Page 52 of The Savior

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Liam’s to-do list that morning had been a short one, consisting of one action item—check in with Chance—but now that Liam had parked his Explorer, he hadn’t been able to get out. At least not before sending Chelsea a text.

Their dynamic was complicated. He saw no reason to muddy the morning. They hadn’t done anything wrong. No matter how he replayed the night before, they hadn’t crossed a line. But then again, maybe that was his problem.Is there a line?Of course there was, but he didn’t understand it.

Nothing about Chelsea was taboo. She did not have a partner—even her partner wasn’t heractualpartner. And well, Liam was the complication—or rather,Juliawas.

No two ways about it, he missed her as he would miss the sun if it didn’t rise one day. He’d loved her and would always.

But the urge to be near Chelsea the previous night had caught him off guard. Liam twisted his hands on the steering wheel, gripping it tighter until the plastic hurt his calloused skin.

If he wanted someone to fuck, he should find someone to fuck. End of story.

But his eyes hadn’t roamed a single day that he’d been with Julia. Nor had they a single day after her death. Until the previous night. They had roamed and meandered over every inch of Chelsea. The bar had been filled with other women Liam could’ve studied, women with less or with decidedly feminine clothes on.

But he’d been stuck on Chelsea in her simple pantsuit and sensible shoes. He almost laughed at how unflattering her clothes could’ve been. But Liam didn’t care.

He still found her ass irresistible and paused to appreciate the swell of her breasts. The thought of lemons nearly gave him an erection, and he tightened his grip on the steering wheel all over again.

His phone chimed. The text message notification appeared, and he swiped the screen. She’d replied with a smiley face and a thumbs-up.

Liam laughed, and he could picture how she methodically calculated her answer when she had no idea how to respond.

Two taps came at his window. His adrenaline kicked into high gear as he jolted.

It’s just Chance.Not a Tran Pham soldier announcing himself with a resounding hello. Chance leaned against the hood with his fist resting on the fender.

Liam needed to chill out. He jumped out and shoved his cell phone into his back pocket.

“All’s quiet on Mount Ida Ave,” Chance proclaimed as though narrating a World War II documentary. “Nary a minivan broke the speed limit, nor a squirrel buried more than their share of nuts.”

Scowling, Liam said, “Thanks, jackass.”

“You sure you’re working on solid intel?”

Liam nodded. He was about as sure as he could be, given that he couldn’t double-check the information from Sorenson and Westin. But Liam couldn’t explain that to Chance. Hell, he’d already said far too much.

If he had to defend himself for bringing in another person, Liam would argue that Chance had the same clearances he did. Even if they hadn’t been on Red Gold together, Chance easily could’ve been. Luck of the draw didn’t care who she screwed.

“All right.” Chance shrugged. “Your equipment will be here in a week, plus or minus.”

That was better than Liam could’ve hoped for. “Thanks.”

“But I’ve got to roll out right now. I think a job’s come up, and I have to check in.”

Liam understood. He couldn’t expect Chance to help unconditionally without more information or compensation. “I appreciate everything.”

“You’d have done the same thing if I asked.”

True.

Chance crossed his arms, and worry creased his forehead. “Hey, look. I have a guy I trust. I could call him up to help out.”

“Nah.”

If Sorenson learned Liam had looped in Chance, his ass was grass. But if he were caught with Chance and others… Liam didn’t care if he never saw daylight again. His concern would be Sorenson calling off the whole operation. He would never be able to wrap his hands around Tran’s throat, which was the sweet hope that coaxed him to sleep every night—the belief that one day he would slowly drain Pham’s life, as Pham had done to Julia.

“You sure?” Chance asked.

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