I can as he tears at his own flesh, desperate to pry the wire away. He tries to elbow me, tries to kick his leg back. He flails in my grasp, desperate for any escape. Any weakness. But I’m merciless in my pursuit of his death.
I take every hit and respond by pulling the wire tighter. The only sounds are crickets chirping and him struggling to breathe. Finally, he stops moving. I hold still for a long moment, unable to let go.
When I finally do, his body falls to the ground with a dull thud. His lifeless eyes are bloodshot and there are deep cuts on the sides of his throat from the wire.
I stare at him a moment, waiting for any signs of life as my breathing steadies. My head whips to the side and my heartbeat picks up as I hear the clanking of dishes in the kitchen inside. His wife is only a few feet away. She’s going to end up finding this fucker out here. A part of me feels sorry for her. The rest of me doesn’t give a shit.
I look back down at him and there’s only one thing on my mind.
One down. One to go.
Chapter 24
Lizzie
I’m going to make Liam pay for this.
Last night, he left me alone. I heard him come in the house. I heard the two of them talking, but Liam never came up. Zac’s the one who asked me to come down for dinner. I don’t even know him. I don’t know what to say to him. At one point, I would’ve been both excited and nervous to meet him. I would’ve wanted to make a good impression. But not now. I don’t trust him either. I didn’t eat and I didn’t leave the room. I passed out eventually and for the first time in weeks, I woke up alone. I fucking hated it. I hated how I missed him.
He came up once today, and I ignored him. I’m not ready to talk about this. Not that he tried to say anything to me either. It hurt. But I guess that’s what I get. And the moment I came downstairs, he left. He announced he was going to go handle things. My body chills at the thought of what he’s doing. I can’t take this shit. But I can’t leave.
Liam has instructed his younger brother Zac to watch over me as if I’m some two-year-old. He said it's for my safety, but it's only annoying me. He's keeping me prisoner. That's what he's doing. I think what bothers me the most is the fact I wouldn’t even be in danger if Liam had just been truthful from the beginning.
Like, if he cared so much about my safety, why did he get involved with me, knowing that he was mixed up in criminal activity?
Because he’s a selfish bastard that only cares about himself, I tell myself. It hurts to think that though. I rock my leg back and forth; my heel hits the sofa. Because he loves me is the answer I want to believe. But that only makes me hate myself.
Lounging in the recliner, Zac stares back at me and then shakes his head. “You shouldn’t be so pissed off. This is for your own good.”
I roll my eyes. You probably wouldn’t know good if it hit you in the balls, I think angrily. But I don’t bother saying it. “Don’t tell me how I should feel!” I hiss. “Do you know what happened to me? I almost got killed... all because of your dirtbag brother.”
“Liam’s not a dirtbag,” Zac protests.
“Oh really? What about a piece of shit then?” I don’t know why I’m acting this way. I don’t really mean these things I’m saying. I’m just angry beyond belief.
Zac stares at the scowl on my face and then sighs. “Thanks, Liam, for pairing me with this diva.”
“Oh fuck off,” I snap.
“You’re the one with the attitude.”
“You're damn right. You spend a minute in my shoes and see if you don’t have one after two seconds.”
Zac goes silent and stares at me thoughtfully.
“Mind if I put the game on?” Zac asks after a long silence. He’s obviously trying to change the subject. For all the good it'll do him, which isn't much.
I shrug. “Do whatever. I don’t care. I just wanna leave.”
Zac grabs the remote and flicks the TV on, turning it to a football game. “That wouldn’t be a good idea. Liam doesn’t want you to go anywhere.”
I give him a withering look. “He has no right to keep me here... and neither do you!” Fed up, I stand up, intent on leaving.
Zac jumps up and gets in my way. “Where do you think you’re going?”
I place my hands on my hips and command, “Get the fuck out of my way.”
Zac shakes his head, eyeing me wearily. He's obviously as tired of this as I am. “I can’t let you leave, Elle. Sorry.” I’m struck by him calling me Elle. I don’t like it. That’s what Liam calls me. Not him.
“Lizzie,” I correct him.
His brow furrows, but then he nods and says, “Lizzie, you need to sit your ass down.”
For a moment, I debate on whether to make a run for it, then decide against it. There’s no way I’m slipping past him.
I drop my hands to my sides in resignation. “Why are you doing this to me? You don’t have to do this on your brother’s behalf. I have every right to leave. You're committing a crime by keeping me here.”
Zac keeps his eyes on me as if he’s expecting me to pull a fast one. “Because you mean something to Liam, and he doesn’t want you dead. And as far as committing a crime is concerned, I’d rather commit one than have to explain to my brother that I let you leave.”
I scowl. “It’s Liam’s fucking fault I'm in danger. Not mine.”
Zac sighs. “I know he’s disappointed you by not being upfront about his business. But Liam is a good man, believe it or not. Dude’s got a heart of gold. This is just something that comes with the territory in our line of work.”
I snort and let out a wild laugh. “A good man? He’s a liar!”
“I’m sure whatever he lied about wasn’t to hurt you,” Zac tries to reassure me. “Trust me. Liam isn’t that type of person.”
“The fuck he isn’t,” I mutter angrily.
Zac ignores me and I see little reason to continue arguing with him about Liam. After all, he’s Liam’s brother and sees him in a whole different light than I do. Of course he's going to be on Liam's side.
“I need to go to the bathroom,” I say suddenly. “I’ve been holding it for a while.”
Zac eyes me with suspicion for a moment. “Alright,” he concedes.
I turn and begin walking toward the bathroom, but Zac follows me, practically breathing down my neck.
I turn on him and scowl angrily. “Can a girl use the bathroom without you breathing fire down my neck? Damn.”
Zac looks like he’s going to refuse, but then he bites his lower lip and says, “You have two minutes.”
I walk into the bathroom and slam the door. Then I look around, searching for an escape. Now how am I going to get out of h
ere? There’s a window above the sink, but it looks like it’s too small to get my whole body through.
I sit on the toilet and think. I don’t even get a second before Zac's banging on the door.
“Give me a fucking minute!” I yell.
Zac’s muffled response comes through the door. “Hurry up!”
Shit. Shit. Shit. I’m looking, but there’s no way out. Unless I can drop ninety pounds in two minutes, I won’t be getting out of that window.
“You’ve got ten seconds to come out of there, or I’m coming in.”
Fucking A.
He quickly counts to ten and I don’t budge.
“I’m not leaving, so you might as well come out,” he growls.
I look around. There’s no way out of here. I’m just wasting my time. Letting out a resigned sigh, I get up from the toilet and open the door.
“Feel better now?” Zac asks.
“Fuck off,” I say. I brush past him, walk back over to the couch and flop down on it. I cross my arms over my chest and scowl. I’m so fucking pissed off. Why did this shit have to happen to me?
Zac walks over and sits back down in the recliner. He doesn’t seem bothered by my nasty attitude in the least, and after studying me for a moment, he resumes watching the football game.
I sit there for about ten minutes, getting madder and madder, until I can take no more. “I’m just going to sleep,” I announce, getting up.
Zac doesn’t really react. I guess he’s had it with my bitchiness. “Fine.”
He gets up from his seat and escorts me to my room. I walk inside and am about to close the door when Zac says, “I know you’re pissed off and all. And I really can’t blame you. I think I would be too if I were in your position. But Liam really cares about you.”
I roll my eyes. “Right. You were just calling me a diva. Now you’re agreeing with me.”
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