Page 109 of Little Liar
I stand, but Dad grabs my arm. “Acting on impulsive anger won’t get her back, Malachi. They’re powerful people, and we need to be smart. If you barge in there, we could lose her forever.”
You expect me to sit around and do nothing?
“We aren’t doing nothing,” Adryx says. “We have a plan. My father is hosting an event in the manor next week. Masked. Olivia will be forced to attend. The tracker forces her to remain in the manor at all times.” He drops into his seat and sighs. “But Barry is working on a way to disable their entire system. Long enough to get her back here and remove the tracker. Safely.”
My spine straightens. Could that work? Could I get her back?
Fuck. There’s a rush of hope.
“Xander can get two of us inside. But we need to wear masks too to hide who we are. Olivia will be wearing a gas mask—it’s what she requested through Xander. It’ll help to identify her.”
My lip twitches.
My good girl.
Not that I need to know what mask she’ll be in. I don’t even need to see her to know she’s nearby. I’ll be going. I’ll wear my gas mask too.
“What do you get from all of this?” Dad asks. “I know you aren’t doing this out of the goodness of your heart or for that girl sleeping in your bed.”
Adryx smirks. “I get to kill my father.”
30
Malachi
After having my stitches cleaned and my wounds checked over, I go for a shower and get dressed, despising myself every second of it all.
I shouldn’t be standing here, staring at myself in the bathroom mirror, at my chest. At the scar that will definitely look like an explosion went off in my chest. I shouldn’t be wondering if Olivia will find it ugly, or what she’ll think of the impending scar on my side, or the fact I failed to protect her.
She might never want to see me again. I was supposed to keep her safe.
I always seem to fail.
I’m surprised Dad and Molly even entertain me. I’m the reason Olivia is gone—I didn’t get her away from all of this when I had a chance. When Dad said to run, I should’ve dragged Olivia onto my bike and taken her to the other side of the world.
That’s exactly what I’ll do when I get her back. I’ll make Molly and Dad move too. They won’t be safe here, and I need them now.
Dad’s by my side at all times. Give it five minutes and he’ll be done with his physio and hunting the building for me, then telling me to take my meds and watching me swallow each one to make sure I don’t skip any.
Who would’ve thought that the man I nearly killed would become my crutch?
I stop outside one of the bedrooms upstairs at the sound of two voices.
Not that I want to listen in to whatever the fuck Base talks about in his free time, but I’m curious about his drive. Why the hell is he working with us, and what does he get out of it? He was forced to work with his cousins through his grandfather, and he’s… what? Married to someone at the same time as having a girlfriend?
A girlfriend who’s the daughter of Tobias Mitchell. The asshole must have a death wish.
I can see them clearly.
Base is holding her face, wiping under her eyes, and gently kissing her forehead. She’s upset—maybe because she’s being comforted by someone who’s the equivalent of a wet towel wrapped around a fucking tree with no personality.
Wait. Is she… is she pregnant? I can see the bump. It’s huge. Like she could pop any moment, though she has a slim face.
Please tell me she didn’t procreate with this douchebag.
Then he’s leaning down and pressing his forehead to her bump, and when he starts speaking to his unborn kids, the twins, I take that as my sign to stop watching them through the ajar door.
I think, if Olivia wants one, I’m going to do that one day. I’ve witnessed her smiles when holding a baby, and the way she looksat them when nearby. I’ve no idea when or how or if I’ll ever be good enough to take on the role of a father, but if Olivia wants a family, I’ll give her one. I’d give her the fucking world if she asked.
