Page 7 of Battered Moves

“Don’t worry, Chase. You never promised me anything, and how could I expect you to only want me when I want all of you? We haven’t talked about boundaries or what this is. It hurt me, but my feelings are my problem, not yours.”

Jaxon lets go of her, and Chase pulls her to him. He takes her other hand and places it flat on his chest, above his heart.

“Liv, I swear I haven’t been with anyone else since I met you. My entire world shifted, and everything that was important to me no longer matters. What we share is too precious to risk, and I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we only want you. There will be no one else but us.”

“Just us,” Jaxon affirms, his commanding gaze locked onto hers.

“Just us,” Ryder and I say, echoing him at the same time.

“That girl came onto me, but I pushed her away. I would never do that to you. You mean too much to me,” he tells her, cupping her cheek.

“He’s telling the truth,” I say, and Liv looks at me. “I have proof if you need to see it, but I wouldn’t let him talk to you like that if he really did what you think.” Liv nods slowly, and Ryder chuckles beside me.

“He even punched Chase for what happened,” he reveals, and I elbow him in the ribs. Liv inhales sharply as she looks from me to Chase and back again.

“You did?” she asks, and Chase’s mouth turns up slightly.

“He did, and he got me good, but I deserved it. You wouldn’t have left if it wasn’t for me.”

She pulls her shoulders toward her head. “Actually, there’s something else I need to tell you guys,” she says, and we all look at her curiously. “When I left the studio after seeing you and her…” She pauses, and I bite my lip. “Chris had a letter for me at reception. It was from Liam, and I panicked.”

“What the fuck?” Jaxon erupts. “How does he know you’re here?”

“I have no idea,” Liv says, her lip quivering. “He used to send me letters from the institution he was in back in Toronto, but I only opened the first one. I haven’t told anyone where I’ve gone, only our old manager who helped me get out of there, and he would never tell him where I am.”

“What did the letter say?” I ask.

“He just wrote that he missed me and couldn’t wait to get to know my new friends,” she says. “I thought he would come for you guys, Gunner, and Chris, so I panicked. I thought the only way to protect you was to leave.” Jaxon takes her chin in his forefinger and thumb.

“Eyes on me, Liv,” he commands, and she looks up at him. “He won’t get to you or to us, but we need to know everything and we need to stick together. We’re a family, and we protect each other, but I can’t protect you if you don’t tell me anything or if you run away, you hear me?”

“I hear you,” she whispers, and Jaxon gives her a quick peck before releasing her.

“Where did you go?” Ryder asks, taking her hand. “What was the plan, baby?”

“There wasn’t a plan,” she replies, looking down at the floor. “I got in my car and drove for nearly a day. After sleeping in the car for a few hours, I thought about what happened and called Frank, our former manager. I asked him if he could check if Liam was still being held in the facility, and he came back to me pretty quickly, confirming that Liam was still there. I thought he might have gotten information on my whereabouts, even though I have no idea how that could have happened. Maybe a viewer recognized me or something. He can’t just come here and hurt any of you, though, so I decided it was best to come back, tell you everything, and figure out a plan together.”

“Good girl,” Jaxon murmurs after kissing her temple.

“Yes, you did good, beautiful,” I say, smiling at her, but Chase notices Liv’s exhausted state.

“You look beat, Liv. Have you slept since then?” he asks.

“After the call with Frank, I drove right back here through the night,” she admits, shaking her head, so Jaxon immediately takes charge.

“All right, let’s get you back to our place. I’ll cook something for you and you can sleep,” he says, but Liv hesitates.

“I can go home to sleep, Jaxon, it’s no problem. I need a shower too.”

“As if we would leave you alone now,” Ryder says, putting an arm around her shoulder. “You can decide, Liv. Either you come home with us to shower, eat, and sleep there, or we all come home with you.”

“I don’t think we’ll all fit in that tiny apartment,” Liv says with a shrug as we make our way towards the exit.

“How come you have such a small one? It seems like money isn’t the issue,” Ryder asks her, and I cringe at his blunt question.Can he not put his foot in his mouth for once?Only Liv just laughs.

“What? Do I not meet your typical celebrity standard?” she teases.

“I-I didn’t mean—” Ryder stammers, but Liv interrupts.

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