Page 1 of Recklessly You
PROLOGUE
LIAM
Six years old
My tennis shoes pound against the asphalt, and my chest heaves with each breath. My legs burn as I run into the night. All I can hear is the wind howling and the rumble of passing cars. I ran like Papá said to do when the bad guys shot him. Coming to a halt, I hide behind a large, tall bush to catch my breath. I cover my mouth to contain my sharp breath and panting. The sound of boots pounding along the pavement has me shaking.Be brave, Liam,I tell myself as I feel a quick poke in my hips. I pull out my ninja turtle from my pocket and stare into Leonardo’s eyes, hoping some of his powers will seep into me. I rub his shell again like it’s a magic genie lamp.
The voices of the men sound closer with every passing minute. They speak in a mix of English and Spanish. I recognize one of the voices. He spoke with Papá before Papá asked me to hide.
“Find the boy. We leave no witnesses behind,” shouts Pablo, the man with the familiar voice.
“Pablo, he’s just a boy. I doubt he will remember. He was too scared. And he wasn’t the only witness. The place was filled with people,” the other man says in a gruff voice.
“We just need to scare the shit out of him. Dead or alive, I don’t give a shit,” Pablo snaps.
Dead or alive. No, no—I need to find Mamá. I need to tell her. I need to keep her safe. Papá said to take care of Mamá. I pass a couple of restaurants and a laundromat close to the pizza place. I must be getting closer to home.
My legs pump faster and faster as I run like the wind, leaving a trail of dust behind me. I hear the shouts of men and the pounding of their boots behind me. I zigzag through the neighborhood. I gasp in pain as I stumble over a sharp rock, but I quickly regain my footing and continue running. The neon light on my front porch shines through the night, guiding me home.
Mamá runs out when she spots me from the living room window.
“Liam, Liam, what happened?” Mamá cries.
I wrap my arms around the swell of her pregnant belly. I clench her cotton shirt.
“Liam? What happened?” Mamá repeats. She peels me off her, scrutinizing me from head to toe.
She gasps. “Liam, you’re bleeding.”
I didn’t notice the blood trickling down my leg and elbows.
After a few seconds, I catch my breath and glance over my shoulder. The men who chased me are not visible.
“Mamá, the bad guys shot Papá; he—he told me to run. The men chased after me, Mamá. We need to leave,” I say, choking on each word. I hold her gaze, pleading with her to listen.
Her body shakes, and her voice is barely above a whisper when she looks into the dark street. “Hide, Liam. Hide, and do not come out, no matter what you hear.”
“Hide with me, Mamá, please.” A tear runs down my cheek. I can’t lose Mamá; I’ve already lost my Papá. Be brave, be strong—those were my Papá’s words. Mamá reaches for my hand, dragging me inside the house, and shoves me into a cabinet.
“Please, Mamá, hide, please.”
I beg one last time before she says, “I don’t have time, Liam. I love you. Stay and do not come out.”
She closes the cabinet door as the familiar boots stomp into the house. The men’s shouts echo through the walls, asking for me. Mamá’s piercing screams slash through my heart, and my lungs tighten with each strangled breath until I pass out and darkness consumes me.
CHAPTER 1
LIAM
I jolt awake, angry that I fell asleep. I glance at my phone, cursing under my breath. It’s two in the morning. Ten minutes have passed since I dozed off, yet it felt like time has dragged on for hours. I glance over to see the redhead still sound asleep. Lindsay or Linda—whatever her name is—passed out after I’ve given her multiple orgasms. Quickly, I slide my jeans and shirt on and take off before she wakes up. My number one rule is never to sleep with the same woman twice. Two times and they develop feelings and want more from you. Relationships are messy and too complicated for me.
Thirty minutes later, I pull into the driveway of my small two-bedroom home, which I scrimped and saved for months to purchase. I open the door, and my fifty-pound white boxer, Duke, runs to greet me.
“Hey, big guy.” Stooping down, I ruffle his ears, and with his wet snout, he sniffs me and growls around my body. I chuckle knowingly. With Duke’s keen sense of smell, he probably detects the lingering musk of sex on me.
“All right, I’ll shower, Duke, and then bedtime, buddy. I have to be at work in five hours.”
He barks and jumps on my bed. I turn the faucet on, and the beads of lukewarm water spray down, washing away any lingering remainders of a woman I don’t care to remember. Turning off the water, I dry myself, then slip a pair of boxers on and crash the fuck out.
