Liam shook his head. “You gave me another piece of yourself, more trust. I’m never going to take that for granted.”
I swallowed against the emotion gathering in my throat. “You’re pretty amazing, you know that?”
Liam chuckled. “Oh, I know.” I groaned. Liam rolled to his back, reaching for his phone on my nightstand. “Shit. I’ve got to get moving. I have to go to Pine Ridge to sign some papers my lawyer sent there, and I wanted to get in and out before a ton of people were around.”
I shifted to my side. “But what about you? Don’t you want—?” I wasn’t really sure how to finish that question.
Liam leaned forward and brushed his lips against mine. “That was just for you.”
I bit my lip and nodded. Lying back against the pillows, I watched as Liam quickly dressed. I was never going to miss the chance to enjoy his body on display. He toed on his boots and slipped his phone into his pocket. “I’ll meet you at the pasture after your shift?”
“I’ll be there.”
He paused at the door. “Wish I could stay in bed with you all day.”
A soft smile stretched my mouth. “Me, too.”
“One of these days.”
“One day.” I had more hope than ever that we’d get that day. I’d make it so.
“Want to follow me down so you can lock up behind me?”
I shook myself out of the sexual haze I was apparently still in. I never forgot to lock up after people left. I pushed out of bed and slid on my slippers. Following Liam down the stairs, I gave him a quick kiss I wished could’ve been a hell of a lot longer and sent him on his way.
I checked the clock as I headed back up to my apartment. I didn’t need to start my Kettle shift for an hour and a half. I picked up Jensen’s laptop from my coffee table and powered it on. I opted for one of the social media sites I had fake accounts on, wanting to send a message with a few questions to one of Bethany’s classmates.
I logged in and clicked on the envelope icon. I had three new messages, but the one that caught my eye had no photo, and the name read,John Doe. My stomach dipped. I clicked on it.
I’ve heard you’re nosing into something that’s none of your business. You’re not who you really claim. I know who you really are. And you’re about to join Bethany…
My blood turned to ice. I had to run. Now. I needed to destroy my phone, grab my go-bag, and get on the road as soon as possible. I pushed off the bed, striding towards the bathroom when my steps faltered.
My gaze caught on Trouble in his climbing tree. The one Liam had spent way too much money on. The climbing tree he had put together. I glanced back at the computer. Closing my eyes, I took a few steadying breaths.Think before you do anything crazy.
I walked back over to the computer and read the message again. If this person really knew who I was, wouldn’t they have said so? It would’ve driven their threat home. And if it was Garrett behind the message, he’d already be at my doorstep, wouldn’t he?
I was done with Garrett stealing all the joy from my life. I wasn’t going to let the paranoia that he fueled destroy what I was building with Liam. I would simply delete the accounts and stop messaging people. I would find another way to nail Garrett for what he did. I just hoped I could do it without him finding me.
28
Liam
Ilet out what sounded like a cross between a curse, a groan, and a yell. My frustration had reached new limits. After my tease of getting a little bit of my music back, it was all the more aggravating when I hit what felt like a brick wall. The song was at a stalemate.
I didn’t know if it was dealing with all the lawyer stuff that I had made it come to a halt, or if I had simply lost my touch. The latter had me rubbing a spot on my sternum that had begun to burn. I glanced at my phone. Only an hour before I could head to meet Tessa.
She’d become my peace lately. The one place the music flowed without frustration. Something about being around her just…how had she put it last night? Eased me. Even when I wasn’t able to weave all the threads of a song together, I didn’t hit this kind of wall. I didn’t doubt if I’d be able to make an album again, I just kept playing until I found another piece of the puzzle to put into place.
I stood from the couch, rolling my shoulders back, attempting to relieve some of the tension that had settled there. My phone buzzed. Swiping it off the table, I tapped the screen. “What’s the word, Jim?”
Jim’s no-nonsense tone cut across the line. “How bad do you want out of this contract?”
I began to pace. “Pretty fucking bad.”
“They aren’t going to make this easy.”
Of course, they weren’t going to make it easy. The last thing in the world my label wanted was their cash cow leaving. “Can you make it happen?”