A_Dom_Is_Forever

by Lexi Blake

  “What exactly do you mean you couldn’t find the files?” Simon ground the words out, his voice low, his face turned down as the elevator started toward the ground floor.

  Avery wasn’t sure how much she should say. She’d gotten a little paranoid about being overheard. She tried to sound as normal as possible. “I looked and couldn’t find them.”

  “I asked you not to work on the new reports without me.” Simon turned, his back to the small red light that came from a camera in one of the corners.

  Oh. That was what he’d meant. He’d been trying to tell her to wait for him. It would have made it harder for Monica to catch her. “Sorry.”

  He turned again, his handsome face in a fierce frown. The elevator doors opened, and Avery stepped out. Despite everything he’d done, her heart softened the minute she saw Liam waiting for her. He leaned against the building, his eyes scanning the street. There was a tight set to his jaw that told her he was worried, but it was his body language that really scared her. Liam was always so graceful. He was tall and lean and so strong, but now his shoulders were slumped.

  She forgot about Simon and rushed to get to Li. “What happened?”

  He turned to her, and she could see the grim set of his mouth, but he smiled when she reached him. He reached for her with his right hand, pulling her close. “We’re getting out of here in the morning.”

  A little surge of panic hit. “I can’t. I didn’t find the files.”

  “That’s Weston’s problem now.” He shot a look at the other man. “She’s out.”

  Weston nodded. “Good for you, mate. Take care of her. And don’t tell me anything else. I don’t want to know.”

  “As if I would.” Liam slung an arm around her shoulder. “I have one question for you. Where did you really get all that information about Ian? Don’t try to tell me you hacked the system. That’s not your expertise. I’m surprised Knight bought it.”

  Only the faintest hint of flush hit the Englishman’s cheeks. “I can be very persuasive. Acting is my expertise. I play this part quite well, but I’m starting to wonder if I haven’t been duped.”

  “You got the information from an anonymous source, didn’t you?”

  “At the time, I thought I was helping,” Weston replied. “I was able to verify that all the information was true. Now I have to wonder why someone in MI6 wants to cause trouble with your team.”

  Liam huffed as though he’d known all along. “Because it wasn’t from MI6. It was Nelson. He connects everything. He’s the dotted line that we’ve all ignored. He was the agent who took over for Ian after his wife died, and I’m starting to suspect that he was the one who killed her. He might have been the one to send her to Ian in the first place. I’m almost certain he was the one who killed my brother, and for some reason he saved me.”

  “What does this have to do with us?” Avery asked, her head ringing with all the twists and turns. “Is this the man Thomas is meeting with?”

  “We need to start walking. Let’s head to the Tube. Or do you have a driver meeting you?” Liam started down the street, but there was something wrong with his walk. He shuffled just a bit as though favoring his left leg.

  “Sod off,” Weston shot back. “I don’t have a bloody driver. And I want to know what Nelson’s old op has to do with this, too. And what the hell’s wrong with your leg?”

  Liam shrugged. “Just a couple of bullets. I’m fine. They just grazed me.”

  Avery nearly stopped in the middle of the street. “Bullets?”

  “Keep your voice down, love.” He chuckled a little and nodded toward the building they were walking past. “That’s Scotland Yard HQ. Let’s not talk about bullets or guns.”

  He’d been shot. Liam had been shot and apparently more than once. Her heart threatened to pound out of her chest. He could have died, and it was very likely that no one would have told her. She would have waited outside the building for him. When he didn’t show up, she would have assumed he was done with her. The thought of never touching him again assaulted her. The idea of Liam, his big body cold and dead, was unthinkable.

  She was in love with him. She’d spent the last twenty-four hours telling herself that she wasn’t, but it was a lie. She was trying to protect herself. There was no way Liam really loved her. He was feeling guilty. From what she could tell, this was maybe the first time he’d been forced to get really close to a woman in a way that didn’t involve bondage and video cameras. When things became normal again, he wouldn’t want her.

  But she was worried that she would always want him.

  They walked up Victoria Street and Westminster Abbey came into view. It wasn’t the way they would normally go, but Liam seemed intent on talking to Simon and perhaps it was better to do it in public.

  “I’m going to take it you didn’t get your job finished,” Simon said, walking toward Westminster station.

  Liam frowned, adjusting his baseball cap. “No. He didn’t show. He’s onto us, and he likely has been the whole bloody time. Something’s off. I don’t know if Molina knows, but Nelson is playing a deep game with the lot of us. That’s why I’m moving her out.”

  “I can’t leave. I didn’t find the files.” Avery struggled to keep up. Even injured, Liam was faster than she was.

  He slowed down, his hand tangling in hers. “Sorry, love. I’m anxious. And you will leave with me in the morning. The rest of the team will figure this mess out, but you’re done.”

  The mission couldn’t be over. “I think the files are at his house. I can get in there.”

  “Avery, do you know a man named Malcolm Glass?” Liam asked, ignoring her statement.

  Why did he want to know about Malcolm? The files were the important thing here. “Yes, he works for Thomas. He’s Thomas’s driver.”

  Simon snorted. Only he could make the sound elegant. “He’s Molina’s enforcer. He’s got quite the history. He’s done a couple of stints in prison, but lately he’s become smarter. I believe he’s Molina’s muscle.”

  “He’s dead,” Liam said bluntly. “I put a bullet through his skull not two hours ago. He was sent to kill me because I’m sleeping with you. He was quite clear on the subject. Molina wants you, and he’s quite angry that I’ve had you. Do you understand what a man like that will do if he decides to take you?”

  A shiver went up her spine. Thomas had sent Malcolm to kill her boyfriend? “It’s not like that.”

  But now she wondered. Thomas liked to touch her. She’d thought it was just affection, but there had been times when he would hug her too long or his hands would slip. And he did seem to be deeply possessive.

  “He’s the one who made sure you didn’t have friends at the office,” Simon pointed out. “He’s been isolating you. He’s actually quite odd, you know. I haven’t been able to spend much time with him. Every time I try, he puts me off.”

  “Because he made you a long time ago.” Liam’s eyes strayed to the massive cathedral.

  Simon stopped. “Bugger. How did he make me? I’ve been careful.”

  Liam motioned for Simon to keep up. “Doesn’t matter, but if Nelson knew who to send Ian’s files to, then you better consider yourself compromised, and MI6 is going to need a new plan. You might talk to MI5 or Scotland Yard. See if you can legally search Molina’s town house. I think that might be your only shot or you’ll have to work this from another country. Either way, Avery’s out. She’s not going to be alone with the bastard again.”

  “Don’t I have any say in this?” Avery asked. It was all happening too fast.

  “No,” both men replied at the same time.

  “You’re out, Avery. I’ll carry you out of this country kicking and screaming if I have to,” Liam vowed.

  “You’re giving up a lot, mate. You really think this Nelson fellow killed your brother? You’re never going to know for sure if you run off with her.” Simon walked along, a smile on his face like they were talking about the weather and he hadn’t just dropped a bomb that migh

t explode in Avery’s face.

  Liam was going to leave. He had to. He would need to find the truth. Even when she hadn’t known his real name, she’d known the man. He was hard in so many ways. Even though he’d had problems with his brother, Liam would need to find the man who had killed him.

  Liam was the one who stopped this time. “I’m done here. Do you understand, Weston?”

  “Damn me. I wouldn’t have suspected that.” Simon pulled away. “This is where we part ways. I think I should probably head to the club. My days of working for the UOF are probably done. Hey, maybe Knight will save me from a formal dressing down and just fire me on the spot. I wish you two the best of luck.”

  Simon disappeared into the crowd.

  “You’re not leaving me?” Avery asked, well aware the question came out with a vulnerable sigh.

  “I told you I wouldn’t leave again.”

  “But you thought about it.”

  His hand tightened around hers as though he was afraid to let go. “Of course I did. I thought about it long and hard, and I decided that you’re more important than revenge or the truth or anything. Now let’s get home so we can very quietly get you packed. I’m going to take a shower and clean up, and then we’ll go out for the evening. Just a nice night on the town.”

  “We won’t go back.” She would be on the run. It seemed incomprehensible. Just yesterday her biggest worry had been what she would cook him for dinner, and today she was afraid for her life. And his.

  “No, we won’t go back to your place. I don’t know where we’ll be. We’ll find out in the morning, but wherever it is, I’m going to take care of you. I won’t let him hurt you. The lads will figure this out. I promise. We won’t be in hiding forever.”

  “You’re going with me.” It sounded dumb. Why would he go with her? Did he feel that sorry for her?

  “I am, Avery. You’re not getting rid of me. I told you so.” His face went stubborn, and he turned to the station. “Let’s go. I want to get out of that flat as soon as we can. We need to disappear. I don’t like the fact that he wants you.”

  It made her a little ill. “I’m sorry I didn’t get the files, but I did find something. He wears contacts. Why would he do that when he’s got perfect vision? At least that’s what he told me. And don’t you find it weird that he was agoraphobic and now he’s fine?”

  “Did you see the contacts? Were they colored?” Liam gripped her hand.

  “I didn’t look.”

  “And you’re sure he doesn’t need them to see?”

  She should have opened them up and looked. “I don’t know. I guess he could have lied, but why?”

  “Bloody hell,” Liam cursed, shaking his head. “I should have figured that out sooner. Molina never went out before and then all of the sudden, he up and wants to take an up close and personal interest in the business. Simon is right. He should get fired. I would bet money that Nelson planted someone years ago. He needed a way to move the arms around and he needed money to back it up. Even a few million wouldn’t really be enough to start this on a large scale. But a few million would set up the scam that could replace Molina with someone else. Molina was a loner.”

  She was starting to follow his logic. “He only had a relationship with his brother. He didn’t even like staff being around according to the articles on him.”

  “His brother was a drug addict and had gone through the trust fund their parents had left him. They settled the majority of the money on Thomas because they knew Brian would blow through it. Why didn’t I see this could be a possibility? What if the man you know as Thomas Molina is someone else?”

  That couldn’t be true. “There were pictures of Thomas before this started. He looks the same.”

  “That’s what the initial money was for. That’s what the bonds were for, to set someone up as Thomas Molina. He would have to be roughly the right height and build, but other than that, plastic surgery can do wonders. But it can’t correct the color of a person’s eyes. He would need contacts if they didn’t match.”

  “And then he could easily take over the company because he had no close ties to anyone. He wouldn’t even have to really answer uncomfortable questions.” So much of her life for the last six months had been one long lie. “I met Brian in a rehab facility. For my legs, not drug rehab. He was getting over an injury. He said he’d just come into a bunch of money. He died a couple of months after he introduced me to Thomas.” She shook her head, horrified at her own naïveté. “I was surprised that someone like Thomas would want an assistant with so little experience, and then Brian told me he liked to get them while they were still innocent. ‘All the better to corrupt them,’ he said. I thought he was joking, but he wasn’t was he?”

  “Probably not. But it doesn’t matter now because you’re out of this and so am I. Though it makes me wonder exactly who Nelson got to do that little job for him. Who could have hated his life so much that he was willing to do anything to change it?” Liam paled, a tremble going through his body, but he shook it off. “Like I said, it doesn’t matter. Come on, love. I need that shower and some Scotch.”

  He took her hand and led her to the trains. They huddled close, every moment of their time together playing through her head. She followed him, utterly numb. She was a zombie walking where Liam told her to go because she knew she was going to have to make a decision, and she wasn’t ready for that yet.

  Twenty minutes later, he sat her down on her couch and passed her a couple of fingers of the Scotch he’d bought earlier in the week. “I won’t be long.” He gestured around the room as though to remind her that someone was listening in. “We need to leave in an hour. The show starts at seven thirty sharp. We can have dinner over in the West End. All right?”

  She was supposed to be specific when they could hear her. “Yes. That sounds nice.”

  He nodded and walked away, leaving her alone for the first time.

  He was going to take her on the run. He would be protecting her twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week until the threat was over. There was no way she would be able to stay out of his arms. She would end up in bed with him again. She would submit to him again. She would fall in love with him again.

  When would it end? Everything ended. When would Liam O’Donnell end, and why should she even try to take a chance? She’d lost everyone she’d loved. She would just lose him, too.

  She shuffled through the apartment, her little London flat where everything had seemed ready to bloom. This was supposed to be her second act, but now she realized that everything before the day she’d met Liam had been a dress rehearsal. He was the real second act. He was her chance, but she wasn’t sure she dared to take it.

  Tears blurred her eyes, but she couldn’t cry. They would hear her. She quietly opened drawers, gathering the few things she couldn’t leave behind. Her real passport. A change of clothes. Her medications.

  A small book of photographs lay buried at the bottom of her drawer. Pictures of her parents, her husband, her baby. She’d buried it in here, tucking it all away like something that should be hoarded, something that she should hide.

  Tears fell as she opened it. Her parents. So loving, so kind. They’d been taken far too soon, and she still missed them every day of her life. Brandon. Would they still be married? Had it really been love or had she been looking for a way out? She’d struggled for so long with questions that didn’t matter. He’d been good to her. He didn’t deserve to be hidden away.

  And Maddie. Her little girl who hadn’t gotten to live.

  She’d spent so much time worrying about forgiving the girl who had killed them that she’d never forgiven herself for surviving.

  This was why she was ready to push away a man like Liam O’Donnell. She’d taught herself to walk, but she was still in that car. She could play at being alive, but she hadn’t been forced to really live. She hadn’t been forced to put her heart on the line and pray that everything worked out because life could be so hard and cruel. She hadn’t chosen between fear and hope yet.

  She looked at her daughter, so small and sweet in her father’s hands. Brandon looked terrified, but he held Maddie close.

  She’d asked what Stephanie owed her, but what did Avery owe these two precious people? What did she owe them? What did she owe herself?

  A life. She owed them a life, and not the half-life she’d been living. She’d been a tourist. She’d fought to walk again and then all she was willing to do was watch as life passed her by. She’d spent all her time in museums and art galleries allowing no one to really touch her. It had been easier, but she couldn’t do it any longer. She owed everyone who had loved her a real life, with real risk.

  With real love.

  Liam O’Donnell might come to his senses somewhere down the line. He might wake up and realize she wasn’t beautiful enough for him, but no one would ever love him the way she did. She had to take the chance.

  She heard the shower running and slowly took off her clothes. She dropped them on the counter. A bloody bandage sat near the sink, a smaller one beside it. He’d obviously torn it off before he’d gotten into the shower. Two fresh ones were waiting along with alcohol and some swabs. He was going to dress it himself? He didn’t think she would help him?

  She needed to make it plain to him that she would take care of him, too.

  She could see him through the glass of the shower. One hand pressed against the wall. His head was down, drooping like he just couldn’t hold it up. Her heart ached as she looked at him. He looked weary. How much had it cost him to tell her who he was? She’d taken it wrong, assigned all kinds of dumb motives to his actions, but he’d risked so much for her. What if he’d just done it for the purest reason of all? What if he’d done it because he loved her?

  Swinging the glass door open, she stepped in. There was no hiding from this man.

  “Avery?”

  She put a hand out, touching the muscles of his back. She loved the way he felt, hard muscle under soft skin. His green eyes touched hers. There was an angry wound on his bicep. God, he’d really been shot. “Are you sure you’re all right? Should you be getting that wet?”

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