Page 44 of Montana Silence

Jude looked me up and down. “What the hell happened to you?”

After hours of shoving it down, I finally let some of the anger and frustration surface. “I got jumped. Out of nowhere. Three guys. They ambushed me, and the cops are looking, but I’m not optimistic. They were careful.”

“You think it was The Family?”

“Yes. The way they looked at me yesterday? And I don’t mean just the asshole who’s in jail. It was like anyone being with Mara at all was the worst thing imaginable.”

Daniel ran a hand over his face. “Well, this changes things. It could be more dangerous than we thought.”

“Things are starting to add up.” I shook my head. “I’m terrified for her.”

Lucas shot me a wan smile. “Welcome to the club. We should get jackets.”

“We’ll dig into it.” Jude crossed his arms and nodded. “If they’re coming afterourfamily, they have another thing coming.”

“Thank you.” I looked at each of them. “Seriously.”

Noah clapped me on the shoulder. “You don’t need to thank us, Liam. We protect our family. You and Mara are both part of it.” He took a breath. “And you’ve risked a lot for all of us.”

The night Noah and I had almost died was close in my mind. We’d been lucky. There wasn’t any other way to spin it. Hopefully we wouldn’t be in that situation again, but I knew if someone tried to hurt Mara? I wouldn’t hesitate, and they wouldn’t either.

“I know I don’t have to say it, but I still will. Thank you.”

Behind me, the door shut. Mara stood at the door and looked at me with her suitcase in hand. Even from here, I saw her blush. Because they knew she was coming home with me. But she didn’t shy away from it either. We were in this together now.

“Have a good night, Liam,” Daniel said. “Get some rest. We’ll let you know if we find anything.”

I nodded, and they drove away while I got Mara’s suitcase back into the truck. It was time to go home.

Chapter14

Mara

Silence.

It was what surrounded us as we drove away from the ranch. We’d been quiet all day, but this felt different. Liam spoke when he needed to, but now, he said nothing.

I glanced over at him, trying to figure out whether he was in pain because of this morning. He hadn’t shown any signs of it, but what he told the police officers sounded far more brutal than I’d imagined. And it was my fault.

He could tell me it wasn’t all he wanted, but Liam wouldn’t have been in Phoenix if it weren’t for me. He wouldn’t have a target on his back. Hell, he wouldn’t have gone out for coffee.

Gritting my teeth, I closed my eyes and tried to focus on what he’d said. I wasn’t responsible for anyone else’s violence. That lie was difficult to untangle.

My entire existence had been trying to prevent violence with my actions. If I wasn’t good enough, if I didn’t do enough, then it was my fault, and I needed punishment. Seeing Malcolm brought all of it back to the surface.

None of it was true.

I was so desperately tired of having to unravel the lie over and over and over, but it also wasn’t going to stop. Like Rayne said, recovery wasn’t a straightforward process, no matter how much I wished it were.

We pulled up to a house on the far side of Garnet Bend. There were other houses nearby, but not next door. It seemed like each house had a large chunk of land to go with it. It was a perfect, lovely neighborhood. I didn’t spend much time in the residential sections of the town, but this was so pretty.

Several large trees overshadowed the two-story house, painted a dark red that looked vibrant without being overkill. It was a good size, and most of all, I couldn’t help but think this wasn’t the kind of place I’d imagined Liam living.

He pulled up and shut off the engine. An unspoken tension filled the air. Not bad exactly, but not the same comfort we’d had in our silence up until now.

Liam came around the truck and helped me down, holding my hand before he got our suitcases. It was after he shut the tailgate that he sighed and looked at me. “I—” Liam swallowed.

Was he nervous?

---