Page 32 of Layne Closure Ahead

Layne peeked out a window at the workers beginning their installation of new cameras on her property. Part of her wanted to scream out her annoyance and frustration. The other part? She wanted to just give up and sink into a deep, dark, black hole. He may as well have shoved a tracking device up her ass.

“How does that sound, my little harpy?” Eric stepped up behind her, his hands trailing down along her spine before pausing at the small of her back. He rested his chin on top of her shoulder so she could feel the light caresses of his breath as he waited for her response. His hands began to knead the tense muscles along the bottom of her spine.

Layne couldn’t explain why the world felt so much smaller around him. Maybe it was the fact that she didn’t have a better way out of the current predicament the O’Reilly organization was currently stuck in.

“Sure.” She craned her neck so that she was able to discreetly maneuver away from the proximity of his touch. It did little to persuade him to back off. When she turned around, he stood there in front of her like a wolf assessing its latest meal.

His hand lifted and settled lightly on her cheek. Despite the light touch, it felt heavy with something else - something more ominous.

So many thoughts bounced around inside of her head like an erratic ping-pong ball, overwhelming her. How was Liam going to react? What did this mean for her and Joey? Was she doing the right thing?

All the unanswered questions tugged on her heart to a point where she wanted to reach into her chest and tear it out in a move of utter desperation and hopelessness.

Whether it was the conflicted expression on her face or merely an affectionate gesture, Eric leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers. The newest of conflicts went to war inside of her as she felt like a hostage in a cage she had helped build for herself.

Tilting her head down before pulling it to the side away from him she stepped away. “I have some work to get done.” It was absolutely a lie, but a necessary one if it meant ending this unexpected visit. Layne scraped her teeth over her bottom lip as she scrambled to quickly rebuild her typically tough exterior and abolish any displays of weakness.

Eric allowed Layne to pull away from him but maintained a careful eye on her. “Of course. My men should be wrapping up outside in the next hour.”

Layne nodded having nearly forgotten about the new shackles being set up on her life with Eric’s men installing a brand new surveillance system on her home.

After he left, she trudged back upstairs, pulling herself up one step at a time by the railing while trying to bear the weight life was taking on her. She just needed something to make it more tolerable. She needed something to make the world stop spinning. She needed something and anything to make her stop feeling.

Once she was in her bathroom, she struggled with the child-resistant cap on the prescription bottle. Her lower lip was trembling as she fought back the feelings that were growing heavier on her conscience.

Finally, the cap popped loose and the second the pills were washed down her throat with a handful of water from the bathroom faucet, there was a sense of relief. Something was on its way to help relieve the pressure valve.

Still in bed well past dinner time, she woke up under a heavy fog. Attempting to shove the duvet from her body felt equivalent to moving a stubborn elephant. It took well over another hour before she could gather enough functionality to check the messages on her phone.

Several missed calls. Missed text messages. Unread emails. Social media notifications. Before she could wrap her head around where to begin catching up, her phone began buzzing with an incoming call—Liam.

Wearily she brought the phone to her ear as she answered. “Yeah?”

His voice was the most serious she had heard in some time. “We need to talk.”

“What else is new?” She wasn’t feeling up to putting up a front at the moment.

Her brother grumbled. “Meet me at McGregor’s.”

“Now isn’t a good time.” Her head was pounding.

“Fuck that shit, it’s a good time for me. Meet me there in thirty minutes.” He hung up on her.

Great, now she had to be a functional human being all for the sake of trying to appease Liam.

Layne pushed through the sluggish feelings and managed to get out of bed, dragging herself to the shower in hopes that the steamy streams of water could melt away the remnants of her faded high.

Afterward, she slid into a comfortable pair of jeans and a loosely fitted sweater.

Liam would just have to cope that she would be arriving forty minutes later than he wanted her to.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

To her surprise, McGregor’s was hosting a slew of people when she arrived. She walked inside, pushing past the folks who were spilling into the main pathway while waiting at the bar for a beverage.

As she got to the backroom, she noticed a few familiar faces. In particular, Liam was chatting with a couple of his friends while Kristill was perched on his lap. Either she had forgiven Liam or he had made it monetarily worth her while to crawl back to him. Layne didn’t care for either of those scenarios, but there were bigger issues than her brother’s volatile involvement with an escort.

With an arm around the hooker’s waist, Liam polished off the last of his milk stout. Layne approached the table and it didn’t take long before Liam dismissed the rest of the crew surrounding him.

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