Chapter 7 Liam
Chapter Seven
LIAM
I’m tired of going around in circles with Cillian. I take a deep breath, wrenching out of his grasp, and Cillian holds up his hands.
“I’m not questioning you, Liam, I just... This is not how we do things, not what Da would want—”
“I don’t even know if he’s Da anymore!” I sigh.
I haven’t wanted to admit it to myself, but with every day that passes, the man who raised me changes for the worse. “I don’t want to do it either, Cil, but what choice do we have? He knows we have her—”
“We talk to him. We appeal to his better nature.”
Liam barks out a laugh. “What better nature? His better nature died when Ma did.”
The door of the house slams shut, and I turn.
Dare walks up, a determined expression on his face. “We're not taking her to Ronan.”
I glare at him. “You don’t call the shots around here, Dare.”
“No, but you do. And I know you don’t want her hurt. It’s against everything the Hayes clan has ever stood for, Liam.”
I growl, running a hand through my hair.
It’s a bad habit, and I hate it, especially when it makes my hair disheveled. “You might be right, but it is not our call to make. Maggie needs to be dealt with one way or another, and standing here arguing about this is a waste of time.”
“Are we even sure it’s her?” Dare asks.
Cillian frowns. “What are you talking about? You saw the picture. It’s her.”
“Designer bag. Expensive shoes. How would Maggie Sullivan afford all of that if she’s on the run? And why would she show up to the gala in the first place?”
I hate to admit it, but Dare makes a good point. Or at least, it would be a good point if I didn’t know Maggie Sullivan’s dossier backward and forward.
I shrug. “She was probably looking for a new sucker to give her money. You were probably her target.”
“First of all, I approached her, not the other way around. Second of all, it just doesn’t make sense, Liam.” He huffs out a breath. “Look, I’m not sure if she’s Maggie or Isla, but either way, it doesn’t make it okay to hurt her, even kill her.”
Cillian turns to me, his voice low and dangerous. “I agree. I’m not taking her to Ronan’s to be killed. I’ll stop you myself if I have to."
I take a few steps toward him, chest puffed up. “You think you can stop me?”
Cillian doesn’t back down. “Damn right, I can. I always beat you when we were kids, and I can beat you now.”
“Fat chance.”
My vision starts to blur, a surefire sign that I’m going to lose it.
What’s going on with me?
I’ve never gotten this worked up over a target. But then again, none of our targets have been pretty, young women.
Dare steps between us. “Stop it. You two are like a couple of hormonal teenagers. None of us want to break the Hayes code, right?”
I don’t answer.
Cillian nods.
“I didn’t even want to take her, even though she’s a little hellcat.” He brushes his hand across his forearm, hissing.
“Better put something on that. You don’t know what’s under those nails.”
Dare rolls his eyes at my words, but I’m serious.
Maggie isn’t some fucking virgin that us mean, strong men have kidnapped. She’s a jezebel and a traitor.
Dare looks between me and Cil. “Then we all want the same thing. We’ll keep her here, watch her. I’ll stay tonight—”
I scoff. “The fuck you will. She’ll flash a little thigh at you, and you’ll let her go.”
“I may think she’s gorgeous and fuckable, but don’t ever fucking question my loyalty, Liam.”
Cillian puts a hand on my arm. “We’ll take turns.”
I nod. “I’ll stay tonight.”
Dare’s eyes widen for a second. But then he gets his poker face back on. “You wouldn't hurt a woman.”
He poses it almost like a question, but I just give him a withering glare.
When he opens his mouth to speak again, I raise my hand.
“I promise I won’t lay a finger on your girlfriend.”
Cillian just nods, like he doesn’t care one way or another.
I’m surprised we argued like this. Cillian usually just follows my lead, regardless.
I take a breath as I walk back into the house.
Isla is in the kitchen, making herself a sandwich.
She freezes when she sees me.
I stick my thumb over my shoulder and point behind me. “Back to your room.”
“Is that to be my prison cell?” She tilts her chin up, and it makes something like arousal swell in my belly.
She’s no blushing damsel. More like femme fatale.
“Make no mistake. This is not you taking a fucking vacation. Your boyfriend might have bought you some time, but you will be dealt with.”
“I’m not the woman you are look—”
“Save your lies for someone who cares.”
“I heard about you, you know?”
“Oh?” I cross my arms over my chest.
“Liam Hayes. Thirty-four. Net worth around three billion dollars. Your company brings in around twenty billion a year.”
I narrow my eyes. “What do you know about my company?”
“Plenty. I did my research before coming to the gala.”
“Research?” I bark out a laugh. “You’re not helping your case, Maggie.”
I grab her arm, lifting her gently, but she still flinches.
My chest tightens for reasons I don’t quite understand. Maybe I just hate the idea of any woman being afraid of me.
Because regardless of the front I put up, the truth is Dare was right. I’ve never hurt a woman, and I’ll be damned if I ever will.
I agreed to stay here because my da is a loose cannon at the moment, and there is no way I’ll risk our code being broken because his mind has taken a dive into demented land.
But just because I won’t hurt her, doesn’t mean I want her anywhere near me. She brings out things in me I’m not comfortable with.
So, I start dragging her to her room, and she goes dead weight, flopping down on the floor.
I groan. “What are you doing?”
“I won’t make it easy for you to take me somewhere to hurt or kill me.”
I want to scream.
Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath. When I open them again, I look at her, still on the floor.
Since she won’t move on her own, I’ll do it for her, but this nonsense ends now, and she will get out of my face.
I lean down and scoop her up into my arms, throwing her onto the bed in her room.
She bounces, and when I take a step forward, she scoots away from me, curling into a ball.
I frown. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
“Not like I can trust you.”
I stare at her for a moment. “You’re right. You can’t.”