Two Vipers were stationed inside the door of the room where Liam was being held. There would be more outside the door, and more still outside the warehouse. Fortunately, it looked like they hadn’t noticed that he was awake yet, so he had time to take stock of his situation.
He was pretty sure his nose had been broken and his eyes were both swollen and sore, but they would heal, if they got the chance. Liam had always been a very fast healer, though he’d never known why. He knew the reason for that now, didn’t he? The accelerated healing was down to his shifter genes. Eve had told him about that.
The thought of his mate made an ache settle in Liam’s chest. Being apart from her was a torture worse than all his injuries, and the only balm was knowing that, now that they had him, the Vipers had no more reason to be interested in her. They didn’t—couldn’t—know what she was to him. To them, she was just another body, and one no longer in their way.
He hoped she was all right and not overly worried about him. Hawk would make sure she was okay. It was a shame the shifter was already mated because he would have been a good choice for Eve after Liam…
He closed his eyes against the wave of nausea that thought of his mate with another man brought on. He hated to think of someone else making her happy, but he didn’t want her to be alone after he was gone.
Let me out. I’ll protect us,Liam’s panther said in his mind.
He’d been trying to follow Eve’s advice to listen to his panther side instead of ignoring it as he’d done for most of his life, and even though he didn’t think it would ever feel natural to let the voice in, he was at least getting better at not shutting it out completely.
Even so, listening to it right now was not an option. He couldn’t give the panther what it wanted—he couldn’t let it out. Shifters had laws, the highest of which was that their secret had to be protected at all costs. Even his life. Liam could not, under any circumstances, reveal himself to humans. Not unless he intended to kill each and every one of them afterward, and that was out of the question. It wouldn’t accomplish anything. He did not want to kill a bunch of people, and even if he did, and could, the authorities would simply lock him up and throw away the key—and that would be worse than death.
If Liam was stuck in a prison cell for the rest of his life, Eve would never get closure. While he lived, she wouldn’t move on, and he’d never do that to her. He would never waste her life as well as his. His only option was to accept his fate. But he sure as hell hoped the Vipers got tired of beating him soon because even though he would never willingly reveal his shifter side to his former gang mates, he didn’t know how long he could hold out before his panther tried to force its way out again. It was used to doing it now and Liam didn’t know if he was strong enough to prevent it.
“He’s awake,” one of the men at the door said. “Tell Owen.”
Liam cursed under his breath. He’d been hoping for more of a reprieve, but perhaps it was better to get this over with. He didn’t have to wait for long before Owen came back into the room, cricking his neck from side to side and cracking his knuckles.
Liam rolled his eyes. Talk about cliché. If they wanted to scare him, it was going to take more than that. He’d run with these thugs for years—sick as that thought made him now—and he was every bit as tough as they were, and then some.
Watching the man swagger his way made Liam realize that he wasn’t ready to give up his life—give up Eve—without a fight. Sure, he couldn’t shift in front of the Vipers or let them see his teeth or eyes change into his panther form, but there were other elements of his shifter side that he had at his disposal, namely his claws. Liam’s hands had been secured behind his back. If he could shift them into his claws, which he knew to be incredibly sharp, he might be able to slice through the cable ties that were securing his wrists. It was a long shot, but it was better than no shot at all.
“Nice of you to join us again,” Owen drawled. “Are you ready to tell me what you told the FBI about the Vipers?”
“That you’re misunderstood?” Liam shot at him, his voice loaded with sarcasm.
He had plenty of time to see the punch coming, but there wasn’t a single thing he could do beside watch it. The force of the strike rattled his teeth, and his head snapped back on his shoulders, forcing a grunt of pain from him.
He hurt us. Let me out.
Liam turned his head to the side and spat out a mouthful of blood.
“Shall we try that again?” Owen asked.
“Why? I heard you the first time.”
The second punch caught Liam under the eye and the skin across his cheek split open. He gritted his teeth against the pain and instead of focusing on Owen and what he was going to do next, Liam reached inside himself and pulled out his panther, concentrating on shifting his hands into claws. He felt them grow out from his fingertips, but now that they were out, he had no idea what to do with them. His wrists were tightly secured and there was very little room to move his hands—unless he fancied slicing his own wrists on him, and Owen was doing enough damage without him adding to it.
“What did you tell the FBI?” Owen asked.
This time, Liam didn’t make any funny remarks—he was too focused on what he was trying to do behind his back. But evidently in Owen’s eyes, Liam’s silence was every bit as irritating, because he brought his fist back again and Liam barely had time to brace for the punch.
“Enough!” a loud, booming voice shouted.
The punch fell short.
The sound of the voice made the hairs on the back of Liam’s neck stand on end. He would have recognized it anywhere, under any circumstances, because it was the voice of the man he’d grown up with, the man who had been like a brother to Liam in the earlier years of their lives. Silas.
Owen fell silent. He stood like a sentry with his hands held behind his back and his head bowed, but there was no mistaking the fear that bled into every line on his face. Because Silas was undoubtedly a man to be feared. He inspired it in people in much the same way that Liam did, but unlike Liam, Silas reveled in the power it gave him. He got off on it. He loved the respect he got from the members of the Vipers who feared him, but he didn’t realize that there were other ways to make someone follow you.
When people were afraid, they were unpredictable. They would stab you in the back the first chance they got. But when people respected you because they liked you, or loved you even, they would die willingly to protect you. And there were other ways to get respect. Silas didn’t care about those other ways. He enjoyed the fact that people were afraid of him.
Liam lifted his head and watched Silas saunter across the room. He barely glanced at Owen before snapping, “Get out!”
Owen hurried from the room. After the door slammed closed behind him, Silas drew nearer.
