Liam (The Murphy Boys Series Book 4)

by Holly C. Webb

  “Lexi…” Nikki began to argue, but Lexi stopped her cold.

  “NO!” Lexi exclaimed, refusing to be shot down again. “You tell me now, or I walk away, right here, right now.”

  “The photos were leaked to the media,” Nikki said with a sigh, knowing there was no point in arguing with Lexi.

  “Well, why is that such a bad thing?” Lexi asked, not fully following why Nikki had hurried them out of the restaurant.

  “So were the details of where and how they got them,” Nikki said, giving Lexi a worried look. “They gave your name, Sweetie.”

  “Oh,” was all Lexi could say as the blood drained from her body, a cold sweat sent a shiver down her spine.

  Suddenly she couldn’t seem to catch her breath. She stumbled to a bench at a bus stop that was close by and dropped down to the seat. Closing her eyes, she buried her face in her hands.

  You’re okay! You’re okay! She chanted in her head over and over, but it was no good. She couldn’t seem to slow her heart or catch her breath.

  “Lexi!” Nikki's voice crashed into her head. “Sweetie, you’re okay. Please, just breathe.”

  But her words were empty. Lexi was lost in her own thoughts. Not even Sky’s licks or her barking pulled her from the room she was trapped in, in her head.

  He knew she recognised him. He knew she knew who he was. Now he would need to shut her up before it was too late.

  Chapter 21

  “You need to calm down,” Landen told a furious Liam, as he watched him marching up and down the living room of his apartment. “Nikki called and said the cab was almost here. She said Lexi is really upset. So if she comes in here and sees you coming apart at the seams, it’s just going to make her worry more.”

  “Landen, how can I be calm?” Liam demanded, giving his brother a desperate look. “He knows she can identify him. He knows that we know what he looks like now because of her. This guy’s a fucking pyscho, who knows how the hell he will react to this. This is a fucking nightmare.”

  “But you don’t know that he will come after her,” Landen tried to reason with his brother, but his words simply fell on deaf ears. “And even if he wanted to, surely he knows that she would be in protective custody now? He wouldn’t be stupid enough to come here looking for her.”

  “You don’t know this guy,” Liam sighed. “He has balls like boulders. He walks into busy buildings, past security guards, past security cameras. His face has never been caught on video once while doing this. No one had a clue who he was, not until Lexi. You don’t think that he’s gonna be pissed about that.”

  “So he knows her name. He knows she saw him,” Landen said, trying his hardest to reassure his brother. “He doesn’t know where she is. She is safe here.”

  Before Liam could respond, the sound of the elevator coming to life caught his attention. Without even thinking, he hurried towards the door, followed closely by Landen.

  “Liam, I know you’re worried,” Landen said, standing behind Liam, as they waited for the lift. “But you can’t let her see that. You can’t let her think that you’re as terrified as you are. She needs you to be strong for her”

  “I will be,” Liam sighed, knowing that Landen was right. It didn’t matter what he felt inside. He had to think about Lexi. She was going to be upset enough without him making her worry more. He couldn’t let her see just how terrified he really was.

  Finally, the elevator came to a stop, and Liam could finally see Lexi through the steel bars. She looked so sad and completely freaked out, that it almost broke his heart.

  Pushing his feelings deep down inside him, he forced a smile on his face as he stepped towards the elevator, pulling up the door, as Nikki slid open the inside door.

  “Hey, Lex,” Liam said as Lexi stepped from the elevator, as Sky barked and wagged her tail, happy to see Liam. Unlike Lexi, who didn’t even smile, much less answer him.

  Instead, fat tears trickled down her face once more, as she allowed Liam to wrap her in his arms, holding her tightly.

  “Hey,” he said, trying to sound as upbeat as he could. “Why are you crying? I swear, it’s not as bad as it sounds.”

  “Isn’t it?” Lexi said as she looked up at Liam, her eyes puffy and red from crying. “He knows it was me who identified him. He knows I took the photo.”

  “But he doesn’t know where you live now,” Liam repeated the words that Landen had said to him. “He doesn’t know anything about your life, other than you know who that son of a bitch is. Besides, even if he did know any of that stuff, do you really think he would be stupid enough to come here? He knows that we are going to have a protection detail on you. He knows that we know what he looks like. He’s more likely to go underground than come here.”

  Lexi didn’t reply. Instead she just continued to cry.

  “Maybe we should get her inside,” Landen suggested, giving Liam a reassuring smile. “I’ve made some coffee, and I think Mom and Dad are on their way over too.

  Lexi sighed, but she didn’t say a word. Instead she just pulled away from Liam, and headed into the apartment, followed closely but Liam, then Landen and Nikki.

  “Are you hungry?” Liam asked as he followed Lexi into the living room.

  “Actually, I think I’m just going to go lie down,” Lexi said without even looking at Liam. “I’ve got a bit of a headache.”

  “Okay,” Liam said as he began to follow her towards the hallway to the bedroom, but Lexi stopped and looked back at him.

  “I… I just need a little space,” Lexi said, giving him a pleading smile. “Please!”

  “Okay,” Liam replied, stopping dead in his tracks, trying not to seem as disappointed as he felt. “If you need anything at all you know I’m right here.”

  “I know,” she replied, offering him a sad smile, before she turned, heading down towards the bedroom, followed closely by Sky.

  “What happened?” Liam asked Nikki as he turned to face her.

  “We were having lunch when Landen called, so I paid for lunch,” Nikki explained, but Liam could see that Nikki was probably just as worried about Lexi as he was. “She asked what was going on. I told her that you would explain once we got home, but she refused to go anywhere till she knew. I had to tell her. That’s when she had a panic attack; she just fell apart. I haven’t seen her like that in such a long time, not since…”

  Nikki stopped mid-sentence like she realised what it was she was saying.

  “Since?” Liam asked, knowing that there was more she wasn’t saying. “If you know something, now would be a really good time to say it. Since when does she have panic attacks?”

  “It’s not my place to say anything, Liam,” Nikki replied, glancing at Landen before she looked back at Liam. “But I will say that you need to talk to her.”

  “What about, Nik”? Liam asked as he too glanced at Landen. “Do you know what she is talking about?”

  “I have no clue,” Landen replied, giving Nikki a questioning look. “What does he need to know, Nikki?”

  “I promised Lexi that I wouldn’t say,” Nikki replied, looking more than a little uncomfortable right at that moment. “I can’t betray her trust. I’m sorry.”

  “This is about when she left,” Liam pushed, needing to know what the hell was going on with Lexi. “Did she begin having panic attacks back then, after she left? Did… did I do this to her?”

  “You need to talk to her about this,” Nikki said as she picked up her bag from the coffee table. “Just… give her some time. She is not in a good place right now, and if you go in there like a bull in a china shop, you are going to push her away, and you could end up losing her again.”

  “I could lose her?” Liam asked a sickening feeling settled inside him. “Jesus! Nikki, please, I can’t lose her again. What the hell is going on?”

  “Just talk to her,” Nikki replied, giving him a sad smile. “But wait till she is ready. Please don’t push her too hard.”

  “I won’t,” Liam nodded, kn
owing Nikki was right. She asked for a little space, and he needed to respect that, but at the same time, he wanted to go after her and beg her to talk to him.

  “I should be going,” Nikki said as she turned and started toward the door. “Tell Lexi that I will call her later.”

  “Nik,” Landen called after her. “Thomas is downstairs, have him drop you home. I’m going to stay here for a little while longer with Liam.”

  “Okay, Boss Man,” Nikki replied over her shoulder with a wave.

  They both stood there and watched Nikki leaving the apartment, before Liam walked to the sofa, slumping down on it, then release a long, frustrated groan. He lay his head back and closed his eyes.

  “You know you don’t have to stay,” Liam insisted, wishing that his brother would just leave him alone with Lexi. He didn’t even open his eyes.

  “I know I don’t have to stay,” Landen replied, and Liam could hear the smile in his voice. “But I want to. Right now, you both need your family. Don’t push us out, Liam. Not this time.”

  “I’ve never pushed you guys out,” Liam replied as he lifted his head, opening his eyes to look at Landen. But even as he said the words, he knew that wasn’t strictly true.

  “C’mon Liam, you know you do,” Landen replied, giving him a smile as he sat down next to him on the sofa. “When Lexi left the last time, you shut us all out. And it was hard to stand by and watch you self-destruct. Don’t ask me to sit by and watch it again.”

  “I won’t,” Liam promised his brother as he lay his head back down on the sofa, closing his eyes. “I give you my word. But I won’t self-destruct, not this time.”

  “Good,” Landen replied, as he leaned back on the sofa and closed his eyes too. “Because if I have to kick your ass this time, I will.”

  “Sure, Old Man,” Liam chuckled, despite the crappy mood he was in.

  They both sat there for a few moments, each lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Liam opened his eyes once more and turned to look at Landen again.

  “So you really don’t know what Nikki was talking about?” Liam asked when the thought occurred to him. “I mean, I thought she told you everything.”

  “So did I,” Landen sighed as he turned to look at Liam. “But not this, whatever this is.”

  “I see,” Liam sighed, feeling frustrated that Lexi was hiding something from him. “Then I guess it must be bad.”

  “So, you’ve no clue what it could be?” Landen asked, giving him a questioning look.

  “I don’t, I… I mean, I know I hurt her,” Liam admitted, knowing whatever it was, was somehow his fault. “What I did to her, back then; it will be the biggest regret of my life till the day I die.”

  “You cheated on her, right?” Landen asked, but it wasn’t really a question. It was clear that he already knew.

  “Yep,” Liam sighed. “And it was just so stupid. It’s the only time I have ever done something like that in my life. But it was to someone that I never believed I could ever hurt so deeply.”

  “But she’s forgiven you,” Landen replied, giving him another smile. “So maybe it’s time for you to forgive yourself too.”

  “Maybe,” Liam shrugged, but in his heart, he knew that wasn’t ever going to be something he could do easily. “But I think it’s more than that. I think there is something I don’t know; something she is hiding from me. I just don’t know what.”

  Suddenly Liam remembered the scar that was across the bottom of her stomach, the one she didn’t want to talk about. That was it. That was the secret. He just didn’t know what the scar was from.

  “What is it?” Landen asked, clearly sensing Liam had thought of something.

  “I don’t know, it might be nothing,” Liam said as he sat up straight in his seat. “But she has this scar…”

  “A scar?” Landen asked, lifting up his head too. “What kind of scar?”

  “Across here,” Liam replied, point to the bottom on his stomach, pointing to where Lexi’s scar was. “I asked her about it, but she didn’t want to talk about it.”

  “Jesus,” Landen said, as the buzzer for the front door sounded.

  “Shit!!” Liam exclaimed, knowing that it was most likely his mother and father, but right at that moment, they were the last people he had the energy for. Liam stood up, and started towards the door, but stopped and turned back to Landen.

  “Please don’t say anything to Mom about this,” Liam asked his brother, giving him a pleading look. “I mean about the scar, or what Nikki said. The last thing we need right now is Mom and Dad getting involved with this.”

  “My lips are sealed,” Landen assured him, giving him another smile.

  Liam gave him a grateful nod, before he turned and headed for the door, to let his mother and father in.

  Liam walked down the hallway towards the bedroom, deciding he had given Lexi enough space. It had been over two hours since she arrived home, and he couldn’t take much more. When his parents arrived, his mother insisted that she would go talk to her, but returned a few moments later saying that Lexi was fast asleep on the bed, and Sky was sitting guard next to her.

  Nell suggested that Liam leave her to sleep for as long as she needed it. She said that there was nothing so important that wouldn’t keep.

  Liam started to think his parents were never going to leave. Nell was even talking about making some dinner. It was Landen that suggested that they left Liam alone, that the last thing Lexi would want when she woke up was to have to face a group of people. That perhaps she and Liam needed to have a little space.

  Nell had tried to convince Liam to come and stay at the house with Lexi until they picked up this mad man terrorising everyone, but Liam assured her that they were perfectly safe, that there was a police detail parked outside the apartment. Reluctantly, Nell left, making Liam promise he would call her and check in later that evening.

  Once they were gone, Liam sat for a short while on the sofa, trying to process the million thoughts that were swirling around his head.

  Finally, unable to hold back any longer, he pushed up from the sofa and headed toward the bedroom. But now, as he stood there, he wondered if he was sure he wanted to hear the answers to all the questions he had.

  Still, he knew he needed to put this right between them. He needed to know she was okay.

  Taking a deep breath, he pushed open the door, making his way quietly into the room. The moment he walked inside, Sky looked up, wagging her tail. She hadn’t left Lexi’s side since she came home earlier that day.

  “Hey girl,” Liam said in a hushed voice, scratching behind her ear as he climbed onto the bed. Sky instantly, moved to the end of the bed, making room for Liam to get to Lexi.

  He lay down beside her, watching her sleep for a while, taking in every inch of her beautiful face. Finally, he reached up, softly brushing her hair back from her face.

  Lexi released a contented sigh, before she slowly opened her eyes, looking up into Liam’s.

  “Hey,” he whispered, softly caressing her face.

  “Hey,” she breathed out as her eyes glazed over with tears once more.

  “It’s okay, Lex,” Liam whispered, pulling her closer to him. “Everything is going to be okay.”

  “Why did this have to happen to us?” She breathed out, burying her face in his broad chest. “I just want this to be over.”

  “I know you do, Lex,” Liam said, wishing he could take this away from her. He hated he had let her down so badly. He promised her he would catch this guy, but he hadn’t, not yet. “I promise, I’m going to catch this asshole, I give you my word. Just please don’t cry. I can’t stand to see you so upset.”

  “I’m sorry,” Lexi said as she tried hard to compose herself, “I know I’m making this whole thing so much harder. In fact, I was thinking. Maybe I should go home to stay with mom and dad for a while.”

  “What?” Liam exclaimed, pushing up in bed. “Why? Why you would want to do that?”

  “Because me being here is
a distraction to you,” Lexi replied, sitting up too. “You spend all your time worrying about me, and I can’t watch you beating yourself up all the time because you haven’t caught him. You have this crazy notion that you’re letting me down, and I hate seeing you blaming yourself for all this. This is not your fault.

  “No!” Liam cried, refusing to back down. He was not losing her again. “Lexi, we have lost five years, five years because I made the biggest mistake of my life. I’m not going to lose you again, and I am not going to waste one more day. Don’t ask me to watch you leave me again. And that’s how it will feel if you have to go live with your parents. It’s the other side of the country for god sake.”

  “It wouldn’t be forever, Liam,” Lexi tried to reason with him, but it was no use.

  “One day of you not being here is too long,” Liam sighed, giving her a pleading look. “Please, Lexi. Please don’t leave me again.”

  “Liam, I will never leave you,” Lexi whispered as she reached for his hand.

  “But you did, Lex,” Liam said as tears suddenly pooled in his eyes. “I know I hurt you, and I know that what happened was all me. But you left me, and I thought I would die without you. I can’t lose you again, Lex, because I know my heart would not survive losing you again.”

  Lexi leaned forward and softly pressed her lips to Liam’s, then pulled back, giving him a warm smile.

  “I promise,” she looked up into his eyes, giving him a warm smile. “I will never leave you again.”

  “Then stay,” Liam pleaded. “I know you’re scared, and with good reason, but I am begging you, don’t go to your folks. Stay here with me. I promise I will keep you safe.”

  “Okay,” she replied, smiling at him, before she leaned in and kissed him again. “I promise. I am not going anywhere.”

  “Good,” Liam whispered as he leaned forward and kissed her once more. As his kiss deepened, he pushed her back down onto the bed and moved above her.

  He had so much he needed to say to her; so much he needed to ask her. But right at that moment; he just needed her. He needed to touch her; needed to feel her body against his. It was the only way for him to be sure that they were okay.