She giggled as he leaned down to kiss her. His lips had a hint of butter on them, to which she couldn’t resist asking. “Are you going to share, or should I make myself one?”
“I’ll share,” he said, sweetly. She kissed him back then muttered, “You eat it I’ll make another.”
Remi proceeded to cook two more, one for her and one more for him. When they finished, she picked up her phone and held it up in front of Liam’s face. “Smile,” she directed. Not a fan of having his picture taken, he grinned and bared it so to speak, and smiled, only for her. Once she snapped a few pics, Liam moved beside her and motioned for her to take a selfie. She was surprised he’d be okay with that. Cheek to cheek, he jovially posed while she held the phone out in front of them. “This is a side I’ve never seen,” she remarked about his sudden playful mood.
Little did she know that Liam was giving her so much more than a few simple images on her phone, he was giving her memories. “Here,” she said, grabbing his phone. “You need one, too.”
She touched the screen, only to see it locked. But just as she was about to hand it to him to unlock it, Liam verbalized the code for her. It took her a few seconds to process that information. He repeated the code, not realizing that she had heard him clearly the first time, it was the fact that he trusted her with it. As her fingertips, tapped the four digits, he had remained in the same position, waiting diligently for their next selfie. Suddenly feeling absurdly emotional, she had to force back tears, because that dark feeling of dread threatened the mood. It came out of nowhere, and it frightened her. “Are you going to take the picture, or are we going to sit like this all night?” he asked teasingly. Remi chuckled as she finally took a few shots. They looked over the photos afterward then they both tucked the phones back at the end of the counter. “Now what?” asked Remi. Liam half-grinned then swooped her up into his arms. “I finally get to sleep in your bed for once,” he said, carrying her towards the bedroom. As he gently laid her down on the bed, she wickedly grinned while untying her robe and asked. “Oh, are we going to sleep?”
Liam climbed on top of her, and jokingly declared, “Eventually.”
CHAPTER 20
He opened his eyes, instantly aware that it was still dark outside. With Remi asleep on his chest and her arm draped across his stomach, Liam didn’t want to move, so he shifted his head slightly to see the time on her alarm clock. It was only four-thirty. As he lied there, he cradled Remi with his arms, appreciating how wonderful it felt holding her like that. He couldn’t recall ever feeling like that with any other woman. How ironic, he thought. He had to take her as his hostage to obtain it. As soon as he thought about her being his hostage, his mind went right to the job. For the first time, since he began his life of crimes, he honestly wanted out. He wanted no parts of any more robberies or heists. He knew he couldn’t take back all the ones he had already committed, but he could stop himself from doing anymore. Unfortunately, he was screwed at this point. There wasn’t any way out, other than to run, which unless he took Remi with him, that just wasn’t an option. Because he had no doubt, she would, in fact, go with him. The longer he laid there; he realized he was too jacked up to fall back to sleep, so he reluctantly moved Remi to the side, covered her with the sheets then grabbed his boxers off the floor. He then quietly left the bedroom to retrieve his phone then sneaked back into the room and the bed. He propped his head on his elbow and began scrolling through the text messages. Reading the few from Chris, reminded him that he needed to get Chris on board, somewhat anyway, to prepare him for what was about to happen. Then there was a text from Simon, which made him think about his plan for rectifying that dilemma. Next up, the dreaded voice messages from Charles. As he listened to the first one, his eyes immediately drifted towards Remi. Since she was sleeping on her stomach, he could only view her profile, but it was enough for Liam to cringe hearing Charles and seeing her beautiful face at the same time. The first three messages were basically for Liam to call him back, but the fourth was about getting together sometime later in the day to go over a few details about the job. Liam rolled his eyes because it was just what he didn’t want to do. Plus, he needed to finish the project. He sighed, as much as he felt he had been in control, the truth was, he wasn’t so sure anymore.
Liam was about to put the phone on the floor when he clicked on the images. The selfies of he and Remi popped up. He found himself staring at them until Remi stirred a tiny bit, reminding him that she was right there in the flesh. He quickly tossed the phone to the floor, slipped under the covers, and snuggled up next to her warm body.
Two hours later, Remi woke up and immediately sought Liam. A needless search as he was securely spooning her with his arm swathed around her and his leg protectively bent over hers. She thought how easily she could get used to waking up to that every day. He was still sleeping which surprised her but noticed him wearing the boxers. He must have gotten up at some point in the middle of the night, she thought. There could have been many reasons why, but knowing Liam, she assumed he just wanted to check his phone. As her eyes got acclimated to the tiny bit of sun that had worked its way through the blinds, she saw that she still had the bracelet on her wrist, with that beautiful charm dangling from it. The notion that he chose it because it reminded him of her eyes, further proved that she was never too far from his mind. He just continued to surprise her, even under the bleakest of circumstances. All of a sudden, his hand dangled over the side of her body, with his fingertips scraping just above the skin of her hip. She reached for his hand and brought it up to her lips, lightly kissing his index finger. That woke him. “Hmm, morning,” he uttered. She held his hand in hers, pulling his arm tightly against her. “Can we just stay like this all day?” she asked, sighing. Liam smiled. “I wish we could, but we both have to work, and unfortunately, I also have to meet with Charles,” he said, sounding less than thrilled. Remi suddenly turned to face him. “He called you didn’t he?”
He nodded.
“Is it about that job?” she asked. He stretched his arms while he replied, “You know I can’t tell you about it.”
“Can’t or won’t?” she challenged. Liam dropped his hand to her face, placing it on her cheek then gently caressed it. “Both,” he said. Her expression appeared sullen, but Liam would have none of that. “I had a great time last night, let’s end it on a good note.”
Emphasis on the word end felt like a knife cutting right through her. She hated having to end anything with him, especially such a wonderful experience as making love for hours and sleeping enveloped in his arms. “Promise me we can do this again—soon.”
He couldn’t promise her a damn thing, let alone that. He certainly didn’t want to lie. “We’ll see,” he said, smiling as he rolled on top of her. She balked. “What’s this, we’ll see shit?”
He planked over her as to not throw all of his weight onto her tiny frame. “Remi, you know the situation, I don’t want to make any promises to you that I cannot keep.”
Her blue eyes stared longingly into his, as she put him on the spot. “Is that what last night was all about?”
His brow furrowed as he replied, sounding perplexed. “I don’t follow.”
“All of it, the beautiful sapphire charm, the not working, the playfulness, is this because time is running out?”
All Liam could think was how astute she was, and how he didn’t give her nearly enough credit. He climbed off of her, and the bed then grabbed the robe that was lying on the floor. She got out of bed as well and allowed Liam to drape the robe around her body. He tied the belt then pulled her towards him. “Last night was me just wanting to please you and be with you,” he said, encasing her taut against his body. “But I’m not going to lie; time is definitely not on our side.”
Words she did not like hearing. He cupped her face, forcing her to look at him. “Thank you for you last night,” he said. “But I really have to get going, and I think it’s best not to have this conversation right now.”
She frowned, so he used his fingers to turn it into a smile. “Real mature, Liam,” she said, trying not to laugh. Of course, it was futile, a smile soon appeared, and she conceded that he had won. Remi tailed him down the hall, offering to make him breakfast to which he politely declined, but told her he’d give her a ride to work. At the door, Remi thanked him again for the beautiful charm. He clasped his hand around the back of her neck and told her he’d see her in a little bit.
As soon as he left, she made a cup a coffee and just stared at the charm. It looked even more opulent in the daylight. Its beauty was incomparable, but so was Liam’s devotion to her. Remi didn’t doubt that he cared about her, but did he love her, she wondered. She then laughed and thought his grandmother guessed correctly on Remi loving him, but felt Marlene was probably way off in thinking Liam loved her. She wasn’t sure he even knew how to love. She then sighed while displaying a subtle smile just thinking about the wonderful evening they had spent together. Though she felt absolutely content, there was a hint of something haunting, surrounding her. If she had to guess, it was Charles, or maybe the job itself. Whatever it was, it felt very wrong.
Liam had spent all morning and afternoon at the office, revising the designs and finally completing the project. It was easier than he thought as he managed to block out everything, even Remi. While scanning the finished designs into the company’s computer system, he set up a meeting with Charles. He then read over the letter he had drafted for Simon. His plan was to get it notarized early the next morning then give it to Simon afterward. He then pulled out his list and crossed off the rest of the completed items.
Give DNA sample
Accept the job with Charles/Denton and get details
Tie up loose ends
Make sure Grandmom is taking care of
Finish project for Simon
Meet with Weston – privately
A sense of relief overwhelmed him along with much sorrow. Facing the consequences was never a fear, but not being around to protect those he cared about, was. He sighed in frustration, but he wasn’t regretting his decision to go this route. He knew not everyone was going to understand why, especially Remi, but it was the right thing to do, he just had to keep telling himself that. As he double-checked the scans to see if they had uploaded correctly, he glanced at the time. He only had an hour before his meeting with Charles, so he dug into his carrying case for the folder with the job details. Having paid little attention to the specifics, he needed to refresh his memory.
At the police station, DeGrazerio stared at the big board, concentrating heavily on a photograph of Wyatt Murphy. “Why won’t you tell me your source?” he asked Weston, who was standing along side him. The detective told him to trust that he knew what he was doing. Though the agent had authority over Weston, he had no reason to doubt him. The two had gained a nice rapport and the fact that Weston scored the identity of the other dead gunman was huge. “I trust your judgment, but I think we should have Matthews followed again.”
Weston immediately shot that idea down. “The source stated that Matthews began to suspect that someone was watching him, so I don’t think that is a good idea.”
DeGrazerio immediately surmised, “So, the source confirmed Matthews guilt.”
Weston quickly refuted. “Not exactly.”
Just then another detective informed Weston that he had a phone call but that the caller didn’t give his name. “Hello,” he said. “Do you know who this is?” Liam asked on the other end of the line. Weston replied that he did, instantly recognizing the voice.
“Can you meet tonight?”
“Yes, where?” countered Weston.
“LOVE Park, at seven-thirty.”
Weston said that he’d be there and as soon as the call ended, DeGrazerio immediately suspected it was the source. “You going to tell me what that was about?”
Weston shook his head no but assured the agent it would all make sense very soon.
Prior to his meeting with Charles, Liam had received a text message from Remi stating that she had planned to eat dinner at her parents’ house and that she wouldn’t need a ride home. Though he would have preferred giving her one, it worked out better because he didn’t know how long he’d be anyway. When he arrived at the location, once again another strip club, Liam just shook his head. Charles’ choices never ceased to amaze him. As soon as he walked inside, a scantily clad waitress cornered Liam before he could join Charles at the bar. “What can I bring you?” she asked, flittering her long fake eyelashes at him. Liam waved her off as he asked Charles, “What is your obsession with these places?”
Charles held up his martini, and with the wryest of grins stated, “I like the scenery.”
Liam just rolled his eyes. “Besides, we didn’t all get lucky with former hostages,” he added. Liam ignored the remark as the two men ventured over to an unoccupied booth. For the next forty-five minutes, the men discussed every detail about the job. Leaving no stone unturned, Liam had to make sure nothing would go awry. Of course, he used the ruse that he didn’t want a repeat of the Bank of Philadelphia, though technically this job was on a much smaller scale. Charles pulled out a checklist of all the items they would need. “Did I forget anything?” he asked. Liam quickly looked it over, and since it appeared to be complete, he told him it sufficed. The two men then agreed on finalizing any last minute details via phone or text and set the meet-up time at 12:15 A.M. on Wednesday morning at the warehouse. Charles stood up to leave, but before doing so, he said, “I know you are only doing this for Remi, but maybe somewhere deep down there’s a part of you that is looking forward to this.”
Liam smirked, but that was all the acknowledgment he would give Charles. However, he quietly admitted to himself that Charles was right to some extent. That adrenaline rush was always going to be there, there was no denying that, but this wasn’t just about pulling one last job, this was about the end of his freedom. A slight pang of anxiety began to creep into his psyche. He couldn’t get out of that shithole fast enough, so once back inside of his truck he took a plain piece of paper and wrote a note to Detective Weston. The note explained what was going down and where, though Liam didn’t give an exact location, as he didn’t want the cops to stake it out, he just wanted them to show up at the right time. This had to work, he thought. Turning himself in wasn’t enough, nor was ratting Charles and Denton out. This all had to end on his terms, at least that gave Liam some sort of peace of mind. It only took Liam a few minutes to drive to LOVE Park, and the moment he spotted Weston, he honked the horn and waved for the detective to come over to the truck. “Here,” he said while handing Weston the folded up paper through the opened window. “What’s this?” questioned the skeptical detective. “Everything you need to know is written on that note,” said Liam before quickly driving off. The detective walked underneath a well-lit lamppost and opened the note. He had to read it three times before the shock wore off. Liam had just admitted, in his own words, on paper, that he was going to pull a heist, early Wednesday morning. “That boy is crazy,” he said to himself. He stuffed the note securely in his pocket then hightailed it back to the station because Liam had just single-handedly changed the entire investigation.
After dinner Remi had hung out for a while, talking with her Mom and Dad, however, Tony and Beth got invited to play cards over at a neighbor’s house. Therefore, they ended up cutting dessert short. They asked Remi to join them, but she declined. Instead, she took that opportunity to play with Peanut and go through some things in her old bedroom. While she sat on the queen-sized bed, she had slept in most of her teenaged and young adult life she petted Peanut, who had snuggled up beside her and thought back to the morning of Columbus Day. And how vastly different things would be had that heist never happened. She paused her thoughts, because once again though she had done a bang up job hiding it, that old twinge of survivor’s guilt returned. Of course, this time it wasn’t just because she survived she also fell in love with one of the gunmen. Th
ough Liam didn’t cause the deaths of Jenna and Wendy or Steve’s injuries, he was a part of that crew. Like Liam had always proclaimed, he went into that bank, acutely aware of what he was doing. She sighed while hugging her furry little buddy. Just then, she received a text:
What are you up to? – Liam
She replied:
Hanging with Peanut – Remi
Liam realized she was still at her parent’s and not at the apartment.
How much longer are you going to be there? – Liam
Remi thought about it and replied:
I think I’m going to just sleep here tonight. I’m tired & don’t feel like catching the train back. – Remi
As soon as Liam read that, it dawned on him, if she stayed there, they wouldn’t get to spend their last full night together before the job.
Do you want me to come pick you up and give you a ride back home? - Liam
UNMASKED: Sequel to Behind the Mask Page 35