21. Liam
21
LIAM
T he minute I came to my room and saw Eva, I relaxed. After a glance at the crib to show me that Olivia was safe and sound, sleeping away, I could finally exhale the breath I’d been holding all night.
They were protected here. Unlike those girls at the Devil’s Brothers’ compound.
All the aches and pains faded. The agony spreading over my skin from where the bullet grazed me no longer stung as badly.
One glimpse of my future—Eva and Olivia—and I was grounded again.
I fought for them. I was determined to succeed because of them. When those bikers ganged up on me, when I realized things were getting dicey, they were my motivation to punch, kick, and deflect faster and better. And I had.
Thank fuck. I’d never been happier to be back from a mission, and it was a pivotal moment of knowing that I had my reason. Enlisting in and staying in the army was a generalized act of servitude. Here, as a Constella spy and soldier, I had my reason right here in front of me.
Eva didn’t get emotional about my wounds and injuries. With a calm manner, she tended to me exactly how I needed. Words weren’t necessary. She got it. She saw what I’d endured and no questions would be asked. It was easy to accept her help, and as I fell asleep, I drifted with the fact that I could trust her. That she would always listen to my report and sympathize. That she would always know that shit could turn south and that she’d step up to the challenge and nurture me until I was back in charge like I preferred to be.
In the morning, I woke up late. Franco scheduled me around other expectations—like the need to rest and recover after the risky assignment last night. He also knew that I’d be at Nina’s baby shower later today, like many other soldiers.
But sleeping in was still a rarity. Olivia usually woke me up.
Not today.
Eva sat next to me on the bed, playing a form of silent peek-a-boo with Liv, who smiled back at her instead of playing with the stuffed animal between them.
Instead of sneaking back to her room last night, Eva stayed with me. She slept over, and I wasn’t going to ignore how big of a step that was for us. This wasn’t the first time she’d stayed in my bed, but it was usually for a nap, not to wake up with me in the morning.
Now that she had, now that I had the supreme pleasure of opening my eyes and seeing her as the person to greet me first thing, I wasn’t sure I could ever go back to not having her in my bed.
“Morning.” I cleared my throat and watched as they both looked over at me. It was a cozy, gentle moment for the three of us, and I wanted to be lazy and savor every second of it.
“Can you tell Daddy good morning ?” Eva repeated it slowly a couple more times.
“Hi!” Olivia pushed her hand to her mouth and released it, blowing a kiss. “Hi!”
Eva and I laughed lightly at her enthusiasm.
“Hi!” Eva replied in kind, tickling her as Liv smiled.
Seeing them together was a treat, and if I hadn’t already reached the point of being utterly besotted with this generous woman, I definitely was now.
It was a huge change from what I knew before. When I met Eva, she was so aloof and stiff, icy and quick to cast judgment. Looking at her now, I respected that she’d shifted with my arrival in her life.
“Eva?”
She didn’t look at me. She only had eyes for Olivia as my daughter lunged at her and kissed her face. On both cheeks, her nose, her brow, her chin, then everywhere again. Over and over, like a bird pecking, and it elicited giggles from both of them. “Yeah?” she asked when she could manage a moment to speak.
I wasn’t immune to the laughter. I chuckled along as I shifted on the pillows to accommodate the ache in my upper back.
“How come you were so icy when we met?”
She sighed. “ That’s the burning question you want an answer to right now?”
“You’re just so…” I brushed her hair back to see her face clearer. Olivia slumped to her chest, hugging her, but she grabbed hold of my hand before I could lower it. She traced the calloused areas and lines of scars on my hand.
“It’s not you. I’m looking at you now, happy and open and so good with her.” I shook my head. “This is the real you. Why did you need to hide behind a front and act so cold when we met?”
She shrugged, not denying it or protesting. “It’s a defense mechanism.”
“Be hard and tough at the first interaction, then maintain it until you can lower your guard?” I guessed.
“That sounds about right.” She sighed deeply, gazing at me.
I loved that she wasn’t offended or irritated that I was asking about this.
“Last night, you were on the frontlines of danger. You saw how much the family relies on physical defense against our enemies. I’ve always been prepared for managing and staying strong against other levels of enemies. We don’t only get attacked. Someone is always out there waiting to lie to us, to manipulate us, and to con us. I was raised to always expect the worst and prepare for it.” She smiled at Olivia, then leaned in to kiss me. “But I don’t count on the worst from you two. Only good times. A bright future.”
I rose up on my elbow and kissed her for longer. “Then maybe we shouldn’t waste so much time trying to hide it anymore.”
Her answering grin blinded me. “Yeah?”
I nodded. “We can go to this baby party?—”
“Baby shower,” she corrected with a lopsided smile.
“Together. No more trying to pretend we’re not sleeping together.”
“I don’t want to burst your bubble, but Tessa and Nina caught on quick.”
I rolled my eyes. That didn’t surprise me, especially not after the night Tessa let herself into my room to tell me about the security concerns. “And it’s probably safe to assume that what Tessa and Nina know, so do Dante and Romeo.”
“Yep. Pretty much. They don’t keep secrets.”
I lifted her hand and kissed her knuckles. “And neither will we. From each other or the rest of them.”
Later, at the frou-frou tea time place, we did exactly that. I carried Olivia in, crushing her fluffy tea party dress as I held her at my left side. At my right, Eva held my hand and walked with us. We showed up as a couple, as a little unit of three, and there was no way anyone wouldn’t understand I was with her, that she was with me, and both of us would support Olivia.
I wasn’t expected to stand by here as a soldier on guard, but it was impossible not to. While Eva and Olivia sat around with the other women, I stayed back along the wall with several of the men. It was a couples thing, not just the women invited. When I asked Eva why this baby shower included men on the guest list, she said that it made the most sense. All the women here would have equally overprotective guards and significant others nearby, so why not simplify it?
It sounded controlling, that these Mafia women could never go anywhere alone or have independence, but it was simply a fact of life for them. They were the daughters, sisters, girlfriends, and wives of powerful men, and like Eva explained, everyone would fight or sneak their way into taking that power and money for themselves.
Multiple other soldiers were positioned around the room, in and out of it, so I wasn’t nervous about anyone breaking in and causing issues.
After the stressful night I had at the Devil’s Brothers’ compound, I was glad for a chance to just be, to relax and smile at Eva and Olivia partying. They played games. We all had food. Olivia walked everywhere, stunning me with how quickly she was mastering the fine art of seeming to be all over the place at once.
Still, as I stood back with the other men, we shifted to talking about business, about work.
“It’s not in vain,” Franco argued with me when I complained about the recording devices being found and destroyed at the compound.
“How is it not? I snuck in there to place the bugs, and they found them immediately.”
Andy, the soldier Romeo often relied on to spy on the bikers, shrugged. “It’s just the way it is. They sweep for bugs constantly. They’re paranoid motherfuckers.”
“So if I went back another time, they’d find them again?” I asked. I wasn’t volunteering, but curious.
“Yeah.” Andy smirked. “Just like the first two times I tried to record anything at their main clubhouse.”
I sighed, shaking my head at the slight failure. They weren’t blaming me, but I held myself accountable, anyway.
“And it might not be necessary,” Romeo chimed in. “My father and I are hoping that things will come to a head sooner than later with both of them. Stefan and Reaper won’t last as partners for long. They’re both too greedy and volatile.” He glanced at me. “If we play this right, they’ll cancel each other out and spare us having to lose any men in this war.”
That would be an ideal outcome. Fewer casualties. Less destruction of property. I was all in favor of that.
“Hey,” Eva said as she approached with Olivia in her arms. She was fussing, but that could easily be fixed. “Do you know where?—”
I pointed at where I’d set Olivia’s bottle on a nearby table. She was doing her hungry fuss, and any minute now, she’d be cranky because she was tired. I was damned proud of myself for knowing how to read her so well.
“Perfect. Thanks.” She hoisted her higher on her hip.
“She’ll get sleepy,” I reminded her.
She nodded. “Yeah. And I’ll bring her to you to hold. My arm’s about to fall off.” It might have sounded like a complaint, but with her smile, it was more like a joke. When the mood struck, Olivia could cling.
“I’ll be waiting.” Before she walked off, I snagged her close and kissed her.
“You didn’t wait long,” Franco teased.
“Long for what?” I asked.
“To sleep with the boss’s niece.” Franco chuckled at Romeo, rolling his eyes.
“And you call yourself head of security?” Romeo joked. “They were fucking before we hired him.”
Franco raised his brows, still amused, and I merely shrugged. They could have their entertainment.
We all laughed it off, and I was damned glad that Eva and I had come out as a couple here. Like I suspected, everyone already knew that we had something going on. All those weeks of sexual tension had to have given us away.
Now that we’d taken another step forward to a real relationship, I appreciated their support.
Even if we didn’t have it, if anyone protested in the family, I would’ve fought for her.
I always would.