I turned and gave him a polite smile.“No need. There’s nothing he and I need to discuss.”
Liam flicked his fingers. It must have been some type of signal because Daniel got out, the door shutting quietly behind him.
The car filled with tension, the air fairly crackling with it.
“Go on, get it all out,” Liam said, giving me a come-hither motion.
I lifted an eyebrow but didn’t speak.
“Come on, tell me about how much of an asshole I am, about how you hate me and never want to see me again,” Liam said.“Let’s hear it.”
“Is that what you think this is about?” I asked. Liam was an asshole, no doubt about that, but that wasn’t why I was so upset. I wasn’t angry, or at least not entirely angry. I was upset, hurt in a way I didn’t realize I could be.
“I didn’t know he was going to do that,” Liam shouted.
“But you stood there and let it happen,” I screamed.“You didn’t say anything. You didn’t try to stop it. You just let it happen.” The last sentence was almost whispered, the emotion running out of me.
Liam closed his eyes and bent his head, not looking at me as the silence deepened. I sat there, feeling numb all over again.
“He took everything from me,” I said quietly.“My present, my future. Now he’s taken this, too.”
There was sorrow on Liam’s face. Understanding too. I turned away from him, not wanting to see.
“Tell me the truth, would you have drunk from a human?” Liam asked.
“Guess we’ll never know now,” I said.
The sound he made wasn’t happy.“Don’t lie to yourself. As much as you might hate what he did, and my part for standing by, he saved you from a fate worse than death.I’m glad for what he did, and ifI’d known how far gone you were,I’d have done it myself.”
That shut me up.
Daniel climbed back into the car as Liam started it. The drive passed in silence.
*
“We’re here,” Liam said.“Now what?”
I undid my seat belt and shouldered open the car.“You stay in the car while I get some things.”
There was a slam of a door, then Liam was beside me in the next moment, his eyes snapping blue fire at me.“That’s not how this works.”
“Liam, don’t be ridiculous. I just need to grab a few things,” I said.
He leaned closer, caging me against the car. I had no way to escape, not with the car at my back. I noted distantly Daniel had elected to remain inside. Smart man.
“You don’t trust me, that’s fine,” he said, lips curved in a decadent smile that should have scalded me.“I don’t trust you either. Now, I can either come with you or we can go back to the mansion. Your choice.”
It was no choice, really. Given everything that was happening, we needed an inside look at the other camp. This was our best shot.
Seeing the answer written on my face, Liam straightened.“Thought you might take that option.”
He didn’t wait for my response, leaning down and telling Daniel.“Drive around until I call for you.”
Daniel must have agreed because Liam started for my apartment. I trailed behind him, fuming.
Liam had already climbed up to my apartment and unlocked my door by the time I reached the half formed stairs. I couldn’t even find it in me to be surprised he had a key. Of course, he did. Thomas was my landlord after all.
Liam prowled around my apartment while I stood in the living room. Inara fluttered into sight while I was still debating my next step and jerked her head toward the bathroom.
