Jude was back in his chair but had a protective hand on his friend’s arm, and a forbidding scowl on his face that did not bode well for the next person who upset Liam.

The cops barely glanced at her as she walked in and took a spot on Liam’s other side.

“-heard a noise,” Liam was saying, his ruined voice a hoarse whisper. His expression revealed his misery at having to recount the attack. “I went out to the top of the stairs… heard it again. Knew I had to get out.”

“So you went downstairs?” the detective asked.

Liam nodded, wincing in pain at the slight movement. “I called 911… left the phone off the hook. Wanted to get to my car in the garage. Get out.”

He reached for a plastic cup on the nearby tray. Lily handed it to him and they all waited while he took a few sips of water. Talking this much had to be painful.

He lowered the cup to his lap. “A guy stepped out of the dining room. Cut me off. Big fucker… all in black, wearing a ski mask.” The cup in his lap trembled violently and Lily grabbed it before it spilled, set it back on the tray.

She propped her arm on the pillow beside him, stroked his hair. “It’s okay, sweetie. You’re safe now. Go on.”

“I ran-he chased me. Caught me, hit the back of my head. Threw me down.” He paused, swallowed hard, composing himself. “He hit me with a billy club a few times, slammed my head into the floor. And then he wrapped a cord around my neck. Started choking me and… I thought I was dead.”

A dangerous, animal noise rumbled in Jude’s chest. She had no doubt that if he ever found out Dietz was behind this, he’d make the man suffer.

For one crazy moment, she came close to blurting Dietz’s name to the cops. Telling them who she was, everything. But that would be suicide. SHADO did not exist anywhere on record. The cops would think she was insane with her tale of espionage, and they would all be dead by morning.

“Why would anyone want to kill me?” The devastated look in his eyes was almost more than she could bear.

“That’s what we hope to find out, Mr. O’Neil,” the detective said. “Could he have been a burglar you surprised? Maybe after jewelry or electronics?”

“I don’t know, I…”

“Do you remember something?” Jude asked.

“Yeah. I told him I had money and he said… it wasn’t about money.” Liam’s eyes filled. “He said it was about teaching someone a lesson.”

The officers exchanged a look.

“Did he say anything else?” the detective asked.

“No.”

“Any idea what that means?”

Liam glanced at Jude, then looked away, picking at the bedcovers. “No.”

A few more pointed questions later, the cops left, no closer to answers than when they’d arrived.

Liam studied Jude. “This has something to do with you and your mysterious trips, doesn’t it?”

Jude hung his head. “I don’t know. I wish I could remember. I’m so sorry.”

Do I tell him?

No. His memory needed to return naturally. No telling what damage could be done if she suddenly hit him with the truth.

Liam shook his head. “Forget it. We’ll be okay.”

“Will you? Be okay?” Jude clasped his friend’s shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “I know about Dev and Geneva. How you feel about them.”

Liam’s bitter laugh emerged as a wheeze. “Do you? Too bad they don’t feel the same.”

“You should’ve seen them, buddy. They were frantic when we heard about your attack. Dev is beating himself to a pulp for not telling you how they feel-”

“Guilt.” Liam’s lips compressed into a thin line.

“No, love.”

“Whatever. The fact is, they were with you two last night. Not me. If I hadn’t been hurt, they wouldn’t have realized their great love for me,” he insisted, voice almost gone. “I don’t want to see them right now, either of them. Take care of it, Jude.”

“If that’s what you want,” Jude said slowly.

“It is.”

“Just promise me one thing, my friend.” Jude paused. “Don’t throw away a chance at true love. Even if the road isn’t nice and smooth.”

Liam’s expression became determined. “Me? I’m not throwing away anything. If they want me, they’ll have to fight for me.”

Damn, he hated hospitals and he was glad to have Liam home. No one ever got any rest there, what with all the poking and prodding every hour. His friend was exhausted, fear and shock taking their toll.

Not to mention his brooding over his lovers, who, after a round of arguing with Jude, had honored Liam’s wishes.

Liam said sadly that they gave up too easily. Maybe he was right.

He and Lily brought him in through the kitchen and paused long enough to make him take a painkiller. The doctor had prescribed a mild sleep aid to help him rest at night, if needed, but they’d cross that bridge soon enough. Right now, they all could use a nap.

As they trekked through the dining and living rooms, approached the foyer, Liam must’ve reacted badly, because Lily soothed him. Kept him walking past.

Jude thanked God Lily had the presence of mind to have him phone the housekeeper, get her in here to clean up before Liam came home. The woman had reported that the tile was smeared with his blood. Jude called the window and glass service again as well, who made another trip to fix the broken window where the intruder entered the house.

“Where are we going?” Liam asked, nervous.

Lily tried to sound upbeat. “We’re going to get you tucked into bed, sweetie. You need some real rest.”

“M-my bed?”

“Yes, why?”

“No. Don’t m- make me s- stay down here alone,” he rasped, pleading. “What if… he comes back? I can’t-can’t-”

Oh, Christ. The guy was about to have a panic attack. How could he have been so thoughtless?

“Easy does it,” Jude said firmly. “Of course you don’t have to stay down here. We’ll just take you upstairs and put you in Lily’s room for now. Sound good?”

“O-okay.”

Upstairs, Lily got Liam into bed, fussing over him. “Do you want us to stay?”

“Yes,” he said, barely audible. “If you guys don’t mind.”

“Mind? Don’t be silly! Strip, Jude. We’re going in.”

He shed his clothes and slid under the covers with a tired groan. They sandwiched Liam between them, holding him close, doing their best to let him know he was loved. Protected. He snuggled in with a sigh and almost immediately fell asleep.

As Jude drifted off, he silently cursed Geneva and Dev for not fighting harder for the man they loved. This distance between them wasn’t good. Liam should be with them right now, not settling for his second choice.

Everything was fucked-up and he didn’t have a clue how to make it right.

Lily sat at the computer, cursing the loss of the file, and not for the first time. She’d made two more covert trips down to the war room, and come up empty. All weekend, watching Liam slink around the estate like a pale ghost while Jude worried himself sick, she’d agonized over what to do. Dietz would be in contact again in a few days, and by then he’d know Jude wasn’t getting the poison.

She had a plan. It was a sucky plan, but better than nothing.

One last time, she tried phoning Michael Ross. When Simon started in with his usual song and dance, Lily cut him cold.

“Listen to me, and hear what I’m saying. If you don’t tell Michael to put his sorry, baggy ass on the phone, I’m going to be on your doorstep in an hour. And if I have to go to all that trouble, I will come in whether I’m invited or not.”

In less than thirty seconds, a tired voice said, “I’ll have you know my ass is not baggy. It’s so tight you could bounce a quarter off it. What the fuck gives, Lily?”

Now that she had his attention, she wasn’t going to waste a second. “You have a traitor in your midst, Michael. And no matter what line of bullshit Robert Dietz fed you, it isn’t Jude St. Laurent.”