Chapter 3
NIKO
Ithink Liv was going to die if I didn’t hitch a ride in her RV.
With a grin, I move the bacon around the pan a little, watching the grease bubble and pop while the meat continues to cook.
Sure, I think there’s a lot more to this trip than deciding it’s time for her to see what the world is like after being at the shelter as long as she has.
A lot more than she’s saying with her words as well as her expressions and body language.
It’s that thought that had me inspecting her RV while she was meeting with Aisling.
It’s nice, in very good shape. It seemed safe, and I now know that it is after getting jostled around in it for a few hours while Liv drove like a maniac on the highway.
But it’s what I found while I was snooping around that leads me to believe there’s more going on, and death might have been imminent.
The outside storage compartments, the ones most people would put lawn furniture or some shit in, are all full of weapons.
Pistols, handguns, semiautomatic rifles.
Hunting knives, pocket knives, butcher knives, basically anything with a blade and handle.
Her collection rivals that of a few of the guys I knew at home and when I found what I’m assuming is a makeshift kidnapping kit, I had to question if she was part of some Bratva here in Minnesota I’m not familiar with.
Ropes, handcuffs, zip ties, chains, and duct tape.
Gloves and splatter guards, full body aprons and tarps.
I have no idea what this girl is planning but it was the biggest red flag she’s thrown at me yet.
Well, the biggest red flag I’ve seen even if it wasn’t one I was supposed to find.
Oddly enough, I don’t think that’s why she would have died without me. The girl’s life skills seem to be severely lacking. Her knowledge of weapons isn’t going to keep her fed, which is why I’m cooking for her now.
Liv is clearly preparing for some kind of war no one else knows about. Once I broke into the RV, I knew she wouldn’t make it all the way to the other side of Minneapolis.
She cannot grocery shop for shit. Which leads me to believe she can’t cook, either.
So, after we had our brief exchange outside her room, I waited for Liv to go say her goodbye to Benji, knowing damn well that adorable little boy was going to occupy her for hours. That gave me enough time to meet with Wren and Aisling to get my shit from them.
The first time Liv said she might leave, I put in for my papers.
New identity, meds, the works, just like she did.
Something in my gut was telling me I should, that I was going to need them way before I was ready to leave the safety of the shelter, but I’m glad as fuck I had the foresight.
It wasn’t my original plan to literally hide out so I could leave with her. I know Liv would have fought me on it, but I figured I could follow her maybe a day or two after. Then I saw her mobile armory and made the split second decision to stow away as she put it.
I’m sure when whatever shit inevitably goes down, she’ll be glad I’m here.
Growing up the way I did and holding the position I had, I’m more valuable to her in that sort of setting than she realizes, and in the meantime, I can make sure she eats more than the forty cans of pears she has in the pantry.
“I told you, you don’t have to cook for me.”
I smirk as she comes out of the bathroom, sidestepping around me toward the fridge.
“And I told you I would earn my keep until you forgave me for scaring you.” I plate our bacon with the omelettes and shut off the stove. “Or hiding out in here, whichever you get over first.”
She sets two bottles of water on the table then drops down into a seat with a huff. “I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself, Niko.”
“I’m sure you are.”
“Liar,” she says as she hides her smile while taking a drink.
She does that a lot.
Smiles at me then stops herself or hides it.
It’s a little strange, almost as if she has to try extra hard to be a crabass around me. Or like it bothers her that she doesn’t want to be one around me. Either way, I don’t really understand why she feels the need to hide something so normal, but maybe that’s actually the answer.
If she likes me, she has intense feelings surrounding it which causes her to be a jerk. However, that also leads to her feeling bad about it. The circle of agony makes perfect sense to me, and that’s all that matters.
I don’t know why Liv was at Omega’s Haven. It’s possible refusing to allow herself to be happy plays into why she is reacting this way.
Grinning at my inner monologue, I set down our food then slide into the seat across from her.
The idea that I might make her happy makes me happy. Which I will admit is weird. I generally don’t give a shit, especially not after what I’ve been through, but I like that Liv might genuinely enjoy my company. There’s even a small part of me that gets excited by the thought of it.
Another reason I invited myself along.
Aside from Tati, there was only one person in my previous life that I wanted to make happy and I thought I did, but after the way that ended, feeling this way about Liv should probably scare me. Or at least make me leery.
It doesn’t.
It hasn’t since I first saw her.
I like Liv, and the more time we spend together, the more that grows, and whether I want to admit it or not, it’s part of why I didn’t want her to leave, and an even bigger part of why I’m here now.
I don’t make connections easily, I never have, and I wasn’t about to let this one slip through my fingers until I figured things out.
The fact that she obviously needs me is just a convenient excuse.
“I didn’t realize you could cook,” Liv says around a mouthful of omelette. “Not that it’s ever come up in conversation.”
I arch a brow as I finish chewing my own bite. “Because we’ve always had such deep and meaningful chats.”
She snorts and my smile grows.
I’m still not sure why she has this effect on me.
Why her halfassed smiles make my chest go tight or how her voice, when it’s stripped of defensiveness, makes my stomach twist into knots.
Honestly, I didn’t put a lot of stock into either of those things just like I didn’t overthink how easy it was for me to strike up a friendship with her.
I haven’t thought twice about the way I’ve gradually become more invested in her, more attached, or how I’ve started seeking her out on an emotional level.
Not until she flashed her tits at me, anyway.
Several parts of my body acknowledged that in a way I’m definitely not used to, and that in itself is a huge fucking sign for someone like me.
It’s probably best if I ignore all of it.
I’m sure the forced proximity will make that easy as hell.
Barely refraining from rolling my eyes at my internal sarcasm, I watch as Liv finishes her food, a little bit of anxiety creeping into her pretty green eyes as she does.
“I’m going to sleep out here.” Those grassy orbs go wide as they dart to my face. “Or I can crash in the truck.”
I’m not stupid enough to think my being here isn’t going to give her some kind of anxiety.
We are omegas, sharing space like this isn’t easy, it’s not really heard of in my experience.
The idea of shacking up probably bothers me a lot less than it bothers her, and I have no intention of making that worse by being somewhere she doesn’t want me.
And both of those thoughts are unfortunately more things for me to ignore if I want to keep my sanity. Analyzing why she might not want me in her space while trying to figure out why I want to be in it will definitely drive me nuts if I put any more thought into it.
Liv starts shaking her head but has to take a drink before answering me.
One she quickly starts choking on for no apparent reason.
“You gonna make it?” I ask as I hand over my water when hers is empty and hasn’t helped. “Or is this little outing going to turn into a visit to the ER?”
Her coughing subsides and she shakes her head again. “Sorry.” Liv clears her throat and finishes my drink, too. “You caught me off guard.”
“Clearly.”
“Again,” she says with a smirk despite the way her eyes are watering. “But I don’t want you sleeping in the truck.”
“This is fine, then.”
“The table doesn’t fold away.”
I shrug and look over the half moon shaped booth. “I see that.”
“But you’re tall.”
“True.” I finish my bacon and watch her face as Liv tries to to work out the mechanics of my six-foot-one ass sleeping here. “I’ll be fine.”
She looks at me skeptically. “You’re going to be one giant cramp in the morning.”
“I’ll stretch out in the truck. Assuming you’ll let me ride in it when we leave.”
“I’m not that big of an asshole, Niko.” She rolls her eyes. “If I’d have known you were back here, I would have made you come up to the cab sooner.”
Clearing my plate, I nod then wait for her to do the same. “Then it’s settled. I'll sleep here tonight then uncrumple myself in the morning.”
“Uncrumple?” Liv asks as she takes our dishes before I get the chance. “Niko, honey, that’s not a word.”
Honey.
One stupid, insignificant word. A slip of the tongue. A habit, even. Meaningless. It’s nothing to read into.
For something so dumb, it has us both reacting.
Liv clears her throat again as her cheeks go pink, quickly giving me her back as she starts washing the plates. All while my heart starts to beat a little faster and my stomach dips before shooting back up to my throat.
Dimitri was the only person to give me a nickname, a pet name with some sort of emotional tie.
There were a few over the years, probably close to a dozen, but darling was my favorite.
He always said it with so much love, like he meant it from the bottom of his soul, and each time he called me that, I believed him.
I shouldn’t have.
Just like I shouldn’t think Liv means anything by calling me honey.
It’s hard not to, though.
I don’t form attachments, I don’t feel attraction or desire for people. I didn’t, anyway, not before Dimitri, and Liv is the only other person to make me feel similarly.
It’s probably a trauma bond.
We didn’t go through our bullshit together, we haven’t even talked about it, but I know a bullet wound when I see one. Liv has a few and they were still relatively fresh when we met. I probably made the connection back then and somewhere in my twisted mind, it became a lot deeper than I intended.
An accidental bond formed out of separate and silent trauma.
One that’s grown over the last year and a half, and it took essentially trapping myself with her for me to see it for what it really is. For me to understand it.
“There are extra blankets in the closet.” Liv sets the dishes in the drying rack before walking past me to the tiny bedroom. “If you need anything else, just…” She bounces on the balls of her bare feet then nods behind her. “I’ll be in here, so just give me a shout.”
I nod and settle into the seat, watching her until she pulls the accordion door closed, still staring long after.
Regardless of how it started, I’ve officially become obsessed with this woman, and I’ve inserted myself into her life because of it.
I blindsided myself with a deep-seated connection once again.
All I can do now is hope I hide it better than I did the last time this happened. Falling in love with Liv is just as dangerous as it was with Dimitri, and she has a full-blown arsenal to prove it.