by Vi Carter
My smile slips. “What will it cost me?”
“A kiss.” His eyes flicker to my lips, but he remains serious as he waits for my answer. The idea of kissing him has my blood bubbling with excitement.
“It seems like a fair trade,” I answer.
His lip tugs up slightly. “I remember having a friend. He was from the local estate. They were a poor family, but I liked them.”
His formal way of speaking would make anyone question the truth of the story. But I was starting to understand Liam and could tell that this meant a lot to him, it is in how rigid he holds himself as he speaks.
“I went to his house one night. I didn’t knock on the back door, instead I looked through the window and just watched. His family was sitting down eating a meal. They laughed and smiled a lot.” There is a sadness to his words that make me want to reach for him, but I don’t.
“They had nothing but each other. Their happiness lit up the room.” He looks at me now. “That’s how I feel sometimes with my own family. Like I’m watching it through a window, like I’m not here.”
My chest tightens. “That sounds lonely,” I whisper.
“No. It was just an observation. I just realized at a young age that I was different.”
Something in me twists for him. It was like he can’t connect with people, like he can’t connect on an emotional level.
“Now you owe me a kiss.” My heart does a full three sixty as he moves closer. Licking my lips I don’t move as Liam moves close enough until our chests nearly touch. My hands rest on his solid shoulders.
“With you, I don’t feel like I’m looking through a window. I’m not watching.” Air lodges itself in my throat as his lips brush mine, extracting the air in a quick whoosh. “I’m participating,” he whispers against my lips. His hands hold my face and I wonder if he knows the effect he has on me.
Pushing my lips against his, I take the kiss. Warm hands slide away from my face and down my arms, leaving a trail of raised hairs. My fingers tighten on his wide shoulders and I’m pulling him back down onto the bed with me. The duvet separates us briefly until Liam lifts it away. I break the kiss, my body protesting immediately. Liam doesn’t move but holds my stare as his breath brushes across my face. I lift my hands into the air, not looking away from Liam. It takes a beat before Liam touches the hem of my top, his fingers brush my stomach, my muscles tighten at the contact. Slowly the material is raised until I can no longer see Liam. The moment it passes my head and lands on the floor, I close the distance and kiss him. I’m burning, my skin feels like it’s actually caught fire as his hands roam down my sides but not moving past the band of my trousers. My chest swells and the pain that’s ignited inside me, I need it to stop. A moan escapes my lips as Liam kisses my neck. My fingers tug on the bottom of his t-shirt and he pauses his assault on my neck to allow me to remove it. My heart pounds and seems to jump around my chest as I gaze at his hard, muscular chest. His shoulders appear even wider now that they are bare, and my moment of studying him is gone as he leans in close, our lips a fraction away. His focus has moved to the strap of my bra that he unclips with ease. The material drops from my chest and Liam takes it the rest of the way down. His eyes soak up my bare breasts just like I had soaked him up.
Another moan is ripped from my lips as he brushes his thumb across my hard nipple. The feeling is painful but also pleasurable. I want him to feel what I’m feeling, moving closer I dip my head before I change my mind and flick my tongue out brushing his nipple, his intake of breath has me pausing, wondering if I have done the wrong thing.
“Don’t stop.” His husky voice has me recapturing his nipple in my mouth as he continues to knead my breasts. Taking his nipple between my teeth, I bite slightly and his moan has me biting harder. Liam’s hands leave my breasts as he directs my face back up to his, the kiss is rough as I sink back into the bed. My fingers pull at the band of his trousers and when he doesn’t stop me, I push them down off his hips. I don’t push down his boxers, instead my hand reaches in and when he exhales loudly I tighten my hold on him. I’m unsure of what I’m doing and he feels so large that it scares me a little. My hesitation causes Liam to break the kiss, it's brief before he consumes my nipple in his mouth, the warmth of his tongue and the sharpness of his teeth has me closing my eyes and throwing my head back. The pool of wetness between my legs seems to grow to the point of wetting my trousers.
Trousers that I want off, I start to shift under Liam and it’s like he knows. Leaning back, I release his manhood as he removes my trousers and panties in one sweep.. Black orbs trace along my skin, I have a moment of being aware of myself but when Liam parts my legs, with a gentleness that has my nerves skittering, I can only focus on the crown of his head. The first touch is his lips to my thigh and already I feel like I’m going to come undone, each kiss gets closer to my wetness and I jerk under him. His hand rises and touches my chest, at first I think it’s to keep me still but when he squeezes a nipple, the same time his mouth descends on the part of me that aches the most, I exhale a moan loudly as my eyes open wide. My fingers sink into his hair as his tongue dips inside me.
Oh my God.
Liam’s fingers tighten around my nipple painfully and I want to tell him to stop as I grip the sheets on either side of me.
“Harder,” I scream instead and he obeys. His tongue delves deeper inside me before coming up and sucking my clitoris, the action grows in speed and I can feel my release building inside me until I shatter with Liam between my legs. His name is called out loudly as I close my eyes. My body seems to jerk in the aftermath of my release.
Liam releases my aching nipples but continues to gently lick between my legs, each lick still sending electrical short shocks up through my body. When he finally raises his head, the aftershock subsides. Liam shifts between my legs, but I keep my eyes closed, trying to breathe evenly. The soft click of the door has me quickly sitting up and glancing around an empty room. My exposed skin feels chilled now that he’s not here. I finish getting dressed when he arrives back into the room. He hasn’t put a shirt on and I can see the bulge that still sits in his trousers. My cheeks heat as I take a step towards him. I’m more aware of myself now then I’ve ever been. He doesn’t move until I reach him.
“You taste so sweet.” His words have my cheeks burning with excitement and embarrassment. The words are said so seriously from Liam’s red, swollen lips.
“I want to taste you,” I say as my heart beats fast.
“Liam.” A banging on the bedroom door has me stepping away from Liam.
“Liam, I need to talk to you now.” It’s one of his brothers, I think Darragh. Liam doesn’t hesitate but moves past me and picks up his shirt.
“Liam…” More bangs pound the door.
Liam doesn’t answer his brother but stops in front of me. “Just give me a moment.” I nod as he plants a soft kiss on my lips.
I wait for a few seconds after he leaves before going to the door and pressing my ear against it.
“I can’t do this to them Liam.” It’s definitely Darragh and he sounds distraught. His voice is raised and it’s tinged with hysteria. I don’t really need to have my ear to the door to hear him, but it’s Liam’s voice that keeps me in position.
He speaks lower and with that same calmness he always possesses. “Do what Darragh?”
“You know what. I’m going to tell them what I did.” Pain radiates through Darragh’s words.
“Don’t be so stupid. You think that will make this go away.”
“If I give myself up, they might tell us who killed Siobhan.” Darragh’s voice rises again.
“Are you that daft?” A different emotion has entered Liam’s voice.
“Liam, that information could stop all this.”
A bang against the bedroom door has me jumping back and covering my mouth.
“Nothing is going to stop this. It’s already in motion. Now this conversation ends.” Liam’s voice is clearer. “Go into the lo
bby. I’ll be with you in a minute.”
I move back as quietly as I can away from the door and sit down on the bed just as the door opens. I know I look as guilty as sin.
“Everything okay?” I sound so stupid, but Liam doesn’t falter in his steps as he comes and sits beside me.
“You know it’s rude to listen to someone’s conversation.” My heart beats wildly in my chest and I slowly raise my head to meet his dark eyes. I have no clue how angry he is. I don’t deny it.
“He was very loud.”
“Is that why you had your ear to the door?” I’m sure I can hear a slight amount of humor in his question.
I shrug. “Is everything okay?” I ask again.
Some of the darkness has left his eyes. “It will be, but I need to take care of some things.”
I want to moan and whine. I was going to be locked up again and the thoughts of being alone were really starting to get to me.
I nod and try to hide my disappointment. Focusing on the floor makes it easier than looking into his face.
“It won’t always be like this.” Words he had told me before are spoken again and I do believe him. I just want to know when.
His warm fingers take my face in his hands and he makes me look at him.
“You have my word Svetlana. I’m really trying.”
I nod again. “I know.”
CHAPTER THREE
LIAM
“I hope you’re calmer,” I say to Darragh the moment I enter the lobby, but I can see he isn’t. His foot drums along the floor as he inhales his fag, one puff after another.
“It’s a mess.” He shakes his head as he blows smoke out into the air. “Connor is going to tell them you killed Margret.” When I don’t respond, Darragh throws the fag on the floor and stamps on it. “What the fuck is wrong with you? Why aren’t you more alarmed? It’s the RA, Liam.”
Darragh’s raised voice has me stepping closer to him. “I’ve sorted it. So when you decide to calm down, you can help me with the body.” I leave him and go back into the room where Margret still lies on the floor bleeding out.
“We need to clean her and wrap her,” I tell Darragh without looking behind me to make sure he has followed me. His heavy footsteps stop as he reaches Margret’s body. We lift her onto the large wooden butcher’s block. I start by washing as much blood away as possible.
“I have someone tailing Connor, so if he does anything funny we’ll know.” I don’t look up at Darragh as I feed him this information. “I’m going to give Margret over to the Czech explaining that the RA tried to kill Svetlana.” Now I look up at Darragh.
“You’re setting up the Czech against the RA?”
I nod as I grab some fresh sheets to wrap the body in.
“But what about Connor?” Darragh has stopped cleaning and lights up another fag.
“What about him?” I throw the sheet across the body.
“What if he tells the RA that you killed Margret?”
Using a large piece of cloth, I tie it firmly around Margret’s neck to try to stop the bleeding.
“There is a very good chance he will, but I noticed that Margret had no love for Connor. So he messed up. I’m hoping he will either be wise enough not to say anything, or if he does, that they won’t believe him.” I tighten the sheets using string around Margret’s legs, mid-section, and head.
“Are you going to help?” I ask Darragh and he puts out the fag and helps me lift the body.
“That’s a lot of ifs and buts,” Darragh says as he stands holding the top part of Margret’s body.
“Just help me get her into the van.”
I’m glad when we have the body packed and I send Darragh away. He is a problem, and one I didn’t have time for right now.
Svetlana’s uncle answers on the first ring. “I need to see you,” I say the moment he answers the phone.
“About what?”
I don’t like his question. “Not over the phone.”
It sounds like he’s chuckling, but I can’t be sure.
“Fine. Will I come to you?”
“No. I’ll go to you.”
He hesitates before responding and rattling off the address I know he is already at. The moment I hang up I can only pray that this will work.
***
Two hours later I pull into a farmyard. Lights illuminate from several sheds that are shuttered with large doors. No one comes out to greet me, I assume that’s part of their intimidation tactic. I sit in the idling van, lights shining on the steel doors, they slide open, a man wearing a white vest and a cigar hanging from his mouth waits until I pass. I notice the machine gun that’s strapped to his back. Sheets of black plastic cut off a large portion of the shed. But the portion I drive into has a few men sitting around a table. None of them are Svetlana’s uncle. The man who let me in knocks on the hood and I turn off the engine.
“I need to search you.” His Czech accent is thick as I step out of the van. He searches me and once he’s satisfied, he whistles loudly. Svetlana's uncle moves from behind one of the plastic hanging curtains, a large smile on his face.
“You can never be too careful.” His black clothes are decorated with silver swirls and buttons. My eyes trail all the way down to his black pointy boots with silver tips.
“I have something for you,” I say, returning to the van. I can feel them shift behind me, but I can’t do anything about it. I don’t think they would attack me, it would be a very stupid mistake.
Opening the back sliding door, I haul out Margret’s body before dumping it at Svetlana’s uncle's feet. A hush falls across his men as they stare at the body on the cement ground.
“What is this?” Svetlana’s uncle doesn’t sound so sure anymore.
“We were attacked in my home.”
He shrugs. “What has that got to do with me?”
“Svetlana was attacked,” I say, getting his full attention.
“This is who attacked her?”
I nod as he leans down and tries to remove the binds, I don’t help him, but he nods to two of his men to open it as he rises. We stare at each other as they unwrap the body. One of the men laughs.
“It’s a woman.” He sneers.
Svetlana’s uncle doesn’t acknowledge his man, instead he focuses on me, his face held rigid.
“Who is she?”
“Have you heard of the Irish Republican Army?”
He nods. “Of course.”
“She’s a member and she tried to kill Svetlana.”
The disbelief is immediate and I know I need to make sure I say the next piece right.
“Why would she do that?” He questions.
“I ask myself the exact same question. One of your men”, I now look away from Svetlana’s Uncle and towards his men who don’t shy away from my stare. “tried to rape a woman who happened to be RA.”
“You lie.” Svetlana’s uncle's voice raises and the wildness in his eyes makes him a very unpredictable man.
“Don’t call me a liar.” My words cause him to smile.
“How would you know this?”
I push my hands into my pockets and glance at his men. “The same way you know things about me.”
His smile widens. “So you have someone tailing my men.”
I nod, allowing his words to sink in amongst his men. The one who had let me in shifts nervously, the snake tattoo that climbs along his neck was the marker I had. I point at him, but not feeling completely comfortable with how easily he could take the machine gun from his back.
“He’s the one,” I say.
Svetlana’s uncle stares at the man I point out.
“He’s lying, Boss.”
Svetlana’s uncle raises two fingers and indicates for the man to come over. He does slowly, but the uncertainty is in each step he takes. He looks back at the other men, but none of them move.
“Don’t lie. You know I hate lies. Just tell the truth and this will all go away.” Svetlana’s uncle grips his man by the s
cruff of the neck, pulling his head close to his own.
“I swear, Boss.” I can hear the plea. I didn’t expect him to admit it, it wasn’t exactly true, but I knew enough truth to mix it carefully with lies.
“The West Wing last week, you were there?” I direct my question to him and hate shines in his dark blue eyes. His blond hair is slicked back in a tight ponytail.
“Yes, so what?” He spits on the ground beside Margret.
“The girl was found in the ladies bathroom shortly after you left.”
His eyes shoot around the room. I wasn’t lying, she just wasn’t RA.
“I want you to think very carefully, Juf.”
Juf looks at me with fear in his eyes. I hold his stare, but I’m aware of all the other men who’ve stepped closer. I’m also keeping a close eye on his hands. I don’t want him to get too excited and start shooting at me.
“I swear boss, I didn’t know she was in the Irish Republican Army. She looked harmless.”
“Harmless enough to rape?” I interject and his jaw clenches.
“You nearly cost Svetlana her life. You’re lucky I was there to take care of this one.” I point at Margret, whose dead eyes stare up at us from the ground.
The execution of Juf is quick and I don’t move as the bang of the gun resounds in the shed. My eyes follow the pistol back to its owner. Svetlana’s uncle. Juf joins Margret on the ground.
“I won’t accept lies. Let this be a warning to all of you.” He faces his men and with his pistol still raised in the air. My eyes trail across Juf’s body. The wound in his head still oozes blood. The machine gun still strapped to his back.
Svetlana’s uncle faces me. “Is she okay?”
I don’t ask who. “Yes. I got there in time.”
He steps towards me, placing the gun in its holder behind his back. His hand reaches out to me and I don’t want to touch him but I do.
“Thank you.”
I nod.
“I just wish you hadn’t killed her.” He doesn’t release my hand.
“I didn’t have time; it was kill her or let her kill Svetlana,” I answer, gripping his hand tighter. He stares at me for a moment before releasing my hand.