34. Thirty-Four
Thirty-Four
Liam
This is why I don’t do relationships; I don’t do the whole attachment bullshit. I don’t tie my heart, soul and blood to another human being because what can destroy someone more than loving them?
Having to survive without them.
As soon as I lost the connection to the earbud, I wanted to hurl and break everything around me. I knew this was a bad idea. I already lost my brother, probably to these pieces of shit, and now the one person I’ve let myself get close to, whom I swore I wouldn’t, is in their hands.
I hop into my jeep and head off onto the smaller streets, not remembering that some of them are blocked with boulders after dark. I have no choice but to run to the lighthouse.
She’s probably terrified, but if there’s one thing I know about Sara is that she’s a fighter.
She’ll go to immeasurable lengths to not let others use and hurt her.
I saw that in her eyes, the first time I looked at her.
When Joe invited her over and introduced her to me, my gaze should’ve scared her.
I should’ve made her flinch, and while I sensed her nervousness, she stood tall before me.
My beautiful girl.
I run like a madman through the village, my boots pounding against the cobblestone streets. My lungs burn, but I push harder, faster, because every second matters.
I finally spot them up on the wall. I can’t tell who the man is at first, but as I get closer, my eyes bulge out as I make out the snake Tyler is right before the lights came on.
She’s a little genius.
Tyler's eyes widen when he spots me, his face draining of color.
He takes more steps back, looking for an escape route.
Part of me wants to chase him down, to make him pay for what he's done to Sara, maybe Joe?
My fists clench at the thought of getting my hands on him, but Sara's there, swaying on her feet, and I need to get to her first. She’s my priority.
I scramble up onto the wall, my hands scraping against the rough stone, and freeze when I finally see her fully.
My stomach plummets, her chest heaving with labored breaths as her dark hair whips around her face in the night wind like a storm cloud.
She looks like a wild, fierce goddess in her black, skin-tight dress, wounded but alive. So, alive.
Behind her, I hear the familiar growl of Damien's motorcycle in the distance, the sound getting closer, and I glimpse at Artemis holding him as they ride towards us. Reassurance submerges me knowing she’s safe too.
As I get closer to Sara, the relief that floods through me is so intense it's almost painful, like a dam breaking inside my chest. This girl, who somehow cracked open my carefully constructed walls, who I never meant to care about, is mine to hold, but I’m livid at the sight of blood streaking her face, down to her arms.
I’m going to kill him.
The rage I feel from the pain I see flickering in her eyes is fueling me, fueling me to be a better man for her, for other girls who are as terrified as she looks right now. Nothing matters except getting to her.
The space between us vanishes, and I'm pulling her against me, capturing her lips with mine. I kiss her so violently I forget that she’s hurt and bleeding, but I can’t help myself.
I hold her face between my hands, feeling her trembling beneath my touch, and I pour everything into it—my fear, my rage, the unbearable minutes of not knowing if she was alive, if I’d ever see her again.
The tendrils of fear that lurched and split me open during those minutes, I don’t want to feel fear like this ever again, but I know I will because, fuck, I love her. I love her so much it hurts. Whoever she thought she was before me no longer exists.
Her lips are warm, tasting of tears and iron.
Blood. Her blood.
It makes me kiss her harder, one hand tangling in her windswept hair, the other pressing against the small of her back.
She grips the front of my jacket, trying to keep herself upright.
Her choked sobs of relief against my lips break my heart, and something in me fractures.
My body trembles against hers. I don’t care if I look weak, too vulnerable, or like she split me open.
She can see all of me; I’m no longer hiding any of it.
“I thought I lost you,” I whisper, my voice raw. “I heard you scream and then nothing.”
She reaches up, her fingers tracing the line of my jaw, her touch weightless despite her trembling hands.
She’s there, but she isn’t. Her eyes look empty, glossy with a fear that consumed her.
She doesn’t think this moment is real, but there’s nothing more intensely rooting me to the ground than having her with me.
She pulls herself closer, burying her face in my neck, her breath hot against my skin.
“I'm here,” I murmur into her hair, inhaling her. “I've got you now.”
Her fingers clutch at my back, digging in as if she's afraid I might disappear. I hold her so tight, anchoring her to me.
“Don't be scared,” I say, my lips brushing against her temple. “You're safe. I swear to God, I won't let anyone hurt you again. I’m never letting you out of my sight, Sara.”
“I’m okay, I’m okay,” she says it with a plea to grasp that truth for herself, her arms tightening around me. “I’m safe now. I am. I’m safe.” She can barely make the words come out of her mouth without shaking sobs intertwined.
“Close your eyes.” I whisper and bury her face in my chest, protecting her from what’s coming.
“No, I want to see you —”
“Then look, but not at me.” I nod behind her. She turns slightly, tracing my transfixed gaze.
The night sky behind her suddenly erupts in a blinding flash of orange and yellow. The explosion is so violent it knocks us both off balance, the sound reaching us a split second later. We both whip around to see flames leaping into the night sky from the harbor.
Sara's nails dig into my arm. “Oh, my God.”
People are screaming, running toward the harbor, running back inside restaurants, everyone’s panic plastered on their face while mine stays stoic, a sadistic satisfaction rummaging through me as I watch the Velastra engulf in the most epic flames.
Evil burning back to hell where they belong.
I don’t know if anyone was on the boat. I know no girls were there, I made sure of that.
However, if any scumbags become burnt skewers, that’s an even better day for me.
“You asked me to burn it all, Sara, so I did. I’d burn, kill, skin, rob, or drown anything and anyone you’d ask me to if it meant to always protect you.
I don’t mess around with what’s mine. You’re mine, you’re everything.
” I pause with feathering fingers across the cut on her temple, and I am murderous at the core.
“They will wish they had never laid eyes on you. Starting with Tyler. I’ll kill him with my bare hands. ”
Her eyes shine with tears, and overwhelming fragility, but she’s not weak. Her body, mind, and beauty are not fragile at all, it’s lethal. It’d put a man to his knees, and I understand why they’re after her. I was too, but they’ll never get to her. I’ll have to die first.
“Thank you,” is all she whispers, burying herself back in my chest, where I hope one day she’ll realize is her home.
I hold her tight and balanced as we walk through the wall. Damien and Artemis watch us closely. Sara lifts her chin slightly, and through her tears, she catches sight of her friend, safe and sound. She quickly covers her mouth, trying to stifle the emotion that threatens to overwhelm her.
“Artemis is okay, Sara. She found the exit soon after the blackout.” I pull her closer to me, and she suddenly folds on herself in half, alarming me, but before I can react, she surprises me with a bursting laugh.
She’s laughing like one of those laughs where you make out a tinge of panic and the colliding absurdity of reality hitting you. Unhinged.
“Of course, the bitch did!” Wiping her nose with the back of her hand, taking a breath, and I can only watch her, captivated by my beautiful, strong creature.
I hold her against me as tight as I can because God forbid there’s a motherfucker out there who wants to try me. I’ll feed their ashes to the wide blue sea.
I push the front door of my house open, or I guess our house now, and lock it behind me right away as I hold Sara against me. Fiasco comes rushing, wagging his tail.
“Hi bud…” I say, scratching behind his ears.
Earlier today, I called Mateo to enhance our security by adding two guards. I had a premonition that things might get perilous. I did, after all, send a message, an explosive one at that, when I had Damien leave a carefree gift on the boat the night of the raid.
I was hoping to find out a bit more about who owns it, because whoever owns this boat is in charge. I have a strong feeling about it. So, whoever is hiding behind their nautical mask, got a piece of fresh, fiery greeting from me.
Tyler being involved is a huge surprise. I didn’t think that little prick had it in him. I almost broke his nose in half at the nightclub, and he screamed like a dog in heat, but lo and behold, he’s even more of a scumbag than I assumed him to be.
Sara is slightly swaying in my arms, dense exhaustion taking over her body and adrenaline leaving her system. It’s okay, the way she leans into me tells me she’s feeling a sense of safety again.
I want her to know I’m her sanctuary, her safe place.
I may not have always been, and maybe I’m a hypocrite for not showing up for her like this before, but I simply didn’t know how to look past my ruthless need to crush her.
I convinced myself I couldn’t ever have someone like her. I even thought she was too broken.
“Baby, let’s clean you up. I’ll be gentle. We need to check if you need stitches.”
She whimpers in my arms, and I really hope we don’t need to stitch her up. I don’t want her to hurt more than she already is. It’s hard to tell with the dried blood and the cut mainly being on the side of her head covered by her hair.