Page 84 of Veiled in Brick

Liam’s body went still, his eyes focused on the ground beneath us in a murderous glare that could have set the earth ablaze.

Each word clipped and carefully selected, Liam asked, “Did he say anything else?”

The exact sentences that the man had spoken rang through my ears as if they were being screamed at me, but I ignored it for his turn of phrase was neither here nor there—I wouldn’t allow it to be, anyway.

“That he’ll find me.”

The expectant look on Liam’s face proved that he knew there was more to that, and he pressed, “And?”

“And…” I couldn’t bring myself to say the words. “What do you think, Lee? He wants to finish what he started.”

A visceral noise caught in his throat and he said, “Okay, I can’t let you go to Ogden without me, Zo’.”

The desperation in his tone struck me. I had always been able to take care of myself, and I desired to be a woman who stands on her own, but the feeling of security that his touch brought me as we both sat in the grass on the side of this god forsaken highway knew no bounds. I had just finished emptying my stomach onto the concrete and ensuring that there was little to no air in my lungs mere minutes ago and, somehow, I felt safe. I wanted with everything in me to say that I didn’t need a man by my side for protection or reassurance…but as I had thought earlier today, I reminded myself that Liam wasn’t a man. Well, he was—but he was Liam.

My Liam.

And yes, the thought of having him with me and inevitably introducing him to my parents had made me want to rip my heart from my chest. To see it beat in my hands and confirm that it was real—to relish in the feeling for just a moment before I doused the organ in liquid nitrogen to reverse the melting that I had recently become accustomed to—but I fucking couldn’t. I couldn’t stop the thaw. The burn was, simply, too ravaging…and I was a puddle at his feet.

Liam sighed heavily. “I—I know it’s not like you’ll be alone; you’ll be with your family and Luke and Claire…and you’re probably hundreds of miles away from where this guy is. I know that, I just—”

“Stay with me, then,” I suggested quietly, realizing that his rattled off rationale was one to subdue my usual aversion to romantic closeness.

He glanced my way. “At your parents’ house?”

“Yeah,” I replied.

“You know you don’t have to do that,” he muttered. “Let me come because I want to, I mean.”

“I’m not; I want you there.”

I truly meant it, and the way that his expression softened just enough to mask the prior anxiety and rage in his eyes settled any of my unease on the matter.

“Okay.” He looked me up and down, squeezing at my waist once with his fingers. “You ready to get back in there?”

I looked back to my car to see Luke and Claire watching us, their heads hovering over the center console. When my eyes met theirs, they threw themselves back into their seats.

I exhaled. “No—but I don’t have a choice, do I?”

“Nope,” he returned, pushing himself up to stand and brushing the dirt off of his jeans. He extended a hand to me and I took it. He jerked me upwards, and I bobbled to my feet. He examined my stability, leaning back to observe me properly, and asked, “Good?” I nodded, and he breathed out, “Good—I’ll drive.”

Chapter 14

The admission of my unexpected phone call to Luke and Claire went as well as I could have expected—which was, of course, not well at all. The initial hysteria of the moment eventually died down, the importance of seeing if Liam’s father knew anything about the man remained, and we carried on our way. After two more hours of our drive to clear our minds, I insisted that regardless of how pressing the matter at hand was and how urgently Liam wanted to confront Carter before arriving at my parents’ house a mere hour away, we all needed food—and I needed breathing room. So, with that thought in mind, we were strolling down the boardwalk in Liam’s hometown, Southport.

The marina in Southport was busy. People were bustling in the few surrounding shops and scattered about the town, happily chatting as sunshine rained down and the salty scent of the ocean hung in the air. A restaurant specializing in fish tacos sat right on the water. An a-frame sign sat on its blue wooden porch, inviting in all patrons who desired beer, tequila, fresh fish, or all of the above.

The cheeky drawing on the sign depicted a drunken fish taking a swim in a shot glass, and Claire snorted in laughter when she saw it as we were walking in search of our lunch. We all ambled inside, the distraction of a decent meal after the long drive welcome, and though the panic was still attempting to cling to my brain, I managed to push it to the wayside as we all smiled and enjoyed each other’s company.

Well, everyone except Liam. After we were long-finished with our lunch, Liam sat beside me with his food hardly touched, his back ramrod straight as the waitress returned to us.

“Are you sure you don’t want a box?” the bubbly teenager asked as she batted her lashes in his direction.

“What?” Liam glanced to her, to his plate, and then back again. “Oh. No, I’m good.”

She nodded, picked up the remainder of the plates before us which almost looked to be wiped clean, and then asked, “Anything else for you guys?”

“Ah,” Liam placed his napkin on the table, “you guys want to chill here for a bit?”

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