Page 29 of Dangerously Deceptive

“Deal. But until noon tomorrow, you are mine, and I intend not to waste a single fucking second,” I growl, as I pull her body against mine, sealing our lips together. This time it’s with the passion and force needed to consume her. I want to give her all the happy memories she needs to get her through the next month. She is strong enough, and I’m going to prove it to her.

* * *

The first coupleof days after dropping Shayla off at the compound were some of the hardest I have ever experienced. I went back to the little house I have just on the outskirts of Limerick, and normally I love the peace and tranquillity of my little house. But, now the silence screams at me. The look of fear on her face as she said goodbye, clutching onto my hand until the very last second, I have never known pain like it. The helplessness of knowing that I’m sending someone I care about into a dangerous situation, and not being able to help them is torture.

Every single night I would toss and turn, dreaming about all the horrific things I know she will be forced to endure, waking up dripping with sweat and feeling like shit because I’m not even the one who has to go through it. She is. Then, every single morning, I pace around my house, and around the masses of land I own around my home, while I plan. I think of ways I can get into the compound and wipe out every last Reaper, or I think of how I could get in to help her escape. I have thought of everything, and there are at least two or three very good ideas. But I know that if she doesn’t do every single one of those thirty days, she will not have earned her freedom. They will always have a hold over her, and I sure as fuck am not allowing that to happen.

After almost a week of moping, Liam literally threatened to take my computers away because I was so close to hacking the Reapers’ security camera feeds. Don’t get me wrong, of course I could have done it. Easily. I know for sure that I wouldn’t get caught, that’s not what I was worried about. My concern was what I would find. Do I really want to watch someone I care about being assaulted or abused? Still knowing I can do fuck all to help? I know Shayla wouldn’t have wanted me to see it either, she basically said as much. Yes, whatever my imagination conjures up is bad, but at least I can convince myself it’s nothing more than a nightmare. If I saw it, I would never be able to unsee it.

As I was spiralling, that’s the time when Liam booked me a flight to London. Reluctantly, I got on the plane. I hoped putting some distance between myself and the compound might help ease the tension I feel. I can hardly storm the compound from another country. At least, I think that’s Liam’s plan.

“For fuck’s sake, bro. You have been moping on my sofa for two days now. What the hell is going on with you? Do you love this girl? I thought you had the chat; you know, the one where you tell her you can’t do emotions or a future and all that bullshit?” Liam asks from where he is sprawled across his comfy leather chair. His living room set, a black leather sofa with a matching chair, don’t look like all that much but, fuck, when you sit, you melt into them. They are so comfortable.

“We did talk about that, and I meant it. Look, I don’t really know what’s going on, and I think maybe that is what’s killing me. I am going crazy worrying about what could be happening. She could be perfectly fine, though I doubt it. I think it's because I sent her back there, knowing how much they have hurt her in the past, and I haven’t been able to help her. Fuck, aren’t you supposed to be the one with hero complex?” I joke, struggling to get a grip of how I’m feeling.

“So, this has more to do with worrying about her safety than Shayla herself? I know you’ve never felt like this before, Kel, because I’ve never seen you get eat up over a girl before. Do you think you could really like her?” Liam asks as he takes a sip from the beer bottle he just picked up from the table in front of us. I do the same, needing to feel a bit more of that alcohol before I can have this conversation.

I shrug my shoulders as I take a drink from the bottle. “I meant what I said to her. I can’t do promises of a future, or any grand gestures of love. I like her, and I’m willing to take it day by day to see how things go. Isn’t that enough?”

Liam’s laugh echoes around his open-plan flat. “No, dumbass. Women want the big grand gestures. They want to know where things are going. They want to know how you feel,” he explains, which draws out a big groan from me.

“Why?! Why the fuck do they need to know that? What if I don’t know how I feel? For fuck’s sake, Lee, every woman that has ever mattered to me, abandoned me. With the exception of you, everyone who I’ve ever loved has let me down or used me in some way. So, excuse me if I’m not entirely sure about my feelings. Hell, after everything I’ve been through, it’s a fucking miracle I have any at all,” I shout, exasperated. My entire body aches, and my head feels like there’s a drum pounding inside it. I’m so tired!

“I know, Kel. You don’t need to analyse anything. You just have to be open to feeling things. If you feel this strongly about keeping Shayla safe, it may be that you feel more for her than you think. But that’s not for someone else to tell you. Believe me when I tell you this, when you fall in love, you will know,” Liam’s voice has taken on the kind, caring tone he has had since being a kid. Despite being the middle child, the youngest of the boys, he has always been the one to look after everyone. He takes care of his sisters since he had to get them away from Desmond. I know it kills him that he wasn’t able to get Finn and Evan away from him too.

There were times growing up with Desmond when I wondered if he had a different side, one the world, and maybe even his family never saw. He’s a very intelligent and manipulative man. People underestimate him constantly, and they shouldn’t. He is usually a couple of steps ahead, even if it doesn’t look that way. Liam has always hated Desmond, has never felt like he gave his family a choice in who they wanted to be. He shaped his children into who they are in terms of the jobs they do, but they each have their own personality, their own rebellious streaks, and that is all Liam. He taught them from a young age to fight back, to be who they want to be. It may have caused arguments, and tension, but Liam has always been the most caring person I’ve ever met.

When my mum abandoned me at age six, I was put into foster care. I bounced around from home to home, staying in group homes whenever the family was done with me, until they could find my next placement. I hated it. I was just being moved from one hell to the next. Until Liam stood in front of his parents and demanded they foster me. That was the first time he ever rebelled against Desmond, and he never looked back. We became brothers that day, and we have been with each other since then. So, I know, even if the advice is hard for me to hear, he’s saying it with love. But, I’m done worrying and stressing about Shayla. I just need to forget for a little while.

“So, what has been going on with you?” I ask, standing up and heading to the fridge to grab two more cold beers.

I hand Liam his after I’ve opened it, and as soon as the lid pops off, I gulp more of the ice-cold liquid. This is going to do nothing to help my headache tomorrow, but it’s helping right now. I watch as Liam’s face contorts into his angry stare. “The fucking O’Keenan family is becoming the bane of my existence. I gave him time, I gave him space, I waited for the heat to die down, and still nothing. I sent him an email telling him I want my money, to which he replied that he called off the job, and I was paid for the research I did, therefore he considers the account settled. The fact that I killed the wrong man is none of his business, and he will not pay. I have tried ringing and was ignored on several occasions. Then last week, I went for a meeting, and he basically confirmed everything in the email. I told him that he signed a contract, and I would be getting my legal team to look into it. To which he scoffed and basically had me kicked out.” I watch as Liam gets more and more animated, talking with his hands as he explains everything.

“You have a legal team for assassinations?” I ask, dumbfounded. I wouldn’t have thought you could get a legal contract for that sort of thing.

“Believe it or not, yes. It’s actually something Desmond insisted on me doing, and I've just carried on doing it. I don’t even know what it says in the small print, I’m waiting to hear back from the lawyer with my options.”

I chuckle at the thought of an assassination contract, Liam just rolls his eyes at me. “What are you going to do? I can always just hack into his bank and take the money.”

“Fuck, no. If I wanted to take the easy route I would have got you to do that weeks ago. No, I want Vernon to admit he owes me money, admit I did the job he hired me to do, and then fucking pay me for it,” Liam seethes.

I groan. “No offence, bro. But, if it’s that easy, it would have happened already.”

“I know, that’s why I need a plan to get his attention, to make him take me seriously. He needs to know he has no option except to give me my money.”

“You do know you are sounding more and more fucking insane every time you speak. I mean, bloody hell, what are you going to do, hold his wife or his daughter ransom?” I joke, but am deadly serious by how crazy Liam is starting to sound. I thought I was supposed to be the one spiralling here, not him. We really are more alike than we think. Everyone has always said we look and behave like real brothers. Trust us both to have breakdowns at the same time.

“You know what, that’s not a bad idea. I mean, not the wife because he can’t fucking stand her, but the daughter. From what I could tell in my research, he dotes on his daughter. Kidnapping her would be perfect,” Liam muses out loud, and that has me sitting bolt upright, pointing the neck of my beer at him.

“Stop right there. I was kidding. You are not kidnapping some innocent girl because of her father’s mistake. I can’t believe I’m even having to say that to you. You, of all people, know what it’s like to have an asshole as a father. She shouldn’t be punished for it.”

“I wouldn’t actually hurt her, Kel. You know that. But it would get his attention.” I hate the way Liam’s face lights up as he speaks. Like a lightbulb has gone off in his head, and an idea is forming. It’s a terrible one, and I need to talk him out of it.

“NO! End of discussion, Liam. You will not do this. Do you understand? That poor girl deserves better,” I snap loudly, hoping that will be enough to get through to him.

Thankfully, the smile on his face dims as all the reasons why that is a terrible idea enters his head, and I can see his plan falling apart. “Fuck, I will think of something.”

“You will, and my offer always stands. But no crazy shit, okay?” I iterate, making sure he understands. He nods as he takes a gulp from his bottle.

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