9. Liam
9
LIAM
“ A re you okay?” I turned slightly, out of breath from the adrenaline rush. Cupping Eva’s face between my hands, I stared into her eyes.
She gazed right back at me, those dark brown orbs clear but showing fear. Alarm. I’d scared her, tucking her low and rolling her to safety. But she saw the bullet hole in the glass. I didn’t have to spell a single thing out for her to make her understand.
Eva was well aware of the danger.
She was likely used to it, and that thought pissed me off.
“Are you hurt?” I asked, concerned that she could’ve been wounded in that sudden fall. I wasn’t a small man, and I’d made sure to cover all of her in case the shooter tried again.
“Yes.” She swallowed hard and nodded. The motion prompted me to lower my hands from her face, but I didn’t retreat. I remained crouching low, still blocking her with my body.
The moment was tense, as were any instances sharp on the tail of a life-or-death situation.
All day, I’d struggled to resist that gnawing inner sense that someone was following us. That a person was watching us. I posed no threat. I wasn’t a target. I had no enemies. But she would—as a Constella.
“I’m not hurt, Liam,” she said, firmly and sincerely.
I nodded, catching my breath like she was from the rush. “Okay.” But I made no move to stand yet. Even though the guards were running up to us, no doubt alerted to the active shooter, I couldn’t let her leave this bubble, this tight proximity of our bodies close together, mine protecting hers. With the sharp tension of real and present danger in the mix, I couldn’t snap out of this soldier mode, this overprotective mindset, and return to the almost easygoing comradery we'd forged while we shopped.
“Miss Constella,” a guard said as he darted up to us.
“Are you all right?” another said, flanking us on the other side.
I’d dismissed them all day. I’d noticed them, and I witnessed that they were up to the task of being members of her security detail. They didn’t crowd in on us, though, giving us space.
Space that made no difference with a sniper. I stood, keeping myself between Eva and the direction where I’d spotted the sniper in the reflections of windows and mirrors. One look over my shoulder proved the lone shooter was gone from the rooftop he’d shot from, but I scanned around us in a three-sixty, anyway. These Constella guards couldn’t have helped her from a distance. It was only because I’d been walking with her that I could act in time.
Fuck. I shook my head at the webbed glass that stayed intact around the bullet hole. She’d come this close. Hell, I had come that close. We’d risked death today, and that was a sobering thought to chase away everything else.
“Yes, yes.” Eva nodded as the guards checked her over. “I’m fine. He covered me.”
Both men looked at me, and a third in the distance spoke into his phone. A small crowd began to gather, and as I scoped the parking lot again, I realized that the security men for this shopping area would no doubt be coming by soon. If someone hadn’t called in an active shooter yet, they would any second now.
“You don’t…” I rubbed my face, aggravated by this incident. Just when I wanted to lower my guard and do something as simple as shop with Eva, laughing at our mutual confusion of not knowing what to buy a thirteen-month-old girl who was too advanced for baby rattles but too young for more intense gadgets and gizmos, this bullshit had to happen.
Because she’s not a simple woman living an ordinary life. She’s a Mafia princess, protected and raised to be tough in a violent world of crime and power.
“You don’t want the cops to come, right?” I felt stupid to ask, but it was prudent to mention it.
“Let’s go,” one guard said, an older man who seemed to be in charge.
“We’ll head back to the house,” Eva said, her face tight with weariness but putting up a brave front to hide her uneasiness.
“Yeah.” I nodded, hating that she had to be so used to this. That this was routine for her. She didn’t deserve to be a target. She shouldn’t have to fear for her life—ever.
But as I got into the car and noticed her fingers shaking as she started the engine, I knew she wasn’t actually alone in this. Guns were everywhere. Crazy people could kill anytime in schools, malls, concerts. This shit happened everywhere. And if she weren’t protected, she could be in worse conditions as an abused woman unable to escape a violent partner. It was all feasible, but having a sniper on her back? That was wrong, too wrong.
The drive back to the house was quiet. I fumed, angry that she had to be in this position. She drove with utmost concentration, furrowing her brow as she steered. Every so often, she checked her mirrors, likely anxious to know the guards were right behind her.
“He ran,” I said after a long stretch of quiet. I couldn’t take this silence. “The sniper took off.”
She nodded. I noticed through my peripheral vision. “They’re always out there.”
It was my turn to nod, but I did so while I contemplated the truth of what she said. If I hadn’t been with her, would another guard be on her to protect her? “How often does this happen?”
“Not… Not often.” She sighed, glancing at me and seeming nervous. If not about what happened, then maybe about my reaction. “Security has been high lately. Another Family and organization have been targeting us. Usually, things are calmer—within reason. Attacks in daylight, in public places like that, are not the norm.”
“Because of the risk of killing civilians?”
Shit. As soon as the words left my lips, I realized what I'd said. I said civilians in reference to everyone else in that parking lot. But I was supposed to be a civilian.
Funny that I couldn’t remember to act like it. The need to defend and protect wasn’t something I’d ever switch off, and I wondered if I was being selfish not to join the Constellas.
If I weren’t there… If she was shot…
I didn’t want to consider it. My feelings about Eva were complicated, but I damn well didn’t want her to be harmed. I cared. I cared far too much and didn’t want to admit it, but I felt like I was stuck in a position where I shouldn’t, that I didn’t belong with her, with these people she called her family.
Fuck. It was all getting so twisted up. She was supposed to be nothing more than a woman I had a quickie with, a stranger I could consider more like a friend after we shopped and fell into an easier companionship. While we focused on buying things for Olivia and just talking, getting to know more about each other, we could shelve the intense magnetism and deny the chemistry that hadn’t faded between us.
But now I was stuck worrying about her safety.
And wanting to be the one to protect her.
No. This can’t be the answer. Recruit with the Mafia straight out of the military? It’s nonsense.
When we arrived, Eva turned off the engine and glanced at me. “Someone will bring your things in. Uncle Dante will expect you to report to him about this.”
She sounded resigned, but I couldn’t help but wonder what she was really thinking and feeling.
“Yeah. I figured as much,” I mumbled as I got out of the car. The need to make sure she was all right was still ingrained in me. I followed right behind her on the short walk inside.
Once we entered, Romeo approached. “Liam?”
“Yeah, yeah.” I nodded, glancing back toward Eva to check once more that she was all right. It was a scare, and even if she was used to the possibility of danger, that didn’t mean she couldn’t be traumatized.
She was already gone, heading further into the house.
I sighed, hating that the privacy and companionship we’d shared was gone. It had been shattered in that moment of danger, and I wasn’t sure when to count on fighting for that middle ground with her again. If we weren’t avoiding each other, we were arguing. Something in the middle was a nice break.
Following Romeo into an office, I braced myself to debrief the Mafia men. It was so similar to being in the army, this expectation to report in and be brief and clear with details.
Strangely, it felt normal. Good. Like I’d never stopped being an identity of defense, just in another place and using my training and skills in a different way.
Answering to Dante wasn’t a hardship, either. He wasn’t a hard ass like my supervisors in the military. He sat in a chair, alert but not barking orders just because he was my superior in rank.
“What happened?” It was a blunt, direct, and simple question I could answer freely.
“I thought we were being followed throughout the day. I noticed it more when we entered or exited the stores. At first, I thought it was a matter of getting used to the guards tailing us.” I looked at all three men—Dante, Romeo, and Franco—to make sure they understood. “They weren’t slacking. They were attentive and alert on duty as her bodyguards. In the parking lot, I scanned the perimeter and detected movement in a reflection.”
Franco nodded. “You know what to look for, huh?”
Dante cleared his throat. “We’ve looked into your background, Liam. Tessa can vouch for you, but that only goes so far.”
I dismissed him with a wave. “I’m not surprised. I’d be more surprised if a man in your position didn’t look into anyone he let stay in his house.”
He nodded. “Go on.”
“That’s pretty much it. I spotted a sniper and calculated which angle he’d be shooting from. Then I covered Eva and made sure she stayed down until backup came.”
Romeo raised his brows. “Very impressive, knowing which way to dive. Not every man would know.”
I huffed a dry laugh. “Yeah, well, I’ve been there and done that.”
“Yet you won’t consider joining us? Working for me?” Dante asked, serious and not wheedling.
“I have been thinking about it.” And I’m thinking about it a lot more since I just jumped into action to keep Eva safe. “And I’ll continue to think about your offer. But it’s not a simple decision of choosing an employer. Now that I’ve got to adjust—quickly—to being a father and figuring out how to balance being a single parent, on top of leaving a career that I’d been in without pause for a long time…”
Franco patted my back. “Think about it some more.”
“Regardless of your choice of being one of the men in our organization,” Dante said as he stood and shook my hand, “I appreciate your quick thinking and selflessness to protect my niece. She’s the daughter I never had, and I am grateful for your unflinching instinct to keep her safe.”
“No problem.” It wasn’t. Keeping others safe was simply part of who I was. The only problem that could complicate things was if I got caught up with the desire to be the only man she looked to for protection.
I had no right wanting Eva. I shouldn’t have been thinking about her this much. Hell, I was wrong to ever pull her aside and fuck her, no matter how much she’d wanted me.
Working for her uncle would be another facet of complications between us. Sleeping with the woman the boss considered his daughter? That was only asking for trouble.
“And it, uh,” Franco said, stalling as he rubbed his chin and glanced at me, then Romeo and Dante, “it goes without saying that you don’t need to call the cops or anything…”
I rolled my eyes. “I think I picked up on the fact that you police yourselves and handle this side of justice.”
Romeo nodded. “Correct. We have a few individuals we suspect might be behind this. And we will investigate this incident accordingly.”
I should hope so. I nodded and left, knowing these men would have the resources to look into who put a hit on Eva. If Dante killed a dozen bikers to rescue Nina and if Romeo killed Tessa’s rapists, it seemed like a given that they would extend that same executioner attitude toward whoever wronged Eva.
And it was strange how much their brand of law and order was starting to make sense. I couldn’t tell if it was my call with Ethan—who considered doing hit jobs—or if it was something else, something like… loyalty.
I shook my head, thinking about it all as I headed to the guest room.
When I got there and didn’t see any sign of Olivia, I frowned and glanced at my phone. Nina would’ve called if she took her anywhere.
Instead of a message from Nina, I saw a text from Tessa in a group chat she’d started with me and Nina. The picture of them holding my daughter in the water reassured me that she was in good hands.
Tessa: Auntie Nina and Auntie Tessa wanted some more pool time with Liv!
She looked happy—all of them did. Both women were all smiles in the selfie, and Liv looked content to splash around.
I sighed, glad that she was accounted for. I didn’t want to depend on them too much, and I hadn’t been. All week, I was with Olivia, getting both of us more used to each other in our new little family. Today, though, I was damned grateful for the babysitting.
Even though I was “home” or back again, I wanted a moment to shower and decompress after the danger. I pulled my shirt off as I padded toward the bathroom and turned the shower on. Kicking off my shoes came next, but I didn’t get further than that.
With my hands on my jeans, the zipper halfway undone, someone knocked on the door. I bit back a groan that it might be Tessa and Nina with Olivia already, since that text was from ten minutes ago.
So much for having a moment to myself and relaxing.
I headed toward the door, realizing my shower would have to wait. But it wasn’t my babysitters bailing on me and returning Olivia. Instead, I accepted the surprise of finding Eva there.
She pressed her lips together and stared up at me. If she had something to say, she was trying her best not to blurt it out. Under her attention, I realized I’d paused halfway through undressing.
I raised my brows, wondering if she was more shaken by the incident than she’d revealed. Perhaps she wanted to check on me after my report to Dante.
“I…” She shook her head, cutting herself off. Maybe she needed to search a little more for her words and phrase her thoughts.
When she stepped in, forcing me further into the room as she closed the door behind her, it seemed that she wasn’t in the mood to talk at all.
She reached for me, sliding her hand up my bare chest until she gripped the back of my neck. As she pulled me down, I let myself get lost in the heated look she gave me from beneath her hooded lids.
“I…” She furrowed her brow, staring at me with such bold need. Damn, she was sexy when she was aroused and desperate.
“Me too.” I wanted her just as badly, but I was determined to fight it.
Yeah, right.
We leaned in together, meeting in a crushing kiss.