Page 86 of Veiled in Brick

Luke grumbled, “That’s unfortunate.”

“And nothing like that needs to happen again,” Liam pressed.

Luke said bluntly, “I disagree.”

Liam ignored everyone’s insistence and stood, saying, “I’ll be a half hour—tops.”

He stuck his hand out for me to give him my keys, and I narrowed my eyes at him. Instead of handing over the keys to my car, I pushed myself to stand as well.

I grabbed my purse from the back of my chair and spoke to Luke and Claire, “See you two in a bit, yeah?”

They both nodded as if they expected me to say no less. I turned my head back to Liam, and when he rolled his eyes, I crossed my arms over my chest.

“Zoey,” he spoke my name on an exhale.

“You wanna do this here?” I challenged.

Liam sighed once more. “No.” He glanced at Luke and Claire, “See you guys in a few.”

They murmured quiet goodbyes, and Liam grabbed my hand to lead me out of the restaurant. My eyebrows unintentionally raised at the gesture, but by the time he was pulling me along and squeezing my fingers with his, I felt them lower. We weaved between tables, our steps clunking against the salt-stripped wood floor until we reached the patio. There were patrons having pleasant conversations filling the area, and Liam quickly led me to the boardwalk. He stepped to the side, allowing the flow of traffic to walk around us, and dropped my hand.

His expression was hesitant. “Zoey—”

“If you’re about to tell me to stay with Luke and Claire, you’ve officially lost it.”

He exhaled heavily. “You really don’t need to do this. I don’t need you to see however this conversation is gonna go.”

“So, you have lost it,” I remarked. “Good to know.”

“I’ll just see if he has anything to do with all this, you can have a good quick visit with your family, and then hopefully we can drive back home with a better idea of who this freak is.”

“I know the plan, that’s not the point.” I spoke in a hasty whisper, “The last time you talked with your father, you wound up having a panic attack on your kitchen floor.”

“I remember,” he grumbled as he glanced to the ground. “Not my best moment, but kinda my point. Ya don’t need to see anything else if this whole talk goes to shit.”

“News flash, Lee—I want to be there for the moments when you’re not at your best.”

He looked at me, then. I mean, really looked at me—investigated my face—dove into my eyes to determine my sincerity. I watched his shoulders sag as his expression softened at my admission.

“You really mean that, don’t you?”

I huffed out a breath. “I don’t say things I don’t mean.”

“I know,” he replied. “It’s just that you’re the type of person that normally shows people how they feel instead of actually saying it.”

His observation was astute. At any point when I was unable to speak the words that were truly on my mind, I would typically cover them up with something crass or clam up as if I were suddenly mute.

“Well…I’m saying it now,” I told him quietly.

Liam’s gaze was thankful, and he whispered, “Okay.”

“Okay, we’re going, then?”

He nodded, a hint of a sad smile on his lips, and we began to walk once more. The back of my right hand brushed with his as we strolled along, and I entwined my fingers through his. I heard him hum a contented sound as he brushed his thumb back and forth over my hand. I most certainly could have played off my gesture as an urge to comfort Liam in the moments leading up to what could be a stressful encounter, but I knew in my mind that was only a partial truth for the action soothed me. Though I wasn’t the one that needed it at the moment, I had solace in my bones. I gave his hand a gentle squeeze, he mimicked the movement, and I relished in the rush.

His touch had only left me for the brief moment when we entered my car. Liam had taken the driver’s seat with one hand on the wheel and the other clasping mine, and we drove in silence. It wasn’t until I noticed that we were leaving the city limits when I spoke up.

“I thought Carter was in Southport.”

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