Page 103 of Liam
“No! He—”
“IsnotCarter. None of them are.” More guys appeared behind Steve, all wearing vests declaring them FBI, all pointing their weapons at Violet and Liam. “I told you that. I told you to drop this obsession. That Carter was dead and we needed to leave him behind. But you wouldn’t listen.”
“I’m trying to save people from the same fate as me!” Violet’s voice shook.
Steve was shaking his head before Violet finished. “No. You’re trying to get the retribution that was stolen from you because you didn’t get to kill Carter yourself.”
Violet glanced back at Liam, tears raining down her cheeks, and her expression shifted from anger to something else… Pain.
“Put the gun down, Violet.”
It took her several heartbeats. Then, finally, she lowered the pistol to the floor, and the men behind Steve stepped forward and took her.
Dark circles shadowed Steve’s eyes, pain etched into his features as he watched his daughter being led away. She’d need medical attention, but after that, she’d be going away for a long time, and her father knew it.
When Steve looked at Liam, it was obvious he was trying to pull himself together. “Are you okay?”
Liam nodded as Nylah came to stand by his side. He wrapped an arm around her waist as Steve shifted his attention to her. “I’m sorry. After I saw Trey in the sketch, I tried to find and secure him, but he’d already disappeared. I knew he was close to Violet, but…I was hoping I was wrong. I was hoping they weren’t in on this together.”
He took a deep breath, then nodded at Liam. “I’m going to make sure she gives me the names of every person involved. They’ll all be arrested. That’s a promise I’m making to you and your team.”
* * *
“This may sting.”
Nylah swallowed and nodded at the paramedic, barely feeling the pain as he sterilized her wound. Just about all of her attention remained on Liam. The way his gaze flicked up and down the street, so alert she expected him to reach for his gun at any second. His team would be here soon. He’d just made contact with every man, made sure they were all uninjured.
When pain shot down her side and Nylah cringed, Liam’s attention returned to her, his breath hissing through his teeth as he shifted closer. “Are you okay?”
She nodded.
“Maybe we should go to the—”
“No. I’m okay. He said the wound is superficial and he can take care of it here. That’s what I want.” The sooner this night was over, the better.
Liam’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t argue with her. He hadn’t left her side. Not while the bodies had been wheeled out of the museum. Not as the paramedic began to inspect her wounds. Not as the police asked a million questions. His hand was permanently touching her—leg, arm, back. And that was exactly what she needed. The reassurance that he was with her and not going anywhere.
“Do you think Ned will be okay?” she whispered. She wasn’t sure if she was asking the paramedic or Liam. Maybe both.
“I don’t know,” Liam said quietly. “It will depend on whether the bullet hit any of his vital organs. But he was breathing when they wheeled him away, and his heart was beating. That’s good.”
She nodded, guilt trickling through her chest that he’d been shot because she chose to run into the museum.
“Hey.”
Liam watched her closely. “What happened to him is not your fault.”
“I know I didn’t pull the trigger, but I led her right to—”
“It’s all onher, Nylah. All of it.”
So much anger laced his voice. She knew part of that anger was him feeling like he should have known who Violet was. That all of them should have known.
They couldn’t have. There was no way for them to know. Even her own father hadn’t known she was here in Cradle Mountain.
She nodded slowly, gaze returning to the street. She really wanted to see Cody. He’d messaged to say he was okay, but nothing would calm the panic in her chest like seeing him.
As the paramedic worked on her side, she forced the air to move in and out of her lungs. To not let the weight of everything that had happened tonight press down on her. She’d come so close to losing Liam. Too close. And that left a wound that would take a while to heal.
