Page 32 of Liam
The tattoo was of an angel wielding a dagger.
Callum took a left. “Yep. Exact same place, on their left lower back.”
Jesus. He clicked out of the image and leaned his head back. “And someone trailed Blake last night?”
Callum’s knuckles whitened on the wheel. “Yeah. He gave chase, too. Blake couldn’t do anything because Willow and Mila were in the car and he needed to get them to safety, so he just lost the assholes.”
“We need to get to the bottom of this shit before someone gets hurt.”
Blake hadn’t gotten plate numbers due to the asshole blasting his high beams. But it may not have mattered—the plate number Liam had gotten off the car leaving Nylah’s condo turned out to be stolen.
“I know we do,” Callum said quietly, barely concealed rage coating his voice. “I hate these assholes being around when we only just ended the danger surrounding Fiona.”
Callum’s relationship with the local librarian hadn’t been without its challenges. Fiona had almost been killed because she’d been mistaken for someone else. If Callum and his team had been a few seconds later, she wouldn’t be here right now.
“She doing okay after everything?” Liam asked.
“The stuff with her family is complicated and messed up, but she’s strong and doing well, considering.”
Even though Callum’s relationship had its challenges, Liam had never seen his friend so happy.
“How are things with Nylah?”
His blood ran hotter at the mere mention of her name. At the memory of their kiss the previous night. “I want her to stay with me, where I know she’ll be safe.”
“She didn’t seem happy about the idea last night.”
His jaw tightened. “She’s from a family of five brothers, all either military or former military. She came here to get a bit of freedom.”
“Ah. And staying with you is the opposite of that.”
“It’s for her safety, though.” Fuck, his chest got damn tight just thinking about her being out there on her own. “They went to her damn condo. They know she’s connected to us and where she lives.”
“So how long’s she staying with you?”
“A week.” He had six more days to convince the woman that his house was exactly where she needed to be. If it was up to him, she’d be there a lot longer. But hell, she even seemed hesitant about having a relationship with him, probably for the same reason she didn’t want to live in his house.
He hadn’t been lying last night. Hewasa protector. It was firmly ingrained in his DNA. But once the threat was gone, he’d be more than happy to respect her boundaries.
“Maybe she doesn’t see it as your job to protect her,” Callum said quietly.
The woman had said something similar last night.
“It is.” The words were out before he could stop them. But they felt right. She felt likehis, and he didn’t give a shit that they hadn’t known each other long.
There was a heavy pause before Callum spoke. “I know what happened to your mom affected you. Maybe a bit of this is that you don’t want to lose someone else, when you feel you can save them.”
His heart thumped. How did his friend see so much? What happened to his mother when he was young had changed him completely, turning him into the person he was today. “You’re right. The fear is there, and it’s gut wrenching. I don’t want to lose her before we’ve even begun.”
Callum pulled up outside a weathered brown house. Neither of them moved to get out. Instead, his friend turned toward him. “My advice, and ignore it if you want—push her too hard and you’ll lose her anyway. Yes, let her know you’re there for her. That you want to make sure she’s okay. So if she needs you, she knows she has you.”
Liam scrubbed a hand over his face. Callum was right. Of course he was. Be the nice guy without pushing so hard that she walked away.
One side of Liam’s mouth lifted. “You a relationship guru now?”
“Nah, I’m just wise as hell.”
Liam laughed as he climbed out of the car. The smile slipped when he reached the front door of the house and knocked.
