Lethal Lover

15. Liam

She’s an angel all the time, but when she sleeps her beauty rises to a new level. Porcelain skin and delicate features. I could lie here next to her with my arms around her forever. Waking up next to a woman is nice, the feel of their skin on mine, listening to their soft breathing. But waking up to this woman in my arms is what I want from now on, and I’ll have it. It’s just a matter of time.

I curl a strand of hair around her ear, and her nose scrunches and twitches. Elena stirs slightly but stays asleep, and I watch her. After such incredible sex, we slept hard, her more so than me. It allowed me to collect every single shred of my personal things and store them away upstairs, out of sight, out of mind. I can’t have her actually snooping around my place. The incident with the watch was a close call, and now I’ll have to figure out how to undo that white lie I told her.

Or maybe I’ll simply remain Liam to her forever. Who knows.

Her chest rises and falls in a steady rhythm, and she snores lightly. I could watch her sleep forever, but the morning sun has other plans. It filters through the curtains and illuminates her face, making her look even more breathtaking. I stare at her peaceful expression, and a wave of possessiveness washes over me. She”s mine now, and I won”t let her slip away.

After watching how emotional she got about Flemming’s house going up, I know she has a pure soul. I could see the fear in her eyes. Things are happening all around her and she can’t explain it at all. She thinks it’s a curse or something. Like she came to New York, and horrible things now happen to people around her for no reason. I wonder if she fears for me too? If that’s why after dinner, she asked to stay with me. Or if she fears for herself, that she may be next—which will never happen—and she asked to stay because she feels safe here.

She should. My home is an impenetrable fortress, and I will stop at nothing to ensure what belongs to me is guarded. She has nothing to fear except in leaving, but I plan to keep her the happiest woman alive.

Thinking of the fire has me curious. If Slick’s guy has done his job, there will be no hint of foul play. The fire marshals will go through what’s even left of that house and deem it an accidental fire. They will point to a loose outlet or a tea kettle left on the stove, and that will be that. But I would be remiss if I didn’t follow up.

So, I find the remote on the nightstand and turn the TV on. The volume is low already, but I turn it down a bit, anyway. I don’t want to wake her if she’s still tired, but I do want to see where the investigation is going, and I’m sure they will have an update on it this morning on the news.

The station is already set and the news is already broadcasting. I listen to the anchor talk about the weather for the day, then a story about a traffic incident that ended up with a busted water main. When they bring up the story about the fire in Tribeca, I inch the volume up a little.

“Investigators say there may be a case for arson, but they’re waiting on the fire marshal’s final report. They will revisit the scene at first light and determine the cause of ignition, but arson charges could be filed…”

I grit my teeth, and the first thing I think is that I need to call my buddy at the precinct and make sure this gets brushed under the rug. As I reach for my phone, plugged in on my nightstand, however, Elena starts to stir. She blinks her eyes open and turns over, yawning, and wraps her arms around me. Her warmth soothes me into a state of calmness, so I stay here. I can call in a little while.

“That’s the house?” she asks, and I see her eyes are trained up on the screen. They are showing what’s left of the house, which isn’t much. The sun coming up reveals substantial structural damage. There’s no way anyone would ever have survived.

“Yeah… It is.” I kiss her temple, and she turns to me. “Don’t look at it, baby. It just makes you sad.” I gently turn her face toward me, but her eyes stay fixed on the screen.

“Something is going on, Liam.” Her lip curls between her teeth, and I let go of her as her eyes finally meet mine. “I’m scared.”

She doesn’t have to say it for me to know. I see the fear in her eyes, in the crinkles on her forehead. I feel it in the way she shakes sometimes, the way her palms are sweaty now against my skin. Even with our limbs tangled, being wrapped in my arms, she fears the mystery of what’s happening around her. It keeps her clinging to me desperately, which is something I don’t mind one bit. I’ll be the strong tower to which she runs every day.

“You have nothing to be afraid of, baby. That man got what he deserved. You’re an angel. No one will come after you like that. Sometimes, things just happen.” I try to soothe her by cradling her cheek, but she pulls away and frowns.

“What do you mean, he got what he deserved?” Elena feels rigid and stiff, like she’s scared of me now.

“I just meant that he was trying to hold you back. I read the article they published where he said he was putting you on probation.” I shrug my shoulder and try to kiss her, but she turns away and looks back at the TV.

“No one deserves death, Liam.”

I disagree with her, but I say nothing. “I’ll be back in a minute, okay?” Frustrated, I slip out of bed and pick up my phone. She keeps watching the news broadcast as I walk to the bathroom and take a piss. I know myself well enough to know my temper is about to blow if I keep being questioned like that. I just need some space to figure out how I should be responding to keep my plan on track.

In the meantime, I dial the number for Detective Kraus and let it ring through. He’s probably not even on this particular case since it’s way out of his precinct’s area, but I know he has pull. For as much as we pay him to keep our shit cleaned up, he”d better be willing to use that pull in my favor.

“Dominic, what can I do for you?” I hear a lot of ruckus in the background when he answers and I wonder what’s going on. I haven’t seen any other news of a major event in the city in the past few days.

“Krause, we have a situation.” I’m not even shy about pissing while I’m on the phone. I pinch the device between my ear and my shoulder and hold my dick with my hand to aim. “That fire in Tribeca… it’s an accident. You got it?”

“Dominic, you know that’s not my jurisdiction. Not much I can?—”

“I said, it’s an accident, and you’re gonna make sure that’s how it goes down. I don’t want the Family name tarnished. If you catch my drift.” The line is quiet while I shake myself dry and start the shower. I need to get Elena away from that television or she’s going to obsess over it all day long.

“You’re asking me to do the impossible, buddy.” Kraus is on my last nerve.

“Just do it.” I drop the phone into my palm and end the call, then turn and call over my shoulder. “Hey, baby, come have a shower with me.”

I step into the shower and shut the door expecting Elena to join me, but a full ten minutes later, when I’m clean and the mirror is steamed up, she still hasn’t come in. I towel off and cinch the white cotton around my waist and return to the bedroom to see her curled up, flipping through the channels. She’s been crying. I can see it in the way her eyes are puffy and red-rimmed. I leave her alone. I don’t have the patience to deal with her being afraid of an invisible man right now.

“I have to go downtown. You’re welcome to stay here if you want.” I walk to my dresser and pull out some boxers and a pair of socks, then head to my closet to pick out a suit.

“I have to go home. I need to eat something and get cleaned up.” I don’t hear any movement in the bed, but from where I’m dressing inside my closet, I can’t be certain.

I find myself very irritated that she’s talking about getting cleaned up when I just invited her to shower with me and she passed, but I let it slide. I’ve been doing that a lot for her—letting things slide. I’m growing weak.

“I invited you to shower and you ignored me.” My jaw is tight as I growl out the words, but she doesn’t respond. I pull on my slacks, tuck in my shirt, grab a tie, and walk back into the bedroom to see her dressed and sitting on the foot of the bed.

“I couldn’t hear you. What did you say?”

She’s stunning with smudged makeup and sleepy eyes, but she’s not responding how she should. I still have some lessons to teach this one. I just have to do them carefully so she knows it’s her own choices that brought her here and keep her here.

“I said, I’ll give you a ride. I just have to call Slick to have the car brought around.”

The TV is off now, and she doesn’t seem to want to talk about the fire anymore. Maybe she’ll drop it entirely now. I just need the news to drop it so it doesn’t come up, and my plan will continue unrolling.

Pulling all these strings behind the scenes is exhausting, but I’m doing it for the woman of my dreams. She just doesn’t know it. She’ll see one day. Today is not that day, so I’m learning to be patient.