Page 29 of Mysterious

“I want to fly to Miami to get into the studio. I have a song that needs to be recorded right now. So get that pilot and my plane ready. It will be me and Liam. Maybe more, if he wants to have more of his guys with him. I’m going to leave everyone else here to enjoy themselves since we don’t have another stop on the tour for three days in Houston. I’ll be back tomorrow, so I won’t miss a date.”

That seems to make it through the fog of her sleepiness, and she perks up. “Okay, the pilot will need an hour or so, I’m sure. You know what he says about filing flight plans and all of that. Maybe two hours. Do you want me to come with you like always?”

The thought of my mother there as I sing my feelings for Liam instantly tarnishes what this song means to me, and I shake my head in horror, even if I answer her like it’s nothing big that she can’t be there. “No, not this time. With everyone else staying here, I need you to keep an eye on things.”

“Okay. I can do that. Now when I have to tell the pilot how many of you will be traveling, what do I say?”

“At least two, but maybe three or four,” I say as I shimmy across the bed to begin getting ready to go.

“Got it. Okay, I’ll call him now. Give him two hours, but if it’s longer, I’ll let you know. And when will you be coming back? He’ll want to know so he can file a flight plan for that trip too.”

My mother almost sounds like she’s trying to make excuses for wanting to know my plans, something she never even attempts to apologize for. It’s so totally her style to want to know the itinerary down to the minute. This attempt to respect my freedom feels like a change I will enjoy, if she keeps it up.

“I’d want to return tomorrow night. Liam will need to take his guys early to Houston to check everything out, so no later than tomorrow night by this time.”

“Okay, Mia. I’m on it. I’m surprised you want to go into the recording studio so spur of the moment. You usually need time to gear up for a session. What changed?”

I hear her question and silently answer it for myself alone. Tonight changed me. Liam changed me. Having him in my life changed me.

Falling in love changed me.

But none of those answers are anything I want to share with her, so I casually answer, “Nothing much. Inspiration can hit at the strangest times, and I guess a suite at the Ritz-Carlton in New Orleans did the trick. I’ll talk to you when I get back. Thanks for keeping an eye on things while I’m gone.”

“Good luck with the new song. I can’t wait to hear it!”

Transportation to Miami handled, next up is telling Liam he needs to be ready to leave in less than two hours. Hopefully, his mood has improved by now.

CHAPTERFOURTEEN

Liam

For over an hour and a half,I’ve paced back and forth across this hotel suite as my self-loathing has grown to fill every part of me. I should have never let Mia convince me to take her out to a bar tonight. What the fuck was I thinking?

I stop in front of the bed where only a few hours ago we lay naked in each other’s arms and shake my head. Who am I kidding? She didn’t have to convince me to do anything. I wanted to take her out because I knew it would make her happy.

That doesn’t change the fact that I dropped the goddamned ball when it came to protecting her.

As I begin to pace again, thoughts of the two of us together in bed begin to crowd out my hatred for what I let happen tonight. I can’t allow that. No matter how good it felt to be inside her, I don’t deserve to enjoy those memories when the next thing that happened was a crowd of people nearly ripped her to shreds.

Someone knocking on my hotel room door tears me out of my thoughts, and I pad over to see who it is, hoping it won’t be her. I can’t face her tonight. Not after what happened.

I look through the peephole and see it’s Mia smiling like she doesn’t have a care in the world. Fuck. I thought she’d stay in her room until morning. I should have put one of the guys on each floor to make sure she didn’t roam off.

Flinging open the door, I grab her by the arm and yank her into my room. Before I can slam the door shut, I snap, “What the hell are you doing just walking around the hotel all alone? You could get hurt, Mia.”

She stares at me with a look of pure confusion and shakes her head. “I literally rode down one floor in the elevator from my room, got off in this hallway, and walked to this room. Since you guys and the rest of my entourage take up all the rooms on this floor, Liam, I think I’m safe to walk around on my own.”

I slam the door and walk past her on the path I’ve paced for the past nearly two hours, avoiding meeting her gaze. “You take too many chances, you know that? I’m your head of security, and I can tell you when you do that, you don’t make my job any easier.”

“It’s no big deal, Liam. Really. Why are you so upset?” she asks as I hear her walk up behind me.

Mia attempts to wrap her arms around my waist, but I turn out of her hold before she can and start my walk back across the room toward the door again. “It is a big deal. I need to know where you go at all times. I know you hate that, but it’s the way it has to be. I thought you understood that.”

“I do. You know I do. I haven’t given you a hard time about how you protect me in weeks. Why are you so upset with me right now?”

Every word is filled with hurt, and I avoid meeting her gaze now because I can’t see that in her eyes and know I put it there. “I’m not upset. I’m just trying to do my job the best I know how, Mia. I’m responsible for your safety. I can’t forget that, even if I want to.”

She doesn’t say a word, and when I turn back to walk toward her, I can’t avoid seeing how upset I’m making her. It’s written all over her face, and just as I suspected, she’s got tears in her eyes.

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