Chapter 2
REGAN
Holy crap, this feels good.
I drench the seat, the steering wheel, the front dash, the middle console. I pour out the last drops onto the floor near the pedals and I’d probably smash the can through the window if Liam didn’t gently take it from my hands.
“Well done, love,” he says softly, steering me back away from the car. His hand presses to the small of my back as he tosses the can onto the passenger seat. “Now for the fun part.”
I’m trembling. This has gone too far. But I like Liam’s ease and confidence.
The man oozes obscene charm and there’s an edge to him, a dangerous gleam.
I’ve met men like him before, killers and monsters, though none so good looking and carefree.
Normally there’s a weight to them, a darkness.
Liam’s clearly got a black heart, but it doesn’t seem to drag him down.
“What part’s that?” I say and even manage to sound normal.
He takes a silver lighter from his bag and flips open the top. “Would you do the honors?”
My palm’s shaking when he places it in my right hand. I stare in wonder and horror. There’s so much power in this little thing. One flick and boom, this is all over. One flick and I’ve crossed a line forever.
I see Kieren again, fucking Vera, eyes rolled back in pure joy.
But it’s that stupid smirk on her face, like she knew she won something, that makes me light it and throw it through the open car door.
The fire catches fast. I yelp in surprise as it rushes in a sharp whoosh as the stink of burning plastic and melting rubber slams into my nostrils. Liam pulls me away, his strong arms dragging me a few more feet to the side, as flames lick out the door.
“I can’t… holy shit… I just…”
“Amazing, right?” He watches the blaze with a religious intensity. “Gets better.”
“Shouldn’t we run?”
“In a moment, love. Just enjoy it. Picture the look on Kieren’s face when he finds this.”
I try to do just that, but I feel drained. The rush and adrenaline begins to ooze from my system, leaving me feeling sludgy and weak, like my knees can’t hold my weight anymore. The fire grows rapidly, sparking and burning, until—
A blast and a massive boom sends me staggering back. The hood’s on fire and flames spout out the back from the tailpipe. Liam’s cackling with excitement as smoke billows out, rapidly filling the parking garage.
I turn and run.
That’s enough. I can’t handle it anymore. I bolt, mindless, panicking. We really just blew up Kieren’s car. I poured gas, I flicked the lighter, and I watched it explode.
Holy shit.
I never thought I’d go bad. But instead of starting small, I went all in.
I’m coughing as smoke fills my lungs. I stagger down the ramp, stumbling toward the exit ahead. I have to steady myself against the wall, confused and terrified. Is that fire going to spread? Are the other cars going to burn too? This whole parking garage could be a raging inferno—
He's there, sprinting through the gloom. Liam grabs my wrist and yanks me hard, dragging me behind him. I yelp in pain as I’m forced to keep up, my little legs struggling to pace his longer strides.
Liam’s laughing as he goes and we burst out onto the sidewalk together, the cool, clean night air tasting like heaven on my ashy tongue as I drag in deep hacking gasps.
“This way,” Liam says, tugging me along. He moves at a jog away from the garage in the opposite direction of where I want to be.
“Hold on, I’m back that way.”
“Not anymore you’re not, love.” He keeps going, his pace slowing once we’re over a block away.
“What are you talking about?”
“You and me need to have a chat.” He glances over, his smile fading. There’s that dangerous, dark gleam in his expression, the way he considers me as though I might be a good meal. I shiver, terror prickling in the back of my head.
“Listen, what happened back there, that was crazy. But please, I want to go home.”
Liam ignores me, walking fast, making sure I’m staying with him. “Can’t let you do that.”
“Why not?” I hate the whiny note of desperation in my voice. I wish I could be brave, but I’m not. I’m such a coward I can’t even jaywalk without feeling like I’m going to be thrown in prison.
Much less light a car on fire.
Sirens blare in the distance. I let out a pathetic moan as my fear doubles.
“Because if you don’t stick with me, you’ll get caught, and I’m betting you don’t want that.”
“Where are we going?”
“Back to my place. It’s not far.”
Oh shit. Oh god. If I go with this guy, back to some strange apartment—
What is he going to do to me?
“I just want to go home,” I whisper.
He must hear the note of pure, bleak terror in my voice, because he slows and looks at me. His lips press together thoughtfully. “I’m not going to hurt you, love.”
“How do I know that? You just appeared out of nowhere and lit my ex’s car on fire.”
“True, though you helped.”
“I barely did anything!”
“You lit the match. That’s a lot.”
“Are you seriously arguing with me right now?”
He shrugs, that smirk coming back. “What if I swore you’d get home completely safe? Would you take my word?”
“Probably not!”
“Alright, Regan, that’s fair.” He leans in closer, tone softening. “What if I let you hold a gun to my head the whole time we talked?”
I gape at him, genuinely not sure if he’s kidding. I quickly shake my head. “Who are you? Seriously, who are you, and what were you doing in that parking garage?”
“We’ll talk at my place.” His eyes move straight ahead and he seems disappointed that I didn’t agree to press the barrel of a gun to his skull. What the heck is wrong with this guy?
“No, we’ll talk now.” I say stubbornly. “You said you disabled the cameras. Why would you do that?”
“So nobody would catch me when I broke into the car.”
“Did you plan on burning it from the start?”
“That was one potential outcome.”
“Did you know I was going to be there?”
“No, you were a happy accident.”
I stop walking. He turns, his hand like iron on my wrist, but he doesn’t yank me. “What the hell do you want with Kieren? Seriously, who are you?”
I don’t know why I’m suddenly worried about my ex, but this is all wrong. Liam’s clearly not the kind of person I’d want rooting around my car. He’s the sort of man who shows up to make a mess, not to clean one up, and I get a terrible, sinking feeling that Kieren is in a lot of trouble.
Even more than cheating on me and ruining my life.
“My name’s Liam Lankshear. I work for Finn Whelan.
Now will you please get moving again?” The sirens are louder now.
We’re a few blocks from the garage, but not far enough.
He closes some of the distance between us.
“Either that, or we can pretend like we’re a couple of lovers having a quarrel, and when the cops come searching this area, we can start making up—“
My eyes widen. “They’ll search?”
“Of course they will. Now are we going to make out in a dirty alleyway like two horny teens? Or are you going to follow me to my place where it’s safe until this shit blows over?”
I hesitate, heart thrumming, but that name zings around my mind.
Whelan.
It’s a name I know well, much too well, even if that family exists as a vague specter in my life.
I’ve heard my father speaking about them, heard him mention meetings with major figures in their organization.
I’ve even seen hints and whispers of them in the books of my father’s construction company.
“Alright, okay, fine. You really work for the Whelans?”
“I sure do, love.” He starts walking, and I reluctantly follow. “Just like your daddy.”
We lapse into silence. Liam leads us on a circuitous route for a half hour before ordering an Uber back into Manhattan. I sit in the back of the car, our knees almost touching, and try not to stare at the strange man taking me back to his unknown apartment.
The Whelan family. My father’s employers.
Liam’s one of them, and the kind of member who wears a suit and goes to work every day in an office like I’m used to. He was snooping through Kieren’s car, which means something very bad is going on, and I don’t fully understand what.
We get dropped off outside of a surprisingly nice apartment building. Liam heads inside, greets the doorman, and gets on the elevator. “You smell like gas and smoke,” I mutter as we ride to the top floor.
“I know, great, isn’t it? Don’t worry about Ivan down there. He’s seen much worse, trust me.”
Liam’s place is shockingly nice. The man’s dressed like a thug and acts like a killer, but his apartment feels more like it belongs to a high-end hedge fund manager.
Big, airy windows, multiple rooms, everything expensively furnished.
He cracks a bottle of whisky and pours two glasses as I sit nervously at his kitchen island, the marble countertop gleaming in the modern lighting.
“Drink,” he says, sliding a glass to me, and lifts his to his lips.
I don’t bother pretending like I don’t want it. I toss the full thing back in one go and cough, covering my mouth.
“Jesus Christ, that was a three-hundred-dollar glass of scotch.” He laughs, delighted, and pours me another. “Do it again.”
I glare and ignore him. “Are you ready to explain what the hell happened back there? I’m seriously struggling to keep myself from freaking out right now.”
“That’s fair.” He rolls his glass, sips, and wanders into the living room, looking out the windows. “I hate this city, but I love this view.”
I spin and watch him look out at the vista. I follow his gaze, softening somewhat. I have to admit, it’s an incredible view: New York spreads out, lights and steel, cars crawling along. I try to spot a plume of rising smoke, but the skyline is quiet.
“Why were you searching Kieren’s car?”
He turns to study me again. Another sip of his drink. The whisky warms my belly and spreads to my head, making everything soft.
“Your boyfriend did something very stupid. I was sent to confirm it, and to fix it.”
I snort, very undignified. “Yeah, pretty sure I already know he fucked up big time. I saw it happen. In my bed.”
Liam’s nose wrinkles. “He cheated on you in the bed you two shared?”
“For years. It was his idea to move in!” I don’t know why that detail makes it feel so much worse. “I was against it at first, but he talked me into it.”
“Kieren’s good at that, isn’t he?”
I nod, pissed off, and grab the second glass. I try sipping this time but it still just tastes like wood steeped in cleaning solution. I suppress a gag.
“That’s Kieren, able to talk himself out of basically anything.
My dad loved him. Not sure how he feels now that we broke up and he hasn’t been coming into work.
God, that stupid asshole, we had a good thing—“ Tears threaten and I have to swallow them back, struggling to maintain control. Liam looks on impassively. “Kieren was moving up at work. Dad was talking like he’d help run the business one day. I’d be the company’s main CPA, he’d be the CEO or something, and together—“ I let out a bitter laugh. “But that future’s dead now, huh? Burned like his stupid car.”
I throw back the whisky, feeling stupid, ugly, angry, and broken.
“I’m sorry, love. He’s a fucking idiot.” Liam sounds genuine, which surprises me. He glances back at the city. “Lots of fucking idiots in this town. If I had a woman like you, I’d lick your toes and treat you the way you deserve.”
I burst out laughing. “Oh my god, lick my toes?!” I wipe tears from my eyes. “Are you serious?”
He shrugs, smiling slightly too. “If you’re into it, love, I’ll give you it.”
“You’re one weird freak, you know that?”
“I’ll wear that badge proudly.” He finishes his drink and comes over. With a sigh, he pours a second, and nods at me. “Unfortunately, though, we do have some business to discuss.” His eyes roam me toes to lips. “Where’s Kieren staying right now?”
The question surprises me. I shake my head. “I don’t know. I figured he was still back at our apartment.”
“From what I can tell, he hasn’t been back there since you caught him.”
“Then he’s probably staying with—“ I close my eyes and see Vera’s bored smirk, her tits swaying with every thrust.
“Baranov.” Liam whispers the name heavily. “The girl.”
I glance at him and nod. “You know her?”
“Only vaguely.” He seems disturbed as he taps a finger against the glass. “Did Kieren say anything to you? Leading up to his disappearance?”
“You mean, leading up to him ruining my life?”
“Yes, love, but I was trying to be tactful.”
“No, he didn’t say anything. What would he say?” I do my best Kieren impression, lowering my voice a few octaves. “Hey babe, been banging some hot chick from high school behind your back, heh heh, hope that’s cool.”
Liam seems amused. “Did he act strangely? Not at home, but at work. Did he request anything? Ask to see documents that weren’t his?”
The questions catch my attention. A slow, creeping feeling rolls into my guts. “Nothing like that. We didn’t really work together that much. He was high up in project management and I’m an accountant.”
“You have access to your father’s books?”
“For the business, sure.”
“Do you ever bring your laptop home with you? Maybe leave it around the apartment? Does Kieren know your passwords?”
I shove away from the counter and get to my feet. “What the hell is this?”
“Questions, love, that’s all. Not accusations. You’re not in trouble.” He holds his hands up, trying to calm me.
“What did Kieren do? Why were you sent to look in his car?”
“Can’t talk about specifics.”
“But you can torch his vehicle and drag me back to your place for questioning?”
“That’s within my parameters.”
“Screw this.” I turn away, afraid and angry and deeply confused, but sure about one thing. “I need to talk to my dad.”
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
“Why the hell not?! You’re making it sound like Kieren did something wrong at work.”
“Because if he knows you and I spoke—“ Liam pours a third drink and refills my glass too. “He’ll wonder how and why. And I’m generally not disposed toward lying to my bosses.” He slides the glass toward me. “Don’t storm off.”
I glare at him, seething. “Are you threatening to tell my dad what we did?”
“I’m being straight with you. Sit down and finish this glass. Besides, it’s not safe yet.”
“You said the cameras were off. The cops don’t know who we are.”
“No, they don’t, but other people likely saw you enter and leave. They’ll have a vague description. You need to stay off the streets tonight.”
“Tonight?! As in, all night?”
“Looks like we’re having a sleepover.”