Page 83 of Begin Again, Part 2

"Understandable," Julian said, fiddling with the stereo. "I'd also be agitated if I had a run-in with those two weirdos."

"Aleksei is a crazy son of a bitch, and well, Laura is a viper. I still don't understand what you saw in her." Matthew shuddered behind the wheel.

"She wasn't always like that," Liam defended his ex, out of habit, as he pulled Eden's glasses away from her face before they could slide off. He peered through the lenses and quickly brought them down, and slipped them inside her bag when all he saw were blurry shadows.

"She was always a viper." Julian chimed in with his observations. "You were just too pussy-whipped to see it."

They were right. But Liam had made it a rule to never speak ill of his exes, Laura included. He pulled out his phone and called James.

"Mr Anderson, we're right behind you," his head of security said and launched into a lengthy rant. "You didn't follow company protocol. You were supposed to use the rear exit where a team was waiting for you. And you know we're supposed to take you home, especially since Ivanov was there. Do you know how bad things could have turned out tonight?"

Liam knew, of course. There was a shiny bullet with his initials to remind him if he dared forget. But he didn't tell James this. He'd stressed the older man enough for one night.

"I'm sorry," he said when he was allowed to speak. "I had to get Eden out of the venue quickly. She wasn't feeling well."

James snorted his displeasure, returning to the reason for Liam's call. "What do you need?"

"A team to be sent to Forrest Creek right now."

"For how long?"

"Until the dust with the LUSSO deal settles. We can look at a more permanent solution when I return from my trip."

"Got it. I'll assign Jace to Paradi—I mean to Ms McBride," James said and clicked off.

Julian finally settled on EDM, and he cranked up the volume as soon as Liam was done with his call, sending the walls of Matthew's Porsche Panamera shuddering.

"Can you keep it down, please?" Liam barked. "Eden's sleeping."

Julian grudgingly lowered the volume and glared at him in the mirror, his eyes flashing with mild annoyance. "Since Her Royal Highness is sleeping, no one should breathe!"

"Shut up!"

Her eyes still firmly shut, Eden mumbled intelligibly beside him as a single tear slid down her cheek.

"Hey," Liam said, gently wiping it away with his thumb. "It's okay, Princess,"

"Is she awake?" Matthew asked.

Liam shook his head. "Nah, still she's out."

"So she talks in her sleep?" Julian asked, his eyes wide with excitement. "Now's your chance to ask her anything you want. They say people who talk in their sleep can't lie."

"Same as drunk people," Matthew added his two cents' worth to his brother's baseless theory.

"Let's ask her something!" Julian was practically bouncing in his seat now. "Ask her how she feels about you. Better yet, ask her to marry you."

"No," Liam refused. "Leave her alone. She had a rough night. Let her sleep it off."

Eden was still mumbling unintelligibly. And he wouldn't have paid her any mind if she hadn't started sobbing loudly.

"Hey Princess, wake up," he leaned close and whispered, but her eyes remained shut. Whatever she was dreaming about was so sad, another tear trickled out. He wiped it off as he draped his jacket over her.

Liam eased back in his seat and watched her sleep while he absently brushed her hair away from her face. Her cheeks were so flushed, he thought she was running a fever. He smiled with relief when he found her forehead cool to the touch. The last thing he wanted was to spend the night in the ER, especially when he had an early flight to catch.

They had to make an emergency stop halfway to Forrest Creek, when Eden suddenly stirred from her nap, sat up, and violently retched as she covered her mouth with her hand. But by the time Matthew hit the brakes and brought the car to a halt, it was too late. She'd already thrown up all over Liam's shirt and pants, and her mess had trickled to the floor.

"Good grief!" Matthew cussed as he slammed his hand on the steering wheel. "Who'll clean up this mess?"

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