Landen (The Murphy Boys, Book 1)

by Holly C. Webb

  “He wasn’t hurt because of you,” Liam replied as he stepped closer to her. “It was Charles Greenway that did this.”

  “Nikki’s dad”? Amelia exclaimed, knowing that this piece of information would break Nikki’s heart.

  “And I’m going to make that bastard pay, believe me,” Liam replied, and Amelia knew that he meant every word he said. “But right now, I promised Landen I’d bring you back to him, and I’d really hate to break my promise to my big brother.”

  “But if I stay, he could get hurt again,” Amelia whispered as fresh tears spilled down her cheeks.

  “And what do you think will happen if you leave,” Liam asked, giving her a pleading look. “Especially if you leave like this.”

  “I’m just scared that my past will catch up with me,” Amelia breathed out, as she closed her eyes, sobbing quietly. “I don’t want anyone else to get hurt.”

  “I give you my word,” Liam said as he wrapped his arms around Amelia, holding her tightly. “If you stay, I will do whatever it takes to keep you, Landen, and everyone else safe. But you have to trust me. I need to know who you are running from, then we can figure out how to stop him together.”

  “Why would you help me?” Amelia said as she pulled back a little, looking up into his eyes.

  “Because Landen is my brother,” Liam replied with a smile. “And I know he cares about you a great deal. He was so upset because you left, it was all Dylan could do to stop him from coming after you, himself.”

  “Well that’s just stupid,” Amelia replied as she wiped the tears from her face.

  “And so is walking away,” Liam replied, and Amelia couldn’t help but laugh.

  “You’re the last person I would have expected to come after me, to try to talk me into going back,” Amelia said as she looked up into his eyes. “Especially after the things, you said at the hospital.”

  “Yeah,” Liam replied with a smile. “Well, maybe I’m stupid too. But if you tell Landen I said that, I’ll deny every word.”

  Amelia laughed once more.

  “So,” Liam said, giving her a questioning look. “Are you going to come back to hospital quietly, or do I need my handcuffs?”

  “You know, I actually believe that you would use them,” Amelia replied with a nervous giggle. “Landen was right about you. You are trouble.”

  “Just what else has my big brother been saying about me?” Liam said as he reached for Amelia’s bag, that was still in her hand. He set it down on the floor in the hallway, then turning and opening the apartment door once more.

  “He said that if the time came, and I needed to trust someone else,” Amelia replied honestly. “I can trust you with my life.”

  “He said that?” Liam asked as he stopped and turned back to Amelia. “Really?”

  “He did,” Amelia confirmed. “I think Landen was always going to ask you for help, Liam. He just needed me to be sure I could trust you too.”

  “And do you?” Liam asked as he gave her a questioning look. “Trust me, I mean.”

  “I think I do,” Amelia replied and gave him a smile.

  “Then let’s get you back to the hospital before Landen has a full search party out, looking for us both,” Liam said as he looked at her expectantly.

  Amelia stood staring at him for a moment. She knew if she went with him, there would be no going back. Then she thought of Landen, and she longed to see him.

  She gave Liam another smile, before she walked past him, out the door, towards the elevator.

  Maybe this wasn’t the right thing to do, but it felt like it. She needed Landen, and right now, he needed her too.

  When they reached the hospital, they found Dylan standing outside Landen’s room talking to another doctor. When he looked up and saw them both walking towards him, Amelia could see the relief on his face.

  “You came back!” He exclaimed as she and Liam reached him.”

  “I did,” she replied, then she turned, smiling up at Liam.

  “How is he?” Liam asked his brother.

  “He’s asleep,” Dylan replied as he glanced toward the door to the room. “I knew he was never going to relax, but with the concussion, I needed him to remain as calm as possible. So, I sedated him.”

  “You drugged him!” Liam replied with a laugh. “Oh shit, he is going to be mad at you when he wakes up.”

  “Yeah, probably.” Dylan shrugged before he looked at Amelia, smiling. “But when he wakes up and sees that Amelia is back, I might just get away with it.”

  “Can I go see him?” Amelia asked as she looked from Dylan to the door of Landen’s room.

  “Sure,” Dylan said as he turned, leading both Amelia and Liam to the door.

  The moment Amelia saw Landen, she knew she had done the right thing coming back. She walked to the bed, softly taking hold of his hand.

  “He will be out of it for a couple of hours,” Dylan said as he watched Amelia with Landen. “But you can stay with him if you want.”

  “Thank you,” she whispered as she stared down at Landen’s bruised face. She wished right at that moment that Liam and Dylan weren’t watching her. The last thing she wanted to do was cry in front of them, but she couldn’t hold back her tears. “He is going to be okay, right?”

  “He will be fine,” Dylan assured her with a smile before he gave Liam a nod. “We will leave you two alone.”

  “Thank you,” Amelia whispered once more, still not taking her eyes off Landen.

  When they were alone, she leaned down and softly pressed her lips to his, wishing he would just open his eyes and tell her himself that he was going to be okay.

  She sat down in the chair that was next to the bed, then slipped her hand back into Landen’s, as she just watched him sleep.

  “How can I feel this way about you”? She whispered as she watched him closely. “It’s only been two weeks, but I feel like I’ve known you a lifetime already.”

  She stared at him, but she knew he wasn’t going to respond.

  “I’m scared Landen,” she whispered as she leaned in closer to him. “And for the first time since this nightmare with Pete started, I’m not just afraid of what he will do to me if he finds me. I’m afraid because now I have something I don’t want to lose; I have someone I don’t want to lose.”

  She stopped again, watching him, knowing he couldn’t hear her.

  “But most of all, I am scared because I’m falling in love with you,” she continued finally. “And there is nothing that Pete can do to me that would even come close to how it would feel if I lost you.”

  A soft cough from behind her startled her. She quickly turned around to find Dylan standing there.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, looking embarrassed to have caught her at her most vulnerable moment. “I forgot his chart, I need it to complete my paperwork.”

  “Okay,” Amelia replied, feeling completely mortified that Dylan had heard her private confession.

  “I will just grab it,” he said as he picked it up from the end of the bed, then hurried back towards the door, but then he suddenly stopped.

  “I know that you don’t know me,” Dylan said as he nervously turned back to her. “I know you don’t really know anyone other than Landen from my family.”

  He stopped for a moment as if he was trying to choose his words carefully.

  “Landen is in love with you,” Dylan blurted out suddenly, completely stunning Amelia with his directness. “He might not even know he is, but he is. You were all he cared about tonight. I have never seen him more scared of losing anything as he was about losing you tonight.”

  Amelia stared at Dylan, still unsure of what to say.

  “I’m just saying,” Dylan said with a smile. “We may not see each other as much as we should, but each one of us knows that there is nothing that we wouldn’t do for each other. And if Landen loves you, then that makes you family too, well, to me anyway. So, if there is anything at all that you need, you just need to say the word.”
/>   “Thank you, Dylan,” Amelia said, grateful for what he has said.

  “I will leave you alone now,” Dylan said as he reached for the door again, but stopped once more. “And I won’t tell Landen what you said.”

  He smiled at her.

  “That’s something he needs to hear from the woman he loves, himself,” Dylan added before he turned and walked out of the room.

  Amelia turned back to Landen and smiled to herself. She wondered if what Dylan had said was true. Did Landen love her too? In her heart, it felt like he did. She just really wanted to hear the words from his mouth.

  She rested her head down on the bed next to him, closing her eyes.

  Suddenly she felt tired. She held Landen’s hand tightly, as she drifted off to sleep.

  Chapter 13

  Landen woke slowly, feeling like he already had the hangover from hell. Only this was no hangover. As he opened his eyes, the memory of what happened the night before crashed into his head.

  He lay there for a moment, trying to take stock of how he was feeling. His head was pounding, his ribs felt more than a little tender. Landen still felt groggy, part of him wanted to just go to sleep once more. He went to move, when he realised that there was someone next to him.

  Landen turned his head slowly, smiling the moment he saw Amelia next to him, her head on the bed next to his arm, and she was fast asleep.

  He was just about to reach up to softly touch her head when the door opened, and Dylan walked into the room.

  “You’re awake!” Dylan said in a hushed voice, as he gave Landen a smile. He walked toward the bed, pulling his stethoscope from his neck, then popped it in his ears before he pulled down the top of Landen’s hospital gown and pressed it to his chest. He didn’t speak for a moment, but when he finally lifted the stethoscope up, he smiled once more, nodding towards a sleeping Amelia. “She has been here all night.”

  “I can’t believe that Liam found her and talked her into coming back,” Landen whispered as he turned to look at Amelia once more.

  “I think she may just surprise you,” Dylan said, giving Landen a knowing smile. “I think she left for the right reasons, at least to her, but she also came back for the right reason too.”

  “I didn’t realise how I felt about her until I thought I had lost her,” Landen admitted to his brother. “Now I have to do what it takes to make sure I don’t lose her again.”

  “Then you need to talk to her,” Dylan shrugged, smiling again. “Tell her how you feel.”

  “I will,” Landen nodded.

  “I will be back in a few minutes,” Dylan said as he set down the chart, and headed back towards the door. “I need to get some new dressings for your head.”

  “Okay,” Landen replied, watching his brother walk out of the room. He turned and looked at Amelia once more.

  He didn’t know why, but this girl had become so important to him. She had become everything that he never imagined he would want, now he was so scared he was going to mess everything up, that he would lose her forever.

  He slowly lifted his hand, and softly brushed her hair.

  The moment he touched her, her eyes opened, and she sat up straight in her chair.

  “You’re awake!” She said as she gave Landen a sleepy smile.

  “You’re here,” he replied as he reached out and softly touched her face. “Thank you for coming back.”

  “I’m sorry I ran,” Amelia began, but Landen quickly pressed his fingers to her lips.

  “You’re here,” Landen repeated. “That’s the only thing that matters right now.”

  Before Amelia could speak again, the door to the room opened once more, and Landen’s entire family, except for Dylan, walked into the room. Nikki was with them too.

  “Hey sweetie,” Nell said as she hurried to Landen side, kissing him on the forehead. “You look a little better today. How are you feeling?”

  “Sore,” Landen replied honestly, but then smiled before he added. “But a lot better than I did last night.”

  He turned, looking at Liam, giving him a nod that said thank you for bringing Amelia back. Liam just nodded in return, giving him a smile.

  “I should be going,” Amelia said as she suddenly stood up, “You’ll want to talk to your family.”

  “I want you to stay,” Landen said as he reached out and took hold of Amelia’s hand. “Please.”

  Amelia stared down at him for a moment, then smiled as she slowly sat back down.

  “So, I guess I should introduce you all,” Landen said as he held Amelia’s hand tightly. “This is Amelia Davenport. Amelia is very special to me, but…”

  “It's okay, Bro,” Liam said with a smile. “Mom already filled us in.”

  “I’m sorry,” Nell said, giving Landen and Amelia an apologetic look. “But I think after last night, I thought you both needed the whole family on your side.”

  “It’s okay, Mom,” Landen smiled.

  “I’m sorry I lied to you,” Amelia said as she looked up at Callum. “I understand if you don’t want me to come back to your office.”

  “Are you kidding me,” Callum said as he smiled at her. “Eloise is finally off my case about hiring someone to take care of Mom’s appointments, besides you’re a big improvement on the last assistant she had.”

  “Josie was a sweet lady,” Nell said, giving her son a scolding look. “She used to be my dad’s assistant.”

  “Don’t I know it,” Callum sniggered. “The woman was older than dirt, and don’t get me started on her bathroom habits.”

  “Callum Stephen Murphy,” Nell said in her strictest mother’s voice. “We have ladies present, so behave yourself.”

  “Yeah, Callum,” Liam said with a grin. “I thought you knew better than that.”

  “Shut up, Assface,” Callum said and was rewarded with a slap on the back of the head from Sean, as Liam stuck out his tongue.

  “Hey, Nik,” Landen said as he looked up at his friend, giving her a smile. “You doing okay?”

  “I’m okay, Boss Man,” Nikki replied with a smile. “You’re looking a little bit more like yourself today.”

  “I’m feeling a little more like me,” Landen replied with a smile.

  Just then, the door opened, and Dylan came back in, with a smile on his face.

  “So,” Dylan said as he looked at Landen. “I know you love hanging around here and giving me shit. But I am sick of your face, so I think it’s time you got the hell out of here.”

  “I can go home?” Landen asked as a huge smile spread across his face.

  “You can,” Dylan replied with a smile. “I just need to change the dressing on your head.”

  “Great!” Landen exclaimed, then added with a smile. “And you need to work on your bedside manner.”

  “I’ll try,” Dylan replied with a grin.

  Nell had suggested that Landen come back to stay in her house, but he had other ideas. He was hoping that he could go back to his own place and that Amelia would come with him.

  He knew, given his cracked ribs, they couldn’t get up to very much, but there was so much he wanted to talk to her about, and he knew he couldn’t do that in his parent’s house.

  Landen was more than happy when Amelia agreed to go home with him, so once all the paperwork was completed, then with one last check of his head from Dylan, Landen was free to go home.

  Landen was lying on the sofa, watching Amelia as she walked back in from the kitchen with two huge glasses of milk, and two freshly made sandwiches.

  “What’s this?” He asked as she walked across the living room and set the tray she was carrying down on the coffee table, then sat down on the sofa next to Landen and pulled her legs up under her.

  “It’s comfort food,” Amelia said with a smile as she reached for one of the plates then handed it to Landen. “Whenever I was sick, or upset when I was growing up, my dad would always make me a sandwich and pour me a large glass of milk. He said that there is no problem in this world th
at couldn’t be solved by a glass of milk and a sandwich.”

  “I see,” Landen said with a grin, picking up the sandwich from his plate. “I don’t know when the last time that I had a sandwich and a glass of milk was.”

  “What do you usually eat?” Amelia asked with a laugh as she took a bite from her sandwich.

  “I don’t know,” Landen shrugged. “Real food.”

  “This is real food,” Amelia insisted as she swallowed the food in her mouth. “If you’re good, and eat all your sandwich, I will run you a nice bath.”

  “And will you wash my back?” Landen asked with a grin, as he wriggled his eyebrows.

  “Only if you drink your milk too,” Amelia said with a laugh as she reached forward, picking up Landen’s glass and handed it to him. He smiled as he took it from her, and lowered it back in one go.

  “There!” He said as he handed her back the empty glass. “All gone.”

  Amelia smiled as she leaned forward, then she carefully raised her hand and Landen had no idea what she was going to do. He held his breath, as she softly rubbed her finger across his top lip and the bottom of his mustache.

  “You have a milk mustache,” she whispered before she brought her finger to her mouth. Then, holding his gaze with hers, she opened her mouth, carefully slipped her finger in between her lips, and gently sucked the milk from her fingertip.

  “Jesus,” Landen groaned as he could feel his cock twitch in his pants. He leaned forward, looking longingly into her eyes. “Maybe we could skip the bath and go straight to the bedroom.”

  “You are in no state to go anywhere,” Amelia replied with a cheeky smile.

  “Then why are you teasing me, Ms. Davenport,” Landen said as he looked into her eyes.

  “I don’t know what you mean, Mr. Murphy,” Amelia whispered before she softly pressed her lips to his, he could feel her smile against his mouth. “Now, come on, It’s time for your bath.”

  Amelia stood up, holding her hand out to Landen. He looked up into her eyes, wanting nothing more than to pick her up and carry her to his room, then get lost inside her beautiful body. But thanks to Charles Greenway, that was not going to happen for a day or two.