“Making teaisrestful.”
Liam got out of the car, ignoring that pointed observation about rest the same way he always did. The regen regime he’d gone through had healed him, but he’d still spent another day under medical care after waking up.
Samaira had taken lead in his place, dealing with Chapman and the ongoing search for Bennett. Liam had spent five excruciating hours debriefing with the powers that be prior to leaving headquarters. When he’d been told he wasn’t allowed to be alone, he’d nominated Oliver to be his personal bodyguard for the drive home.
Considering the way MI6 had shafted him from the liaison role, it was a way to keep him close and involved. Chapman had signed off on it, but they’d had an escort regardless. Luckily, the UMG agents had left once they’d turned onto the Kensington grounds.
Liam led Oliver to the cottage, letting them both inside. The attending computer had continued to monitor the temperature while he was gone, so inside felt cooler than the muggy outside heat.
“Cozy,” Oliver said as Liam led him to the kitchen.
“Not what you were expecting?” Liam asked.
Oliver crossed his arms over his chest, studying the professionally designed kitchen. “I thought you’d actually be living in the palace.”
Liam dug up his electric kettle, filled it with water, and set it on the counter to boil. “I lived in Clarence House with my cousins for a bit. I had to move here after everything that happened in D.C. Rattling around one of the apartments in the palace never appealed to me.”
Some of the apartments in Kensington Palace had upward of twenty or more rooms. That was far too much space for one person. The cottage was cozy and perfect for his needs at the moment. Maybe someday he’d take up residence in the palace, but right now he saw no need to move.
Liam turned away from the kettle to face Oliver, fighting back a yawn. Oliver, keen agent that he was, saw right through him. “You should rest. Regen takes a lot out of you.”
“I’ve had plenty of regen treatments over the years. It’s nothing I haven’t dealt with before. Unless I’m keeping you from something?”
Oliver shook his head. “Nothing that can’t wait.”
“Good.”
Silence settled for an awkward couple of minutes while they waited for the water to finish boiling. Liam found a couple of mugs and a box of bagged tea, which made Oliver laugh at him.
“You used to hate bagged tea,” Oliver said.
Liam shrugged, mouth twitching with a smile as he made up their mugs. “I learned to like it like this in the military. You can’t very well carry loose leaf and a pot with you on a loaded march.”
When the kettle automatically switched off, Liam poured the water into their mugs. He grabbed the milk from the refrigerator and held it up to Oliver in a questioning manner. At Oliver’s nod, Liam poured some into his mug and added sugar to both. He handed the tea with milk to Oliver, and they carried their mugs out to the living room. When Liam sat on the sofa, Oliver hesitated before sitting beside him.
He still wore his suit, unlike Liam, who’d been given jeans and a T-shirt after being discharged from medical. Considering the heat outside, Oliver had to be more than a little hot.
“You can take off your jacket if you want,” Liam offered.
“I’ll need to get back to work soon,” Oliver hedged.
“I’ll talk with Chapman about making sure you’re included in any meetings outside the agents Bailey sent to replace you.”
“You don’t need to interfere on my behalf.”
“You’ve worked with my team since December. We know you. We don’t know them.”
“Will I be working with you if you come back?”
The question made Liam scowl into his mug and risk taking a sip of the hot beverage. He still needed to have a meeting with his grandmother and parents. He wasn’t looking forward to it at all.
“I need to see this through,” Liam said slowly.
“Revenge?”
Liam reached up to touch the side of his head, the pain there having disappeared entirely at this point. His scans had come up clean, thanks to modern medicine, and he’d have no lingering issues from the hit or the torture, save for what nightmares might form. But the UMG had therapists for that, and Liam had long ago learned that talking through his fear didn’t make him any less of a man.
Liam shook his head. “Duty. We can’t let Bennett run around with the information and weapons he has.”
