19. Kate
Itake several steps back from Liam, not so much because I”m afraid of him, although I probably should be. He looks absolutely lethal. But he”s had plenty of opportunities to kill me in the past and he hasn”t, so I”m not afraid of him. No, the risk is that he”ll say something nice. That the man I see before me will morph into the Liam I once knew. If that happens, I’ll end up running into his arms. I loathe that I am so weak to resist him.
I suppose it’s fortunate for me that his expression is still menacing, and so I”m able to hold onto my anger and hurt and resentment. ”What are you doing here?”
”Go pack a bag, Kate.”
I shake my head. ”No.”
His eyes narrow to slits, and I swear I can hear him growl. ”This isn”t up for debate. We”ve got to leave.”
”No, I don”t. I have a new life?—”
”Which will be taken from you if you don”t go pack a fucking bag and come with me.”
I stand my ground, but it’s not easy. I’m not used to having to confront someone I know is lethal. ”You don”t need to protect me anymore, Liam. I have Lucy and Donovan.”
His head shakes slowly. ”Not anymore. Now you”ve got me.”
Is that true? Wouldn”t Lucy have called me if there”d been a change of plans? I wonder if maybe Aria and Luca had seen something that prompted all of this.
I retreat into the living room and pick up my phone. I search for texts from Lucy, but not seeing any, I dial her number.
”What are you doing?” Liam”s voice sends a chill of fear down my spine.
”I”m calling Lucy.”
He lets out an exasperated breath. ”We don”t have time for this bullshit. If you want to call her, fine. Do it in the car after you’ve packed your bag and we’re on our way.”
Lucy picks up the call on her end.
”Liam”s here.”
There is a pause on her end.
”Did you send him? Have you handed me off like a baton or something?” Why is it the people I feel the closest to spend so much time dictating my life without including me in any of the decisions?
Lucy lets out a sigh. ”Not exactly. He knows about that incident with your alarm and questions about your neighbors.”
Oh, God. Have I put them in danger? ”My neighbors are just normal people.”
”The point is, he knows, and it appears that he”s decided to take charge again.”
I glance at him. ”No. I”m finally settling into my life. I”m sick and tired?—”
”I totally understand what you”re saying, Kate. I really do. I also know that Liam can be an asshole sometimes. But if he”s there, it means something”s up and you”re not safe. I”ll talk with Donovan and will reach out to Niko.”
Everything inside me deflates. There”s no doubt that if I don”t do as Liam says, he”ll simply pick me up and haul me out of here. I hang up the phone and glower at him.
His gaze is on my belly again. ”You can call your baby daddy now.”
My hands immediately cover my stomach. There”s a part of me that feels like I should tell him the truth. For a fleeting moment, I wonder if it will change his demeanor… change his feelings toward me. I chastise myself for those thoughts. When am I going to stop being such an idiot over him?
”He”s not in the picture.”
”Then pack your bag.” Our gazes hold, and I’m paralyzed on the spot.
”Is this ever going to end?” I have this terrible feeling that the rest of my life is going to involve my always being on the run.
For a second, I think I see regret and guilt in Liam”s eyes, but it”s gone so quickly. It”s possible I imagined it. He stalks off down my hall.
”Where are you going?” I follow him into my bedroom.
”To pack a bag. I liked it better when you were obedient.” He jerks open a drawer, grabbing the contents and tossing them on the bed.
I scoff. ”Yeah, I bet you did.”
He turns from the second drawer that he’s yanked open to stare at me. ”What is that supposed to mean?”
”You want your woman subservient. Heaven forbid I have my own goals and dreams. No, I have to do everything that you say. Funny how the minute I spread my legs for you, though, you go running like a coward.”
His eyes flare with wild heat as he reaches out and wraps his hand around my upper arm. ”I never forced myself on you.”
No, he hadn”t. I had given myself to him and he”d rejected me.
I pull my arm away from his grasp and go to get a bag to pack my clothes. ”I was so wrong about you. It must”ve been hard for you to pretend to be good and decent when you were in the FBI. It must be a relief that you can be yourself, the cool, uncaring monster.”
His jaw tightens, and for a minute I think I see pain in his eyes. But again, I can”t be sure.
”Just get your bag packed.” He storms out of the room, and for a minute, I consider escaping through my window. Maybe I could go to my neighbors’ and hide, calling Lucy to come and get me.
But I can”t be sure that Liam won”t find me, and if he does, he’d probably kill my neighbors. So, I pack my bag and grab my toiletries. I take a breath, wishing there were some other way out of this. As I let the breath out, I know there isn’t, so I carry my bag to the living room. Liam is standing looking out my back door, his hands on his hips, and tension is radiating off him in waves.
He turns and stalks toward me, taking the bag from me on his way to the front door. ”Let”s go.”
Reluctantly, I follow him. As he exits, he scans the area and then directs me toward the dark SUV in my driveway.
”Kate? Is everything all right?” Both Liam and I whip around to my neighbor standing in front of his house watching us.
”Is everything okay?” He eyes Liam with suspicion.
I wish I could tell him everything that is going on, but the way Liam takes a step in front of me and his hand moves toward the gun holstered at his side, I know that I can”t.
I put my hand on Liam”s forearm to keep him from drawing the gun. ”Everything”s just fine. This is my brother. We’re taking off for a few days.” But will it be a few days? Maybe I should have rented this home instead of buying as this could be the last time I’m here. And what about my store?
My neighbor doesn’t look convinced, but he nods. Liam ushers me into the front seat of his vehicle and tosses my bag into the back. When he gets into the driver’s seat, he turns on the engine and the wheels squeal as he reverses out of my drive and up the street.
“What is going on, Liam?”
”Have you seen this person?” He flicks a photo in front of me, pulling it out of thin air like a magician.
I glance at it and my heart beats hard as I recognize the image. ”That”s James Babcock.”
Liam makes a sound like a game show buzzer. ”Wrong. That”s Dimitri Babichev.” He glances at me for a moment before turning his eyes back on the road. ”Clever name, though.”
My stomach roils that I was face to face with the man Liam says wants to kill me. ”What do you mean?”
”Dimitri is Russian for James.” He glances at me again, his gaze drifting to my stomach. He jerks his eyes back on the road. His fingers loosen and then tighten around the wheel until his knuckles turn white. ”He”s not the father of your baby, is he?”
What? ”No.” A thought comes to me. ”If this is the guy who wants to kill me, why would he be the father?—”
”Because he likes to fuck with me.”
I cross my arms over my chest and look out the window. ”Right, because the whole world revolves around you.”
His jaw tightens.
“Why do you care so much, anyway?”
His hands flex and grip again. ”I want to know everything about your interactions with him.”
For a minute, I consider not telling him. But resistance is futile. ”He came into my shop the other day. I also ran into him at the grocery store. That was it.” I think back to James’s—no, Dimitri’s—odd smile when he saw I was pregnant. Had he put two and two together and knew the baby is Liam’s? If Liam is right and Dimitri wants to hurt him, what better way than to kill his child? Bile rises in my throat at the idea.
”That”s it? Has he called you?”
”No.” I sit for a moment, stewing in my confusion and fear, when I remember Lucy mentioning that Liam knew about the person who broke into my house. ”Is he the one who breached my security?”
”Probably.” He holds out his hand, palm up. ”Give me your phone.”
”Why?” Of course, I know why. This isn’t the first time I’ve been whisked away for my own safety. Every time it happened before, I was required to give up my phone. ”You told me I could keep it and call Lucy.”
”You already called Lucy. Give me the fucking phone.”
I hand my phone over. He pokes a button on his door and the window slides down. Using his knee to steer, he breaks the phone with his hands and then tosses the components out the window.
Tears finally fill my eyes as it fully sinks in that my life as I know it is over. Once again, I’m on the run with a man I loathe and love all at the same time.