“I will,” I whisper vehemently.
“You will what?” Liam’s hands come down on my shoulders, goose bumps rising on my skin, the low, familiar, and somehow soothing sound of his voice echoing by my ear.
I turn to face him, my back to the eternal darkness of the sky, studying his handsome face, searching his eyes for something, though I don’t know what. “Find out the truth. No matter what it is or how painful it might be.”
“And I’m going to be there by your side and holding you up if you need me.”
“I need a minute, Liam.”
At the sound of Tellar’s voice, Liam and I both turn toward a door to my left where he’s standing in an archway. “Now?” Liam asks.
“That would be my preference,” Tellar agrees.
Liam’s jaw clenches and he strokes a hand down my hair. “I’ll be right back.” He doesn’t wait for an answer and I watch him disappear through the doorway with Tellar. My fingers curl by my sides and it’s as if I am sinking in the water beyond the window while they surf the top. Without a question, they’re talking about me and somehow I’m the outsider. I swore the day I overheard that conversation between Liam and Derek that I was taking control of my life. Standing here is not me taking control. And unlike Denver, when I had no clue if Liam and Derek truly meant to kill me, I do not fear for my life. I fear where my ignorance has kept me and where it will hold me down now.
I charge toward the door and push it open, entering what turns out to be a kitchen and the first thing I see is a unique round island in two-toned pale and dark blues, with fancy pots and pans hanging from black finished cabinets above it. Male voices sound from the other side and I walk toward them, bringing into view a finely etched black triangular table with eight black leather chairs, with not two, but three men standing around it. And for once it’s not Liam who has my attention. It’s the tall blond man in a finely fitted suit with his back to me.
Liam’s gaze lifts and finds mine. “Amy.”
The man in the suit turns and his eyes go wide. “Amy!”
“What are you doing here, Derek?” I demand, tension rippling through me at the memory of that night in Denver.
The next thing I know he grabs me and pulls me into an embrace. “Thank God you’re okay. I’d never have forgiven myself for spooking you if you’d gotten hurt.” He leans back to inspect me, glancing at Liam, who has appeared by my side. “And Liam would have gone to jail for killing me, let me tell you.” He releases me, his hands going to his hips. “How are you?”
“Confused,” I say and hold up my hands, stepping back and bumping into the island. “And claustrophobic.”
Derek takes a step backwards as well and Tellar smartly stays on the other side of the table. “You’re upset.”
“Of course, she is,” Liam bites out. “Which is why I told you not to come by tonight.”
I frown at Derek. “Don’t you live in Denver?”
“I have a place here too and I feel like crap for spooking you back in Denver.”
“You didn’t. Liam did. I barely knew you. I trusted him.”
“Amy--” Liam begins and I cut him off, turning to face him.
“You’re in here having a meeting about me that doesn’t include me, Liam. I don’t like it.”
“You’ve been through enough for one night.”
“Believe me, if I haven’t broken already, I’m not going to break now.”
He grimaces. “That’s up for discussion.”
“Damaged, not broken, Liam. I made it six years without you running my life and coddling me. Suffocating me is not the way to make me feel safe with you again. Transparency is.”
His jaw flexes. “And if you have another flashback because of something I tell you?”
“I might not like my flashbacks, but I welcome anything that makes me remember.”
Liam’s eyes narrow on me a moment before he steps in front of me, his hands going to the counter on either side of my body, his body blocking the others from my view. “I knew you didn’t know certain things,” he says softly. “But you don’t remember?”
“No,” I whisper. “Or yes. Some of it. Not all of it.”
His eyes soften and he reaches up and drags gentle knuckles down my cheek. “Let’s do this in the morning when you’ve eaten and rested. They’ll still be here.”
I shake my head. “No. No. We’re here now and I’ll rest far better knowing what you already know.”
Concern etches his face. I want it to be real. It feels real. “You need to eat,” he finally says. “And sleep.”
“I can’t eat. I can’t sleep, Liam. I just want answers.”
His jaw clenches and he looks like he’s wrestling with himself over battling with me. “You really want to do this now.” It’s not a question.
“I’ve wasted six years of my life waiting. I’m not wasting another minute I don’t have to.”
“Very well, then.” He inhales and pushes off the counter, and Derek comes back into view, only now Tellar is standing on this side of the table as well. The two of them are staring at me. Liam is staring at me. The room shrinks and it suddenly feels like me against them, though I don’t think it’s really sudden at all. Maybe that’s how it’s been from day one.
Chapter Six
Liam looks between Tellar and Derek, and then at me. “Let’s all sit down and talk.”
I don’t move and neither does Tellar, who is standing directly in front of me, his arms crossed over his broad chest, and he’s not the friendly jokester of earlier. His jaw is as set and hard as his razor sharp features, his eyes sharper, angry. Is he upset with me? That makes no sense, but then not much in my life does.
I shake my head and mimic his position, crossing my arms in front of my chest. “No to sitting,” I say to Liam and then to Tellar, “Tell me what’s going on.” I cut an accusing look at Derek. “And who are you in all of this?”
Derek scrubs his jaw and plants his hands on his lean hips. “Jesus, Amy. I hate that you obviously think I’m some bad guy. I’ve spent weeks picturing you raped and murdered on the side of the road somewhere because of me.” He motions to Liam. “And Liam was losing his mind. Somebody had to keep his damn feet on the ground.”
“Update Amy,” Liam cuts in, redirecting the conversation right where I want it. To answers as he adds, “Tell her what you told us.”
Tellar flicks a surprised look at Liam. “Everything?”
“Yes,” Liam confirms. “Everything.”
“All right, then,” Tellar agrees and while his voice is soft, there is a razor edge to it to match his stare. “A man showed up at the diner looking for you after we left.”
Shocked when I probably should not be, considering what I’d been told earlier, I drop my arms, adrenaline surging through me. “Who was it?” I ask, and please let this be the moment I find out who is looking for me.
“A private eye,” he says.
Not the enlightening answer I hoped for. “Hired by whom?”
His gaze moves from me to Liam who gives him a nod before he continues with, “He never knew who hired him. Sealed envelopes. Untraceable funds. Very James Bond-ish.”
Disappointment fills me. “Do you believe him?”
“Yes,” Tellar confirms. “I believed him, but like most, he had a price. He was willing to do what was necessary to find out if ours was right and thanks to Liam, it was.”
A chill races down my spine and my throat constricts. “Had?” I ask hoarsely. “Was? Why past tense?”
“He was meeting up with my man when--”
“Your man?” I interrupt and turn to Liam. “How many people are involved in this? How many people did you tell about me?”
Liam’s expression tightens. “No one is involved that I don’t trust fully.”
“How many?” I repeat.
“How many isn’t the issue,” Tellar snaps. “What happened when my man went to meet that PI is what is—”
Something in his tone reaches beyond his obvious agitation and a sense of dread I think I intentionally sidestepped fills me all over again. “What happened?”