Page 74 of Trouble

This time, he complied without aword.

* * *

Iwas late pullingup at the safe house where I’d arranged to meet up with Louis and Audrey, a fact that was very much cemented when Audrey stormed into the garage the second after I’d pulled in and threw herself around my neck before I’d gotten fully out of thecar.

“I was so scared you’d been hurt!” she said, her voice raw with emotion. “You’re so late. Whathappened?”

“Complicatio—ow!Fuck, Audrey, be careful.” I flinched away when she inadvertently grasped onto my arm where I’d beenshot.

Her brown eyes widened in alarm—and when she spotted the blood seeping through my coat, her face turned pale as a sheet and she released me as if she’d burned herself. “Oh my God, what happened? Do you need a doctor? Oh God, Liam, what can Ido?”

“Shh, calm down, love it’s just a flesh wound.” I nodded at Louis, who stepped out into the garage and awkwardly put my uninjured arm around Audrey’s shoulders. “Got a present in the boot. Be careful, it’s a livelyone.”

Louis arched an eyebrow in question and accepted the keys from me. “Please tell me it’s not aRussian.”

I snorted. “Didn’t get hit in the head so no—I haven’t kidnapped a fucking assassin.” I grimaced as pain throbbed from my wound, reminding me I probably needed to have a look at it sometime soon. “Yougood?”

“Yeah, go sit down. I’ll be in to stitch you up in a moment.” He grabbed my gun from the car and walked around the back. “Audrey, get him inside, will you? And don’t let him try to bullshit about just needing a Band-Aid. There’s enough blood here that he’s gonna needstitches.”

I glared at my twin when Audrey turned, if possible, even paler. “Don’t stress, love, I’ll be fine,” I said, forcing asmile.

“Stop trying to play brave!” She grabbed me—with surprising strength, I might add—around the waist and guided me away from the car and to the door that led into the safe house, letting me support my weight against her body. It was a relief not to have to carry my full weight myself, and I frowned against her soft hair as she led me inside. The adrenaline was starting to leave my body, and it was getting harder to ignore the pain spreading from my right arm. Maybe that bullet wound was a bit nastier than I’d assumed, afterall.

The house was a tiny one-room shack and not very well-lit, leaving shadows to play over the peeling wallpaper from the single, naked bulb hanging from the living room ceiling. At the far end was a sink and a stove, as well as an ancient-looking fridge, and in the corner next to the door that led to the stairs was a rickety-looking old sofa with mildewy cushions and an equally awful-lookingarmchair.

Audrey led me to the sofa, helped me sit down, and immediately began to fuss with my coat to get a look at thewound.

“It’s fine, love, I promise,” I repeated, doing my best to calm her down. She’d obviously not had a lot of experience with the kinds of injuries that came with being in the mafia, and she looked like all the blood was about to make her hurl. “Really, just sit down. Louis will have me fixed right up in amoment.”

She ignored my protests and eventually managed to get the coat off. The small gasp that escaped her made me look down at the wound and grimace. It’d been bleeding more than I’d thought, and there was a deep groove in the torn muscle. No wonder it hurt like abitch.

“Louis!” Audrey screamed at the still-open door to the garage before she grabbed her own top and ripped a large chunk of fabric out of it. She pressed it firmly against my wound with both hands, ignoring my flinching, and shouted for my twinagain.

“Louis!”

My brother came in the door before she managed to call a third time, herding Wesley in front of him with the gun pointed firmly at his back. He’d tied his hands behind him with duct tape and gagged him as well—both things I hadn’t had the time for when leaving the??????s’.

“Is it bad?” Louis asked her. He nudged Wesley forward so he could lean over to look. Audrey took the pressure off my arm for a moment to show him, her eyes big and fearful as she looked at my twin forguidance.

“Well, shit,” Louis grumbled. “That’s gonna leave a scar. Just keep the pressure on, love. And if he faints, slap him. I’ll be down in a second, just tying this prick upupstairs.”

“Will he be okay?” she whispered, and I realized she thought I was dying. My heart gave a sappy spasm of joy at the despair in her voice. If I hadn’t been in so much pain, I might have felt bad about enjoying herfear.

“Yeah, don’t worry. He’s tough as old leather.” Louis gave her a wink, probably to try and make her feel better, and then led Wesley out the door and up thestairs.

We could hear them walking around upstairs, the scraping of a chair and something—or someone—heavy being pushed into it and the murmur of Louis’voice.

“Don’t die onme.”

I blinked at the sound of Audrey’s voice and turned my head to look at her. Tears rimmed her beautiful brown eyes, catching on her lashes as she stared at me with undeniable fear—and so much love, it made my heart pound heavily behind myribs.

“I couldn’t bear it if you died. I love you so much. Don’tdie.”

“Audrey,” I whispered. Awkwardly, I moved my uninjured arm to put my hand on her shoulder, giving it a squeeze. I wanted to hug her against my chest, but I couldn’t move enough to do so. “I’m not dying. I promise, love. I’ll never leave you. No one’s ever getting between us—no one and nothing. You’re the only thing that matters,love.”

The tears in her eyes overflowed at my words, and then her lips were against mine, kissing me with a desperation I’d felt ever since I’d been forced to break up withher.

“I love you, Liam,” she whispered in between salty kisses. “I love you. I loveyou.”

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