Page 67 of Liam
She swallowed and avoided looking at her brother, still not sure how she’d been able to convince him to come here before she told him anything. Hell, still not sure how to word everything that had happened since she’d arrived in Cradle Mountain. How did you tell your twin brother that someone had tried to kill you multiple times?
She glanced down the hall, almost wishing Liam hadn’t disappeared to his office to give them some space, but at the same time appreciating that he had. “It’s a long story.”
“I have nowhere to be.” His words were short and clipped.
With a sigh, she faced him. “What did Paisley tell you?”
She wasn’t mad at her friend. It washerfault this had happened. She’d told Paisley she’d tell her brothers and just…hadn’t.
“That someone tried to kill you.” The veins in Cody’s neck pulsed, and she didn’t miss the way he clenched his fists like he was about to hit someone. The blue eyes that matched her own were direct, unyielding. “I pushed her for more information, but she told me to ask you myself. She was surprisedyouhadn’t told me yet.”
She took a deep breath. “My first night working at the event center, there was an engagement party for Liam’s friends. His team and the guys from Marble Protection in Texas were there.”
If possible, Cody’s expression darkened further. “You’re talking about the shootout that was all over the news. You were there?”
She cringed. She hadn’t watched the news but wasn’t surprised it had been reported. “Yeah. I was. That’s how I met Liam. And ever since, I seem to be a target, but we don’t know why.”
The anger on her brother’s face was so clear that she barely recognized him. Usually, he was the calm one. The brother who was good at keeping his emotions in check.
“People have been targeting you for that long and you never told me?”
“I wanted to. But I knew you’d freak out. Convince me to come back home.”
“Of course I would! And would that be so bad?”
“Yes.” The word came out quickly and with no hesitation. “I needed a break. From you and Kayden. From family watching my every move. And I didn’t want you to come here and put yourself in danger.”
His brows flickered. “First of all, I can protect myself. Secondly, we do it because—”
“You love me. I know. And since Mom died, I’ve been the only girl in the family, and you guys are all protectors. I love you for that. But I also need to breathe. Even when you guys were all gone and Dad was sick, he was still Dad. He still watched over me. You and Kayden came home, and the overprotection got worse. When Eastern said he was coming home too… I needed to learn who I was without family trying to protect me from every little thing.”
For a moment, Cody was quiet, his brows still drawn like he was piecing her words together and trying to make sense of them. “I’m sorry if we made you feel like you needed to leave.”
She reached over and tightly wrapped her fingers around his hand. “No. I don’t want you to be sorry. I am so grateful for you and everyone else in the family. I know how lucky I am. Coming here was just…”
“Something you had to do.”
“Yes.” She breathed the word, feeling it so deeply, it ran through her veins.
He gave a slow nod. “Despite everything…are you happy here?”
“Yes. It feels like home.Liamfeels like home.”
Cody’s chest rose and fell on a sigh. “I’m glad. I want that for you. Is he treating you well?”
“The best.”
He nodded. “That’s good, because otherwise I’d have to kick his ass.”
She laughed. Always her protector. “Again? Pretty sure you’ve sent most men I’ve dated running scared.”
“If they scare that easily, they’re not good enough for you.”
He was right. And Liam definitely didn’t scare easily.
The humor left his eyes. “Tell me everything that’s happened.”
She blew out a breath and started at the beginning. Every word she spoke had the anger on Cody’s face deepening.
