“I’m here… because of the poker games.”
“What poker games, Sara? There isn’t—” His eyes narrow to my necklace and looks around as if a lightbulb just switched on in his brain.
He whips his arm up. “Search the fucking boat!”
My mind races, connecting more dots. The way he said these men deserved it, that they are trash, could they be connected to the trafficking and the games?
I’m barely able to form a sentence as I watch more men with their guns raised take over the yacht, searching it.
Liam walks over to them, holstering his gun back under his shirt and points in a few different directions as he talks to them, most likely giving instructions.
His tall body is rigid under his leather jacket, where the bulletproof vest peaks underneath. His black jeans accentuating his toned legs and ass. I really shouldn’t be checking him out right now, but he’s a vision to behold. Confidently lethal and I’m confidently fucked.
He walks back over to me as the deck clears up, his eyes unmistakably pinned on me. I’m a hostage, stuck between choices I want to make so badly and know I will regret them later, while other choices could take my already broken heart to the grave.
“B-but why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you explain? I would’ve understood,” I say, as he approaches me, towering over me and discards his leather jacket, throwing it on a nearby bench.
“This is not your fault,” he snaps, before I can respond. His face is a storm of barely contained fury as he steps into the jacuzzi with the grace of a panther. “It’s my fault.”
I push at his chest. “You just had to fucking talk to me, Liam!” I push him again. “You keep so much from me. Just like your brother. You both dragged me into this shit. I’m sick of it!”
He grabs my arms to stop me, but I’m furious. “Why are you keeping so much from me!” I raise my voice with bubbling frustration ready to unleash.
In one swift motion, his foot connects with my ankles, sweeping them from under me. I lose my balance, tumbling backward with a startled gasp that's cut short as I hit the water.
His hand tangles in my hair, firm and unyielding as he forces my head beneath the surface. The warm water closes over my face, muffling everything around us.
One, tw — Just as a brief panic dances at the edge of my mind, he yanks me back up.
“Sill losing your mind, or are we making progress?” he growls.
I cough water out. “Screw you!”
But Liam shoves me back under, and the world goes silent except for the muffled thrumming of the jets and my heartbeat thundering in my ears.
He pulls me right back up. “And now?”
But I shake my head, defiant. My eyes glare at him with anger choking at me for feeling not only abandoned my whole life but always left in the dark.
“Do you know what happens when you disobey me?” His forehead falls to mine. “When you idiotically put your fucking life in danger? This Sara, this is what happens.”
His hand grabs onto my cheek possessively, his blue eyes inhibiting turmoil staring into my soul.
“If anything happens to you, I'll lose my fucking mind, do you not understand that? I’m already losing it.” His voice cracks, and for a moment, I see something raw behind the fury in his eyes.
“You walked right into their trap, you stubborn pain in my ass.” His fingers tighten in my hair, and I can feel his body trembling against mine. “That's what infuriates me the most. You have no idea what these people are capable of. No fucking idea.”
Speechless, I open my mouth, but he shoves me under again. The water rushes and bubbles escape from my nose and mouth, but this time, I feel at peace. I let my body relax in his grasp, letting him take the lead to unleash his all-consuming terror because I understand it. For a flicker, I saw in his eyes the thought of losing me, and it reached roots of grief and love that intertwine themselves into something so confusing and undeniably dark, that only someone with broken pieces would feel the warmth in his wrath.
When he pulls me up a second later, water streams down my face.
“I could have lost you,” he says painfully, his face inches from mine, and my heart flips on itself. “There are girls to this very day that we don’t know if we will ever find them, Sara. I can’t. I can’t fucking lose you Sara.” His voice is definitive, primal and my stomach drops with sadness, and something much more somber.
My hands fly to his chest, fingers digging into the soaked fabric of his vest.
“Why?” I gasp, my voice breaking. The water laps violently around us, mirroring the storm in his eyes. “Why are you so afraid to lose me, Liam?” And this time my voice doesn’t falter, doesn’t break.
Instead of pushing him away, I find myself pulling him closer, desperate to bridge the chasm between us. His fury is terrifying, but it draws me in so violently. He’s raw, utterly beautiful.
