Chapter 14 #4
Becks took a look around the small apartment.
It wasn’t messy, per se, but it also wasn’t particularly neat either.
There was a dish or two in the skin, an unfolded blanket on the couch, shoes scattered in various corners, and an open laptop on an end table.
The kitchen was to her immediate right with the living room directly in front of them, and then a small hallway that she assumed led to the bathroom and bedroom.
“Are you alone?” she asked Liam, not seeing Cameron.
“Yeah. Cami’s running late at work. What’s wrong? Why are you here?”
Becks ignored the nickname. Reaching for her brother’s upper arm, she gave him a sharp pinch with her fingers.
“Ow!” he yelped, pulling away. “What the hell was that for?”
“Why are you being such an ass-butt?” she demanded, hands on her hips. “It’s been four weeks, Liam! Four! Why aren’t you over what happened? It’s not like you were the one left at the altar. So why are you so pissed at me?”
“I’m not!” he immediately argued back. “Fuck, B, you’re my baby sister. I could never be mad at you.”
That somewhat gave her a warm feeling inside, but she refused to let that distract her. “But you’re mad at Ghost when he’s your best friend?”
Liam’s expression turned annoyed. “That’s different.”
“Then explain it to me like I’m a toddler, because clearly I am too stupid to understand.”
Liam just stared down at her, not saying anything.
Becks stared back, not giving an inch. She was not letting Liam weasel his way out of this without a damn good explanation.
And if she didn’t think it was good enough then she was going to drag Liam down to the bar where Ghost was by his ear and make the two of them kiss and makeup. So help her God…
It was a solid five minutes of them glaring at each other before Liam let out a long, frustrated sigh. “Fine!” He threw his arms up in the air before turning and heading into the kitchen.
“Where are you going?”
He opened the fridge. “Trust me, I need a beer for this conversation.”
Becks’ eyes narrowed, but she didn’t interrupt as her brother pulled a bottle from the fridge, popped the top off, and took a long chug. However, she did wonder if perhaps she was going to need wine for this conversation. What was it her brother had to say that he couldn’t say entirely sober?
Liam gestured for her to sit at the island. Becks hopped up on one of the two stools while Liam leaned on the counter from the other side. “I’ve known Ghost a long time, Becks. There’s very little I don’t know about that man.”
If anything, that left her more confused. “You’ve known me even longer. Since the day I was born,” she reminded him. “Literally. You were at the hospital with Mom and Dad.”
He nodded, clearly not arguing that fact. “And yet there are certain things, as siblings, that you and I don’t talk about that I’ve talked to Ghost about.”
Becks’ brain felt like she was solving a complicated math problem with half the variables missing. What the fuck was Liam talking about? What couldn’t he discuss—or didn’t discuss—with her?
Suddenly the lightbulb went off and her eyes widened as her jaw fell open. “Oh, God! Have you had sex with my husband?”
Liam spluttered out the beer he’d just taken a sip of. It went everywhere, including all over Becks and the counter between them. Becks yelled as Liam coughed. She immediately reached for a towel that was on the other counter, wiping down her face and hair, while Liam tried desperately to breathe.
Pounding on his chest, Liam managed to croak out, “I’m not gay!”
Becks dabbed at the front of her shirt to try to dry that too. “I know that. I meant the two of you having a threesome or something. Like the two of you and one woman.”
Red-faced from lack of oxygen, Liam shook his head.
“No. No, God, no. Well… We almost,” he confessed, “but we didn’t.
” It was Becks’ turn to start coughing uncontrollably at that.
“Christ!” Liam cursed, reaching across the counter for the towel.
He pulled it from Becks’ hands and used it to clean himself up.
“Look, I have never had sex with Ghost, but I happen to know what he likes, Becks.”
It took her a solid second, and then the shoe dropped. “Oh God!” Her cheeks flamed as she realized what it was her brother was trying to tell her. He knew Ghost’s kinks!
Liam nodded, his eyebrows raised pointedly, tossing the towel into the sink. “Meaning I now know more information about your married life than I ever wanted to know about my little sister.”
Becks dropped her face into her hands. “No, no, no… Just—” She gagged.
Why the hell did Ghost and Liam have to be so close?
Didn’t men, like, not share that stuff? She certainly did with Libby.
Hell, Ghost had even allowed her to take a ruler to his dick so she could accurately tell Libby how big he was, both flaccid and erect.
Ghost didn’t care who knew what, so long as it was verbal only.
He did not want anyone else seeing or touching what happened between them. Which she was completely on board with.
Except now she felt like her brother had been secretly watching them have sex for the past four weeks.
It was an exaggeration, sure. It wasn’t like he’d bugged the house or been standing behind them, but he knew about Ghost’s proclivities!
Which meant he would have no trouble guessing exactly what had been going on in that house since he moved out.
“Kill me now,” she groaned, dropping her arms down to the counter and hiding her face even further.
If it was anyone else in the world, this wouldn’t be so humiliating.
But this was Liam. Her protective, older brother.
The only other man she’d ever looked up to as much as she did Liam had been their father.
Would she even be able to have sex with her husband now that she knew Liam knew so much about her sex life?
That thought made Becks sit up straight. The initial ick of the revelation might take some time to wear off, but there was no way in hell she was allowing anything to stop her having sex with Ghost.
Liam set a glass of water in front of her, which she gratefully accepted. “Look, I love you, B. There’s nothing in this world you could ever say or do that would change that fact. But I can’t stand knowing you and Ghost are together.”
“Well, tough shit.” She put the glass down a little harder than necessary on the counter.
“We’re both adults, Liam. We’ve both had sex.
Do you want to know what your girlfriend said to me less than a week ago about your sex life?
” He made a face like he was nauseous. “Exactly! So we both need to get over this. I’m a grown woman.
I’m married and I might be pregnant. I have sex. It’s not that—”
“You’re pregnant?”
Becks stopped short at Liam’s question. Shit, she hadn’t meant to say that part out loud.
“Maybe,” she clarified. “We don’t know for sure, but I’m late.
” When Liam looked like he was about to come around the counter, she held up her hand to stop him.
“My point,” she emphasized, “is that we both need to get past the fact that we’re adults now and we have sex.
We don’t need details, and I never want to know the specifics of what you and Cameron get up to, but we are too close to allow this to come between us.
You and Ghost,” she added, “are too close to allow this to come between you. I want you in my life, Liam. I need you in my life. So please get your head out of your ass, acknowledge that your baby sister is now a grown woman, and put this behind us.”
He nodded towards her raised hand. “Am I allowed to hug you now?”
She didn’t lower her hand. “Are you going to stop being an ass to Ghost?”
“I’ll do one better and go apologize to him.”
Becks smiled. Turning on the stool, she held her arms wide for her brother. Liam came around the island and brought her up into his arms. He was so tall that her feet dangled, even though she was wearing heels. Tears welled in her eyes as she clung to her big brother’s neck.
“Full disclosure, I did tell Ghost that he shouldn’t have married you without my permission.”
Becks rolled her eyes, but didn’t otherwise move.
“I also accused him of taking advantage of you.”
Becks dropped her forehead to his shoulder. “Anything else?”
“Nothing I want to repeat to my little sister.”
Becks slapped him upside the head before immediately embracing him tightly again. “I forgive you, but you better make one hell of an apology to him.”
“De—”
Before Liam could finish the sentence, a huge explosion echoed, shaking the entire building.
Becks cried out as Liam dropped them to the floor, bracing himself over her like a human shield.
It was over as soon as it happened, but those seconds on the floor with her brother over her felt like a lifetime.
Slowly, Liam lifted himself off her. He carefully helped her sit up. Blinking, Becks realized that the lights had gone out, and it was only the sunlight through the cracked shades that lit the room.
“What was that?”
Liam shook his head. “Explosion of some sort. It wasn’t here, but down the road a bit.” His narrowed eyes cast downward from the window to her. “Are you okay?”
Her elbow hurt a little, but she wasn’t about to tell him that. “I’m fine.”
An alarm, almost like the Amber Alerts on Becks’ phone, went off across the room. Becks looked over her shoulder to see Liam’s phone lighting up where it sat on the coffee table. Liam stood, and then helped Becks to her feet.
“That’s not good. That’s the club’s alarm.”
Becks’ thundering heart sank into her stomach. “What does that mean?”
Before Liam could answer, the apartment door behind them opened, and Cameron stumbled inside, looking more angry than scared.
“Cami!” Liam raced over to her, helping her inside before closing the door. “Are you okay?”
“No,” she whined, clinging to him. “I was on the fucking stairs and fell. I think I twisted my ankle.”
Liam immediately swept her up into his arms and carried her over to the couch. “I need to get in touch with the club.” He reached for his phone. “Becks, can you get her some ice?”
As if she just realized Becks’ presence in her apartment, Cameron’s head snapped over to Becks in the kitchen. Becks gave her a small, reassuring smile as she headed to the freezer. She might not like the woman, but that didn’t mean she was happy to see her hurt.
Becks was looking for an icepack in the freezer when she heard a feminine giggle behind her. At first, it seemed out of place given the severity of what was happening, but then it turned into a full on laugh. Dare she say, maniacal, but that seemed too Hollywood.
“What the fuck? Cami!”
Icepack in hand, Becks turned, expecting to see Cameron trying to do something sexual to Liam, like unbuckle his pants or take off her top. So seeing her brother’s girlfriend holding a massive gun on Liam, never even crossed her mind.
“This is just too good to be true!” Cameron laughed, getting to her feet.
Liam was standing closer to the window than Becks had last seen him, like he’d been trying to get a look out to see what had happened.
Cameron stood, no longer hobbling. “Now be a good boy, Ranger dear, and drop the phone. You too,” she added to Becks in the kitchen.
“The bomb, it seems, went off early, but I now have something even better! I have both of you.”