Page 61 of Liam
Paramedics entered the store, but before they reached him, he lowered his head to her ear and whispered, “I’m here, baby. You’re safe.”
CHAPTER17
If there was ever a moment Liam wanted to go back in time and murder a man, it was now, as his gaze ran over the bruises on Nylah’s neck. As he watched her still form in the hospital bed, machines attached to her.
The only thing keeping him calm was the slow rise and fall of her chest.
Noises sounded all around him. Doctors and nurses talking to patients. Footsteps in the halls. There was the beeping of machines and the thrum of wheels rolling over vinyl flooring.
It all barely registered when every ounce of his attention remained on Nylah.
It was late. She’d woken in the ambulance, then fallen asleep again a while ago, after doctors had given her some drugs. She’d been so pale, and every time she swallowed, pain marred her features. Doctors wanted to keep an eye on her for the night, which meant he was here for the night as well. Because there was no chance in hell he was leaving her.
Regret tugged at his chest. That he hadn’t killed the man who’d strangled her when he’d had a chance. The same man who’d shot Callum. If he hadn’t needed information, he would have.
He lifted her hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it, letting his lips linger and the warmth in her skin seep into him.
He loved this woman. He didn’t care that it hadn’t been that long, or that the intensity of the danger around them had sped up their relationship. Every part of him knew exactly how he felt for Nylah.
His phone vibrated, but he already knew what the text was going to say. He could hear his team talking outside in the hall.
He pulled it out anyway.
Tyler: Just got back from questioning Paston. Want us to come in there, or are you coming out here?
He hated leaving her, but this room was too small for his team, and he had to find out if letting the asshole live had been worth it.
Lowering her hand, he rose and pressed one final kiss to her forehead before moving to the hall. He didn’t close the door. In fact, he positioned himself in the doorway, as close to her as he could get while still being in the hall. He wasn’t letting her out of his damn sight for a second.
Tyler, Logan, Jason, and Flynn walked toward him.
“How’s Callum?” Liam asked, looking at Flynn and Jason. Both guys had gone with Callum to watch his back as he’d been taken away in an ambulance.
“Good,” Flynn said. “Bullet missed his vital organs and he’s healing. He’s awake and already arguing to get out of bed.”
The corners of Liam’s mouth twitched. Wasn’t a surprise. Liam would be doing the same thing if situations were reversed.
Jason shook his head. “He’s not impressed by the resoundingnohe keeps getting, even if the doctors are impressed by how fast he’s healing.”
Thank God. If his team had lost one of their own…no. He couldn’t even think about that. It would annihilate him.
Jason tipped his head toward the room Nylah was in. “How’s she doing?”
“She’s okay. She was awake for a bit but fell asleep after the doctor gave her something for the pain and to help her rest. They didn’t find any damage to her vocal cords, just a lot of bruising.”
Relief relaxed his friends’ faces. They were probably thinking the same thing he was. It could have been worse. So much fucking worse.
Liam looked at Tyler and Logan, his voice a thin line as he asked, “You get anything from Miles?”
Hell, even saying the fucker’s name out loud made the rage resurface in his chest.
“He couldn’t tell us anything about Hawk’s identity,” Tyler said in a low voice.
Liam cursed under his breath.
“Hawk apparently doesn’t reveal his identity toanyone,” Logan said quietly. “He sends people in his organization job details via email and with little warning. So Miles, and presumably the other guys who attacked at the library, only got about ten minutes’ notice that Nylah was there and they were ordered to kill her.”
Liam frowned. “How the fuck did he even know shewasthere?”
