Page 42 of Torched

“Not so far.”

“Not even Liam Carrillo?” I should’ve kept a straight face, but he caught me by surprise and even though I keep my features as still as possible, he still detects the slight widening of my eyes. “Yeah, I know all about the interest you keep lately. But I can see how your body responds to him.”

He’s been watching me?

“He doesn’t make you feel things that you haven’t before.” I swallow as our breaths mix, clouding my brain even more. “He doesn’t make your thighs clench with need.”What the fuck is happening?“He doesn’t make you desperate for more after he’s fucked you.” He tilts his head a bit back to lock our eyes. “Doesn’t he?”

“Who are you?” I croak out, unable to say anything else.

“Are you part of it?” he asks, his gaze still drilling into my body. “Are you part of their network? Rumor is, you’re the recruiter. You find the girls and tear them from their homes to sell them like livestock. Is it true?”

I look for the judgment in his words, but even though he doesn’t seem particularly happy with it, I can’t find any other than an attempt to taunt me.

“Silence is a virtue. I guess it is.” With a smirk, he takes a few steps back, chuckling. “I’ll see you around, Cristina.” I watch him move toward a car on the side of the curb, an all black new Mustang. The windows are tinted, making it impossible for me to see who’s behind the wheel.

“Are you a bounty hunter?” My brain manages to still ask before he lowers himself into the car. Our eyes collide, his grin expanding.

“Something like that.”

He gets in and the roaring engine attacks my senses. I can’t see his face through the glass, but I can still feel his gaze set on mine, pinning me in place. And for what feels like forever, my feet stay completely cemented, until the car is long out of sight and a cold breeze wills me forward.

What the fuck?

11

IMOGEN

PRESENT DAY

Isitagainstthedoorpost of the bathroom, staring at my phone while I look at the picture of Callie and I a few years back. We’re out in the club and the picture is blurred, but our smiles are clear as day.

Our lives have never been completely carefree, but it’s funny how part of me wishes we could go back to those moments. To just relive them one more time, appreciating them more now that we know how even more fucked up the world really is.

I’m not as bothered by Cristina being on the yacht as I was before. In my mind, she shrank to pea-size proportions, and I finally realized I have no reason to be intimidated by her. If anything, she just keeps showing how sad and pathetic she is when she tries to feed us lies like wanting Liam back.

She doesn’t want him. I don’t need anyone confirming that, not even Liam. I can see it in the depths of her dark eyes; there is nothing but lies and defeat. She has no clue what love is, and with her frame of mind, I doubt she’ll ever get it. Everything is conditional with her. It must be very bleak and lonely living your life like that, and sometimes I even feel sorry for her. But never for long. Not when I am fully aware of what she did to Callie and how she tried to kill Liam. And especially not when she’s trying to piss me off with her taunts. I’m not surprised I’m her favorite person to torment, not when she wants to convince Liam that she wants him back, but it still makes it that much harder to not strangle her every time she catches me alone.

“Why are you staring at your phone like your puppy just died?”

I glance up at Liam closing the bedroom door behind him. He’s wearing basketball shorts and a tank, his forehead still damp from his workout. As I take in his delicious body like he’s cake on legs, a giddy feeling makes my chest twang. The past few days definitely haven’t been as carefree as most of our time together, but waking up next to this piece of man and knowing he’s all mine sure as hell keeps me smiling as much as I can.

“And why are you sitting on the floor?” he adds, bending over to give me a kiss.

“I like sitting on the floor. I just got off the phone with Callie.”

“Any news?” He walks into the bathroom, and I hear him turn on the shower.

“Nothing yet.”

“Thought so. Jeremy has no clues that lead to Babushka either. I hope Reign can work his magic soon.”

“Yeah, me too.” If there’s anyone who can find Babushka before we need to trade her for that diamond Cristina is after, it’s Reign. I remember back in the day how he would get dirt on people for Ronnie Distucci in a matter of seconds. Give the man a device with an internet connection and he knows where you’re born and what you had for dinner when you were fifteen before you can blink. Cristina must be playing a good game if Reign hasn’t found Babushka yet.

Liam reaches for my arm as he stands in the doorway, softly tucking me back on my feet with a soft expression.

“Come here. What’s wrong, baby?” He holds my face in his hands while I pull him against my chest with my fingers clasped around the fabric of his shorts. He smells sweaty, but I can still detect a hint of his musky scent coming through, and I suck in a deep breath of contentment. I’m tempted to ignore his question as I arch my back toward him.

“Nothing. I guess I just miss Callie,” I confess, and he pushes a strand of my hair behind my ear. “It would just be easier to have her around, you know?”

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