I shook my head at Allison. I wasn’t sure what had happened.
“Someone put something in her drink.” So much for reading my mind. Allison looked too worried to care what I wanted. “She looks like she blacked out or something. I didn’t see her for a while and now she can’t tell me where she was or who she was with.”
“Allison,” I snapped.
“What? Can you?”
My shoulders slumped. “No.”
Justin’s expression turned feral. He whipped his hat off his head and turned in a circle, examining the crowd. “Are you hurt?”
A throbbing in my arm drew my attention. Finger shaped bruises wound around my wrist and forearm. Justin followed my gaze and growled. “What’d you have to drink?”
A sudden chill fell over me. “Soda.” The only drinks I’d had were handed to me.
“Who gave them to you after me?” Justin clenched his fists.
I moved my head slowly left and right. “Only you.”
His eyes widened in shock.
Allison smirked. “She doesn’t think you did it, goof.”
“No. Of course not.” I wrapped an arm around Justin’s middle. “It just means I’m wrong about the drink, I guess. I’m not sleeping and things are…off lately.”
A crow cawed from the barn’s roof, nearly invisible in the night. He twisted his neck, angling a creepy black eye at us. Moonlight enhanced the oil slick of colors on each feather. His partner perched in the limbs of a nearby tree, hidden until he flapped his impressive wings.
“Good night! Those are the biggest birds I’ve ever seen.” Allison stumbled back and craned her neck.
“You want me to take you inside where you can lay down?” Justin touched my shoulder and I jumped.
“Ha!” Allison covered her giant smile with one hand, turned on her heels, and headed for a line of cowboys near the keg. “Sure. Let him help you lie down.” She winked over one shoulder and I wanted to crawl under my chair and hide.
“I didn’t mean…”
“S’okay. I didn’t think it either. You know how she is.” I nodded to Allison as she placed one of the cowboys’ hats on her head. “I think I’d rather go home. Something’s not right with me tonight. Maybe I’m coming down with something.”
“Uh…” Justin looked around. “Take my Jeep.” He held out his keys.
Oh, crap. Right. Justin had driven me and he probably wasn’t in a hurry to leave all these people alone on his property. I looked at Allison and the cowboys. Music rattled the speakers in a nearby truck, shaking the windows and my brain with each punch of sound.
“It’s fine. Really.” Justin pushed his keys in my direction. “Allison can drive me to your place in the morning to pick up my Jeep.”
“Are you heading home?” Liam’s voice sent my heart into overdrive. An unusual sensation jolted through me. I sensed I knew him from somewhere, long ago, another life maybe, but that was crazy. I didn’t know anything about him. Just the way he liked it. Still… I flexed my fingers at my sides, aching to reach for him. Maybe whatever was in my drink had been laced with ecstasy.
“Hale.” Justin nodded. “I didn’t realize you were here.”
Green lightning flashed before my eyes and I mashed them shut. “Ugh.”
Four hands grabbed me as my knees wobbled.
“How much has she had to drink?” Liam asked.
“She doesn’t drink.” Justin answered defensively as I cried out in frustration, “Nothing.”
“Are you quite certain?”
“Yes.” Justin and I answered in unison.
“Are you two…?” Liam motioned between Justin and me.
Silence. Awkward. Awkward. Silence.
“Never mind.” He turned his face to mine. “If you’re going home, I can drive you.”
“I’ll drive her.” Justin pocketed the keys he’d offered moments before.
Liam motioned to the bottle in Justin’s hand. “Really?”
Justin’s grim expression said more than words. Trusting Liam with my safety meant he’d hold Liam accountable for anything that went wrong in his absence. Not a small threat from a guy built like Justin. “Fine. Take her straight home. I’ll call her landline in ten minutes, so don’t think of doing anything else.”
I pressed a palm to my forehead. “Tell Allison I’ll text her tomorrow.” Liam led me through the crowd, and I wobbled down the drive, looking for his Mercedes.
Night closed in on me as I moved. The fire ducked behind trees, snuffing out my only significant light source. Music and chatter from the party softened in the distance as I stepped over rocks and ruts in Justin’s tree-lined driveway. A chorus of bullfrogs and crickets replaced bass and laughter. I rubbed my arms, realizing the true temperature without benefit of a roaring bonfire.
“He’s your protector,” Liam said.
I didn’t need to ask who he referred to.
“Yeah.” On cue, my phone buzzed. A text from Justin. I assured him of my safety and kept walking. “Where’s your car?”
Liam stopped short.
“You drove here, right?” We’d reached the end of the cars.
He cursed under his breath and kicked stones. “Oliver dropped me off.” He pulled a phone from his pocket and slid his thumb across the screen.
“Oh-kay.” I pulled my backside onto the enormous boulder at the end of Justin’s too-long drive. “I need to rest before we turn back.”
“Yes. Thank you.” Liam pulled his phone away from his cheek and gave me an apologetic smile. “Oliver’s on his way.”
“He dropped you off? Where’d he go?” I rolled my head against one shoulder, easing the tension in my muscles. “I’m feeling a little better.”
“And your injuries?” He nodded to my bruised arms.
“How’d you see those in the dark?”
He held my gaze without speaking. “I overheard you with Justin.”
“I thought Oliver was coming with you to the party tonight. What changed his mind?”
“He had an urgent matter.”
Hmph. I rubbed both temples. I didn’t have the time or patience for this.
“I saw you with Kristy Hines the night she got hurt.”
Liam’s head tipped forward. “She was at Oliver’s party.”
“What happened to her?”
The corners of his mouth turned down. “I can’t say.” Regret colored his words. “Mason needed me in the house. When I went back out to get Oliver, most of the party had dispersed. Kristy was gone.”
“You didn’t see her leave, who she left with, or how she got hurt?”
“No.”
“Okay.” His eyes burned with tamped emotion. There was no more doubt in my mind. Liam hadn’t hurt Kristy.
A roaring engine pulled my attention to the road. Liam’s sleek black Mercedes zoomed up beside us and stopped. The door popped open and Oliver jumped out. The brothers appraised one another. Oliver nodded. Liam sighed.
“Time to go home.” Oliver stretched his hand toward me, motioning me into the car.
Liam scanned the area around us as if someone lurked nearby. “Do you still need to sleep, or can we talk privately?”
“Let’s go,” Oliver urged. In the moonlight, he looked much older than a high school junior. His easy expression replaced by something intense. He looked like Liam.
Curiosity gripped me and though leaving with the Hales was a risk, I wasn’t afraid. With Liam, I knew instinctively I was safe. He slid into the backseat, leaving me outside the car. Oliver returned to the driver’s side.
I took a deep breath and ducked into the car. “I can talk.”
The moment my seat belt fastened, Oliver took off. The night flew past as we navigated around the edge of town to his backyard. Their enormous renovated barn came into view and one door opened as we approached. The car stopped inside the cavernous structure and the door powered down behind us.
“
What about your friend?” Oliver turned to me.
“Justin?”
“No.” Liam managed to sound aggravated.
I had news for him. I had the market cornered on aggravation. “Allison?”
“Yes. Is she safe? Who’s looking after her?” Oliver asked.
“I don’t know. A dozen cowboys, probably.”
Oliver’s expression soured. The brothers exchanged a look in the rearview mirror.
Liam nudged my seat. “Get out. Oliver will go for her.”
The urgency in his tone frightened me. “Don’t let anything happen to her.” I laid my hand on Oliver’s arm and he froze. I sounded like my mother. She was safe at Justin’s.
“You have my word.”
“Call if you need me,” Liam said.
I climbed out, followed by Liam. The oversized garage door powered up again and Oliver shifted into reverse, casting red light on our pristine surroundings. The interior of the barn was finished, spotless and painted white. The floor was covered in smooth cement. We followed the car out of the ridiculous hanger-sized garage. Oliver stopped and powered his window down.
“Shall I stay with her or return her to her home?” A wicked gleam in his eye reminded me of the happy kid I’d first met. Allison might have met her match for mischief.
“Maybe hang out until Justin can take over? She’s drinking, but she plans to stay at his place tonight.”
Oliver raised his eyebrows.
“It’s not like that,” I explained.
Oliver smiled wide. “Not you. Not her. Poor Justin. I almost feel bad for the guy. Almost.”
The car pulled away, leaving me alone in the night with Liam. “He doesn’t feel bad for him at all. He likes her.”
“Allison?”
“Yeah.” He turned to face me. “Tell me what happened at the party.”
“I’m not sure. It sounds nuts, but I think I passed out. I had two drinks, both soda, and things got fuzzy.”
“Like a dream.”
“Kinda.” Images flashed through my mind like scenes from a movie I’d seen years ago and nearly forgotten. I pressed my temples with frozen fingertips. “At first I didn’t remember anything, but bits are coming back. They don’t make much sense.”
He watched with intense, guarded curiosity while I resolved to tell him all the crazy things coming to my drug-addled mind. “Give me a try.”
“Have you ever woken from a dream and at first it slipped away, but parts creep back up throughout the day? It’s like that, but different, faster now.” More real. My pulse raced as a clear image centered in my mind. “Tony was there.” I rubbed the bruising on my arm. “He was mean. I don’t remember what we talked about or why I followed him into the woods, because I wanted to kick his ass, but you were there and you fought. I think. It was bright.”
“Bright in the woods at night?” Liam looked entertained, which worried me. He never looked like that.
A creeping sensation crawled over my skin, as if he wanted to fool me. Another, more disturbing image surfaced. A memory? It couldn’t be real. Could it?
“What else?” he prodded. “I like knowing you dream of me. Go on. Did I put Tony in his place for mistreating you?”
“Yes. I mean, I don’t know if it had anything to do with me, but you were both shirtless, hulked out, and you fought.”
“Hulked out?”
Surely they read comics in Iceland. “Like the super hero. That’s what I remember. Plus blood. Lots of blood. And green.”
“Impossible.” Liam stared into my eyes. “You can’t remember that.”
My mind itched. I couldn’t remember it? His words sent tingles along my skin, settling my heart rate and soothing my nerves. His voice was like a drug, confusing, intoxicating. I struggled to concentrate. The words felt right, but he was wrong. I squared my shoulders. “What do you mean I can’t remember?”
He ignored my question. “Tell me about your protector. He’s strong. Competitive. Tall. Is he fast? How is his temper?”
I lost a beat of time. Were we talking about Justin? My mind craved sleep, but my hardheaded heart wanted more time with Liam. “Uhm… Justin’s a bull rider. He’s fast. He has a temper if someone he cares about is attacked, but he rarely fights. He doesn’t have to. Everyone knows he’d win, plus he’s impossible to provoke. His confidence is too big. You can call him names or make accusations, but he shrugs them off and laughs like it’s your problem for not seeing how great he is.”
“Sounds pompous.”
“No. He’s confident. I envy that.”
“Does he have scars?”
I made a crazy face. “Do they not have rodeos in Antarctica? He has tons of scars.”
He ignored the Antarctica jibe. “Have you seen his scars? All of them?” His sour look made me smile. My smile soured his look further.
“I’ve seen most. A few I took his word on. He’s a tough guy.”
“Are the scars unusual? Do any of them resemble intentional cuts?” Liam motioned me toward the back of his home. The area reminded me of a greenhouse, covered in dark windows.
He pressed his hand to my back and I moved with him. “Like incisions? Yeah. He’s had a couple surgeries after some of his falls.”
Liam opened the back door and held it for me. He flipped a switch illuminating a beautiful pool. I gasped. The water twinkled under security lighting. White chairs lined one wall and everything smelled of gardenias and lavender.
“Do you like it?” he asked.
“Are you kidding me? This is fabulous. I’d never leave the house if I had this.” I kicked off my shoes and sat on the edge, dipping my feet in and tugging my pant legs up.
“Would you like to swim while we talk?” He lowered his body beside mine. For the first time since he appeared at the party, I noticed the stutter in his step. He moved slower than normal.
“Are you okay?”
“The water helps. Would you mind if I swim?”
“No.”
He stood again and moved to a swinging door near one wall. He pushed through and returned with a set of towels and a swimsuit. “This is Victoria’s, but you’re the same size, I think.”
I lifted the two pieces of material he dropped with the towels. “Whose?”
A snide smile lifted one cheek. “My mother’s.”
I eyeballed the suit again. “How can you know what size swimsuit I wear?”
“I pay attention.” He limped away, disappearing briefly behind a white door.
The still water of the Hale family pool beckoned me to slide my feet in deeper. I imagined diving in and being consumed by its depths.
“Your turn.”
I stood, taking in the sight of Liam in black board shorts. “Do you have a shirt I can wear over this?”
“It will fit.” He smiled.
I tilted my head to the side. Wearing my racer back one piece at school was one thing. Wearing a bikini, alone in his private pool at midnight was another.
Realization dawned on his exquisite face. “Ah. I sometimes forget modesty still exists. I left my shirt in there. Feel free.”
“Thanks.” I shut the swinging door and looked at the changing area. Whitewashed walls with framed pictures of pirate ships and a gilded mirror adorned the walls. I wrestled my hair into a ponytail and sat on the smooth wooden bench. The pirate ships had violent images of cannons booming and holes in the ships’ sides. A creepy choice for interior design. I stopped breathing. Somehow, in the confusion of the evening, I’d forgotten I was terrified of Hale Manor and walked right in the door and out of my clothes. I gripped the bench. So far, I’d seen nothing as horrific or evil as I’d imagined all those years. Maybe a weird picture or two. The pool looked heavenly. I put on the suit and tugged Liam’s navy T-shirt over my head, inhaling the seductive scent of him on the fabric. The hem dropped to my knees. Either he was a behemoth or I was a pixie.
“Everything okay in there?
” Liam called in conjunction with the lapping of water.
I pushed open the door and stood at the pool’s edge with my clothes and phone in hand.
Liam swam to the pool’s edge where I stood. He nodded to my phone. “You should make sure Justin doesn’t alert the authorities. It’s been more than ten minutes.”
“Right.” I sent one more text to Justin. “Okay. All set.”
“Come on in.” The look in his eye stirred something in my middle, as if he’d issued a challenge.
I dove in. Under water, my hazy mind cleared. My limbs felt alive. I broke the surface rejuvenated. “Oh my goodness. I feel amazing.” I blinked salt water from my eyes.
“I’m glad.” Liam treaded water, closing the space between us slowly.
My fingertips traced the white scars on his chest. “Do you mind?” I glanced into his eyes, barely able to break focus on the luminous lines over his chest. They called to me. Whether because their shape was so familiar or because it broke my heart to think someone had carved into him this way.
“No. I don’t mind.” His breath shuddered over the words. “How do you see the runes?” His fingers encircled my wrist, stopping my hand against his skin.
“It’s the same one on the tombstones. Why’d you do this?” I flattened my palm over his heart. “Was it because your father died?” I bit my lip and shut my eyes. He hadn’t told me about his father. “I researched you online and I read about your dad. Was that the reason you moved?”
Liam released me. “You see the runes on the tombstones as well?”
“Yes.” Discussing his dad’s death, his move, and his scar were apparently off limits. I swallowed my irritation as I tallied up the things we couldn’t talk about. Fine. Maybe I could figure out what the rune meant without his help. “I grew up wandering the cemetery, collecting acorns and buckeyes. Mom took me for picnics when I was young. The kids played there in grade school. When they stopped, I kept going. It’s my quiet place. I think there and walk Chester there. I have chalk rubbings of almost all the stones.”
His eyes widened.
“The runes never come through. They’re smooth.”
Liam blinked, unspeaking.
“Did you do this to yourself?” I touched his scar lightly.
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