Page 77 of Unfinished

“No! I would have gotten a protection order! I would have gone the legal route. Who was it? Did you have him killed?” I paused for a second then squeezed my eyes shut and held up my hand to stop any answers Liam had and blurted out, “I don’t want to know. I don’t want to have to appear in court against you.”

“It would never come to that,” Liam quipped like he was untouchable. The scary part being I was pretty sure he was untouchable.

“I can’t do this, Liam.” Tears started leaking from my eyes.

“Yes we can,” Liam said softly and he pulled me to him. I put my forehead to his chest and breathed in for a minute. Then everything shattered and I shoved him away.

“What you did was a complete violation. I can’t trust you because you have withheld vital information from me. On top of that, you tried to manipulate me by making me jealous. I know I have trust issues as it is, but fuck, how am I supposed to trust you after all of this?” I yelled as hot tears fell from my eyes and slid down my cheeks. I batted them away quickly but more took their place as the sobs broke through. Liam stood there looking at me, completely broken himself.

“This is over, get out,” I whispered.

Liam stood quiet for a second, hurt in his eyes. He moved and got dressed. He tugged down his shirt and turned to me. I looked up at him and he stepped towards me and grabbed my face. His lips crashed against mine and I closed my eyes, holding back a painful sob. I’d never recover from this, no one would ever compare, and I cursed the universe for bringing Liam into my life. He broke the kiss and pulled me into a hug that I couldn’t return.

“I don’t believe this is the end for us. We are an unfinished story and one day, when the timing is right, I promise, we’ll meet again. One day you’ll understand the protection I put in place. One day you’ll understand why I did everything that I did. I have to believe that,” Liam said softly.

He pulled away from the hug and left quickly. As soon as I heard the front door close, the sob released from my throat and I screamed; curling into myself on my bed. He was gone, it was over.

The next day, I would be so fundamentally changed - so broken – that when I did finally put myself together again, I would never be the woman Liam knew and loved. I would never be who I have been, for the past twenty-one years, again. Everything about me would be irrevocably altered forever.

Chapter 34

Liam

2 Years Later

Hannah was still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known, and today I felt a sense of pride as she was walking across the stage to get her Master’s degree. She was wearing those god awful graduation gowns but still radiated beauty. After our breakup, she chopped off a lot of her hair, but since then it had grown out to just past her shoulders. Her cheeks were rosy and her smile was radiant. She looked happy.

Leaving her was never my choice. I wanted to continue the fight, but her safety was at risk. I had too many secrets, both for others and to protect her from the truth. Stepping away was the only option to ensure she was safe from my enemies. Even with the Salvatore Agosti situation still unresolved, we were closer to ending that problem. I couldn't bear to wait any longer for her. I had made a promise and I intended to keep it.

I’ve come to introduce her to Declan King, the man who would be her boss. He was offering her a job today at his company, VanadiumWorks, as a Junior Software Developer. Come hell or high water, I’d make sure all her dreams came true. Bas was there with me. He and Ashley had a falling out shortly after Hannah and I separated. It wasn't pretty and he hoped to make amends for his part. The three of us stood by the doors watching as Hannah accomplished one of her biggest goals. My only hope was that she’d be happy to see me when I made my approach.

She thinks I disappeared, the reality was I had men on her this entire time. With the exception of two short disappearing acts after I left her apartment that night, I had constant eyes on her. Salvatore doesn’t know about her, and me being here was a risk. Still, it was a risk I was willing to take just to convince her to be with me again.

Scanning the stands, my eyes connected with Bill Meyer. He was frowning at me and I nodded my head to him. As soon as Hannah was seated again, he stood and walked down the stands towards us.

“What are you doing here, Liam?” Bill said and I raised my eyebrows at him.

“I’ve come to win her back,” I said calmly.

“She’s happy now. She wasn’t for a long time. Please don’t ruin that for her.”

“Bill, I intend on making sure all of her dreams come true. I will spend the rest of my life making her happy.”

“Or you’ll spend the rest of your life putting her in danger,” Bill said.

“She will always be safe with me,” I crossed my arms over my chest and stared at him.

“Salvatore knows very little about what is happening here in Pittsburgh. You’ve kept him off her radar, and I thank you for that. If you go after her now, she’ll become his target. She’s all I have left. Do not do that to her.” Bill explained.

He was right, of course. Things weren’t completely safe with me. Salvatore had been ramping up his vendetta against my family over the last year, since we started sabotaging his connections within local politics. I could protect Hannah, but Salvatore would make her a target.

“I’m offering her a job with my company today, regardless of what happens. She comes highly recommended by the dean and many of her professors. I’m not walking away from this graduation without her acceptance,” Declan looked between Bill and me.

“That’s fine but he can’t come for her yet,” Bill said, nodding to me.

“Yet?” I asked Bill.

“I’ll tell her everything, once it’s all safe, once we know that we have Salvatore by the balls. I’ll tell her everything so she knows the entire truth. My work with you, how you protected her, the dangerous situation she could have been in without you, all of it. But we need more time to make sure Salvatore can’t go after her.”

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