Honored (City Series Book 4)(33)

"What's up?" I asked her, not looking up.

It was almost time to go. I had to leave in ten minutes if I wanted to get there in time. I glanced at the duffle lying at my feet, filled to the brim with paperwork, each piece of the puzzle meticulously collated and labeled by Ellie.

"I'm coming with you."

That got my attention. I stared at her for a second, and I laughed.

"No you're not, sweetheart."

Her expression didn't change. "Yes, I am."

"I'm sorry, but this is way out of your league."

She took a step toward me. "This is my life too. I'm sick of being on the sidelines."

I shook my head. "I know, but I can't risk it."

"You don't have a choice. I'm not asking."

That was the Ellie I was falling in love with. The fierce expression, the I-don't-give-a-fuck posture. She was so deeply and incredibly out of her depth in everything, and yet she continued to fight me tooth and nail. I had to admire her for it.

But I couldn't let her come. More than putting her in danger, she'd be in the way. I couldn't keep my wits around me if I had to also worry about what she was doing.

"Ellie, look-"

She cut me off. "No, you look. I know what you're about to say. I'm going to be in the way, or it's too dangerous, or a million other excuses. But here's the thing, Liam. I'm coming with you and there is absolutely nothing you can do to stop me."

I had to laugh. "And what are you going to do?"

"I don't know. I'm going to stand beside you and help you. Give me a gun."

"Have you ever shot a gun before?"

"No."

"Ever even held one?"

She shook her head.

"Honestly, you'd be more likely to shoot yourself than anyone there."

"Fuck you, Liam. And fuck your smug, controlling bullshit. I'm coming with you and that's final."

I sighed and stood up, tucking the gun into my belt. I slung the duffel over my shoulder and shook my head at her. "I have to go. I don't have time for this."

I brushed past her, but she grabbed my arm. I shrugged her off, maybe a little too hard, and kept moving. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt her, or push her away, but she was giving me no other choices.

"You're not going without me," she said, her voice completely calm.

I felt her following me closely. I got to the bottom of the step and whirled on her, anger rising up through my chest.

"What the fuck is the matter with you, Ellie? Why do you need to make this harder for me?"

She didn't response, just pressed herself against me, standing eye to eye with me on the bottom step, and kissed me. I was pissed and almost wanted to pull away, but I didn't know when I'd get another chance to taste her again, or if I ever would. I relaxed into her kiss and wrapped my arms around her waist.

Slowly, she pulled away. "No more keeping me at arm's distance, you asshole. Leave me at a safe distance, whatever, but I'm coming with you. I have to be there."

I stared at her, pain and desire and sadness fighting for dominance in my mind.

"If I let you come," I said slowly, "you have to do exactly what I say."

"I can do that."

"If I tell you to run and don't look back, you will haul ass in the direction I'm pointing and never for a second consider turning your head. Do you understand?"   





 

"I understand."

I stared at her as the wheels in my mind began to spin. If she was coming, I could at least give her a task.

"There are some binoculars in the bottom drawer upstairs."

She nodded and turned, moving out of my grasp. I felt empty for half a second as she moved upstairs. My eyes locked on her firm ass and I frowned, annoyed that I could feel my cock stirring in my pants. It wasn't the time.

The plan slowly began to form in my mind. I knew the layout of the area like the back of my hand sine it was at the edge of my territory. And if she was coming, I could at least put her in a spot out of harm's way. But we'd need to move fast.

She came back down the stairs.

"Okay, follow me. We need to most as fast as we can."

She nodded. I pushed open the door, heart hammering in my chest, and she followed.

We hustled together, side by side, toward whatever was happening next.





Chapter Twenty-Four: Ellie


I was positive I was going to fall. The old rusty metal fire escape was practically bending underneath me, and it swayed with every small breeze. And I hated heights.

I pressed the binoculars against my face and could clearly make out the field where the deal was supposed to go down. The black duffle bag full of papers was pressed up against my side, both terrifying and reassuring in its weight.

There was nothing to do but wait. Liam's plan was pretty simple. I was to stay put and do absolutely nothing unless he gave me the sign to come down. If something bad happened, I had Leary's number. I was supposed to call him, explain what happened, and get out of the city as fast as I could.

A thousand different scenarios kept running through my mind as I laid there on the fire escape, swaying gently in the wind. If Liam got killed, what was I going to do? Could I go to the police? Was I capable of running away from the people who had murdered him? I had no clue what I was capable of anymore. In the beginning, when it all first happened, I was a broken mess. But days passed, and eventually I found a deep reservoir of strength that I had never realized was there. It was the same strength that I used every day to remain clean. I repurposed it toward survival.

And I was stronger. Liam was still orders of magnitude beyond me, still a human wrecking ball of pure and unbridled animal intensity, but I was beginning to siphon some of that off of him. I was absorbing his power and his ferocity. I was closer to death than I had ever been, but because of Liam I felt more alive than ever.

Minutes passed by agonizingly slowly. Nobody appeared in the field. The whole neighborhood was silent except for the sound of the occasional car driving through. There were no children playing, nobody outside on their stoops. I shuddered, the lack of action completely creepy, but kept my eyes on the binoculars. The hood was pulled over my head, keeping my hair tucked back and hopefully blocking anybody from getting a good view of my face.

I began to wonder if Liam had lied to me. What if he had put me up in some random fire escape and told me to stay put just to keep me out of danger? The thought immediately pissed me off. But then again, he had left the papers with me, so that made no sense. He would need them no matter what happened. I had to be nearby if the whole thing was going to work. What if they were out of my sightline, in some corner of the field blocked by a building? Liam wouldn't make that mistake; he knew what he was doing.

I hated waiting. True, it was good that I was finally out of that horrible safe house, but at least there the waiting could be tempered with some horrible TV shows. Up on the fire escape, I was exposed to the world, naked to whatever was going to happen. I had no control. That's probably what bothered me most. I was a passive observer to one of the most important moments in my life, something that would change the course of everything that followed and would define me.

I gripped the binoculars and felt like I was moments from climbing down the fire escape and finding Liam down on the ground, but then something moved. I focused on it and saw them: two guys walking out into the center of the open space. The one guy was smaller than the other and looked pretty young. The other guy, though, I would have recognized anywhere. It was the man called Max, the man who had held his gun against my skull and threatened to murder me. His arm was in a sling from where Liam had shot him.

I wanted to scream as memories came rushing back into my chest, the terror sending me nearly reeling off the platform. I recoiled back from the binoculars. Instantly, the two forms turned into tiny specks in the distance as I struggled to get my breathing under control. My heart was racing and I could feel sweat pooling all over my skin, and I knew that I was having a minor panic attack. Get your shit together, I kept thinking, forcing myself to calm down with deep breaths and willpower.   





 

Slowly, too slowly, I got myself under control. My heart dropped to a more manageable pace and the fear dulled down into something that I could ignore. The man couldn't do anything to me, didn't even know where I was. There was an irrational moment there where I was sure they could see me, sure that they knew where I was. That couldn't be true, though. They were way too far away, and Liam was careful, taking us in circles before finally telling me to climb up. No, those two men had no clue where I was hiding. And Liam would take care of Max. I was safe.

I took another breath and forced myself to press the cold binoculars up against my face.

They were standing together, still alone. Neither of them were talking, and I couldn't see Liam anywhere. I had no clue what he was doing, but I had to trust that he knew what was happening. I watched the two man stand there, looking around them, and I could tell they were getting progressively more impatient. Maybe ten minutes passed, and finally the taller guy said something to the smaller one, his face a mask of anger. The smaller man made some conciliatory gestures, trying to calm him down. I couldn't read their lips, but it was clear that the big guy wanted to leave and the shorter one was convincing him to stay.

They argued like that for another minute when suddenly they stopped and faced the opposite side of the field. I panned my binoculars and spotted Liam crossing the space, his face grim. My muscles tensed for what was about to happen.