Chapter 19 #2
“He knocked his head and suffered a severe concussion. He also picked up a flu bug after the bullet wound. We all did, but it hit Liam harder than the rest of us.”
Sienna stood, more to put space between herself and a furious Suzie than for any other reason.
“Bullet wound?” Suzie growled, springing to her feet with a feline speed that made Sienna blink. Niall stepped between them before Suzie could reach her.
“Easy.” Niall’s enormous frame blocked Suzie’s path without apparent effort, one hand gently but firmly on her shoulder. “Violence won’t help anyone.”
“Liam has been missing for months. Months! We had no idea where he was or what had happened. We’ve searched and searched for him, liaising with Saber and contacting shifter groups and every gathering attendee we could locate.
His phone went to voicemail, and he didn’t have his passport or wallet.
He didn’t touch his bank account. Now she waltzes into our home and tells us she knows his location.
Why didn’t Liam come with you? Are you holding him captive? ”
“No! Of course not. I didn’t push him when he said he wanted to stay with my brothers.” Sienna swallowed hard, but the lump in her throat was stubborn about shifting.
“Explain the bullet wound,” Suzie demanded.
“It was the hunters. The police shut them down,” Sienna said, darting an uncertain glance at Suzie.
The woman looked ready to do murder. “Edwin Smith moved his operations to South America, last I heard. But the village… We couldn’t go back.
Too much bad blood.” Aware that she was babbling, she stopped talking.
“Please, Ms. Teague. Take a seat and tell us about Liam,” Mr. Falconer said, a calm port in the storm that was Suzie’s fury.
Yet Sienna didn’t blame Suzie. She was Liam’s friend.
She’d worried about him, searched for him, wanting answers.
Envy crept in. She loved her family and cared for Liam.
She’d grown to like him immensely. Before he became sick and slowed their journey to Scotland, he’d talked about his life in Middlemarch—the farm, his friends, his social life.
They’d discussed so many things, and she’d miss the companionship when he left.
But this wasn’t about her.
It was about Liam.
Sienna braced herself, spine stiff with resolve. The truth hovered on her tongue, and she let it out. She told them about her family and how much they were struggling. They’d scraped together money they didn’t have so that she could attend the gathering.
She gave them facts, wincing at Suzie’s growl when she got to the part about abducting Liam.
She shared about his head injury and losing his memory.
The hunter’s arrival and Liam regaining his memory.
She mentioned Sophie’s rescue and how they’d concluded they’d have to leave their home because none of them were safe.
About the slow journey to Scotland when they’d become ill, but they’d arrived in Glenkirk this morning, and she’d come straight here.
“Without Liam,” Suzie gritted out.
“I asked him to come with me. He said he was tired. Would you have me drag him here?”
“You had no trouble dragging him away,” Suzie pointed out, her tone sweet.
“Enough,” Mr. Falconer said. “Niall, a word?”
The two men retreated, their heads together as they whispered in undertones. Despite her feline advantages, Sienna couldn’t make out a single word.
“How did you get Liam out of the castle unseen?” Banked fury glittered in Suzie’s green eyes, and she aimed that anger solely at her.
Sienna managed not to wince this time, but it was a close-run thing. She deserved every bit of Suzie’s anger. What she’d done to Liam was unforgivable, despite the reasons behind her decision. Involving another person in her crap wasn’t the correct way to solve a problem.
“Well?” Suzie demanded.
“I took Liam out through a rear entrance, and it was pure luck no one spotted me.”
Suzie sneered and was about to fire more cutting words when the two men returned.
“This is what we’ll do.” Niall’s tone brooked no argument—the voice of a man used to making decisions worth millions.
“We’re coming with you. Your family comes back with us.
The staff will see you, but they’re all shifters,” he added as Sienna started to protest. “No one here will harm your family or make them feel uncomfortable. We have no functions or human guests at present, so it will be safe for them to wander the gardens, run in the forest, or around the lake in either form.”
“What?” Sienna said in unison with Suzie’s pithy comment.
“Didn’t you hear her?” Suzie said. “She abducted Liam and stole six months of his life. They’ve even replaced him at the farm, and he loved his job.”
Sienna winced at the verbal jab, even though it was a statement of fact. Liam loved his job. Once his memories had returned, he’d talked about it often. It hurt her to know she’d caused this. “I’m sorry. I never meant to cause him harm. Believe me.”
Suzie snorted.
“Your family will be safe with us. You have my word,” Niall reiterated. “You said Liam and your family have been unwell. We have a shifter doctor who—”
“We’re fine,” Sienna said.
Her father would be wary of trusting strangers. Her brothers, too, but she’d be happier if someone more knowledgeable than her and her mother checked out Liam. His lethargy worried her, and she didn’t mind admitting it.
“But you could be better,” Mr. Falconer said. “You’re struggling after leaving the only haven you knew. It can’t be easy for any of you. We have dozens of empty rooms, hot showers, and healthy food. Stay for a few days at least, and if you want to leave after that, you can.”
“You won’t hurt my family? Or make fun of them?
” Sienna asked, her mind turning over the pitfalls.
The benefits. They could all get a good night’s sleep and a hot shower.
A nutritious meal, but they’d have to trust these strangers.
Liam was friends with Suzie. She’d seen them interact.
She didn’t know Niall, but Mr. Falconer, the steward—he’d been decent to her. But still…
“Okay, let’s be real. You don’t have a choice,” Suzie said. “We want Liam back. Take us to him and decide if you’re coming to the castle or moving on without him.”
“Suzie!” Mr. Falconer said, his expression full of disapproval. “Put your anger aside and place yourself in Sienna’s shoes for one minute. How would you have reacted? If you were desperate, what would you do?”
Suzie’s mouth opened and closed like a fish. “I wouldn’t have kidnapped Liam.”
A bell chimed in the distance, and Angus excused himself to answer the summons.
“What would you have done?” Sienna demanded, tired of this woman sniping at her. Yes, she deserved it, but she wasn’t a doormat either. She was trying to make things right.
“I would never resort to kidnapping Liam,” Suzie repeated, fire in her gaze.
All the oomph seeped out of Sienna. Her shoulders slumped, and tears pricked her eyes. There it was. The truth. She shouldn’t have done it either. She should’ve found another way. “Don’t you think I know that?” she whispered. “I’m doing my best to fix this.”
“Ms. Teague.” Angus returned, out of breath.
“It seems your companions grew concerned when you didn’t return as expected.
He’s been asking questions in the village about your movements.
” Before anyone could respond, the door knocker sounded again.
“That’ll be him now,” Angus said with a slight smile.
“A young man with a scar, asking after a Sienna Teague?”
Niall was already moving toward the door. “Liam,” he said, as if he’d sensed his approach.
Liam strode inside. Sienna blinked because he appeared much better than this morning. He was still pale. Still thin, but he had an air of purpose about him.
“Liam!” Suzie sobbed as she launched herself at him, and he caught her automatically, feeling her tremble against his chest. “God, when you just vanished—” Her words tumbled out in a rush. “Your phone, your wallet, everything was still in your room. We searched everywhere.”
“I know. I’m sorry.” He held her tight, breathing in the familiar scent of her shampoo. How many nights had he lain awake thinking about home?
When Suzie stepped back, Niall was there. The big man’s gaze was suspiciously bright as he pulled Liam into a careful embrace. “Six months,” Niall said. “Six bloody months of not knowing if you were alive or dead.”
“I’m harder to kill than that,” Liam managed, his voice rough around the edges.
“You’d better be.” Niall’s hand lingered on his shoulder. “Suzie nearly organized her own search party to scour every inch of Scotland.”
As he hugged his friends, Liam’s gaze found Sienna over Suzie’s shoulder.
She sat frozen, watching their reunion with a mix of longing and guilt.
She thought this was the end. That she’d delivered him back to his real life and could disappear with her family into the Scottish wilderness. She was wrong.
“Let’s have a conversation,” he said, his voice carrying across the room. “All of us. About what happens next.”