Running with Rogues

CHAPTER 35 - TOUCH OF ANARCHY

There was a moment of silence. A moment which seemed to stretch out like an elastic band as the tension in the room skyrocketed. And when it finally snapped, all hell seemed to break loose.

Liam swore. He swore, and then he went for the guy. I thought he was going to attack him, but instead he just dragged him into the room and shut the door behind him. The man didn't resist. In fact, he seemed so shell-shocked that he just stood there, limp and pliable.

"It is you," he breathed.

"Keep your voice down," Liam snapped back. "Or we're both dead."

Too late, I started to move. I was going towards them — that was all I knew. I had no idea what I'd do once I reached them, but I didn't think it would be pleasant. One of my hands slipped into the pocket where I kept my knife.

I wasn't usually the sort of person who jumped straight to 'spontaneous murder' when they were trying to solve a problem. That was more Rhodri's thing. But when it came to protecting Liam ... well, I had yet to find a line I wasn't willing to cross.

I got within a foot of the man, close enough to smell the fear on his breath, before a hand closed around my arm and yanked me to a standstill. No sooner had I started to pull free of that hold than Liam had stepped between us.

"Don't you dare," he snapped, those dark eyes flashing a warning.

"He knows, you idiot," I hissed through the link. "We have to."

Liam growled from deep within his chest. "We're not killing him."

"We're not," I agreed. "I am. Get out of my way."

I tried to step around him. He wrapped an arm around my waist and another diagonally across my shoulders, holding me in place almost effortlessly. And for all my wriggling, I got nowhere. He was bigger and heavier than I was, and he was much, much more determined.

"Enough, Eva," Liam snapped. His wolf was too drugged-up to do anything much, so I didn't feel inclined to listen. It took me another few seconds to realise that his voice was a lot like Mason's when he was angry, and that ... well, that did the trick.

I went still. Liam let go of me a heartbeat later, probably worried, and I just stood there, frozen in place. His forehead furrowed slightly as he tried to work out how he'd managed it. I doubted he would guess it, but the link warmed with an apology anyway.

All of a sudden, it was calm again. I caught my breath. Liam was still standing between me and the young man. He took my hand — my left hand, to stop me reaching for my knife in case I changed my mind — and then he looked back towards our guest.

Their eyes met, because the man was staring at him and had been since he'd first peered through the door. Luckily, he was still too busy being astonished to pay me any attention. And if he'd thought our little scrap was weird, he didn't show it.

"We thought you were dead," he said hoarsely. "I mean ... shit, Liam. Look at you. You're all grown-up."

Liam shrugged. His expression was difficult to read. He was wary, for obvious reasons, but he was looking at the man in the same way he looked at Rhodri. There was affection lurking somewhere beneath the caution.

"Hey, Charlie," he said quietly.

The man blinked at him. He'd stuck his hands in his pockets at some point, he took them out now and reached towards Liam, as if to touch him and make sure he was real. Liam, of course, flinched away from him.

Charlie's hand fell back to his sides. "Oh. Sorry ... I, uh— I forgot about that. I'm just... I don't understand. Where the hell have you been?"