Amnesia

Chapter Eighteen – Liam

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Liam

“We’re home, finally,” I said as I placed my suitcase and Mallory’s down in the living room. She walked in and looked around as if she was lost.

“Hey, are you okay?” I asked as I took her hand and led her over to the sofa.

“I can’t stop thinking about what Sheila said. What if he’s taken another woman already—or worse, a young girl? And I’ve just been sitting here hiding out, afraid? I’d never forgive myself, Liam.”

“Don’t do that, Mallory. Don’t beat yourself up. You just weren’t ready to talk to the police.”

She stood and started to pace. “You told me, Randy told me, MaryAnne told me…everyone told me I should go to the police, and I wouldn’t listen. If someone else is hurt because I was too afraid to face what happened, I’ll hate myself forever.”

“Mallory, take a deep breath, okay? I can call Randy, he’ll come over and take an official statement, report the kidnapping. You don’t have to go anywhere if you’re not ready to go into town.”

“What if he gets into trouble for not reporting it sooner?” she asked.

“First of all, he can’t force you to file a report. And…he did alert his boss that there was a kidnapping, and that the victim was afraid to report it. They’ve been quietly searching the area where we think you might’ve been held.”

Her eyes went wide. “They have? Has anything been found yet?”

“According to Randy, when I spoke to him yesterday, nothing’s been found so far.”

She exhaled. “I don’t know if it will make a difference, filing a report.”

I shrugged. “If you want, I can call Randy and see if he can come over tonight. Unless you’re tired from traveling.”

“No, I’m not tired at all. I have to do something. I can’t sit here for another minute, but if we could still keep my whereabouts anonymous, that would be great.”

“I think they can do that, but I can’t promise anything.”

Mallory sat down. “Okay.”

“Okay? Does that mean you want me to call Randy?”

She slowly nodded, and I could see the tears forming in her eyes. She quickly blinked them away. It felt like someone was squeezing my damn heart. I wanted to ease all her fears, but I knew that was impossible until this monster was brought to justice.

I stood, reached for her hands, and gently pulled her up. Cupping her face, I looked into her hazel eyes. When she was worried, the yellow sunbursts seemed to be lighter in color. “Do you remember when I said I wouldn’t let anyone ever hurt you?”

“Yes,” she softly replied.

“I won’t, Mallory. I swear to you, I’m not going to let anyone hurt you ever again.”

Leaning closer, I pressed my lips to hers. The kiss was soft and slow at first, but quickly turned more passionate. Her hands went to my chest, and she gripped my shirt, moaning into my mouth.

When I drew back, I rested my forehead to hers.

“Liam?” Her chest rose and fell with each panted breath.

“Yes?”

“I want you. Desperately.”

Closing my eyes, I fought for the strength to tell her we needed to wait, but it wasn’t there. I wanted her as much as she wanted me. “I want you, too, sweetheart.”

When she drew her head back and looked up at me, she let out a nervous chuckle. “I don’t even know if I’m a virgin or not.”

My brows shot up, and I stared at her for a few moments. “Um, well…I guess there’s only one way to find out.”

She grinned, then looked down at my chest, a nervous expression on that beautiful face. “Will you make love to me?”

Sweeping one arm under her legs, I picked her up and carried her through the house and to my bedroom.

We hadn’t picked up Piper from Billy’s house yet, so I could take my time with her.

Study every inch of her body and learn what she liked when it came to lovemaking.

The idea of her possibly being a virgin only made me harder.

Either way, I wanted her. Wanted to make her mine.

Slowly letting her slide down my body, I kissed along her jaw, down her neck, then back up to her ear. I bit gently on her earlobe, and she sucked in a breath.

“Are you sure, Mallory?”

Her shaking hands started to lift my shirt over my head. “I’ve never been surer of anything in my entire life.”

When she placed a soft kiss on my chest, I nearly crumbled to the floor.

I’d told myself we would go slow, but I couldn’t wait any longer. I was desperate to make Mallory Wilson my own.

She fumbled with the button on my jeans, and when she couldn’t manage it, we both laughed. She stepped back and allowed me to undress. I watched as she did the same, then made her way over to the bed.

“Mallory,” I whispered, as I took her in. She was perfect in every way. Never in my life had I ever wanted a woman as much as I wanted her. A part of me felt guilty for that, because of Emily. Because for a long time, I’d thought she was the person I was meant to be with.

But looking down at the woman lying in my bed, I knew with every ounce of my soul that Mallory was the one my heart had been waiting for.

And there wasn’t a damn thing I wouldn’t do to protect her.

I would walk to the ends of the Earth for her.

I’d lie for her. I would even die for her, if it meant keeping her safe.

Moving to the bed and lying next to her, I kissed her gently. “Are you nervous?”

She shook her head. “Not at all.”

I kissed her again, and within minutes, we were both lost in one another.

I was falling in love with Mallory, or maybe I’d already fallen. All I knew for certain was that my life would no longer be complete without her.

##

Mallory slept peacefully on her side as I watched her.

Making love to her had been one of the most amazing experiences of my life.

I hadn’t wanted to stop. My dream was to spend every minute in this bed with her in my arms. And to both of our surprise, Mallory was indeed a virgin.

She’d been every bit the loner everyone claimed, in every way…

which broke my heart, despite how honored I felt to be her first.

And knowing the monster who took her hadn’t touched her? That left me feeling unbelievable relief. He hadn’t hurt her in the worst way possible. Thank God.

My phone buzzed in the pocket of my jeans, and I internally groaned, knowing I needed to get out of this bed and get a move on with things. Billy would be expecting me anytime now. And I needed to call Randy about coming over.

Slipping out of bed, I walked into the bathroom and grabbed a towel before making my way back to the pile of clothes Mallory and I had left on the floor. Smiling, I reached down and grabbed my jeans, searching for my cell.

I had a text from Chad.

Chad: Are you home or out on the ranch somewhere?

Frowning, I wondered what was so important that my brother couldn’t wait for me to call him like I said I would.

Instead of replying, I gathered up my clothes, called Billy’s number, and headed into the bathroom to change. I didn’t want to wake up Mallory; she was sleeping too peacefully.

“Hey, Boss. I was waiting for you to get settled back in but was just about to call you.”

I was thankful Billy hadn’t started texting and calling me the second we landed. I knew he, MaryAnne, and Bubba would be interested in what we’d found out in Illinois, so I appreciated that they gave us some privacy first.

“Hey, thanks for that. Mallory and I needed to…decompress after our last few days.”

“Find out anything about her?”

“A few things, but nothing that told us about how she might have gotten to Montana. We did find her storage unit, so I think that might be able to help her fill in the pieces of her life. At least, I hope it does. I’ll fill in you and Bubba later.

How’s everything going? Did you rotate the west pasture? ”

“I did.”

“And the old barn?”

“In the process of being torn down as we speak. Howdy is over there, keeping an eye on things.”

“Good. And what about that mare we got last week? How is she settling in?”

Billy laughed. “Jimmy’s been working with her. Dude, you were only gone a few days; the ranch didn’t fall apart while you were away.”

I rubbed at the back of my neck. “I know. I completely trust you; you know that.”

He laughed. “I do. What’s going on? You sound worried.”

“Mallory’s decided to file a police report.”

“She has? That’s good, though, right?”

“Yes, it is, but I’m worried for her. I know in the beginning I thought she was making a mistake, not filing, but now I’m not sure she should. I feel like we can’t trust anyone right now and I don’t know why I feel that way.”

“Nothing is going to happen to her on this ranch. You know we’ll protect her.”

I sighed. “It’s a big ranch, Billy. What if we can’t? What if I can’t?”

He remained silent for a few moments. “You and I both know you’re not going to let anything happen to her. I know you want to make up for Emily, but Mallory isn’t her.”

“I know that. Trust me.”

“Right. Well, anyway, I was calling to tell you that Chad’s here. He’s at the main barn with Bubba. Don’t worry, we haven’t said a thing to him. He asked where you’d gone, and I just told him it was a personal trip, and you didn’t tell me where.”

“What?” I asked, pulling on my boots. “Chad is here right now?”

“Yeah, he just showed up earlier and wanted to know if you were still coming back today. I told him you were out on the ranch taking care of some things, since you’d only just gotten home, and I knew you wouldn’t want him stopping by. Did you even tell him you were coming back today?”

I cursed. “I sent him a text saying I was on my way home, that I would call him later. What is he doing here?” I asked, more to myself than to Billy. “He called two days ago to say he needed to talk to me about something he and Krista wanted to ask about the baby.”

“Well, if he’s here, he clearly wants to talk to you bad.”

“I’ll give him a call now. Thanks.”“Sure thing.”

Hanging up the phone with Billy, I called my brother.

“Hey, sorry to just show up, but I’m heading out of town and wanted to speak with you.”