Liam (The Murphy Boys Series Book 4)

by Holly C. Webb

  “Liam, what do you mean, trouble?” Nikki continued, still following Liam as he headed back into the house, after failing to find Dylan on the patio. “Is this about that guy? Does he know where Lexi is?”

  “I can’t explain,” Liam groaned, impatiently. He knew Nikki meant well; he just didn’t have time for her questions.

  Finally, he spotted Landen.

  “Have you seen Dylan?” Liam asked, giving him a pleading look.

  “Yeah,” Landen replied, instantly the look on his face told Liam that Landen knew something was very wrong. “He’s over there. Liam, what’s happened?”

  “I need him to drive because he is the only one not drinking,” Liam said as he hurried towards Dylan, pulling his keys from his pocket. “Dylan I need you. Lexi is gone. I need to get to my place fast; I need you to drive.”

  “Gone!” Landen exclaimed, the worry in his voice almost tangible. “Why would she be gone?”

  “It’s a long story,” Liam said tossing Dylan the keys. “And I don’t have time to explain. I need to get there as fast as possible.”

  “Okay,” Dylan said, immediately following Liam towards the house.

  “I don’t know what the hell is going on,” Landen said, following closely behind them. “But I’m going too!”

  “So am I,” Nikki exclaimed as they reached the front door, but Liam stopped and quickly turned to face her.

  “You can’t come,” he told Nikki, giving her a pleading look. “I know you’re worried, but I need to focus on getting to Lexi. I can’t look after you too. Besides, I need you to talk to Callum. Tell him what’s going on. Tell him to make sure Mom and Dad, or Finn and Emmy don’t worry. I don’t need more drama right at this moment.”

  “Okay,” Nikki replied, but the fear in her eyes just made Liam worry more. “Just go get her. Bring her back.”

  “I will,” Liam assured her, before him, Dylan, and Landen hurried out to his car, wasting no time setting off on the journey.

  As they drove, Liam pulled his light from the dashboard, putting it out onto the top of the car, before he pulled his phone from his pocket and called for back-up.

  “Don’t stop for anything,” he instructed Dylan, once he was finished on the phone.

  “I don’t understand,” Dylan said as he kept his focus on the road. “I thought this guy had no clue where Lexi was.”

  “That’s what we thought.” Liam sighed, knowing there was no point in lying to anyone now.

  He explained to Landen and Dylan that he’d received a call the night before. They had finally identified the guy from the photo. His name was Kurt Savage. He was wanted in several other states for a list of different offenses ranging from a petty thief, to aggravated assault, and now murder. He had spent time in a couple of psychiatric hospitals and was considered to be very dangerous.

  When the police searched his apartment the night before, they found photos of all the victims, some taken while he’d been stalking them, some while they were tied up after his attack. They also found photos of Liam on his wall. He was clearly aware that Liam was the lead detective on the case. He had been following him for some time. Which meant he knew Lexi was with him, and that meant, he knew where Lexi was.

  It turned out he was registered as an employee with three different security companies, all of whom ran the security in all the buildings he’s broken into. He had used three aliases, which was why they hadn’t spotted him weeks before when they compared staff from the security companies. It was only after they identified him, did they match his social security number to the two other aliases.

  “But the patrol car is still outside your place, right?” Landen asked, and Liam knew Landen was hoping against hope they were.

  “Yes,” Liam replied. “But this guy is good. If he wanted to get into my place, two cops sitting outside in a car is not going to stop him.”

  “But you think you can?” Dylan asked as he put his foot down a little harder on the gas.

  “I have to,” Liam replied. “But I won’t be alone. I’ve called in for back up. I just have to hope they get back there before it’s too late.

  They finally arrived at Liam’s place, and Liam knew straight away something was wrong. They had turned off the lights and sirens a couple of blocks away, but when they pulled up in front of the patrol car, neither of the officers reacted.

  He jumped out of the car and ran to the squad car.

  “Dylan,” he called as he realised neither officer was moving. As he got closer to the car, he could see both officers wounded “They’ve been shot. They need help.”

  He didn’t wait for Dylan to reply, he ran towards the building, knowing that Lexi was now living on borrowed time.

  “LIAM, YOU CAN’T GO IN THERE ALONE!” Landen shouted after him, but his words fell on deaf ears.

  Liam was going in.

  Chapter 25

  Lexi

  When Lexi arrived back into the apartment, she called out to Sky, letting her know she was back. She had barely made it through the door when Sky came bounding down the hallway, towards the front door.

  “Hey girl,” Lexi said as she set her clutch down on the hall table before dropping to the floor too, hugging Sky tightly. As once more her eyes blurred with unshed tears. She had no clue how things had gotten so messed up. But kneeling there, holding this silly dog so tightly, she knew not only would she have to leave Liam yet again, the thought of which was killing her inside, but this time she would have to leave Sky too.

  As if reading her mind, Sky whined as she looked up into her face, then gave her a big lick.

  “I’m sorry, Girl,” Lexi sighed, looking into the dogs face. “I really wish I could explain this to you, but I have to do this.”

  Lexi pushed up from the floor and headed towards the living room, then down the hallway to her bedroom. She wasn’t surprised when Sky followed closely behind her.

  When they reached the bedroom, Sky jumped up on the bed, where she sat and watched Lexi as she rushed around the room, gathering her belongings.

  She wasn’t really sure what she was going to do next. She knew staying there wasn’t an option. She could just return to her parents’ home once more, but the thoughts of going back there once again was just too hard to think about.

  She wondered if perhaps she could go and stay with Nikki for a while. At least she would be close to Liam. Maybe, if he’d got a little time and space, he would want to talk to her. Maybe he would want them to work things out.

  Still, in her heart, she knew that the right thing to do was let Liam believe that she had terminated her pregnancy. It would give him the closure that he would need to move on. She couldn’t give him the family he dreamed about, and she could never ask him to give up that dream.

  She glanced over at Sky, who gave her a knowing look, and it only made Lexi feel worse.

  “Please don’t look at me like that, Girl,” Lexi pleaded. “I don’t like this either, but it’s the right thing to do.”

  She turned back to the set of drawers when Sky began to growl.

  Lexi turned, giving Sky a questioning look. Sky was staring at the window. Lexi walked to the window and sighed when she saw the patrol car still sitting outside.

  “It’s okay,” Lexi told Sky as she turned back to look at the dog. “The cavalry is still parked outside. You can relax.”

  But something had spooked Sky. She was now sitting up straight on the bed.

  “What is it?” Lexi asked, as she walked to the bed, and softly touched Sky’s head. But Sky suddenly barked, making Lexi jump. “Okay, Sky, you’re starting to freak me out.”

  The sound of the elevator moving through the silent apartment made Lexi jump once again, as Sky barked once more.

  “Shit!” Lexi sighed, knowing that it was most likely Liam. She really had hoped she would have been at least finished packing before he got back. The last thing she wanted to do right at that moment was face him once more. “It’s okay; it’s just Liam.”
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br />   But Sky was not backing down. She jumped down from the bed and continued to growl, in a low determined rumble.

  “Sky,” Lexi said, feeling a little bit uneasy now. “What is it?”

  Sky barked again, as the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.

  Lexi walked back to the window and stared down at the police car below. She considered if maybe she should call 911 and have them ask the police officers in the car to come and check the building.

  The sound of the front door opening then closing, made Lexi freeze.

  “It’s Liam,” she whispered to herself, but in her heart, she wasn’t sure. She stood for a moment; the sound of Sky growling was almost deafening. She looked around the room for her clutch so she could get her phone, but then she remembered that she set it down on the table out in the hallway, when she greeted Sky. “Shit! Shit! Shit!”

  Lexi hurried back to the window and waved her hands in the air, trying to get the police officers attention. She knew it was pointless, but she had to try at least.

  “This is stupid,” Lexi said, walking back toward the door of the room, taking a deep breath, before she reached for the handle. But then she stopped. She remembered what Liam had said about the gun in the bedside table.

  She walked to the table, pulling open the top drawer. Picking up the gun in her shaking hand, she walked back towards the door.

  Opening it slowly, Lexi peered out into the hallway. There wasn’t a sound out in the apartment.

  “Liam!” She called out, hoping that Sky was just being super protective, but she knew in her heart something wasn’t right. She waited for a moment, but there was no reply. Sky moved down the hall slowly, her growl becoming more and more determined, punctuated by an occasional bark.

  “Sky,” Lexi called, her heart hammering in her chest. “Come back, Girl.”

  Sky stopped but didn’t come back.

  “Sky,” Lexi repeated, taking another step before Sky started to bark louder and louder.

  Suddenly, there he was. He was standing at the far end of the hallway. This time he didn’t even wear his mask.

  Without missing a beat, Sky took off down the hallway, as the guy raised his arm. That’s when Lexi noticed the gun. Without even thinking, Sky launched herself at the guy, biting down on his arm, tackling him to the floor.

  Lexi was frozen to the spot in sheer terror. She couldn’t scream, she couldn’t cry for help; nothing. The only sound she could hear right at that moment was the sound of her heart hammering in her chest. She closed her eyes and prayed to God that all this was just a bad dream.

  A strange popping sound rang out, followed by a yelping sound from Sky. The sound instantly pulling Lexi back to the present. Lexi stood there, glued to the spot. Her heart beating so fast now that she felt it was trying to escape from her chest. Sky was hurt. She had been hurt trying to protect her.

  Lexi knew she couldn’t stand there anymore. If Sky was hurt, she needed to go and help her. She took a step forward, but before she could take another, a hand covered her mouth from behind, as an arm pulled her body backward against theirs.

  “Shhh,” Liam whispered. As he slowly moved backward with Lexi.

  Lexi couldn’t believe that was he was actually there. Before she could even react, Liam pulled her backward into the spare bedroom.

  “How are you here?” She whispered as Liam quietly closed the door. He took the gun from her hand, then pushing it into the waistband of his trousers

  “It doesn’t matter,” he said as quietly as possible, as he led her to the window that led to the fire escape. “You, out there.”

  “I’m not leaving you,” Lexi insisted her voice still barely a whisper.

  “Yes you are,” Liam insisted as he pulled the gun from the waistband of his pants once more. “Go!”

  The floorboard from the hallway creaked, and Lexi knew that the guy was getting closer.

  “Lex, go!” Liam hissed as he turned and walked to the door. “Now!”

  Lexi reluctantly climbed out onto the fire escape, as Liam slowly opened the door. Moments later, he was gone.

  Lexi started down the steps of the fire escape, hating that she had left Liam in the apartment with that maniac. She had only taken a couple of steps when a shot rang out from inside the apartment, then another. Lexi froze on the steps, unable to continue down, unable to go back up.

  Lexi dropped down onto the steel steps, feeling like her world had just exploded into pieces around her. Sky had been hurt protecting her; she didn’t know if Liam was hurt too.

  She could feel her chest tighten, as her breathing became more laboured, but Lexi told herself she couldn’t fall apart. Instead, she pushed up from the steps and turned back towards the window. She took one step, then another. Before she knew it, she was standing in front of the window once more.

  Slowly she pushed back the curtain and climbed back in through the window.

  “You’ve lost your damn mind,” she whispered to herself as she made her way back across the room. Taking a deep breath, she reached for the handle of the door.

  Lexi slowly opened the door, then silently stepped out into the hallway. As she did, the first thing she noticed was the smell. There was an overpowering smell of iron in the air. There wasn’t a sound in the apartment, but the screeching of the sirens outside filled the silence telling Lexi help was here.

  Lexi walked slowly down the hallway and stopped when she saw a foot sticking out from behind the sofa. It was an old boot, one she was sure didn’t belong to Liam, but still, her mind ran wild.

  Taking another couple of steps closer, Lexi breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the lifeless body of the man that haunted her dreams. It was over.

  Walking further into the living room, she spotted Liam kneeling down on the floor, his back to her, and instantly a feeling of dread form in the bottom of her stomach.

  “Liam!” She called out, making him jump with fright.

  “Jesus, Lex, what the hell are you doing in here?” Liam said as he turned to her. When he did, Lexi could see he was hurt. And then she saw Sky. She was lying on the ground with her head on Liam’s lap.

  “Oh, God!” Lexi cried as she hurried towards them both. “You’re hurt!”

  “It’s just a flesh wound,” Liam assured her, giving her a sad smile. “He managed to get a shot off before I took him down. It just clipped my arm.”

  “And Sky?” Lexi asked as she kneeled down next to Liam and reached out to the dog lying on the floor.

  “It’s not good, Lexi,” Liam said, as the apartment door burst open, followed by the sound of people rushing into the hallway, towards the living room. But Lexi didn’t even see them; she just saw Liam and Sky.

  “Hey, Baby,” she whispered as she leaned down and kissed Sky on the face. Instantly her big brown eyes opened and looked up at Lexi. “You’re going to be okay. You just need to be strong; we’re going to get help.”

  Sky whimpered as she stared up at Lexi.

  “You are so brave,” Lexi whispered as the tears trickled down her face. “You are my brave girl.”

  She closed her eyes and leaned down, kissing Sky once more.

  “Lexi,” Liam said, knowing that Sky was fading.

  “No,” Lexi cried as she gave Liam a pleading look. “She has to be okay. PLEASE! SOMEBODY HELP US. Somebody. She’s hurt.”

  Lexi looked up, just as Dylan and Landen came rushing into the apartment, followed closely by Matt, who had also just arrived on the scene.

  “Dylan, please,” Lexi begged as he hurried toward them. “She’s been shot. Please, she can’t die, not like this.”

  Dylan dropped to his knees next to Sky too. He inspected the wound and tried to do what he could to stop the bleeding.

  Lexi looked down at Sky once more as her beautiful brown eyes, began to close.

  “Sky!” Lexi cried as she continued to softly rub the dog’s head. “Sky, please don’t die.”

  Dylan looked up at Liam and shook his
head.

  “Lexi, Baby,” Liam said as he wrapped his arm around her, but she pushed him free.

  “No,” Lexi insisted, refusing to give up on her. “She saved my life; we have to try.”

  Liam looked at her for a moment, then suddenly climbed up from the floor, lifting Sky up. He turned and looked at Dylan.

  “I’m taking her to UCSF,” Liam told Dylan, before he rushed out of the apartment, followed closely by Lexi, Dylan, and Landen.

  As they drove to the hospital, Liam and Lexi sat in the back of the car, Sky’s broken body on Liam’s lap, while her head rested on Lexi’s lap.

  “She’s losing a lot of blood,” Liam said as he looked up at Dylan, who was once more driving the car. “We need to hurry up.”

  “Just keep the pressure on the wound, Liam,” Dylan replied as the car sped along the streets.

  A few moments later, Dylan pulled the car to a stop outside the entrance of the emergency room. They all quickly climbed out of the car, hurrying through the doors into the emergency area.

  “You can’t bring that dog in here,” one of the nurses said, as she rushed over to stop them from going any further.

  “I can, and I will,” Dylan replied, as he rushed past the nurse, looking for an empty trauma room. “This dog was a hero today, and she needs help.”

  “Doctor Murphy,” one of the other nurses said, as she hurried towards Dylan. “Trauma three is free. What do you need?”

  “She’s got a gunshot wound to the chest,” Dylan explained as he led Liam to trauma three with Sky.

  Lexi stopped and watched as the doors closed, having no clue what she should do next. She looked down at the blood on her dress, as a sudden sob escaped from deep inside her.

  “Lexi,” Landen said from behind her as he softly touched her shoulder. “Maybe we should see about getting you checked over.”

  “But I’m okay,” she sniffed as she brushed her tears away. “Sky… she saved me.”

  “I know,” Landen sighed, taking hold of her arm. “But you’re in shock.”

  “I just need to know that she’s okay,” Lexi sobbed softly. “Tell me that she is going to be okay.”