Chapter 12 #3
Plus, this was gold found on national park land. She wasn’t sure about the legalities, but what was that old saying? Better to ask for forgiveness than permission? This gold might be her only shot at freedom. But at what cost?
She didn’t like the person she’d turned into. Thievery might have been Emberly’s chosen profession—the specialty of the Black Swans—and sure, hacking might be a form of that, but she worked for the good guys.
She wasn’t a liar or a thief or a con artist.
Except, apparently, lately.
“Hey—kidding.” His shoulder bumped hers, a gentle nudge. “It’s fine.”
But it wasn’t fine. If she really cared about him—and she did, more than was probably smart—she owed him honesty. And just maybe he could help her figure out right from wrong, good from bad.
She opened her mouth, hunting for the right words. “Actually, there’s something—”
“Can we please take a break?” one of the girls whined from directly behind her. “My feet are killing me.”
Blisters were probably forming in those wet shoes, but dehydration would kill them faster than sore feet.
Liam stopped and surveyed their surroundings. They were getting into the switchbacks. The section of ruthless back-and-forth trails as they left the valley of the canyon behind. The trail widened here, offering several flat ledges big enough for the group to rest safely.
“Okay. Fifteen minutes. But we’re losing more light every minute.”
The teenagers groaned with relief, scattering to claim rocks and level spots, exhaustion written in every line of their young bodies.
Liam set the pack down, settled onto a boulder, patted the space beside him. “What were you saying?”
Right. The gold.
Maybe showing him would be easier than explaining. She lifted her pack, dug deep inside, searching for the cloth-wrapped bar.
Her fingers found something else instead. A damp granola packet she’d forgotten about. She pulled it out, held it up like a trophy.
“Food.” Coward.
His face lit up. “Maybe this’ll give everyone an energy boost.”
They divided the meager rations, passing out portions that wouldn’t satisfy a hamster. And the way the kids’ hands shook as they accepted their share, faces pale with exhaustion—she doubted peanuts and fifteen minutes would solve anything.
Liam’s expression mirrored her concern.
He settled back beside her, their position offering slight shelter from teenage eyes and ears.
His voice dropped, barely audible. “We need to stop for the night. We’re moving too slow; light’s fading.
The trail’s too narrow for safe travel without proper illumination.
And I think we only have one flashlight. ”
“The longer we’re in this canyon, the closer the Bratva get.” Her whisper barely stirred the air between them. “If that phone stops moving…”
“I know it’s risky. But so is continuing. They’re weakening. That’s when people make fatal mistakes.”
She leaned closer, caught his scent—sweat and determination and something uniquely him. “We have no food, and tomorrow they’ll be even more dehydrated.”
His jaw went rigid. “I could run out tonight. Hit the rim, bring help back by morning.”
No.
Her chest clamped tight, hand shooting out to grab his wrist. “You can’t leave.”
Selfish. She was being completely selfish, panicking for no logical reason. But she couldn’t stop the spiral.
Her mother abandoning them in that hotel room. Waking up to just a note after Emberly had run away to join the Swans. Liam disappearing under murky water.
She couldn’t survive another abandonment. Her hands started shaking, white-hot panic flooding every nerve ending. He needed her strong, steady.
Don’t fall apart. Don’t—
He pulled her against his chest, arms wrapping around her. “I’m here. I won’t leave you. I promise. We’re in this together.”
She melted into his warmth, his strength. Let herself believe, just for a moment, that promises could be kept.
After a few minutes, she tilted her head back to meet his eyes. “Are you going to tell the teens we’re stopping for the night?”
“In a minute.” His voice went soft. “Right now I’m here with you.”
He was here. For her. He’d proved it over and over.
She could trust him with the gold. With tomorrow. With everything.
She lifted her chin, pressed her lips gently to his. She meant it to be quick—just a way to say, “I’m here too.”
But the moment his warm mouth touched hers, pulling away became impossible.
His lips began to move. Tentative at first. Testing.
And when her hands tightened on the rough fabric of his jacket, drawing him closer, it was apparently all the encouragement he needed.
He deepened the kiss, turning his touch slow and deliberate, a promise that anchored her spinning world.
His arms tightened around her, holding her like she was the only thing keeping him grounded too.
Safe. For the first time in forever, she felt truly safe. His presence a shield against childhood memories, Bratva threats, Teresa’s demands. The kiss was perfect—not because it erased the danger, but because Liam made her believe they could face it together.
She wound her hands under his arms, around his shoulders. His breath hitched—a soft sound that made her want to pull him impossibly closer. She smiled against his lips, the kiss slowing but not stopping, both of them savoring each second.
Everything else faded. The teens, the Bratva, the gold—none of it mattered. Just Liam, his warmth, his steady heartbeat against hers.
She pulled back slowly, breath shaky, eyes locked on his. “Want to see that drawing of you now?”
“Trick question?” One eyebrow arched, but he didn’t move away.
She untangled herself and reached for her pack, pulled out the sketchbook. The pages had warped from moisture, but pencil marks had survived the water. She flipped through, searching for that first sketch of him.
“You should lay out those wet clothes.” Liam pulled her pack closer to make room. “They’ll start to smell if you don’t.”
She nodded, focused on finding the right page. Fingers paused on smudged lines, heart sinking at the blur. Kept searching until—
Thud.
Something heavy hit the ground.
Her breath stopped.
The gold bar.
Her eyes snapped to Liam’s face. Watched it harden to stone as he picked up the bar, turned it over in his hands. His gaze locked on hers—hardened with hurt and disbelief that cut straight through her.
“Liam—”
He shook his head, stood. The warmth from moments ago vanished. “Guess we’re not done with secrets.”
He dropped the bar beside her and stalked away, his footsteps fading into the gathering darkness.