Page 27 of Dublin's Danger Dancer

“I don’t care what you like.”

A slow smirk erupts across his face.

“What?” I ask.

“I’m flattered you would come down to the dockyards to see if I’m with another woman,” he says.

“You give me all these big romantic gestures and suddenly I hear you talking about meeting another woman, who wouldn’t be curious?”

“At times I’ve thought you’d rather stab me than kiss me,” he says.

If only he knew how close I’d come.

“I thought this thing between us was some kind of experiment for you.”

I had to give him kudos where it was due. I hadn’t predicted his intuitive deduction.

“You’re shaking,” Liam says, holding me tighter.

“So would you be, if you’d just be knocked unconscious and tied to an electric chair.”

“I’m sorry,” he says as I pull back. “It’s not me who wanted to hurt you,” he says defensively.

I pause for a moment trying to find the right words.

“It feels like you vetoed it.” I spit.

“I would never hurt you. Well,” he says, dipping his head and thumbing his lip, “only if you want me to.”

He opens his arms towards me. “What can I do to put this right?

“I heard gunshots. That’s not putting it right. Now I’m further traumatised,” I continue.

“You know exactly who I am. Ciara, you know exactly where I come from, and you know exactly what I do.”

The irony of the statements is that if I knew those things, I wouldn’t be standing before him shivering in the cold after his uncle had almost electrocuted me.

“And I know what you do.”

“So let me get this right. I should accept your criminality, but you are not willing to accept me dancing. I can’t expect you to change, but you expect me to change?”

He rubs his chin.

“When you put it like that, you make a good point.”

Liam’s family was so toxic that all he knew of love was fighting and I was prepared to give him that.

“Whatever’s between us. It ended when your uncle shoved a gag into my mouth and threatened me with gang rape.”

“Let me hold you, you’re shaking.”

“I don’t want you anywhere near me.” I spit.

Liam exhales as if he’s a dragon breathing fire.

“Look Ciara. Tonight we lost a huge shipment of drugs. Uncle Freddy is on edge. He suspects everyone. That’s why he thought you were garda.”

“Why didn’t you tell me that before?”

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