Page 5 of Curvy Quirky Omega

His shoulders dropped, but Liam nodded and he wiped his hand over his face, smearing more blood around. “How long do you need?”

“Liam,” Cas growled. “I don’t think this is a very good idea.”

“What’s the harm?” Liam sighed and held out his hand for me. “We’re going to be right there with her.”

I took his hand and ignored the sticky sensation of blood. “Frankie should be upstairs in a few minutes. I need her with me while we do this.”

“That’s fine.” Liam lifted my hand and kissed my knuckles, his red eyes so dull in comparison to how they usually were. “Cas can get Frankie while we figure out what to eat for dinner.”

I slid my gaze to Cassius, not sure how to feel about the fact that Liam didn’t seem to care what questions I might ask his cousin or that Frankie would know where the murder basement was.

“I’ll get Frankie,” Cas muttered, shaking his head as he brushed by me. “Don’t go in there without me.”

“I won’t.”

Liam squeezed my hand and I looked up at him, still worried that he’d collapse at any moment. His smile was melancholy and I knew he was probably feeling the weight of his brother’s death all over again.

“My mother didn’t take the news well,” Liam murmured as he pulled me just a little bit closer. “I’m pretty sure the only reason Melinda is alive is because of that baby.”

“I didn’t expect Mrs. Valor to take her into her own home, but it makes sense.” No one at Aegis could be trusted until Liam and Cas were finished digging through everything to see how far this shit went. Even pack members couldn’t be trusted anymore.

“This is all my fault,” Liam muttered, looking away from me to the monitors. “If I’d paid more attention…”

“Don’t.” I wrapped my arms around him even though there was blood everywhere. He needed me right now and I couldn’t let him suffer anymore. “The people who know us better than anyone else are always the ones who can hide from us the best.”

My father was the same way and I’d nearly lost my mind blaming myself for everything he’d done, but those deaths weren’t my fault and Gideon’s wasn’t Liam’s.

“That explains Gideon but not Dane.” Liam kissed the top of my head and sighed again. “Although the two of them have been getting into a lot of shit together, and I had no idea.”

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and opened the notes app while I rested my forehead on Liam’s chest. The scent of blood and oranges was strong, but not unpleasant. “I was able to find out what they were doing, but I want to confirm it with Dane. It doesn’t have anything to do with Melinda, but it might explain who is behind that blocked number.”

“Are you angry with me?”

I looked up to see Liam staring down at me with feverish intensity. He looked so…brittle. Ready to shatter at the slightest provocation. I hated seeing him like this and I hated that there was nothing I could really do to help other than solve the case, but that wouldn’t change the fact that his brother was dead.

That wouldn’t change how Gideon had lied to him either.

I had a bad feeling that this was just the beginning too. There was more to all this than a simple affair, and finding out what was actually going on could break Liam in ways I didn’t know how to fix.

“I’m angry that you didn’t take care of yourself,” I admitted.

I reached up to cup his cheek and Liam pressed his face into my hand. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, catching just a hint of my scent if I was right. The sudden contentment I could feel through the bond eased some of my anger, and I let out just a tiny bit more of my pheromones. Not enough to bother Frankie, but enough to soothe Liam.

“You didn’t let me leave the house either.” I pinched his cheek and smiled slightly when his eyes popped open. “There are things I need to do outside this house and no one else is strong enough to be my backup. You have to learn to be a better assistant if you’re going to apply to Genesis.”

Some life sparked in Liam’s eyes and he turned his head to kiss my palm. “You’re right. As soon as you’re done in here, I’ll take a shower and eat something. We can do something easy, like pizza. Then you can tell me everything you’ve been waiting so patiently to tell me.”

I blushed at his praise, annoyed I still got so flustered when he was like this. “You need to sleep too.”

“Only if you join me.” Liam’s eyes turned predatory as he gently bit down on my thumb.

“Ew.” Frankie’s voice snapped me out of the beginnings of a lust-filled haze. “Could we not make googly eyes at each other while we work?”

I took a step back and let my arm fall to my side, glancing over at my partner and giving her an apologetic shrug. She shook her head with a rueful smile as she took my phone from me and then scanned through the notes app before nodding once.

“Are you ready?” I asked as I took the phone back from her.

Frankie nodded again and slipped her custom face mask on, securing it so there would be no gaps between her skin and the mask. “I’m ready.”

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