Chapter Eighteen #2
“Those men who came,” says Bria, glancing between us, “who were they? Will they tell anyone?”
I shake my head. “They work for the club doing cleanup,” I tell her. “Dagger will be buried tonight where no one can find him.”
“That’s not enough,” she snaps. “How do I know this won’t come back on Liv?”
I clench my jaw. “Do you think I’d let that happen?” I growl. “She’s my old lady. I wouldn’t let it touch her.”
“It already did.”
Taz sighs. “It’s done now. There’s no point bitching about it.”
“She wanted to call the police, hand herself in,” she mutters, turning away and heading for the window. “She said they’d understand it was self-defence.” She peers out, staring down at the ground below. “I can’t lose her, Bully.”
I move behind her, wrapping my arms around her shoulders. She sags against me. “You won’t. I’d never let her go down for this. I should’ve protected her better, done more . . .” I trail off, hating how right I am.
“Bully!”
We both startle at the sound of Liv’s painful cry, and I rush to her room, bursting in to find her tangled in the sheets, her body twisting from side to side as she cries out for me.
I dive onto the bed, cupping her face. “I’m here, Liv.
I’m right here,” I say, my voice full of panic as she settles, and I realise she’s so deep in sleep, she’s lost. She sobs, her body vibrating.
I slide in beside her, glancing at Bria, who’s standing in the doorway silently crying.
Liv immediately curls into me, her head resting against my chest, her nose pressed to my throat.
I wrap her in my arms, our legs tangling the way they always do when we’re together.
“Stay with her,” Bria whispers. “I’ll come and get you if you’re needed.”
I wake with a start, and it disturbs Liv, who also wakes.
Her eyes find mine, and she smiles. It’s cute and sleepy, but I see the second everything comes flooding back because she gasps like a physical pain has hit her, and her smile fades.
“I thought it was a nightmare,” she whispers, her voice heavy from sleep.
I place a kiss on her forehead. “It was, Liv. Just a bad dream.”
“He was going to take me. Make me his.”
Each word punches me in the chest. “I’m sorry I left you. I should’ve stayed.”
Her brows furrow as she’s hit with memories. “He said I had to choose a side or he’d choose for me.”
I rest my chin on her head, holding her against my chest as I stroke lazy circles on her back. “He can’t hurt you anymore.”
She frowns, like the next words are hard. “Lila was pregnant.”
I swallow the shock. “He told you that?” She nods. “He could have been lying, Liv. We won’t ever know the truth.”
“I don’t think he was lying. He told me too many details, personal details. She was pregnant, Bully, and it was yours.”
I cup her cheek as she brings her eyes to mine, “We don’t know that for sure. She could have been fucking other guys in there.”
“Don’t do that,” she mutters, disappointment pouring from her. “Don’t put the blame on her, she told you she loved you. She wasn’t fucking around. And she was pregnant with your child. Doesn’t that bother you?”
I look away, gathering my words carefully. “I don’t know what you want me to do with that information, Liv. She’s not here anymore. My focus is on you now, not her, not some kid I knew nothing about.”
She settles back against my chest, and we fall into silence before she asks, “Will I go to prison?”
I pull back again, surprised, running my eyes over her innocent face. “No, Liv. You’re not going anywhere.”
“I have to tell them,” she says, her face full of concern.
“Liv, you can’t go to the police.”
“But when I tell them . . . when I say what he did . . .”
“Liv, it’s not an option. Too much would come up, so many things that you’d be dragged into.”
She blinks. “Club things.” I nod. “But I don’t know anything about that stuff.”
“They’d think you’re lying to cover for me.”
“What about him . . . his b-body?”
“Gone.”
She pushes to sit, now looking concerned. “Gone where?”
“We took care of it.”
She shakes her head, throwing the sheets back and swinging her legs over the edge. “Liv,” I whisper, my voice pleading as she races to the door, ripping it open. “Fuck’s sake,” I mutter to myself as I dive up to follow.
She rounds the kitchen, skidding to a stop and staring at the spot where Dagger was laid out hours ago. “You have to bring him back,” she cries desperately, “or they’ll think I covered it up.”
“No one will find him.”
“They will. People will ask where he is, and I can’t lie, Bully. I can’t lie to the police.” Her eyes are wide, darting around in panic, and her complexion is pale.
“You have to calm down,” I say firmly, grabbing her upper arms, trying to look her in the eye. “It’s going to be okay.”
“I killed him,” she yells frantically, “and I have to report it.”
Bria marches in, taking Liv from me and slapping her hard across the face.
Liv gasps, and rage fills me. She might be her sister, but that doesn’t mean she gets to lay a hand on her.
Liv immediately begins to cry, and Bria nods.
“It’s good to cry,” she tells her. “Let it out. But you are not going to the police.”
“Bria,” I mutter, “she’s delicate.”
“She’s in shock,” she snaps, “and she needs hard truths.”
I watch helplessly as she fixes Liv with a glare. “Dagger is gone. It’s done. We don’t need to get into a state over him, Liv. He deserved it. It was him or you.” Liv nods slowly, her tears dripping from her cheeks. “So, listen to Bully. He’s going to help you.”
She finally looks to me, her eyes searching for answers.
“We were together,” I say as Bria steps back, leaving me to take over and fill her in on an alibi.
Not that she’ll need it. Taking the Scorpions off our streets was a good result all round, and the police won’t be spending too much time trying to find answers.
“All night, from when I came over yesterday.” She nods.
“Just us, because Bria was with friends at the bar. We watched movies.”
“With Tom Hardy,” she mutters.
I smile, also nodding. “Yeah, a Tom marathon. Then Bria came home with Taz. We all went to bed.” She nods again. “But it won’t come to this because there’s no real connection between you and Dagger.”