Page 102 of Unraveling Connections

“Okay,” Jensen agrees immediately, “put it on speaker so that I can hear as well.”

“Just like that, you are going to agree? You aren’t going to try and stop me or tell me it’s a bad idea?”

Jensen chuckles, “Oh, it’s most definitely a bad idea but I’m curious as hell and it’s been so long it might not even work anymore but at least we’ll know.”

“Good point,” I reply and then pull out my phone so that I can start typing the number. There is no point in hanging around.

“Oh, this is exciting,” Jensen mutters from above me, his eyes twinkling and his legs kicking in the air behind him.

I grin as I press the call button and then immediately put it on speaker so that Jensen can hear as well.

“How did you get this number, I stopped giving it out years ago?” An angry voice demands through the phone. I don’t reply though as there is something familiar about it, before I can place it the person speaks again, “Don’t make me ask again."

I share a look with Jensen, who is frowning. Suddenly, it clicks, my eyes widen.

“Liam?” I ask and Jensen shoots up into a sitting position, nearly throwing himself off the bed in the process.

Liam’s voice is shocked and a whole lot softer than it was a second ago as he asks, “Ever?”

“What the fuck?” I reply, incapable of saying anything else.

Liam chuckles, which is really weird, and then replies, “I could ask you the same thing. Where did you get this number from? I haven’t used it, or rather, I haven’t given it out for years.”

“Isabelle gave it to me years ago, along with a list of dates,” I reply, still in shock.

“Isabelle?” Liam questions, sounding slightly confused, and then asks, “What were the dates?”

I read them to him and then ask, “Do you know what they mean?”

“There is my birthday, written in the English format since that is how I like to write it, and only people close to me know that, your mother's birthday and the date we met. Whatever was going on at the time, Isabelle must have thought that I could help you. She wouldn’t have wanted to mention my name directly unless you already knew of me and my connection to Amelia. She was a big believer in staying the fuck out of other people's shit.” Liam explains, effectively solving a mystery that we have had for years, just like that, with such a simple explanation.

“What was Isabelle to you?” I ask him.

“I knew her from when we were kids, she went to the other school near Blackbreak, your mom was good friends with herbefore Marv got his claws into her. She was a friend of mine, a really good friend,” he says fondly. “I tried to help her with that fucker, Chris. I set her up with as much as I could to keep her hidden; she was so fucking stubborn and didn’t accept my help easily, but at least I managed to get her to accept that. Your mother didn’t particularly like that I helped her. I think I was more upset than she was when news of her murder reached us.”

Weirdly, I feel sorry for Liam; I didn’t detect a single lie in anything that he said. It’s a feeling that I am not sure what to deal with.

I have no idea how to respond to that; if that story was told to someone who had no idea who Liam was, they would think that he is a kind man. I know that he is capable of horrendous things, but up until recently, that is all that I would have said he was. Now, I'm confused, and I know that I'm not the only one. I need to talk to Atty.

Because I don’t know how to respond, and clearly neither does Jensen since he is just sitting there with his eyebrows raised and looking slightly perplexed, I reply, “Thank you, for filling me in.”

“Anytime Ever. I mean that, any questions that you have, I promise I will try to answer to the best of my ability.” He pauses and then adds, “I don’t know if Atlas told you, but your mother’s funeral is happening soon, I gave them the details.”

Those words jolt through me, and I reply, “Yeah, they mentioned it, bye Liam.”

I hang up the phone, I am not willing to have that conversation with Liam, I can’t.

“Are you okay?” Jensen asks me, as he pulls me into a tight hug.

I take a moment, listening to his steady heartbeat. My mind is a mess, and it is going around in circles, not really making muchsense; I need to stick to my original plan more than ever before. I need to escape for a bit and go for a ride.

“I need to go and see Tank,” I say, and then add, “the guys should know about what Liam said as well, and that the number was from him.”

Jensen kisses the top of my head, “You go and see Tank, and I will round the guys up and tell them when they have all woken up; it’s not something that is urgent anyway, okay?”

I nod and stand up, “Thank you.”

“Of course, Angel, you go and do what you need to do. Stay safe and take your phone,” he replies.

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