by Penelope Sky
It was a problem with no solution, a situation so complicated, there was no answer. “I can’t kill him. If I do…”
He caught up. “It’ll ruin your relationship with Anna.”
Now I wish I still had that scotch. “Yeah.”
“So, he can kill you, but you can’t kill him?”
“He already lost her, so he doesn’t have that problem.”
He sighed loudly. “That’s fucking annoying.”
“Yeah.”
“She must understand you don’t have a choice, right?”
“I’m sure she does, but she doesn’t want Liam to die. And even if it’s necessary and I have no choice, we’ll never recover from that. I’ll always be the man who murdered the man she was married to. The man she wanted to have a family with. The man she loved.”
“You lose, no matter what.”
“Yes.”
“Then maybe we could get someone else to kill him.”
The thought had already crossed my mind. “Even if I pay a hit man, she’s gonna know it’s me.”
“What if I do it?” It was a testament to our relationship that he would offer after he’d made it abundantly clear he’d wiped his hands clean and walked away from that life.
“No.”
“We could make it look like an accident—”
“No. Because if she ever asks me, I can’t lie.”
“Alright…” He gripped the edge of the counter while he leaned back against it. “Then I don’t see a solution, Damien.”
“Neither do I.”
“Unless she can convince him to let this go.”
“I don’t want her to have any interaction with him at all.” Liam had had his chance, he blew it, and now he needed to walk away. She didn’t see me as her man, but she was my woman as far as I was concerned.
“I’m sorry, man.” His look of sympathy was bright in his dark eyes. “But it’s the only option you have.”
Her door was open, so I entered her office without knocking.
She sat behind her desk and typed on her laptop. Her hair and makeup were done, but that usual spark wasn’t in her eyes. She looked tired, as if she hadn’t slept much the night before. Or maybe she was just miserable, upset that all of her bad decisions had led to this terrible moment.
I sank into the white armchair that faced her desk. Her office was decorated in her style, a small vase of fresh flowers on the corner of her desk, a painting of wildflowers on the wall behind her, along with the brightly colored accents that made the office feel like perpetual spring.
When she heard my weight sink into the chair, she looked up. A spark of surprise moved over her features, but it was quickly replaced by stoicism once more. She didn’t fill the room with heat the way she used to when she saw me. All that desire that erupted between us was gone, masked by all the shit that happened.
I fucking hated it.
It was unrealistic to expect her to jump into my arms right away, but it was also unrealistic to expect me not to want her.
She shut her laptop so there was no barrier between us. “Hi…”
I didn’t return her words.
“Is everything alright?”
“No.” My hands rested on the padded armrests, and my fingers hung over the edge. “I’ve been thinking about this for a few days, and I’ve come to realize there’s no real solution.”
Her eyes fell in sadness.
“Every time I don’t kill him, it gives him another chance to kill me.”
She took a deep breath as if just the thought made her feel sick to her stomach.
“And you can live with that? I know what he meant to you, but he’s your past. I’m your future. If you have to choose, I think the answer is obvious. And if it’s not obvious to you, then I’m concerned.”
She lifted her gaze again. “It’s not about choosing, Damien. I don’t want him to kill you as much as I don’t want you to kill him. Death and violence are not the solution I want. I want Liam to let this go, to fade into the background, to find happiness in whichever way he chooses. And I obviously want the same for you. The idea of him hurting you…makes me so sick.”
I wanted Liam to disappear too… And I wished I could make him disappear with my fists. I wanted to kill him for what he did to her, for hurting her so many goddamn times. It wasn’t hard to be a good man to a good woman. I’d never even done it, and I still knew it would be a walk in the goddamn park.
“Let me talk to him. He’s had a few days to decompress.”
I didn’t want them to be in a room alone together, but this was the only solution she was willing to accept. “Alright.”
Her eyes shifted back and forth in surprise, taken aback by my agreement.
“Do it somewhere public.”
She cocked an eyebrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It’s pretty clear what I mean. If you’re alone together in a soundproof house, you won’t be able to scream for help if you need it.”
She must have thought my suggestion meant something else entirely. “He wouldn’t hurt me, but fair enough.”
My fingers lightly tapped against the armrests as I stared at her, wanting to say more. But I was out of bullets. A part of me wanted to ask her to lunch, but with this cloud over our heads, asking her out seemed pointless. “Let me know how it goes.” I rose from the chair and headed to the door.
“Damien.”
I turned around, hoping for something substantial to escape her lips.
She stared at me for a while, as if she was searching for the right words to make this situation better. But when nothing came out, she gave up. “I’ll call him when I get home.”
When I left the bank at the end of the day, I walked out of the double doors and headed to the parking lot. My ride was parked in the back, in a reserved section so no one could park anywhere near our expensive vehicles.
I stopped halfway when I noticed the man leaning up against the hood of my car.
My expensive-as-fuck car.
Liam had his arms crossed over his chest, wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants like he intended to fight me right then and there. He might have a weapon on him, hidden in the back of his pants. His body was so large that it would be impossible to tell. His eyes were focused on me with deadly intensity.
I slid my hands into the pockets of my slacks.
He raised his hand then beckoned me toward him with his fingers.
The right thing to do would be to turn around and walk away. He wouldn’t die, and neither would I. But I wasn’t going to turn into a pussy and walk away from a fight for a woman. I wouldn’t change the man I was for any woman—not even Annabella.
I started to walk forward again.
He grinned in victory.
My pulse stayed extremely slow even while the adrenaline dumped into my blood. A part of me wanted this to happen, for me to beat him so badly that he died as a result of his injuries and maybe Annabella wouldn’t directly blame me.
I stopped when I was just feet away. “In the parking lot in broad daylight. Seems like you’re scared.” I kept my hands in the pockets of my slacks and remained aloof. Other men quivered in fear at the sight of him. Not me.
He continued to grin. “No. I just want to watch you run.” He rose off the car, the vehicle lifting once his heavy weight wasn’t making it sink. “Like the little bitch you are.” He massaged his knuckles as he stared at me, ready to swing.
“I can’t kill you, Liam.”
“At least you’re honest about it.”
“No.” I pulled my hands out of my pockets. “Annabella doesn’t want me to. So, I won’t.”
His eyes narrowed.
“And the only reason I’ll honor her request is because I love her.”
His face immediately turned red once I confessed my feelings for the first time, when I declared my love for the woman he also loved. He slammed his fist into his palm and grunted like an animal.
“I know you won’t honor t
he same request—because you don’t love her the way I do.”
He lunged at me.
I was ready for it, so I dodged out of the way.
He moved with such momentum that he tripped forward and lost his footing. He underestimated my speed and experience, thinking my reaction wouldn’t be quick enough for a professional.
“I’m not gonna kill you, Liam. So, this isn’t a fair fight.”
He recovered himself and turned around, even more livid that I’d nearly made him trip on his face. “I don’t want a fair fight. I want to kill you, so I’ll get my chance—a real chance.”
I stood in a relaxed position, but my eyes took in his movements, the way he crept toward me so he could get me again. This time, he would be smarter about it now that he knew what I was capable of. “Dead or alive, she’ll never take you back.”
“She doesn’t need to.”
I kept the same expression even though I didn’t know what that meant.
“With you gone, nothing will stand in my way.”
“Annabella will always stand in your way—because she doesn’t want you.”
He jumped on me again.
But I knew he was going to pounce when I spoke, because he would think that meant a part of my brain was distracted. I stepped out of the way then bent over to avoid that powerful fist that was meant for my throat. I dodged the hit then grabbed him by the arm to spin him around. I kicked his knees out from under him then shoved him forward until his heavy body thudded against the pavement.
He didn’t stay down for long. He rolled and was back on his feet, ready to lunge at me again.
The gun was already pulled from my belt, and I aimed it right at his head, my finger on the trigger with the safety off.
He stilled as he stared down the barrel. “You refused to kill me. So, I’m not afraid of your little toy. You didn’t think that through, asshole.”
“I won’t kill you.” I adjust the aim of the gun to his arm. “Doesn’t mean I won’t shoot you.” The pull of the trigger was followed by the loud bang from the gun.
He screamed as the bullet pierced his skin and spilled blood everywhere. He gripped the wound and fell to his knees. “Coward. You’re a fucking coward. Fight me like a man. I could have walked up to you and shot you. Not a fair fight.”
I slid the gun into the back of my pants. “I can’t kill you. So, it was never a fair fight.”
Three
Annabella
Liam was already sitting at a table when I walked inside.
Large, muscular, and brooding, he was inherently intimidating. A drink was in front of him, pure liquor with no ice. He stared at a picture on the wall, his gaze emotionless. But then he seemed to notice I was there because his eyes turned in my direction.
And locked on me.
I believed Liam wouldn’t hurt me, but that didn’t stop me from being afraid of him. I walked across the restaurant and felt his gaze burning into me, felt the hostility fill the entire room. I slid into the seat across from him and sensed that intensity grow.
He stared at me with a rigid posture, examining me like an opponent rather than an innocent person. He was in a blue t-shirt that made his eyes burn a little brighter than usual.
That was when I noticed the gauze wrapped around his bicep. “What happened?”
“Your boyfriend shot me.”
“He’s not my boyfriend, Liam.”
His eyes still hadn’t blinked.
“And why would he do that?” This was all news to me. Damien hadn’t called me and told me about this interaction.
“Because I was waiting by his car at the bank.”
I closed my eyes in dread.
“I tried to fight him like a man, but he chose to be a pussy instead.”
I opened my eyes and glared at him. “I asked him not to kill you.”
“Why?” He cocked his head slightly.
“I hope that answer is obvious, Liam.”
“Nothing is obvious to me anymore, Anna. Damien should have been obvious to me a long time ago, but I trusted you blindly. Learned my lesson.” He was so spiteful, so venomous.
“Because the last thing I want is for you to be dead. I still care about you… I’ll always love you.”
“Yeah?” he whispered. “Didn’t love me enough to be honest with me. Didn’t love me enough to give me a real chance.”
“I did give you a real chance, Liam. I had many opportunities to be with Damien, but I told him I was committed to you. When he told me he loved me, I said I was determined to make this marriage work. I was willing to move to London for you—”
“Say what you want, Anna. You’re wrong.”
I shut my mouth and felt the burn of his gaze. “Please drop this.”
All he did was shake his head.
“Liam—”
“He’s the reason I lost you. None of that shit would have happened if he hadn’t been a problem—”
“Please,” I whispered. “I understand you’re angry. I understand you feel betrayed. But please don’t kill him.”
There was no sympathy whatsoever. “I’m gonna break every bone, break every inch of his skin until he’s fucking inside out.”
The mental image flooded my brain, and I actually felt sick. “If you love me—”
“If I love you?” he snapped. “Bitch, if you loved me—”
“Call me that again, and I’ll shoot you myself.”
He turned quiet, but a subtle smile spread across his lips. “That’s the woman I married…”
“I’m asking you to do this for me, Liam. After everything you’ve put me through, you should do this for me.”
“Everything I put you through?”
“We wouldn’t have gotten divorced in the first place if you hadn’t ruined it. Our lives would be completely different right now. The butterfly effect started with you, and you devastated me so much. Let’s not rewrite history.”
He wore a bored look, like what I said meant nothing to him.
“Please.”
He moved his arms to the table and rested them there as his eyes drilled into me. His bright blue eyes stared into mine as he took his time. He massaged the knuckles on his left hand as if he’d punched something hard earlier that day. “I’ll make a deal with you…”
I didn’t want to compromise, but I would if it meant I could save Damien’s life.
“You take me back. We move to London. Start over.”
That was a ridiculous demand.
“I won’t touch your boyfriend.”
“That’s not a deal. You’re blackmailing me into doing what you want.”
“That’s my price.” He shrugged even though that was a completely inappropriate response. “I want that asshole dead more than anything, so you need to offer me something I want more. You.”
“You would really want to be with a woman who doesn’t want to be with you? Who’s only there because she has to be?”
“Yes…because it’s you.” His sincerity was so bright, it was unmistakable. It was like a shooting star.
It was the first time I’d ever been truly disturbed by Liam. His desperation was so potent, so unmistakable. I wanted to keep Damien safe, but if I agreed to this, I would never get a chance to be with him…to see if things were as good as I remembered. That reality was terrifying to me, to leave everything behind…including the man I’d wanted for so long. “Liam, I want you to know nothing is going on between Damien and me. I told him I need time to get over this because I’m not ready to be with someone else. I don’t want you to think I’m jumping into bed with another man because that’s not what’s happening.”
His voice was so cold. “You think I’ll believe anything you say?”
“I’ve never lied to you, Liam. I confessed everything that ever happened. I just didn’t tell you who he—”
“Spin it however you want. You made me look like a fucking idiot, giving my money to those guys, while they thought I was the biggest dumbass on
the planet. Say what you want, but you’re wrong and you know it.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you—”
“Then we’re even. I forgive you for your lies, and you forgive me for my infidelity.”
“They aren’t—”
“One wouldn’t have happened without the other.” He held up two fingers. “If I’d had all the information, it would have changed everything. We would have moved and started over. You took that away from me.”
I dropped my gaze.
“You want me to know how sorry you are? Prove it. Say yes.”
A part of me felt guilty for the way I’d handled things. If the situation were reversed, I would be livid if I’d spent so much time with his former lover and had no idea. I wasn’t completely innocent in all of this. But I also didn’t want to give up my chance to be with the man I’d fallen in love with. “Liam—”
“Give me your answer.” He wasn’t the gentle giant he used to be. Now, he was treating me like he owned me…like I wasn’t a person.
“You are one hell of a man, Liam. You can have any woman you want—”
“I want you.” His eyes narrowed. “You’re the only woman I want underneath me for the rest of my life. You’re the only woman I give a shit about. You’re the woman of my dreams, the future mother of my children, and I’m having you one way or another.” He’d changed from a man into a maniac, turning psychopathic once he knew Damien’s identity. He couldn’t think clearly, his rage dictating everything. “It’s gonna happen, no matter what. In one scenario, you can save his life. And in the other…he’ll die, and I’ll still have you.”
“I would never take you back if you did that.”
“Doesn’t mean I won’t take you.” He leaned back against the chair and stared. “When I thought I fucked up, I was willing to step aside and let you go. But now that I know the game was rigged, that I never had a chance, I want a redo. And you’re giving it to me.”
My heart started to slam into the walls of my chest because I was actually afraid. “You’re scaring me.”
“Good. That means you understand how serious I am.”