Page 33 of Layne Closure Ahead

Kristill leaned over and whispered something undoubtedly dirty into his ear before rising off his lap with a salacious grin. “Don’t take too long, baby.” Her teeth nibbled Liam’s ear and tugged on it before releasing the flesh and walking out into the main room.

“Well, if I needed a reason to feel like puking my brains out - that may have been it.” Layne shook her head, still unclear of what Liam ever saw in that girl or what Kristill saw in him.

Liam raised his view to stare at her, remaining silent. Layne took it upon herself to occupy the seat across from him while waiting for him to say something. When he didn’t immediately speak up, she took it upon herself to start the conversation. “You’re the one who wanted to meet.”

“Did you really do it?” It seemed like such a simple question and yet she was unable to comprehend where it was stemming from.

“Do what?” She sat back in her seat, balancing the chair on the back two legs for a moment. A waitress brought her over a light ale that she typically ordered on days when it wasn’t the date of her mother’s death. Layne gave a brief and polite smile at her before taking a sip.

Liam finally cut to the chase. “Marry Eric Ellis?”

A small spray of beer exited from between her lips followed by a cough as the back of her hand came up to wipe across her mouth. “What? Fuck no!”

The expression in Liam’s eyes remained unchanged and full of judgment. She quickly gathered her senses and shook her head. “No, not yet, anyway. Li, look you have to understand where I’m coming from?—”

He interrupted her, “—you have my blessing.”

Her words trailed off as she looked as shell-shocked as she felt. Layne sat there wondering if her hearing was possibly deceiving her. “Wait, what?”

He shrugged. “I think it’s a good idea. You have my blessing.”

“Your blessing?” She lifted a brow in confusion. “I don’t need your damn blessing. Besides that, I’m not sure your blessing means a damn as of lately.”

“Shit is going south and Eric has the means and desire to fix things. If that means you have to finally pull your weight around here, then so be it. I expect I will get appropriately compensated.” He made it sound so simple. So matter of fact. So businesslike. So… easy. Not to mention entirely archaic.

“Compensated? That’s the part you’re worried about?” She rose from her seat, resting her hands on the table as she glared at him. “I’m putting my ass on the line here to try and salvage what Dad built from the bottom up, and you’re worried about getting compensated while you sit back and get your dick warmed by some two-bit hoe?”

Liam shrugged again, seemingly unbothered and unfazed.

Irritated didn’t even begin to describe the feelings bubbling up inside of her. She tilted her head as she stared at him suspiciously. “Where did you hear this anyhow?”

“He hasn’t exactly been keeping it a secret, Layne. He’s already making it known that anyone that crosses us is crossing him.” Her brother looked the most relieved he had looked in months. It rubbed her the wrong way that he could just so easily be ok with this arrangement where he didn’t have to put in any effort.

“Great.” She didn’t hide the displeasure from her voice that word was making its way around in less than twenty-four hours. She rubbed her forehead as her tumultuous thoughts made it ache. Why did everything feel like it was moving far too fast?

Her phone began vibrating in her pocket, and when she pulled it out, she immediately recognized the number. A sensation of butterflies filled her stomach. “I have to take this.”

Liam waved her off to go do as she needed. Layne answered the call, pressing the phone up to her ear as she began to walk away from the table. “Hey, give me a minute to step outside.”

Before she passed by her sibling, his hand reached out and paused her. “Just don’t fuck this up, Layne.”

That was rich coming from him, the same person who had been fucking up his own shit since he was born. She glared at him before she pulled away to cut through the crowd toward the side exit into the alleyway.

Once the fresh air washed over her, she let out a sigh of relief.

“Are you still there?” Joey’s voice on the other end of the line brought her thoughts back into the present. Feeling an overwhelming sense of pressure and loss of control of her life tugging at her soul, she blinked back some tears as she looked up at the dark sky. She pressed both of her lips together tightly as she worked on reigning in all the emotions threatening to spill over the ledge.

He spoke up again, this time more concern evident in his voice. “Layne?”

She leaned back against the side of the building, her hand clutching onto the phone in her hand tightly. Her exhale was a little shaky but she managed to at least respond to him. “Yeah. I’m here.” She swallowed past the knot in her throat.

His voice tried to lull answers out of her with its husky tone. “What’s wrong?”

Not that he could see it, but she shook her head and cleared her throat trying to shake off the emotions. “Nothing. It’s just been a day.”

“Layney—”

She cut him off. “Why did you call?”

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