Page 37 of Somebody's Watching Me
“I’ve got you.” Lifting her in his arms, he settled them on the bed with his back against the headboard. She lay across his chest—in her usual place—and sobbed. Through the crying, she chanted the words she kept repeating to keep her focused. Make notes. Take inventory. All of it matters.
His words.
“Simone? Annabeth?” She could hardly say their names, shoving her face in his neck. “Are they alright?”
“Annabeth is okay, and downstairs talking to the authorities.” He rested his cheek on the top of her head. “Simone is a little out of it, and most definitely pissed off.”
“Is she hurt?”
Liam never lied to her. “She has significant facial bruising and a sprained wrist.”
“She tried to hit them with a cast iron skillet.”
Cupping the side of her head, he squeezed her to him as a chuckle slipped out. “Because, of course, she did.”
The terror eased, dying with every erratic beat of his heart against her cheek. He was doing what he always did, putting on a show to help her remain calm. Knowing another person as intimately as they did wasn’t something that would disappear overnight, and she knew damn well that he was probably a jumbled mess of rage on the inside.
“Why aren’t you asking me questions?”
“It can wait.”
Jamison’s head popped up. “No, it can’t. There’s only a small window where the details will remain fresh in my mind.” Her eyes narrowed, realization dawning. “Hold on. How the hell are you here? I couldn’t have been knocked out for more than a few hours.”
He didn’t say anything, tilting his head back to stare at her in stoic silence. His unwillingness to answer hit the ready-set-go button on her temper, and she scrambled to straddle him, wanting leverage.
“Answer me,William.”
“Did you really think I could stay away and act as if this weekend meant nothing?” he whispered, pain etched in every word. “Like it wasn’t once going to be the most important day of my life?”
“It was you in the forest.” She punched his chest. “You were the one shooting!”
“Yes.”
“How did you get there so fast?”
“Rowan called me.”
“How did Rowan know where to find you?”
Cold aloofness replaced the pain, and he shrugged. “Your dad is letting me stay in the townhouse.”
Planting her hands on his chest, she leaned in close to glare at him. “Excuse me?”
“I asked.”
“And he said yes.” Jamison huffed in exasperation. “Unbelievable.”
God save her from meddling Fairweather males. If she wasn’t listening to one of Samuel’s lectures, it was Selah giving her an earful. Now, her father could be added to the list. He’d been good at staying neutral, but she guessed those days were over.
Liam lifted her off him and swung his legs over the side of the bed. “Actually, he told me to take one of the cottages, while Simone thought I should stay in one of the downstairs bedrooms. I was the only sane one who thought you wouldn’t want to see me at all, so I asked for the townhouse.”
The door burst open, and Evie waddle-ran in. “Move it.” She shooed Liam aside so she could sit. “Are you okay? Don’t lie to me.”
Samuel was right behind his wife, with Theo and Harper rushing past him to get into the room.
“I’m okay,” Jamison assured them. “Maybe a little headache, but that’s all.”
Theo approached Liam, elbowing him in the leg. “Yous gonna get’um?”
