Liam's Revenge

Chapter 7 - The Castel

Slowly, I inch toward the door, and gesture Ri to follow me.

My hand trembles slightly as I reach for the knob. Taking a deep breath, I pull it towards me, bracing myself for the worst.

Standing on the other side, expressionless, is Liam. Beside him is Patrick. He waves at me sheepishly when I frown at him— a bandage is firmly wrapped around his arm and another around his rib.

A million questions flood my mind. How did Liam find me? Did someone tell him where I live? Has he followed me home from Policlinico?

What's he doing here?

Oh my fucking God, what if he somehow found out about Sofia?

But before I can voice any of them, Liam speaks, his voice a low growl.

"We need to talk, Alex."

No shit?

As I get closer to Liam, a primal urge washes over me. This... desperate desire to pull him into a hug, to feel the warmth of his body against mine.

But I shove the feeling down, replacing it with a mask of cool indifference.

"Talk about what?" I manage.

Liam's gaze holds mine, a storm brewing beneath the surface. "About your father."

Kieran. When will this man finally leave me alone?

"Fine. Talk."

The air crackles with unspoken tension, a silent battle waged in the space between us.

"Not here. Come with us. We have proof. You have to know about the threat he poses to you, and everyone you care about."

Come with them? Um... Where exactly?

Before I can even process what it means, and what the heck happened, Rigena bursts out of my apartment.

Her eyes widen, and a surprised gasp escapes her lips.

Not a gasp of fear, though. It's more like...um... recognition? A flicker of amusement even dances in her gaze as she sets eyes on the figure standing beside Liam.

Patrick.

Oh right. His lovely sapphire eyes and all that jazz.

Her worried gaze sweeps over Patrick's bandages, testaments to the gunshot wound.

The younger Cavanaugh seems none the worse for wear.

​​Rigena's misplaced cheer grates on my nerves even further.

Ignoring Liam's tense posture, she throws Patrick a playful air kiss, her full lips pouting voluptuously. "Well, hello stranger," she practically purrs.

Patrick, ever the charmer, doesn't disappoint. He catches Ri's air kiss with a rakish smirk, returning the gesture with a seductive flourish. A conspiratorial wink follows, completely out of place in this tense situation.

My jaw clenches. Wow. Just wow. Is this some kind of game to them? Jesus. They're behaving like a couple of crazy teens.

"Oh my god." I mouth at her, rolling my eyes.

This is neither time nor place.

Liam's reaction is, non-surprisingly, a copy-paste of mine: that of pure annoyance.

His hand tightens around the crumpled note, knuckles turning white. Lucky for her, he chooses to ignore Rigena's outburst entirely, and unlucky for me, he regains focus.

"Let's go. Outside," he commands, his voice clipped and urgent.

There's no room for argument in his tone but I sure as hell make room.