The knocking on my door brought me out of a dead sleep.
Horrible memories assaulted me. My pulse sped up so fast I worried it actually might make my heart explode.
For a moment, I was disillusioned and unsure of where I was.
Then it all came back. BearPaw. My room. Liam.
Immediately, my eyes flew to where he’d been when I fell asleep. The chair was empty now, and an ache I didn’t care to acknowledge bloomed in my chest.
Another firm knock sounded on the door. Pressing a hand to my chest, I stumbled out of bed and went on unsteady legs toward it. There was a peephole, but I cowered away from it, afraid of what I might see.
The last time I had an unexpected visitor, he tried to kill me and I ended up a fugitive from my own life.
For the second time.
“Room service!” a woman called from the other side of the door.
I gripped the neck of my shirt. A familiar scent of pine and snow wrapped around me. Instinctively, I inhaled.
“I didn’t order room service,” I called out, suddenly a little braver than before.
There was a slight pause. “Liam Mattison called down and placed the order.”
Liam ordered me food?
Suspicion clouded over the desire to be warmed a little by the gesture.
“Leave it outside the door. Please,” I called out.
“Of course,” the woman replied.
A few moments went by, and I heard nothing. My eyes stayed latched on the door handle, expecting it to turn and open.
After I got tired of standing there, strung out, I crept closer and peeked into the peephole.
No one was there.
My palms were clammy when I undid the lock and cracked the door. There was a room service cart there, and the scent of pancakes floated to my nose. In a burst of movement, I pushed the door wide, grabbed the handle on the cart, and pulled it inside. The second the cart was fully in, I threw myself on the door and locked it up.
Wheeling the trolley over beside the bed, I dove beneath the covers and pulled them around my bare legs. The scent of breakfast made my stomach rumble, and I glanced at the plates dubiously. How did I know Liam was actually the one who sent this?
What if those men had found me? What if everything on that tray was poisoned?
The phone rang, and I nearly fell off the side of the mattress.
Groaning, I snatched the stupid thing up because it was loud and obnoxious. “Hello?”
“Did they deliver breakfast?” His voice was like a warm rush over my senses.
My scalp tingled, and I didn’t stop the smile that formed on my lips.
“Liam?”
“Are any other guys having room service delivered to you?”
“Umm…”
He growled into the line, and the tingles turned into a dull ache.
“You still wearing my shirt?”
I glanced down. I was indeed still wearing it. “Nope,” I said. “Took it off the second I got up. It’s itchy. And it smells.”
His rich chuckle made my eyes slide closed. “Liar.”
“You really sent me breakfast?”
“Pancakes, eggs, toast. OJ, hot chocolate… the works.” As he spoke, I leaned over and lifted a few of the lids. It was everything he said.
“That was…” I murmured, staring at the food, a little misty-eyed.
“Selfish,” he proclaimed.
“What?” I squeaked.
“Eat up, Bells. I’ll be back in a little while, and you’re coming with me.”
I made a sound of alarm. “I can’t go anywhere with you!”
“Why the hell not?”
I stuttered, unable to form one coherent argument.
He laughed low. “I’ll see you in a few.”
I sat there with the dial tone in my ear for a few moments before hanging it up. Now that I knew the food wasn’t sent here to kill me, I grabbed a fork, poured too much syrup on the pancakes, and pulled the plate into bed.
The remote was on the bedside table, so I switched on the flat-screen and found a news station. I wondered if perhaps any kind of reporting was being done about what happened at my apartment.
I ate almost all the pancakes, half the eggs, and drank some cocoa, and in that entire time, nothing was reported about me or anything going on in Chicago. I knew I was a long way from home, but this wasn’t local news. Hell, there was even a story from a small town past Chicago about a seeing eye dog!
I could view the lack of news coverage in two ways:
1. No one knew anything about my “disappearance.” Therefore, no one was looking for me, and my location here was unknown.
Or
2. No one cared enough to realize I was even missing.
I was going to go with number one. Hopefully, my quick escape and then no-hesitation to hop a train to the next town and then a bus here left a cold trail to follow.
Having enough of the news, I switched it to the cooking channel and watched it for a short while before dragging myself into the bathroom. Thank goodness there was a complimentary toothbrush with paste because my getaway bag of essentials was seriously lacking in dental hygiene.
I washed my face, put on some more lotion and lip balm, then pulled my hair out of the bun I’d tied it in before falling asleep. It was still damp in some places where it had been tucked under, so I pulled out the hairdryer and blasted the long, dark-blond strands for a few minutes while using the brush to smooth some of it out.
When I was done, I ran my fingers through it and felt satisfied it wasn’t a tangled mess, and it fell over my shoulders and down my back, slightly tousled.
I didn’t really want to take off Liam’s shirt. It wasn’t itchy. Or smelly. In fact, the fabric was that just-right, worn-in softness, and his scent was something I wished I could bottle. I tugged it off anyway, folded it neatly, and laid it on the end of the bed so I could return it.
The entire time I dressed, I thought about what had happened and what I was going to do.
The only thing I knew for sure was witness protection promised me safety and they failed. I thought maybe after a full night’s sleep, some food, and a hot shower, things would look a little clearer. Or at the very least, some inkling of a plan would be brewing in my mind.
I had nothing. Nothing but fear.
Another thought assailed me, one so formidable I sank down on the bed, my knuckles white from the way I squeezed my hands. What if the men who found me also found my mother?
What if, when they couldn’t find me, they went after her instead?
Tears came fast and slid over my cheeks silently. My crying had no sound. I barely even felt the wetness. I was too numb with terror.
I shouldn’t have run. I should have let that man shoot me in my kitchen. I’d be dead, and this whole thing would be over. My mother would be safe.
It was my fault she was in this mess to begin with. If only I had listened to her…
A knock on my door made me shriek. Gah, I seriously needed to work on my jumpiness.
Pressing a hand to my chest, I yelled, “Who is it?”
“Liam.”
I scrubbed at my face, trying to get rid of the evidence of my tears. Blowing out a shaky breath, I glanced through the peephole. He smiled into it as if he knew I would look.
A little giggle escaped me, and I slapped my hand over my lips. This was no time to laugh! My life was in shambles, and my mother could be in danger.
I had no way of knowing… What have I done?
Unlatching the door, I began to pull it open. Liam surprised me by grabbing the edge and keeping it partly closed.
“What are you doing?” I worried.
“Warning you.”
The bottom fell out of my stomach. “Did they find me?” I worried. “Oh God, I should go.”
I started backing away from the door.
Liam cursed low and pushed it open all the way.
All at once, a flurry of movement and a burst of activity barged into my room. Liam moved fast, grabbing me around the waist, steadying me.
Seconds later, I understood why.
Deep barking filled the space. Automatically, I grabbed at Liam. His hands curled a little tighter around me, drawing me closer. “It’s just Charlie.”
Taking that as his introduction, a giant, hairy dog leapt on me. The sound of his nose sniffing away as though he were patting me down was so loud it was all I heard. My eyes widened as I took in the ginormous St. Bernard with brown ears and a black-and-white face. He looked just like that dog from the movie Beethoven.
“Use your manners, Charlie,” Liam told him.
The dog dropped down, but his body wiggled and his huge tail beat the air.
I laughed and let go of Liam instantly. “Look at you!” I said, kneeling to pet him.
“Watch it. He’s a walking slobber machine.” Liam chuckled and shut the door. The sound of the lock being thrown knocked my tension down a notch.
Charlie licked my chin with his giant, sloppy tongue, and I laughed. He had a huge, furry head, and my hands buried behind his ears to scratch. He made a loud groaning sound and sat down.
“Is this your dog?” I asked, glancing at Liam.
He was watching us with a soft expression, his lips tilted up just slightly.
“Yep. Charlie. Got him right after I moved home. He loves the snow as much as I do.”
“You have your own built-in coat,” I told Charlie, rubbing his chest.
The dog flopped down on the floor and rolled, offering his belly.
Liam laughed. “Well, you’re in.”
“In?”
He nodded. “Charlie only shows his belly to people he likes.”
“I like you, too, boy,” I said, scratching his belly.
He licked me again, and I squealed. He definitely was a slobber machine.
“So you were warning me about him?” I asked, still feeling a little tightness in my diaphragm.
He nodded. “Charlie tends to barrel into a room. I didn’t want him to knock you on your ass.”
“I didn’t know you had a dog.”
“There’s lots of things you don’t know about me, Bells.” The admission was quiet, sort of secret, and it made me swallow.
Liam cleared his throat. “I wasn’t sure if you liked dogs or not, but Charlie was mad I left him alone most of the night, so I figured I’d let him come along.”
“Most of the night?”
He nodded, his gray eyes turning stormy.
He was with me all night? My stomach dipped.
I stood up from the floor, and Charlie jumped up, shaking out his coat. A string of slobber literally smacked into the wall.
“Dude,” Liam told him. “Not cool.”
Charlie didn’t seem to mind and went over to the cart and started sniffing at my leftover breakfast. He was so big he could snatch it off the plates if he wanted. I noticed the way his eyes moved to Liam as he sniffed.
“You know better,” was all Liam said.
Charlie sat down with a huff but continued to stare at the food.
“Thanks for breakfast,” I said because I had no idea what else to say.
“You look better this morning.” I shifted a little as his eyes perused my jeans and T-shirt, landing on my hair. “Your hair is longer.”
I nodded.
“I like it.”
The compliment made me feel warm in ways I hadn’t in a very long time. All the fighting I did with the length when it got tangled or was a pain to wash didn’t seem so annoying anymore.
“You ready to go?” Liam asked.
I straightened. “Go?”
He nodded. “I have a lesson. Thought you might want to come. Watch Charlie for me.”
I glanced at the dog, his tail beating against the floor.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
He raised a brow. “You got something better to do?”
God, he was so nice to look at. His light-brown hair was slightly mussed. The scruff on his jaw looked almost golden. It was such a contrast to his stormy eyes. Like the man had a little bit of heaven and a little bit of hell right there on his face.
He was dressed in a thick sweater this morning. The kind with a neck that zipped. The collar was turned up, framing his jaw. Beneath the hem, a white T-shirt stuck out, and his jeans molded to the front of his thighs.
The boots on his feet were big and sturdy. Perfect for traipsing around in the snow. The leather was wet as though that was exactly what he’d been doing.
“Do you live in the resort?”
“No. I have a cabin on the other side of the slopes. Charlie needs room to run, and I like my space.”
“Just you and Charlie live there?” I couldn’t help but ask.
A slow smile lifted the corners of his lips and put a little mischief in his eyes. “Just me and Charlie.”
Didn’t mean he didn’t have a girlfriend, though. I mean, just look at him. Even when I was sixteen, everyone at the resort drooled over him and vied for his attention. That was when he was a boy. Now he was all man.
His smile turned into a full-on show of teeth. “I’m single.”
“Oh. Good.”
More of his teeth flashed.
I wanted to smack myself in the forehead. “I mean… I didn’t… mean.” I groaned. “What I meant was that’s good because I don’t think your girlfriend would approve of you basically putting me up in the hotel last night.”
“Or tonight,” he intoned, stepping closer.
I stepped back. “Tonight?”
He nodded.
“I can’t stay tonight. I have to go.”
“Go where?”
“Uh.” I backed up until I felt Charlie nudge me with his nose. Without thinking, I reached behind me and patted his head. “That’s really not any of your business.”
Liam’s eyes narrowed.
The dog nudged me again, so I grabbed a piece of the toast I hadn’t eaten and slipped it to him.
“You’re going to spoil him,” Liam grumped.
“He’s hungry.” I gave him another piece.
“Get your coat,” he replied. “I have to be downstairs.”
“I don’t have a coat.”
He frowned. “We’ll get you one in one of the shops.”
I grappled for another reason I couldn’t. In the end, I felt my shoulders sag. “I really shouldn’t leave this room.”
He studied me for long moments. The weight of his stare was enough to make me squirm.
“It’s very clear to me you’re running from something. Or someone. Someone who obviously scared you pretty bad.”
I didn’t say anything. Didn’t confirm or deny.
Liam closed the distance between us and stroked over my cheek with the pad of his thumb. “Come out on the slopes with me, Bellamy. I’ll stay close. So will Charlie. I won’t let anyone get to you.”
Damn him. Damn the way he made me feel. I knew better. I absolutely knew better.
But Liam’s power was impossible to deny.