Page 103 of Dream (Fighting Fate)

Meeting Lance’s gaze in the mirror, I barked, “New place,” before directing my attention back to the call. I was close to losing my fucking sanity. “Is she all right?”

“I need to go, man. Just come to the new place. I’ve got Gardner and the guys here, so we’ll be all right. We just need to move.”

The line went silent before I could even mutter another word. I felt sick, like I could literally toss my cookies at any second. I tried to console myself with the fact that she wasn’t en route to the hospital. That had to mean something, right?

As Lance gunned the Escalade, tires screeching around corners, I felt my body tightening with an insurmountable amount of tension. Knowing that Liv had been hurt again did something to my state of mind. It fucking killed me to know she’d been attacked twice since we’d been dating—and it had only been a month!

Again, I was forced to consider whether it would be best for her if I just vanished from her life altogether. She might hate me, and it might break her heart, but that had to be better than someone trying to fucking kill her every goddamn week.

None of us said a word for the remainder of the trip. Without knowing what we were dealing with, there was nothing that could be said. As Lance zipped into the secure parking underneath the apartment complex, I tried to breathe through my anxiety. The instant I saw Gardner waiting at the elevator with the doors open, ready to go, I almost cried. I honestly didn’t know what I’d do without these guys.

As Lance screeched to a stop, Daniel and I jumped out and dashed through the doors, Gardner hitting the button to get us moving. “How is she?” I asked, pinning him with my gaze.

“She’s a bit shaken, but she’s been given the all-clear.”

Daniel shifted, his hands tight. “What happened? How did the girl get in, Ben?”

Gardner’s jaw tightened. “She scaled the wall to Liv’s window and broke the lock. We were all downstairs, holding the crowd, ready to leave. Corey was with Liv and Sam. He was supposed to bring them out so we could get them safely into the SUV.” He shook his head. “They were on their way down when Liv needed to run back for something. That was when the girl attacked. She locked herself in the room with Liv and tried to strangle her.”

Daniel swore. I just tried to breathe.

“Corey knew something was wrong straightaway,” Gardner continued. “He broke down the door and tackled the girl, ordering Sam to come get me.”

I thumped the wall as the elevator slowed to a stop. “Sam said it was the same girl who attacked her last week.”

As soon as the door slid open, we were moving, Gardner leading the way. “She got out on bail. The cops have assured us she won’t this time.”

Daniel grunted. “She better fucking not.”

The room fell silent the minute I walked into the apartment. My gaze immediately found Corey, standing by the window. His entire being was visibly shattered.

“Where’s Liv?” I said, searching the room.

Corey stepped forward. “She’s asleep.” He slowly shook his head as he moved toward me, his jaw clenching with emotion. “I’m sorry, man. I’m really sorry.”

Pulling him to me, I gave him a hard hug and thumped him on the back before taking his shoulders and meeting his gaze. “Don’t be. It wasn’t your fault, man. You did everything you could. She’s here right now because of you.”

His brow twitched as he tried to get his emotions under control. “I shouldn’t have let her go in alone. I should’ve gone with her.”

“Don’t let it eat at you, man. You got her out safely. You did good.”

He nodded. I knew he didn’t agree with me, and I knew he’d continue to beat himself up over it for a long while yet, but that was something only he could deal with.

Looking around at the guys surrounding me, I gave them all a nod. I couldn’t ask for a more loyal and trustworthy bunch of people if I tried. “Order some pizza and grab some beers,” I said. “You’ve earned it. I need to go be with my girl.”

With that, I went straight to the room I knew Liv had been planning on taking and quietly let myself inside. When the door was securely closed behind me, I took a minute to just watch her sleep. There were still a bunch of boxes stacked against the wall, but her bed had been made, and a little lamp was softly glowing on the table beside it.

All of a sud

den, I was exhausted—body and mind. All I wanted to do was curl up with her in my arms, and go to sleep inhaling her. But I didn’t want to wake her. She looked so peaceful as she lay there. I knew I should just go and let her rest, but I just wasn’t ready to leave her yet.

With cautious movements, I lifted the little armchair that was in the corner of her room and brought it closer to the side of her bed, searching the nearest box for something to read to keep me awake. As my gaze landed on something wedged to the side, I frowned. Carefully, I eased it out of the box, reading the title printed on the cover.

In the Name of Love – a screenplay by Olivia Maxwell.

My gaze flashed to Liv’s sleeping form with surprise. Not once had she told me she was writing a screenplay. She hadn’t even told me it was something she was considering. Confusion pulsed inside my veins. I couldn’t understand why she wouldn’t. Unless . . .

Dropping my gaze back down to the script, I opened to the first page and started reading.

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