by Paula Cox
Liana noticed Peter wasn’t leading them in the direction of the backstage door to the alley or to the lobby.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
Peter looked back at her and grinned. “This place was a speakeasy in the twenties,” he replied. “There’s still a bunch of tunnels under the main level that leads to other places in the city.” He stopped in front of a bunch of theater equipment, roughly shoving them aside and opening a trap door on the floor.
Liana stared down into the darkness. “I am not going down there.”
“You sure as hell are,” Cliff replied. “We don’t know if Lando’s waiting just outside. He probably knows we’ve been cooped up here all night.”
“I promise it’s safe,” Peter said. “This one is one of the few that hasn’t filled up with water or caved in. And it doesn’t show any signs of doing so, either.”
“Oh goodie,” Liana said sweetly. “Just the rats and the ghosts then.”
Cliff let out a bark of laughter. “I forgot you were afraid of ghosts.”
Liana turned to glower at him. “I’m afraid of going into dark passages when I don’t know where they lead or what to expect,” she spat. “Everyone should be. It’s natural.”
Cliff pressed a foot experimentally on the first rung of the iron ladder descending into the dark. It held.
“Well,” he said. “Either you can come down with me, or you can take your chances by yourself.”
“I think we both know if I decided to leave alone you would tie me up and drag me down into this hellhole with you,” Liana replied flatly.
Cliff gave her a boyish grin. “Then it looks like you’re coming down here of your own free will.”
Liana sighed. She hadn’t slept well on the crappy mattress, and she didn’t particularly enjoy the idea of getting sniped the moment she stepped outside the theater. She just hoped the safe house had a decent bed. And some tasty food.
“Fine,” she agreed. “You go first, though.”
He shrugged. “Fine with me.”
Cliff disappeared down the hole, calling out for her a moment later. “Take the first three steps, and I can hoist you down the rest of the way.”
Liana gulped. It was just a dark hole. Just a deep, dark hole that led God knew where. She focused on the pair of arms waiting for her at the bottom. Cliff’s arms. He would never allow anything to happen to her. He would never hurt her.
“Okay,” she murmured. “I’ve got this.”
The musty air rose up to greet Liana as she descended. It seemed to stick to her clothes, making them and her heavier the lower she got. It was chilly. Liana hated it. She could hear wet dripping noises in the distance, and the scrambling of tiny feet against the stone. This was her nightmare.
“I’ve got you,” Cliff called.
A second later, his hand settled on her calf. She’d taken two steps down, and only her head still stuck out of the little trap door. Another step and he’d have her. Liana lowered herself again, and Cliff’s arms gripped her waist.
She let go of the ladder, and Cliff lowered her the rest of the way. He didn’t release her until she’d gotten her footing.
“I’m going to toss down some flashlights,” Peter said from above.
His voice echoed in the dark.
A moment later, Peter threw in two flashlights. Cliff grabbed them from the air above their heads, flicking them both on and handing one to Liana.
“You good?” Cliff asked.
His flashlight lit up her face, and she managed a small nod. “I’ll live. Let’s just get to this safe house.”
“Here come the keys to the car I got you,” Peter called, tossing them down. “I’m going to close the door now,” Peter said. “All you need to do is walk straight until you can’t anymore. There’ll be another ladder like this one, but the tunnel comes out beside a parking lot.” He chuckled. “It used to be a distillery.”
Liana didn’t care what it used to be. She just hoped to God she’d get to see the outdoors again.
“Sounds good,” Cliff replied. “Thanks for your help, Pete.”
“No problem.”
The hinge of the door screeched. The blackness thickened.
They were alone.
***
Cliff didn’t like the idea of Liana being scared, but he had to admit it had its benefits. First of all, she clung to him like a barnacle, both for warmth and protection. Second of all, she was too scared of the dark to argue with him about anything. If he told her to stay put while he checked a crack in the ceiling, she did. If he told her to pick up the pace, she practically started to jog. It was a nice change. Not one he’d want permanently, but one he’d take for now.
The end of the tunnel was further than Cliff had thought, but they approached it nonetheless.
“You still want me to go up first?” Cliff asked, hand on the metal rungs in the wall.
She shook her head quickly. “God no! You can’t leave me here alone.”
He smirked and gestured for her to start climbing. “After you, darling.”
Cliff got a great view of Liana’s ass as she climbed. And damn did that girl have a great ass. It was as ripe as a summer fruit. But now wasn’t the time to think about sinking his teeth into it.
She managed to open the door at the top of the ladder with little difficulty. Daylight flooded the tunnel, warm and welcome. Cliff climbed out after her, closed the door, and swept in their new surroundings with his gaze.
The tunnel had come out in an old drainage ditch off the side of the parking lot. People here probably thought it was just another piece of the ditch equipment. From there he saw a black SUV a few spots away. He pulled the fob out of his pocket and clicked the unlock button. The SUV flashed.
“Tight,” Liana observed.
Cliff raised an eyebrow at her. “Tight?”
“That car,” she said, pointing to it. “It’s tight.” Not waiting to hear his response, Liana began walking toward their new vehicle. “It’s a helluva lot better way to get around than an underground tunnel, anyway.”
***
The house was undoubtedly one of Julian’s. Though he lived in a crumbling manor, he invested in luxury real estate all over the city. Cliff couldn’t help but wonder if Julian had sent them to this house specifically because he was trying to be funny.
The house was located out in the suburbs for starters. As they drove down the street, they passed no less than two families out walking and enjoying the sunshine. And their safe house fit in perfectly. It was painted a pastel yellow with white trim around the windows and had a perfectly manicured front lawn—complete with a white picket fence.
“Are you sure this is the right place?” Liana asked as they pulled into the driveway.
Cliff cut the engine and nodded. “This is it.”
“It’s so…” She furrowed her brow. “Normal.”
“What did you expect from a safe house?” he asked with amusement.
Her green eyes narrowed at him. “You know what I mean.”
“Whatever, darling. Let’s get inside. I want to wash all this tunnel off of me.”
The inside of the house was just as Better Homes and Gardens as the outside. It was light, airy, and warm. Though there were few decorations, it was adequately furnished with everything the pair of them would need to wait out the threat.
Cliff had checked all the rooms before he went for a shower, even though he trusted Julian and Peter not to have given away their location to Lando. It was better to be safe than sorry. When he was finished, he and Liana went off to separate bathrooms to shower. Cliff wondered if he should have suggested they shower together, but he was so tired from his night of keeping watch that he just wanted to roll into bed.
Maybe they could have a shower together later.
***
Cliff slept all day.
Since he’d instructed Liana not to use her cell phone—in case it was being tracked—that left her little to do in terms of entert
ainment. No social media. No Youtube. No Netflix. The house was well stocked with books, but none of them was the kind he liked to read. They were all science fiction and biographies, oddly enough. Those must have been Julian’s favorites.
Several times throughout the day, Liana considered going into Cliff’s room to wake him up. She didn’t for a couple of reasons. First, he’d probably kill her while he was still half asleep. Second, she found it sweet that he’d stayed up all night watching over her. She didn’t want to ruin that by waking him now.
So she read. She read all about Winston Churchill. She read a little bit about aliens. She read a lot about Louis Riel. And then she took a nap. And then she read a little more. And ate. (Thankfully the fridge was fully stocked.)
When the sky reached full darkness, Liana had reached her boredom limit. It had been eight hours or so since Cliff went to bed, so it should be fine to wake him up, right? If he wasn’t ready to be woken, that was too bad. She’d just have to do it carefully so as to avoid the possible outcome of death.
It shouldn’t have surprised Liana that Cliff would be a completely noiseless sleeper. No snores. No grunts. Barely any movement whatsoever. She padded over to the king bed in the middle of the master bedroom, wondering whether it would be better to shake his foot or just call his name until he woke.
“I hope you’re not planning on just standing there until I move,” Cliff murmured.
Liana jumped. “You’re awake?”
He rolled onto his side. “Obviously.”
Liana crawled onto the bottom of the bed, inching slowly up to his bulky form. “Are you going to get up?”
He snorted. “No.”
Liana scooted up until she was beside his chest, then laid down to face him. His eyes opened and narrowed when she did.
“You’ve been asleep all day,” she informed him.
“Is that why it’s dark out?” he muttered sarcastically. “I couldn’t tell.”
“Cliff.” Liana prodded at his chest. “I’m bored. Get up.”
“What? So we can play board games?” He turned over, facing away from her. “Give me another hour or so.”
“I hadn’t pegged you for a grumpy sleeper,” Liana replied. She slipped closer to him and began poking him in the back.
“I’m only grumpy when I haven’t slept in forty-eight hours, and I’ve got a gremlin pestering me.”
“Well, this gremlin is hungry. Let’s make dinner.”
“I wasn’t aware that had to be a group activity.”
“It doesn’t.” Liana poked him again. “But you can’t tell me you’re not hungry.”
A moment later, Cliff sighed. “Fine.” He began to sit up, stretching his long limbs. “Let’s get up and make some damn food.”
Liana bounced onto her feet and raced down to the kitchen. Finally, something to do! And someone to talk to! How long would they have to wait in this safe house? Liana was certain it would end up driving her crazy.
Cliff lumbered down the stairs a couple moments later. He was still ruffling his hair when he walked into the kitchen, looking alarmingly casual in his t-shirt and sweatpants. Peter had provided them with a couple changes of clothing, too. Liana had opted for a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Apparently, Cliff was going even more casual.
“What are we having?” he asked.
Liana opened the fridge and checked out its contents. “I was thinking burgers?”
“Sounds good.”
They set to work on the meal together. Making burgers and a side salad wasn’t exactly the most complex of meals, but they divided up the tasks and went to work anyway. Liana was in charge of the salad, while Cliff worked in between the kitchen and the grill on the deck for the burgers.
“This is kind of fun,” Liana said as she stirred together a quick balsamic vinaigrette.
“If making salad dressing is fun for you, perhaps you should have done that to kill your boredom,” Cliff remarked dryly.
“I meant making food together is kind of fun,” Liana snapped. “Though I take it back now.”
Cliff did something then that surprised Liana. He stepped over to her and wrapped his big arms around her waist, leaning over to rest his chin on her shoulder. It was such a sweet and uncharacteristic gesture that she froze where she stood.
“It is kind of fun, isn’t it?” he asked.
“I feel like we’re living up to the expectations of being in such a cookie cutter house,” Liana said with a giggle.
“Is this what you want for your life?”
He released her and stepped back over to the sink, where he’d been in the middle of rinsing off dishes and putting them in the dishwasher.
Liana turned and leaned against the counter, crossing her arms. “You know, I really don’t know,” she replied. “I think so, but then again I also want to live my dream of being a singer.”
“Why not do both?” Cliff challenged. “The domesticity and the dreams.”
Liana sighed and turned back to her dressing. “That’s easy for you to say. You’ve got money to fling around left, right, and center. I bet you could easily fund two different lives.”
He stepped toward her, running a hand along her arm. “You’re right. I could.”
“And what do you want in life, Cliff?” Liana asked. “I don’t see this as being your dream.”
His fingers lingered on her waist. “It’s not something I’ve thought about a lot,” he replied. “But I know what I don’t want.”
“And what’s that?”
“To keep living the life I am living.” He stepped toward the back door. “I want out.”
Cliff stepped back outside, leaving Liana alone to contemplate his words. He wanted out. Out of the mob. Out of his dangerous lifestyle. Out.
She wanted him out, too. She wanted Cliff, period.
Could she have him?
Cliff probably expected Liana to drop the subject, but he came back in with a plate of cooked burgers and Liana pounced back on him.
“So you want to quit the Mafia?” she asked.
He set the plate down and folded his arms over his chest. “Yes.”
“You should,” Liana said. “It would be much safer for you.”
He smiled. “I find it touching you care about my safety so much.”
Our safety, Liana wanted to say. But she couldn’t. Instead, she replied, “In the same way I think people shouldn’t smoke and that keeping your hands inside the roller coaster at all times is a must.”
He chuckled. “You really know how to make a guy feel special.”
“I give what I get,” she replied without really meaning to.
Damnit.
But was it her fault that she craved praise from him? She just wanted him to want her as much as she wanted him. That shouldn’t have been so difficult.
Cliff’s eyes darkened. “Liana,” he said. “You shouldn’t need me to make you feel special.”
He stepped toward her. Liana was frozen to the spot. “What do you mean?” she asked.
“You’re already very special. You’re beautiful, talented, intelligent… You don’t need me or anybody else to tell you your value.”
“Maybe I want you to tell me, though,” she replied, feeling sullen and immature.
“Why?”
Now or never, Liana.
“Because I care a lot about what you think, Cliff.” She tried to hold his eyes. “I care a lot about you.”
Chapter 18
The way Cliff reacted; it looked like Liana’s words had physically struck him. He paused, halfway across the room to her.
“Do you mean that?” he asked.
The dark rolling tone of his voice called her closer. Liana reached for him, wanting only just to touch him to make sure he was still there.
“Yes,” she said. “Of course I do.”
He smiled grimly, exhaling through his nose. “You know, it’s been a long time since anyone said anything like that to me.”
Liana’s fingers bru
shed the soft cotton of Cliff’s shirt. He shuddered.
“That’s a crime,” she commented. “If you were mine, I’d tell you I cared about you all the time.”
“Do you want me to be yours?”
Liana’s eyes flicked up. She nearly gasped at the intensity of his gaze. Unstuck from slow motion, Cliff stepped forward and pulled her to him. Her head against his chest, Liana whispered, “Yes.”