Chapter Twelve.
Keira When I saw Liam being beaten to death by Crow and his cronies, I didn"t think. My body automatically reacted. I didn"t think about what would happen to me if I intervened. I didn"t care that there were five of them and only one of me. All I cared about was saving Liam, sacrificing myself so he would survive.
The rage inside me took over, and I granted no mercy to any of the men I faced. It was do or die. The red color blurred my vision and all I wanted was vengeance for their cowardice attempt at cornering Liam.
It was disgusting.
When I drew blood from their faces, I felt no sympathy. When I kneed them in the groin, they got no empathy from me. If they died, I wouldn"t have cared.
I still don"t.
When I got close to Liam, I saw the degree of the damage. His face was so bloodied I hardly recognized him. His mouth was bleeding profusely, his lips were cracked, and one of his eyes was swollen shut. Every time he took a breath, he winced like something wasn"t right. A pool of his blood was on the turf and he was growing weaker by the second. I was scared he wouldn"t make it.
It was the single scariest moment of my life.
When Finn beat me until I blacked out, I was terrified. I didn"t know if I would live to see another day. But the thought of losing Liam was a million times worse. I would much rather die than live without him.
When the doctor told me he was going to be okay, I broke down in tears. I feared for the worst when he was in surgery. He had some internal bleeding and I thought it would be too late to repair the tear. He lost a lot of blood so he needed a transfusion. But luckily, he pulled through.
I stayed at his bedside the entire time. I slept in the chair near the door and kept an eye on him. The only time I went home was to shower and change my clothes. The doctor insisted he"d be asleep for days and there was no point in hurting my back sleeping on a steel chair, but I refused to leave him. There was nowhere else I"d rather be.
The moment he opened his eyes, I put on a brave face for him and hid all the sadness, all the pain. Seeing him look at me and finding comfort was all I wanted. He"d been through so much. I couldn"t even imagine how brutal his attack was. I was grateful I only saw a glimpse of it.
The last day Liam was in the hospital, he looked much better. The bruises were almost completely gone from his beautiful face. The cuts on his lips were healed, and his lungs were back to full capacity. He still needed to wear a wrap around his ribs for another week, but other than that, he was as good as new.
"I can"t wait to go home," he sad quietly.
"All you"re going to be doing is laying in bed anyway."
"But I need to start training-"
I gave him the most threatening look I could muster.
"I mean, yes, ma"am."
"That"s better." I stayed in the chair beside his bed and held his hand.
He rubbed the wrap covering his ribs. "I feel a lot better."
"Good. I"m glad to hear that."
"I don"t know what would have happened if you hadn"t been there..." His eyes were full of fondness.
"But I was so it doesn"t matter." I didn"t like thinking about it.
"You"ve come so far, baby. I can"t even begin to explain how impressed I am."
"Well, I had the best teacher in the world."
"I may have helped you but you did the work on your own. You can"t give the credit away."
"I still couldn"t have done it without you."
"Now that I"m feeling better, I realize how hot it was." He gave me a dark look.
"You aren"t getting any from me until you feel better."
Disappointment came into his eyes. "But I am feeling better...come on, it"s been two weeks."
"We"ll talk about it when we go home tomorrow."
He sighed in annoyance, acting like a child.
I liked the playful side of Liam. It hardly ever came out. The past few weeks he"d been quiet and brooding. Since his ailments were better, he was in a much brighter mood. It was nice to see that.
"Baby?"
"Hmm?" I set the book I was reading on my lap.
"You should go home tonight and get some sleep. You"ve been here for weeks."
"Where you go, I go." I crossed my legs and sat straight.
"I"ll be fine. I"m just going to be sleeping anyway. Take a hot shower, make a home cooked meal, and relax. Come back in the morning and get me."
Sitting in this metal chair was getting old. And the hospital food was borderline disgusting. I could go for a California burrito right now. But I felt guilty for leaving him. What if he needed me?
"Keira, I"m not asking. I"m telling." He gave me a firm look.
"You"re the one in a hospital bed, so you don"t get to call the shots."
"I always call the shots," he said darkly. "You deserve a break."
"I really don"t mind staying here with you."
"I have a feeling I"m going tonbe on house arrest when I get home, so you should enjoy a break while you can. Seriously, I"m just going to be sleeping."
"But I love watching you sleep."
His eyes softened. "I know, baby. But I want you to get some rest-real rest."
I"d been sitting vigil by his side for two weeks. It would be nice to sleep in a real bed. "Are you sure?"
"Very." He brought my hand to his lips and kissed it. "Now go."
I sat at the edge of his bed then gave him a gentle kiss. His hands moved to my hips and pulled me as close as possible. His fingers dug into me, desperate to cling to me. I knew he missed me in a way that wasn"t acceptable in a public place, and I missed him too. "I"ll see you in the morning."
"Okay," he whispered.
I kissed his forehead. "I love you." We hardly said those words to each other, but because we didn"t want to dilute the meaning. I wanted to say it now because I almost lost him.
"And I you." He pecked my lips again and let me get up. He watched me go, a look of longing on his face.
I"d come to the house every day to shower and change my clothes. As a result, my garden hadn"t been tended to, there was no food in the house, and the laundry hadn"t been done. The place was a ghost palace.
I walked into the kitchen then tossed my purse on the counter. Tonight, I was making a home cooked meal instead of eating out for once, and I hoped there were fresh vegetables in the garden I could use. But then again, I hadn"t been watering the plants so they may not have survived.
I headed to the back door then stopped when I realized it was open. A small crack was visible, meaning the door was unlocked. My heart pounded in my chest while I stared at it.
Did I leave it unlocked?
Did Liam?
Had it been like that the whole time?
Maybe Scotty came over and watered the plants...
I wasn"t sure. I came closer then stared at the doorframe. It didn"t look like it was tampered with. Quietly, I shut the door and locked it. Then I tested its st.u.r.diness.
"Keira."
My hand froze. Even though I was slightly cold from the nighttime air, I suddenly broke out in a sweat. My hands became clammy, slipping on the handle. I remembered that voice, had never forgotten it. It had the same sinister ring to it, a tone heavy with loathing and irritation. It was hard to recall a time when he didn"t sound like that.
I didn"t turn around. I kept my position, trying to see his reflection through the gla.s.s.
"Your man toy hasn"t been around lately."
He must have been watching the house. How did he know where I lived? He must have followed me the last time I visited Scotty. The first thing he wanted to do with his freedom was destroy me.
The panic set in. I remembered the way he tormented me, manipulated me with his misplaced affections. He never loved me. All he wanted to do was control me, to use me when he needed something. And when he didn"t get his way or I defied him, he hurt me. I was so weak against him, so small. Numerous bruises marked my body, most of them not visible with the naked eye. They went down deep, far into my soul.
I heard his footsteps as he came closer to me. "Jail wasn"t fun. Thanks for asking." The disdain leaked in his voice.
What do I do? Should I open the door and run? I was fast but was I fast enough?
"Baby, turn around. Don"t you want to see the man you professed to love?"
My breathing was haywire but I controlled it. Even though we hadn"t spoken in years, I never forgot his unpredictable nature. He could snap at any moment, especially when he didn"t get his way. Slowly, I turned around.
His face wasn"t the same. Lines marked the skin around his mouth, like he"d aged decades, not years. There was a hardness to him, like he"d been to h.e.l.l and back. There was no hint of the boy I had fallen for. All I saw was the destructive man he turned into. Darkness shined bright in his eyes, coming directly from his blackened soul. "You look different." His eyes took me in, studying my face and then my body. "You grew into your curves."
I didn"t like him looking at me like that. I belonged to Liam now. Only he had the right to give me that look.
He took a step forward, making me flinch. "I"ve had a very horrible year. Sharing a cell with a serial killer wasn"t exactly my idea of a good time."
"Knowing my parents died to protect me from you wasn"t peachy either." My hatred came out. Every second I looked at him, I wanted to rip his throat out. I never hated anyone more than him, not even Adrianna. Actually, they would be perfect together, both twisted and crazy.
His eyes widened in irritation. "Don"t back talk me." The volume of his voice increased. "I don"t need to remind you of that."
"I don"t listen to you anymore." I stood my ground. He used to boss me around but those days were over.
Another step was taken. "I was hoping we could catch up before I strangle you. But you clearly want to skip to the good part."
"Don"t. Touch. Me."
Amus.e.m.e.nt came into his eyes. "Someone has gotten feisty over the years. You think your beast of a man will protect you? I don"t see him anywhere."
"I don"t need him to protect me."
He smiled and it made me want to slap him. "You"re cute. I like it."
I stepped to the side, trying to put s.p.a.ce between us. "Leave my house now."
"Do you have any idea what you"ve done to me? I rotted in jail for over a year and was practically tortured. And now that I"m out, they"re trying to rehabilitate me. But what future do I have? I"m a criminal and I"ll always be considered a criminal." Spit started to fly out of his mouth. "You ruined my life, Keira."
"Then maybe you shouldn"t have beat me. Maybe you should have been a real man and showed me respect. You expect me to feel sorry for you? Forget it. If you ask me, jail was too good for you."
His fists clenched at his sides and his knuckles turned white. "I"m going to have a good time getting my revenge from you. And by the way, I haven"t been with a woman in over a year..." He eyed my body suggestively. "So I"m going to take care of that before I bury you six feet under."
I was scared. I hated to admit it but I was. Being in jail didn"t make him smaller. Somehow, he had more muscle tone and greater strength. And the crazed look in his eye told me he was determined to win this fight.
But I could do this. Liam taught me to defend myself. I already proved I could hold my weight in a fight weeks ago. I really wish Liam were here to protect me, to rip this guy into pieces, but he wasn"t. It was just me.
I was sick of being the victim-sick of it. He plagued my nightmares for too long. And if he thought he was going to hurt me-and rape me-he had another thing coming. If only one of us was getting out of here alive, it was gonna be me.
And that"s what was going to happen.
"Fight me and I"ll make it excruciating. Submit and I"ll be gentle and end it quickly. Your choice, baby."
"If you do this, you"re either going to die or go back to jail. You have the chance to start your life over again. Being punished really taught you nothing?"
"It gave me plenty of time to think about those who had wronged me." His jaw was clenched in rage.
Something snapped inside me. "You don"t deserve to live."
"Just because I deserve something doesn"t mean I"ll get it. And the same goes for you." He came at me, his hands outstretched.
Now was the time. Everything Liam taught me came to my mind. I pulled my fists to my chest, tucked my chin, and concentrated. Finn thought I was just as weak as I used to be. He had no idea how strong I"d become. And that would catch him off guard.
He s.n.a.t.c.hed my arm and yanked me toward him. He was stronger than I antic.i.p.ated.
I twisted out of his hold then elbowed him in the nose.
His head flew back and his hands immediately went to his face.