The first night in Liam’s arms, my nightmares stayed far away. I didn’t wake up out of breath, the entire bed shaking with my pent-up anxiety. I could tell he was lying when he told me there was nothing to worry about with Frank and Monti, and that terrified me. The things he’d done for them were highly illegal and I didn’t want him to get swept up in the crime any more than he already had. But I trusted Liam to do everything in his power to keep me safe and for whatever reason, being in his arms all night felt right.
I woke up alone, my white sheets stained with dried patches of brown and deep red. When I groggily walked into the kitchen, I was surprised to find the shirtless man rummaging through my pantry with canned goods sprawled on the floor around him.
“Good morning,” I greeted hesitantly, pulling him away from his search. “Are you looking for something particular or were you planning on stealing all my corn?”
“Hey,” he replied, keeping his face in its usual pout. “I was looking for something to cook you for breakfast when it all fell on top of me. I thought it would wake you up, but it turns out you could sleep through a bomb going off. I was just trying to clean it up before you saw. Now I realize how weird this might be for you. I’m sorry. I can leave.”
I smiled at him, pointing to the cupboard right next to me. “Breakfast is my favorite meal and therefore has earned its own right to a shelf over here.”
I opened the cupboard door and showed him everything I had.
He rolled his eyes. “Of course. Let me just clean this up and I can get something going.”
Graciously picking up a handful of cans, he neatly stacked them into the pantry. His movements were so smooth compared to my clumsy, rushed ones.
“Don’t worry about it, really. I can get this cleaned up.”
Another awkward smile pulled at the sides of my mouth while I moved toward the pantry, trying to usher him out of my way without touching his tanned bare skin. The tattoos I’d only ever peeked at were fully exposed, spilling from his arms and over his shoulders, all the way down onto his chest and back. A large watercolor rose covered his entire left shoulder, bleeding out into the shapes next to it. My pasty, plain skin paled in comparison to his. But then again, everything about me paled in comparison to him.
He wasn’t extremely muscular, but he was definitely toned in all of the right places, whereas I had a thin layer of chub covering up most of my body. I wouldn’t say I was overweight, but I was curvy, and not even close to Cara’s size-two frame. I’m sure she would have loved to have her way with him.
I shook my head at the thought, allowing it to bother me more than it should have.
“That’s a beautiful rose,” I commented, brushing my fingers over his skin before he stood up, towering over me defensively.
He clearly wasn’t used to being touched, the unexpected contact startling him. I watched the darkness cross his face before he took control, neutralizing his features once again to hide his emotions. The rose meant something to him, that much was obvious.
Liam glanced at the clock above the stove and cursed under his breath. I followed his gaze, shocked to find that it was past nine. It had to have been years since I’d slept in that late.
“I didn’t realize how late it was. I was supposed to be at the shop at eight.”
He had taken the stained bandage off his neck and I gawked at his fresh wound now that I was close enough to see it.
“I’m so sorry, Liam. He could have killed you,” I found myself whispering breathlessly, my fingers reaching out toward him again before I thought better of it, pulling my arm back slowly and hugging it against my middle.
What happened to this beautiful man that scarred him so deeply he fears physical touch?
“I’m just glad you’re okay.” His deep voice rumbled protectively. He watched my face for a moment too long before stepping back and grabbing his shirt from his back pocket. “Don’t hesitate to call me if you need anything else. Thanks for letting me crash here last night. I’ll see you around, Luna.”
I said goodbye and the minute he walked out of the door, I felt emptiness. For the first time in months, I didn’t crave solitude. I didn’t feel safe or comfortable in any of the places I used to be so carefree in because he had violated my safety. One fact remained true no matter how much I wanted to deny it: last night was the most whole I’d ever felt, in the arms of a man who was both the safest and most dangerous thing in my life.
●
If I had any sanity left, I would have closed the bakery and taken the day off to recover. The Luna from before would jump at the opportunity to have a day to herself, resting in preparation for the flood of orders she still needed to complete. But that girl was gone, and in her place was a shell that walked around without purpose, all sanity thrown out the window.
“Luna, where have you been? Oh, I’m so happy you’re okay. I came in and found supplies all over the floor. I thought someone kidnapped you,” my mom cried, pulling me into a tight embrace as soon as I stepped into the door. “I called the police and they told me you had a break-in last night. Why didn’t you call us, honey? I’ve been worried sick. Your father just left for work, but he’s been waiting to hear from you all morning,” she guilted.
I gently pulled away and walked over to my supply rack, gathering what I needed to start a new order that was scheduled to be delivered in two days.
There was a proper reaction to be had after what had happened to me and Liam the night before, but my broken mind couldn’t seem to access it. Every time I reached down into my pit of a soul for emotion, I came up empty-handed.
“I think you have to be a kid to be kidnapped,” I joked sarcastically, trying to lighten the mood. Her pursed lips told me she wasn’t having that, so I tried again. “I’m fine, Mom, really. We were able to get the guy to the station and behind bars. It turns out we aren’t the first people he’s done this to.”
I lied, hoping she didn’t already know that Cooper was not a burglar, but a serial rapist and a man who could be convicted of attempted murder should Liam press charges. Oh, and he was apparently associated with a criminal named Monti, who wanted me dead.
“The police said there were two men here and one of them was injured. Who was the second one?”
She crossed her small arms over her chest. She already knew who the second one was, she was just testing me for honesty. I had to get my story straight and make sure Liam had his too in case she approached him.
“Liam showed up just in time,” I said as casually as I could. “I guess it paid off to have him escort me out to my car each night.”
I smiled reassuringly at her, doing my best to play the damsel in distress. She had no idea I had the ability defend myself as well as I could.
“Well, thank goodness he was there.” She breathed a sigh of relief. I puffed my cheeks and blew out a breath, raising my eyebrows at her dramatically in agreement.
“We should send him some kind of thank-you gift, don’t you think? I’m so grateful he was here to save my little girl. I don’t know what I would do if something happened to you, Luna,” she cried out dramatically, throwing her thick fingers into the air in front of her. Each one was adorned with a shiny ring that always got in the way when she helped me make orders.
She closed the distance between us and kissed the side of my head before walking off to the front of the store just as two women walked in for their consultation appointment.
“By the way, I had your father deliver your sweet-sixteen cake this morning, honey.” She threw over her shoulder before greeting them and sitting down. My mother, ever the businesswoman.
I wished with all my heart I could tell my family what had happened and not have it blow up in my face. Keeping this secret in for so long has been killing me, and after having Cooper try to come after me a second time, I knew deep down the damage he’d done was irreparable. But did I want to be the person who shoved into their faces the shitty, dark reality that had become my life? Hell no.
How was I going to look my parents in the eyes every day and not feel the obligatory guilt that would come from the fact the daughter they once knew was long gone and I was just an empty placeholder? I couldn’t even muster up a shred of emotion about my attack in front of her. There was no way I could drop that bomb and not be committed into a psyche ward.