Page 59 of Free to Fall

I toss my hair and remind him, “That’s what you hired me for,” before I start down the walk toward the minivan.

I’d swear I heard him say, “Wasn’t that smart of me,” but I might be mistaken. I know I’m not mistaken about the way the emotions on his face made my heart pound.

Not at all.

From the Journal of Dr. Laura Lockwood

There’s nothing ethically wrong with thinking my “boss” looked positively edible today, right? I’m also considering making a donation to fund Tom Ford’s next fashion show, but only if they let Liam Payne walk the runway.

I wonder if Aunt Em can arrange that for me ...

Something to consider.

Chapter

Twenty-Seven

“But he’s gonna be all right?” Gino demands harshly.

“Despite our best efforts and a team of three surgeons ...”

“Don’t say it,” Paulie warns. The corner of his eye begins to twitch.

“I’m deeply sorry for your loss.” My head turns and I encompass Paulie in my condolences. “Truly.”

Gino stares at me in shock before his eyes move past me to his brother. “Paulie? What the fuck did you do to Pops?”

“Shut your filthy hole, cunt,” Paulie snarls. Before I can take umbrage, he’s yanking me back against him as a shield.

Gino eyes widen before they narrow into furious slits. “Let the doc go, Paulie. This is between you and me.”

“The fuck it is.”

Only this time, instead of Paulie reaching for his gun, I’m startled awake when Paulie’s toppled before he can brandish his weapon. Knocked over by a barrage of standard and beach wheelchairs, his cries of pain are nothing as the police swarm in to jerk me away.

But what shocked me into waking wasn’t the fact my nightmare shifted, nor was it because there wasn’t any bloodshed. It wasn’t that I emerged physically and emotionally whole from the whole incident. No, it’s that in my dream, all the chairs were hurled at him by an avenging Liam Payne.

It was his tattooed arm that picked me up from crawling. He scooped up a bloody crown and set it back upon my head, proclaiming, “You’ll be back to being Queen Gore soon. I just know it.”

I tip my head back. His green eyes bore into mine. He hauls me against his chest and my heart races as the scent of his cologne mingles with the sweat from his exertion of throwing wheelchairs in my defense.

Just as his head lowers, I snap awake. Snarling, I curse, “Damn, just when I was getting to the good part.”

Shifting to the side of my bed, I reach for the bottle of water I keep there and take a long pull, uncertain of what it all means other than the fact I’m obviously attracted to my boss.

A situation I’ve never been in before.

Chapter

Twenty-Eight

“You’d better get these leads off of me,” I sneer in the agent’s face.

Her eyes cut to the technician monitoring my heart rate and my brain waves.

The agent asking me questions jeers, “Mr. Payne, we’re sorry about your ex-girlfriend’s untimely death, however ...”

“I need to get to Bailey! What in the fuck makes you think I’m going to sit here doing nothing? Christ, are you even human? Get me the fuck out of here before I do something I’ll regret.”

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