Chapter 11 Liam
Chapter eleven
Liam
Keep the possessiveness to a minimum, dickhead.
Calm and steady, calm and steady.
Isla is ready to run, I can feel it in my bones. And as if that wasn’t enough — which it is —the way she keeps looking around, scanning her surroundings is a bit of a giveaway that she isn’t having the time of her life.
Where is that carefree, bold woman I met months ago?
I wonder if something happened to her during the winter? It was ferocious this time and that’s saying something considering winters in Scotland are never much of a picnic.
Isla tips her head back ever so slightly, the light breeze causing her dark hair to float backwards across her shoulders like an ethereal goddess.
The sun warms her pale skin and the upward tips of the corners of her lips complete her beauty.
She’s basking in the sun whilst it is out and I don’t blame her one bit.
The cold, that must be it. Simple; she needs time to defrost.
My dirty blonde hair and light brown skin may look different to Isla’s dark brown, almost black hair and fair skin, but that doesn’t mean I don’t feel how well we fit each other deep in my heart.
Our differences complement one another. Isla and I were meant to be from the second we laid eyes on each other and she snarked her way into my soul.
Come to think of it her humour is so similar to Ruaridh’s.
Internally, I cringe at the thought of relating her to Ru. It’ll take some getting used to, but there's no denying they are siblings, especially not with their signature pissed off scowl.
It’s still so new and surreal that Isla, the woman of my obsession, is my best mate's sister. The sister I know he has been torn apart over.
When I think about it I don’t know how I didn’t put two and two together when I met her.
Their vibrant green eyes, dark hair, strong, sharp features, Scottish and the burn scars across her hands.
The same hands I pinned above her head as I fucked her against a wall.
The same ones she anxiously rubs whilst walking next to me.
Fuck. No wonder Ru tried to knock me out. I would have killed me if I was him.
I glance in his direction and the bastard is of course side eyeing me.
‘Ahh shite,’ I mutter under my breath.
‘What?’ Isla whispers back.
She’s quite the secretive one. It doesn’t take a genius to figure that one out since none of the other women in her group knew anything about me.
Add that to the way she curled back up into her stormy shell when Vish gave away that everyone else could hear what we were talking about were a couple of signs I’ve filed away for later.
‘I’m a dead man walking, princess.’
Isla spins to look at me, actually grabs my arm and everything. ‘What?’
Oh damn her firm grip feels good. Too good, and the way it has blood rushing to my dick is only going to get me killed sooner.
‘Princess, I have spent months imagining your touch. I’ve pined for it, but I can’t control my body's reactions right now and I think your brother will quite literally chop my dick off if he sees that I’ve got a boner for his sister.’
Isla’s gaze drops straight to my crotch, her eyes widening as she takes in the noticeable bulge there, and then she sees what I’m on about.
Straight in front of us, walking next to his girl, her brother has a tight grip on one of his axes and the tension in his muscles looks like he is about to snap.
‘Oh,’ Isla breathes.
Her bottom lip is slightly pulled inwards, the plumpness still on show, but it's as if the flesh beneath is being… nibbled on.
I’m about to ask her about it just as Vish draws all the attention to himself. ‘Stay low and move quick.’ Announcing the bridge we need to cross.
Our home is across the river and there are two ways of getting to it.
‘We’re going over that?’ Fauna asks looking to Ru for answers.
He nods. ‘Going under is far more dangerous.’
‘Another group live in the subway tunnels,’ I tell Isla.
‘Like that one that hit me with the pipe?’ She asks and fury boils through my veins.
Fuck I’m shaking with rage. Just looking at my girl's bruised-up eyes, the purple somehow accentuates the perfect greens of her irises.
She looks so frightened and alone. Not on the surface, no, there she is a badass with a machete and an even sharper tongue, but beneath it all?
In the depths of those beautiful eyes I see it all, all of her worries and I vow to ease them in any way I can.
I shake my head. ‘They are a lot more crafty. We’ve done trade with them in the past.’
‘Trade?’
‘The few groups we do interact with, we tend to trade with. Further up north, there's more animals, so we trade for those. Then smaller, quieter groups in the city, like those in the subway, are useful too. They’ve found a way of making things that fit the way we live our lives now.’
‘But Ru pissed them off so we stay topside now.’ Vish so helpfully supplies.
Isla listens, waiting.
‘Ru went to get some medication and ended up scrapping their leader Malcolm. He knocked the weasel out and embarrassed him in front of his group. He sent one of his guys to fuck with us so we hung his body outside of the nearest subway stop.’
‘And you are what, neighbours? Live in the same city?’ Isla arches a brow, ‘Despite your reputation and what you do to others?’
I shrug, not entirely sure how to answer that. We can’t just kill every other group there is. That would be a bit reckless considering we don’t want humanity to go entirely extinct and we do want to keep building our community.
Vish takes my silence as his cue to jump in and share his useless knowledge. ‘We’re trying to rebuild society and going around killing everyone wouldn’t help with that. We just kill the bad guys.’
Isla and Fauna both scoff.
‘What?’ Vish asks.
‘You are the bad guys, dumbass.’ The pink-haired woman chimes in. ‘The big bad Skulls that everyone fears, blah blah blah.’
I laugh, liking her spirit.
Ruaridh clears his throat, ‘We need to get back before we're spotted.’
‘Yeah, it’s not like we're going to be spotted on this big ass open bridge.’ Luna, the pink one snarks.
‘Stay low,’ Ru instructs us, and without another word, we all crouch following after him.
I look around, realising how much of a synchronised group these women are, because silently, without a word, they have all form a protective barrier around Isla.
The redheaded woman at the back with an arrow notched in her bow scans our surroundings for any threats following, whilst Fauna leads them at the front, gripping her axe ready for any surprises coming our way.
The others fan along Isla’s sides, not even blinking at the fact that they have automatically decided to put themselves in harm's way to protect my girl and our child.
These women have my absolute respect.
We make it to the stadium with no issues. Not a peep out of anyone but our group. Just the destroyed streets and the seagulls' song for company.
Isla didn’t say anything else to me for the rest of the journey and I didn’t push for her to. She’s an enigma. I can’t get a feel for what she's thinking. One second she is refusing to talk to me, then I feel like we're getting somewhere, then she is cutting me off again.
Never mind, I’ll be here for her no matter what, no matter how long it takes to tear down those walls she has carefully put up against me.
I’d known from the moment I laid eyes on her that she would be mine forever. And I’m not a man that changes his mind or goes back on his word.
The view of the stadium comes closer, it’s large redbrick walls standing proud. A few meters ahead are the outer walls, the ones that we built a few years ago when we decided to extend our home outward to accommodate our animals.
‘Ru?’ Kat, one of the women guarding the wall, asks from the wooden lookout station. Her skull mask does not show her features but the pitch of her voice suggests she is concerned.
‘They are joining us.’ He answers. ‘My sister is part of their group, let them in.’
Kat’s eyes widen behind her mask but she doesn’t ask questions. Instead, she quickly motions to whoever is stationed at the gate to let us in.
Isla stands up straighter, her jaw set in a harsh line reminding me of the strong, battle-ready expressions her brother wears.
I ready myself to move after her but Fauna is there before I can finish the thought. Her big eyes imploring me to leave it and let her be.
But I don’t want to. I’ve suffered for months without my girl, one-hundred and fifty-two nights I’ve spent longing for her. Tormented by my imagination and what could be happening to her.
Fauna must feel my turmoil as her eyes soften but she subtly shakes her head, warning me not to try.
A sharp sting blooms across my tongue as I sink my top front teeth into its flesh. Frustration is taking over me at being kept apart from Isla.
Ru motions for Fauna and Isla to enter first acting as another barrier between us and I can’t stand it. After them, the others enter one by one, their guards still up but willing to follow their friends.
Then it’s just Vish and I left alone at the entrance.
‘You alright, man?’
I sigh, releasing the pinching stab of my teeth on my tongue.
My head is a war of emotions, one primarily being pissed off at not being able to get close to her.
‘I don’t know…’
‘At least you know where she is. Know she's safe.’
I nod. He's right and that fact has lightened the burning pain of worrying for her safety. But a new one has come along and replaced it.
‘She’s pregnant, Vish.’
He doesn’t need me to say it outright. He’ll have been able to put two and two together — us living in a society without easy access to modern medicine, none of us having a fucking clue on how to deliver a baby… the concerns are endless.
‘We’ll figure it out. Whatever you need, I’m here to help. Isla means the world to me…’