Page 79 of Liam
They all nodded, the same hard expressions slipping over their features. Because they all knew the same thing he did…that more attacks were coming.
When they ended the call, Liam leaned back in his seat and ran his hands through his hair.
Nylah had almost been hurt yet again. And for the second time, the attack had been brazenly public. At least half of his team had also been targeted since the engagement party, and most of the men in Marble Falls.
He closed his laptop and rose to his feet. Then he spent the next ten minutes checking that every window and door in the house was locked. That the alarm was activated.
When there was nothing else to do, he looked up the stairs. Nylah had gone straight up there the second they’d gotten home. She’d barely eaten this afternoon. Barely spoken to him. And he knew why.
A flicker of doubt from him…one mistake. And she’d seen it. Been hurt by it.
Damn, he’d fucked up. Maybe it was because he’d seen so much scum in the world that trusting was harder than it should have been. Maybe it was because he was used to listening for lies. But Nylah deserved his trust. Out of everyone in this goddamn world, she deserved it the most.
His feet thudded against the stairs as he headed to his bedroom. When he stepped inside, he saw the bathroom door was closed. Fuck, he even hatedthat. She never closed the door between them.
Slowly, he moved forward. He wanted to walk straight into the ensuite. Take the woman into his arms and ask for her forgiveness. Beg for it. But he didn’t want to risk pushing her further away. She needed slow right now. Gentle.
So he forced himself to knock and wait.
There was a beat of silence on the other side of the door. He was pretty sure even her breathing stopped. Then, “You can come in, Liam.”
He stepped into the bathroom to find her standing in front of the mirror, robe on, hair wet and hanging at her shoulders. She was smoothing moisturizer over her face, watching her reflection.
And the only thought in his goddamn head was how fucking gorgeous she was. How completely she annihilated him.
He moved behind her, lightly touching her hips. Then his mouth lowered to her ear. “I’m sorry.”
She lowered the small tub of moisturizer to the counter. Her fingers wrapped around the edge, her chest moving up and down with a big sigh. The minute of silence that ticked by felt like a fucking lifetime.
Then, finally, her gaze lifted to look at his in the mirror. “You thought I was withholding information from you.”
“No.” His answer was instant.
She tilted her head. “You did. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have studied my response so closely. You wouldn’t have needed to hear me say I didn’t know anything. You would have just known.”
The hurt in her voice carved a hole in his chest so damn deep that he wondered how he was still standing and in one piece.
She moved away from him and into the bedroom.
He followed. “Nylah—”
“I wouldneverhave questioned you like that.” Her words were quiet, but the force of them slammed into his gut as if she’d shouted across the room. “And while I can see that you really are sorry, it doesn’t change what happened.”
There was no anger in her words, and if possible, that made it worse.
She swallowed, a thin sheen of tears coating her eyes. “I would never have questioned you, because I—”
When she stopped, his heart thrashed against his ribs. He stepped closer. “You what, Nylah?”
She wet her lips, gaze moving around the room before settling on him again. “I love you. And I would have trusted you, no lie detection needed.”
Her words narrowed his world to just her. Shifted him. Changed him.
“You love me.” He wasn’t sure if it was a question or a statement or just words said out loud to convince himself they were real.
“I love you.” A tear fell down her cheek. “And I thought you might feel the same, but after today—”
He crossed the room in a second, placing a hand on her hip and the other to her cheek. Gently, he swiped away a tear with the pad of his thumb. “Nylah, I’m sorry. I’m so damn sorry, and I know words aren’t enough. You’re right. Iwaswatching you for a lie. It was a moment of weakness that says more about me than it does about you…butnothingabout what I feel for you.”
