Chapter 27 Sera
SERA
“Hey, so there’s something I need to tell you.” The light is barely creeping through the curtains when I poke Liev in the shoulder to wake him.
“Never in the history of human existence has good news ever followed those words,” he mutters, rubbing at his eyes with the back of his hand.
I roll onto my side and prop my head on my palm. “When you were off doing… whatever it was you were doing last night. Aaron’s brother Tyler approached me.”
His entire body goes rigid.
“Easy,” I say quickly, laying a hand on his chest. “He only talked. It was fine.” I leave out the whole arm grab thing because it will only derail the conversation. “Actually, it shed some light on things.”
“What things?” His voice already has an edge to it.
“His family thinks Aaron left the password to his bitcoin account with me. Tyler offered to cut me in, but I had no clue what he was talking about. That explains the part of the lawsuit that requires me to turn over anything Aaron gave me. I guess Taggert Construction is in trouble and they need the money to pay back a loan.”
A muscle ticks in Liev’s jaw.
“Something he said got me thinking,” I continue.
“When I told him I didn’t have it, he freaked, babbling about was I sure, maybe I didn’t know I had it etc.
I explained that when I was in the hospital, Brady arranged for me to move, and he threw out a ton of stuff.
All I have left from that time is some clothes and stuff from my childhood.
The look on Tyler’s face was like I’d killed his puppy.
He deflated like a balloon, said he was a dead man, and left. ”
I do a little drum roll on his chest. “But it’s not true. My phone. I’d forgotten all about it. When we were dating, I broke my phone. Aaron got me a new one. What if the password is on there?”
Liev’s brows furrow. “How would he have put it on there? Didn’t you set up your phone?”
“I did, but I wasn’t careful with my password.” I shrug. “He was my boyfriend. He knew what it was. He could have added it at any point.”
“Why wouldn’t he tell you? Or written it down and left it in his desk?”
I snuggle into his chest, breathing him in. “I don’t know. But apparently, he told his brother he left it with me because I was going to be his wife, and he trusted me more than anyone.”
Liev’s expression darkens. “Good thing you didn’t marry him,” he grumbles. “If I’d met you after, I’d have had to kill him to make you a widow.”
“Always jumping straight to homicide.”
He looks thoughtful, stroking a finger down my arm. “Did he say who they owe money to?”
“No.”
He hums, the sound vibrating against my cheek. I let myself relax into him, marveling—again—at how quickly he’s become a part of my life. A few weeks ago, I didn’t know him beyond a name, now I can’t imagine life without him.
He’s going back to his life soon.
I silence the doubt trying to chip away at my happiness.
Liev stirs against my thigh, hard and insistent, and his lips find mine in a slow, lazy kiss. He trails more down the side of my neck.
“As much as I’d enjoy experimenting some more,” I murmur, “Her Highness will be up soon. Plus, I want to check the phone, and we need to update Brady on what Tyler said.”
His groan rumbles against my skin, but he strokes a palm down my arm and rolls to his back. “Having a job sucks.”
I laugh. “You had a job before.”
“Not a regular-with-hours kind of one. I’m more of an up-all-night, sleep-late kind of guy.”
The words land too close to my earlier worries, sending a worm of uncertainty through me.
“I’m an up-early, get-to-work kind of girl,” I say lightly, climbing out of bed. I grab a pillow and smack him lightly across the face. “You’re still part of the normal world for a few more days, so get your sexy ass up.”
He grumbles behind me as I head to the bathroom.
Keke’s still asleep when we’re showered and dressed, so Liev heads to the lobby for coffee while I pull out my phone.
My blood runs cold the second I see the string of texts from several unknown numbers.
“Loved your video. Watched the punch on repeat.”
“Ugly bitch, got what you deserved.”
“Are you fucking that guy? You nasty whore.”
There are more than a dozen, each more vile than the last. My hand shakes as I stare blindly at the wall.
It can’t be him. He’s dead.
But the vitriolic words echo the hundreds I received from Aaron after the breakup.
The hotel door opens, and Liev steps in, balancing a tray with two steaming cups of coffee. “Here you go, madame. Your coffee, black, like your adorable little heart.”
His smile dies the instant he sees my face. He sets the cups on the table.
“What happened?”
Words fail me. I swallow hard and hand him the phone, screen still open.
His face blanches, then floods red as I watch his fingers skim over the screen, opening the various messages.
For the first time, I see why people fear him. The look on his face… The phone case creaks under his grip. “Who the fuck sent these?”
“I don’t know.” My voice cracks. “They could be anyone. Hannah said the video went viral.”
But I know better. My number is unlisted. Someone went to serious trouble to find it.
“They’re like the ones Aaron used to send,” I whisper. “Before the restraining order.”
Liev’s eyes turn lethal. “I’m going to find out who’s behind this,” he says, voice deadly calm. “And they’re going to pay. Every single person involved.”
A tear slips free. I dash it away and clear my throat determined not to end up in a pile of tears. I can’t let it dictate my life. Not anymore.
“We need to put this off for now. We have to tell Brady about Tyler before Keke wakes up,” I insist.
Liev’s clearly struggling with holding on to his temper. His fists clench and unclench, and I can see the vein throbbing in his neck, but he nods.
I force a small smile. “No reason to worry, right? Because I have you.”
He hauls me into a crushing hug, arms like steel bands. I let myself sink into him for a moment, soaking up the strength he’s so willing to give me, and then push gently at his chest. I take a deep breath and shove everything into a box deep in my brain.
“You need to call your brother.”
I sigh. “I know. But I’m not looking forward to DEFCON 3. Nothing else is going to make him happy.”
Liev runs a soothing hand down my spine. “I’m right here. I’ve got your back.”
The video call connects, and it’s not just Brady—Vincent’s standing behind him, arms crossed.
“We just got word about the French guard,” Brady says, frowning. “He’s out, but they’re confident they’ll have a replacement in Vegas by the end of the week.”
I hum noncommittally. “Glad he’s okay.”
Anton had completely slipped my mind amid everything else. A twinge of guilt hits until I remember Liev saying the man had threatened me.
“Tyler Taggert spoke to me last night at Keke’s event,” I say abruptly.
“In Dallas?” Vincent’s face darkens. “What the hell is he doing there? How did he get in?”
“The more important question,” Brady growls, “is how did he know she’d be there.”
“I’m guessing the viral video of me getting punched,” I say, curling my lip. “Hannah says it’s over a million views now. Wouldn’t be hard for someone to look up what the next stop on her tour is.”
Neither man looks pleased.
“It was perfectly cordial,” I add, still omitting the arm grab. “But it was useful. Now I know what they really want. They think I have Aaron’s bitcoin password. We’re wondering if it’s hidden on my phone. It’s the same one I had back then.”
Brady looks stunned, and I don’t wait before dropping the second bomb. “Speaking of my phone…”
When I finish explaining the texts, both men are furious.
“Callum’s heading to Vegas, before coming back to Atlanta for a few days,” Vincent says tightly. “He can bring us the phone. Finn can go through it, track the sender, and check for anything hidden.”
“What am I supposed to do without a phone? Plus, I can’t just hand it over for you to go through. I have private things on there, I’d really prefer Finn not see,” I joke hoping to lighten the mood.
Liev stirs beside me. I can practically hear the possessive questions firing in his head.
Brady frowns. “Private things? Like your banki—” His cheeks go pink as he cuts off. “Yeah. Well. Um…”
I laugh, even if it is a bit forced. “I’m just messing with you. There’s nothing bad on there.” Then, because it’s too easy to rile my brother up, “Finn’s old enough to handle that kind of thing.”
Brady turns purple. Liev bumps my shoulder, leaning into frame with a shake of his head. “Ignore her. She’s had too much coffee.”
“I haven’t even finished my first cup,” I deny, bumping him back.
Liev tips his head toward the door. “Her Highness is up.”
“Gotta go,” I say, still smiling. “I have to go to work. My boss is a real asshole when I’m late.”
“Wait,” Brady starts, then changes his mind. “Just… be on the lookout for Callum’s text to rendezvous.”
I give a mock salute and close the laptop.
“Hide all you want from your brother,” Liev says, cupping my jaw. “But don’t hide from me.”
I sigh, the levity draining away, leaving me raw and dejected. “I don’t want to end up pushing you away because of my bullshit. You should probably—”
He cuts me off with a hard, claiming kiss. When he pulls back, his eyes burn into mine. “Push all you want, malyshka. I’m pretty fucking strong. I can take it.” His thumb traces my lower lip. “And I’m not going anywhere. I belong with you. Whatever comes we’ll face it together.”
My heart stutters.
Four hours later, we’re airborne on our way to Vegas.