Page 41 of Darkest Game
Liam slowly grabs the gun from his jacket and waits. No one moves for a long moment. The driver must know we’re here.
And then the driver jumps forward, aiming his gun at us. But Liam is faster. He shoots the guard in the shoulder, knocking him back, and making him drop his gun. Liam charges the man and pistol-whips him in the head. The driver slumps to the ground.
Liam grabs the driver’s gun and stashes it into his coat pocket. “He’s not dead but I don’t want to leave a trail of dead bodies behind out in the open where anyone can find it. We can take his car.”
“Is that a good idea?”
“It’s better than walking for hours. It’s going to get dark soon. And you’re in a wedding dress. You’ll get too cold and you have a limp.”
“I hope it doesn’t ruin my ballet career.”
Liam gives me a strange look I don’t understand. His eyes darken but also look intrigued. “You’re a ballerina?”
“Yes. Though I never got the chance to truly perform as an adult. But I’ve been training since I was five. Why are you looking at me like that?” I wrap my arms around myself as if that will somehow protect me from his gaze.
“No reason,” he says gruffly before kicking the driver in the stomach to make sure he’s actually unconscious. The man is. “I just didn’t know. I guess it makes you more innocent somehow. The virgin ballerina.”
My face turns hot. “You don’t have to say it like that.”
“Come on. Let’s go.” He grabs my arm like I’m incapable of walking myself and takes us to the car. There are no other men around who could hurt us.
Even though the leather seat is comfortable, I can’t relax, even as Liam drives us away from Jack’s man. “Can they track this?”
“This car?”
“Yes. Once that man wakes back up, he’s surely going to call someone. Won’t they be able to find the car?”
“We’ll switch cars in a bit but just because they know the license plate doesn’t mean they’ll be able to track us. Trust me. Mobster men don’t want tracking devices on their cars. We’ll find a new car before they can find us.”
“How? You don’t have any money on you.”
“We’ll get to my nightclub. I have money stashed away there.”
“Liam, why don’t you just return me to my family? Honestly. I will tell Mikhail and Nico how you saved my life. Are you worried I’d tell them otherwise?”
He flicks his eyes at me and then back to the road. “You seem sincere. But I can’t risk it. You could tell them I hurt you and then they’d shoot me in the head. Or you don’t even get the chance to explain it to them before they shoot me in the head.”
“You can drop me off at Mikhail’s house and leave before they show up. You’d have a chance to get away while I tell them the truth. That way they can’t just shoot you in the head.”
“That’s… not a bad idea,” he admits. “But you’re my wife now. It’s my duty to protect you. I can’t just drop you off somewhere. Elaine or Jack’s other men could get their hands on you.”
My breath hitches. “You care about my safety?”
“I guess. Fuck. I never thought I’d feel this way. But you always seem so sad and innocent. I can’t just throw you to the wolves.”
“I never knew a man like you could have a nice side.”
“Your own father was a mobster. Wasn’t he nice to you?”
“He was. But he also had rules. Lots of them. Like no going outside without a guard. No dating. Don’t even speak to any boys or there would be consequences.”
“What kind of consequences?”
“Like he would kill the boy. He never said it outright but we all knew that’s what he meant. He was serious about us not dating anyone. He wanted us to marry good mafia men and be respectable.”
“Be virgins, you mean.”
I flush and grip my hands together in my lap. That only makes Liam flick his eyes straight down to my legs. I can’t help but shift around from his gaze. It’s doing strange things to me.
