Honored_ An Alpha Mob Romance(30)

“Listen to me,” he said softly.

“Go fuck yourself.” I felt my defiance begin to ebb, though.

“Gladly. But first, understand that the only thing keeping you alive right now is me. You want to see Petey again? You do what I say.”

I clenched my jaw and didn’t respond.

“Are you going to hit me again if I let you go?”

I shook my head.

“Fine.” He gingerly released me, and I sat up, adjusting myself.

He stood and walked across the room. “Do you know anyone in the area?”

I thought about it for a second. “My friend, Chelsea.”

“Will she take the dog?”

I nodded. I actually had no clue if she would or not, but she was probably my best bet for having someone watch over Petey.

“Fine, I’ll talk to her.”

I looked away from him, rage seething through my body. I couldn’t believe he would pin me down and let me yell and scream at him, hit him and grab at his face, and do nothing. I was pissed and defiant and confused and terrified, but also part of me was amazed at how hard he was trying to keep me safe.

“You can’t hold me here forever.”

“You’re right. I have a plan to fix this thing, but we need to lay low until I can figure it all out.”

I shook my head. “But I have work, I have responsibilities. I can’t just disappear.”

“You’ll take vacation time. Your friends and family will deal with you being gone. You’ll lie if you have to.”

I looked at him, and I could feel the tears welling up.

“They’ll fire me. My friends will worry.”

“You can’t work if you’re dead. They’ll feel worse at your funeral.”

That gave me pause. “This is insane, Liam,” I said softly, tears welling up.

He nodded, looking sad. “I know. I’m really sorry this happened to you.”

I looked away, not wanting to get sucked into his perfect face and serious eyes. I fought back the tears, getting myself under control. Crying wouldn’t help anything, and I didn’t want to show weakness in front of him. I had trouble hating him, even though part of me thought it was his fault that I was trapped in his safe house. I wanted to scream and claw out his eyes, but I knew that wouldn’t help anything. I was torn up inside.

And I was trapped. I was trapped in a nightmare with a man I barely knew. There were people out in the world that wanted to see me dead, and they were willing to murder me in my own apartment. And there I was, pissed at the only person in the whole world who was willing to give up everything to save me.

“Those eggs were amazing,” I said after a brief silence.

He grinned at me. “I know.”





Chapter Thirteen: Liam


We talked for another few hours, and eventually she agreed not to leave the house, at least for another day. She was stubborn and difficult and wild, but I could see the fear in her eyes. I could practically smell it, rolling from her body in waves.

If she weren’t afraid, I would have been even more worried.

Fuck, there was something about her that kept sticking in my brain. At first, I thought it was just because she was so sexy and innocent looking, with perfect lips and hips I wanted to grab and hold on to. Staring at her outside of Richie’s school, I thought I’d never met anyone so perfect and gorgeous. I wanted to rip off her blouse and explore every inch of her smooth skin, to burrow my face between her legs and breathe her smell in deep. But there was so much more to her than I could have realized at first. Any other civilian would have broken down into a ball of tears, but not Ellie. She was way stronger than I could have imagined, and although she was still trying to make stupid choices, she was so incredibly beautiful in her defiance. Despite the fear, she was desperately trying to hold on to herself.

And she was going to need that strength. I had no idea what was going to happen in the coming days or weeks, but I knew it was going to be difficult.

Worse, it may be bloody.

I felt the wind move through my hair as I navigated south, heading out of my territory. I hated leaving Ellie alone, but it was important that I got out and started making contact with a few people, started pushing my plan forward. The longer I waited, the longer Colm had to consolidate his power. Worse, he could even find my safe house, though I really doubted it. My father had taught me well, and I didn’t take any shortcuts in setting the thing up.

I was exhausted, and the sun was low in the sky, but I pushed myself forward. I felt responsible, somehow, for what was happening to Ellie. If only I had backed someone other than Colm early on, or if I had been able to talk him out of wanting to kill her, or if I had taken her into hiding the night before, then maybe I could have avoided everything. Or at least the worst of it. At least I could have avoided Ellie getting a gun shoved in her face.