CHAPTER 3
Felicity made it back to Watermark Tower before Liam, which surprised her. She halfway expected him to break every law necessary, just to catch up and tail her home. As straight laced as Liam was, he would bend his own rules to get what he wanted – or get the information he wanted.
Just because she left him in that dark alley didn’t mean their conversation was over. If anything, it was just the beginning because he was determined. He, like his brothers, was a protector, especially now since losing his wife. He wouldn’t stop until he knew what she was up to.
Too bad she didn’t even know what she was up to. All she had to go on were a few cryptic messages. If not for Liam, she’d likely have the answers he was searching for, but the fact was, she didn’t. She didn’t know any more than he did at the moment. She just had suspicions. Her gut told her who was looking for her, threatening her. Someone who she thought was long since dead.
Her past was raising from the grave, and it scared the shit out of her, for the people she cared about most more than for herself. It wouldn’t be easy to keep her suspicions from him, but until she knew what she was facing, she had to keep it to herself. It was too dangerous otherwise. He said he didn’t care, but he did – for his family, for his daughter, if not her. Liam wasn’t going to stop, which meant she needed to play the game harder.
He’d been watching her, which is code for cyber stalking. She was a hacker too. She knew how this worked, and she knew how he operated. The first thing she needed to do, now that she was back, was get to her office and hide her personal accounts behind layers and layers of coding because she knew the minute he got back, he would be digging in and would find those messages.
The elevator from the secure parking garage stopped at her floor, which she shared with Liam and his daughter. Watermark Tower was one of the biggest buildings in Portland’s waterfront community, and while the ground level with street access housed businesses, the upper levels were mostly used for Brother’s Keeper Security – the O’Reilly brothers’ high end, elite, security firm.
Watermark was named appropriately as it served much like a watermark did on a dollar bill or an important document. It was there, but it wasn’t. It looked like a regular building with street access retail and living quarters for several floors above in the middle of a thriving urban community. It was more than that though.
Brother’s Keeper Security provided anything from personal security to cyber security for the rich and powerful, including off-grid federal agencies who held the largest contract of all. They were hiding in plain sight, didn’t advertise, weren’t publicly discussed or acknowledged, but those who needed them knew where to find them. What or who they protected, or hunted, was limitless.
As she stepped off the elevator, her phone buzzed, stopping her in her tracks. Felicity closed her eyes and took a deep breath, anticipating the message and its sender. She wasn’t able to follow through and meet him – if it was him. Liam had interfered, and she bolted before anything could happen. It was back to hurry up and wait for the next message – if there was one. Hopefully, it wasn’t too late.
A brief sense of relief washed over her when she saw that it was only Reagan, Liam’s daughter. That relief quickly became concern when she opened the text message and read, Help, I need you. It had happened; he made good on his promise, somehow gaining access to the building and locating Reagan.
Fear flooded Felicity to her core as she rushed down the long hall to the first door on the right and punched in the keyless lock code. They were high tech, everything was electronic, even door locks. The idea that something happened to Reagan, despite Felicity’s efforts to protect her, was overwhelming. She’d let them down.
Inside the expansive apartment, Felicity paused, listening for any sign of trouble…listening for Reagan. Though long past midnight, the lights were on throughout the place. Not a sound could be heard. Taking a deep breath, she dug deep for the confidence she needed to forge ahead and face whatever danger she brought home with her.
With every step, slow and methodical, she took in her surroundings. Remaining calm was her greatest challenge, but it was also the first thing she was taught to exercise when faced with a crisis. It could mean the difference between life and death. Patience was everything. Reagan had to have been asleep when Liam left. With a building full of O’Reillys, she was more than safe, but that didn’t mean waking to something like this wouldn’t be frightening. The O’Reilly men were used to staring danger in the face, but Reagan wasn’t.
“City?” came a small voice from the dining room. Reagan. When Reagan was small, she struggled to say Felicity. It came out City and stuck. Everyone called her City – everyone but the warden, Mr. Straight-Laced-and-By-the-Book himself, Liam.
“Reagan? Where are you honey?” City said in a hushed tone, still not sure what she was about to encounter.
Looking around the open floor plan, she could see from one side of the large apartment to the other, unobstructed, but didn’t see the little girl she was desperate to find.
“I-I’m over here.” The little girl sniffled.
Following the sound of her small voice, City rushed toward the kitchen and found Reagan, sitting on the floor, hugging her knees with tears in her eyes.
Kneeling in front of Reagan, Felicity put her hands on the girl’s shoulders, looking her over as she asked, “Are you okay? What’s wrong? Are you hurt? Tell me, baby. What’s wrong? Did…did someone hurt you? What’s happening?”
Before Reagan could answer, Felicity was on her feet, looking around, trying to find clues – to what, she didn’t know. When she looked back down, her eyes were met with a look of confusion before Reagan looked around, as City did, trying to figure out what she was looking at or looking for.
“Are-are you okay, City?” Reagan questioned, now filled with her own concern.
Awareness set in, and City took a seat next to Reagan. “Yeah. I mean, are you? I thought something was wrong. Your text worried me. What’s going on?”
“I woke up, and…”
“Your dad was gone? You were scared? You know your uncles are here, right? This place is like Fort Knox. No one can get in unless they are supposed to be here – it’s the safest place in Portland.” Patience was thin and emotions high as City ran down the list of what’s, when’s and how’s, filling in the blanks where Reagan didn’t fast enough for her liking.
All signs pointed to an overreaction. Obviously, there wasn’t anyone in that apartment. Adrenaline still held the wheel though, and City was trying to regain control, if not for the little girl, then to reassure herself.
“Why are you acting so weird?” Reagan asked, a puzzled look matching her tone.
“Oh. Uh, nothing. I just thought – I thought your message was – you asked for help so…”
“You were worried?”
“I was, Reagan. I thought something had happened.”
“In Watermark? With all of my Uncles here? Are you sure you’re okay, City?”
Bending down to kiss the top of Reagan’s head, City took to the girl’s side and wrapped an arm around her. “I am now, kiddo. So, tell me, what do you need help with?”
“Oh.” Reminded that there was a small personal crisis looming, Reagan looked to her feet. “I have a…problem. One I couldn’t call my uncles for or dad.”
“Okay, so what is it? What could be so bad this late at night?” City teased.
“I, uh…uh. Started my uh…” she began, looking to City, wide eyed and blushed cheeks. “I woke up with a stomach ache, and it wasn’t…a stomach ache.”
“Oh? Ohhhh. You mean your uh…” City waved an aimless finger in front of Reagan, trying to decide what to say next. She knew this day would come and was fast approaching, but nothing could have prepared her for the late-night discovery of Mother Nature and her bad timing.
“Yeah.” Reagan hiccupped. “I can’t tell dad. Plus he won’t know what to do – he’s a boy and only knows about computers.”
“Well, we will need to let him know, but we can handle the rest. We have everything we need – easy peasy. Okay?”
Because the night had plenty of room to get worse, and bad timing seemed to be Liam’s thing, City assumed she was being played by the universe when Liam walked in on their conversation.
Not expecting to see Felicity and Reagan sitting on the dining room floor huddled together, he stalled where he stood, worry setting in when he saw the late-night tears his daughter wore.
“What happened? What’s going on?” he questioned, only mildly containing his panic before looking to Felicity with a hard stare. “What did you do?”
She took to her feet, feeling the sharp edge of his words cutting her. “What do you mean, what did I do?”
He looked between his daughter and Felicity for a moment, both seeming offended. “She’s – crying. What? What happened? Are you hurt Reagan?”
Concern was something Liam wore like a vest since his wife passed years ago, but a nurturing nature didn’t come with it. He was standoffish, lukewarm at best, emotions bundled up tight and bundled deep.
“Reagan has a personal issue. We’re dealing with it and will fill you in when it’s…appropriate,” Felicity offered, hands on hips.
“She’s my daughter. You’ll tell me now. What the hell is going on? A personal matter? She’s eleven.”
With a challenging stare and raised brow as if she was trying to get Liam to read between the lines, so as not to embarrass his emotional daughter, Felicity said, “She’s almost twelve, a tween. Kids her age, girls, have personal issues that aren’t – dad friendly.”
“Are you kidding me? Personal issues? Until she’s eighteen, her issues are my issues. Someone needs to start talking,” he demanded.
“City?” Mortification washed over Reagan’s face as what was already an awkward conversation just became even more awkward.
“Liam. You’re just going to have to trust me on this one. I have it taken care of, okay? Just…trust me before you embarrass yourself and Reagan.”
“That’s just it, Felicity. I don’t trust you. You’re sneaking around, and now you have secrets with my kid. What the hell is going on around here?” Liam didn’t get mad, nor did he raise his voice. If anything, he grew more silent as things heated up. Tonight was the exception.
“Jesus, dad. Why are you being so mean to City? She’s helping me.”
Liam’s expression was etched in surprise by his daughter’s directness. “Excuse me. Watch how you speak to me. If your Nana Collie heard you speak that way…”
Nana Collie was none other than the family matriarch, Liam’s mom, Colleen O’Reilly. Loved by all, and feared by all, she was a force who, not even her towering sons, who faced danger on a daily basis, would cross. Not even on a good day.
“Nana isn’t here. What happened to your face?” Her face rumpled in disgust as she examined the swelling and bruising settling on Liam’s cheek, leaving his appearance as roughed up and battered as he was.
Without hesitation, both Felicity and Liam responded at the same time – each had opposing ideas on how to address the proverbial elephant in the room.
“He fell,” City quickly said, only to be contradicted by Mr. Direct-and-To-the-Point himself. “I got in a fight.”
It didn’t strike Liam as odd that Reagan would question his appearance, and he didn’t see any reason to hide it because his job occasionally crossed dangerous lines. And Reagan had seen all of the O’Reillys banged up before; it was simply their life – the only life she knew. With that thought in mind, he didn’t hesitate to drop truths, even if they might upset her. As smart as he was – bordering genius, depending on who you asked – he wasn’t all that bright when it came to sensitive subjects and his daughter.
Reagan looked between the two, arms crossed, trying to decide who was telling her the truth and who was telling her anything but. She was an O’Reilly, and even at eleven, it was hard to pass something over on her, especially the challenging staredown between City and her dad.
Making her decision, she questioned, “A fight with who?”Again, in perfect sync, Felicity and Liam fired off answers simultaneously, albeit different answers.
“A drunken vagrant,” City said, only to be challenged by Liam’s unforgiving honesty.
“Felicity,” he said with a grin.
Reagan’s jaw dropped, “City kicked your…”
Liam’s challenging stare was quick to turn on his daughter. “Watch your mouth. Don’t even think about saying…”
“Butt?” Reagan finished with a sassy grin.
“No…well, yes,” he said
“It was…a misunderstanding. A really big misunderstanding,” Felicity defended. “I thought he was…someone else.”
“And who exactly is this someone else that you felt the need to…”
Felicity cut him off before he could finish. “Are we back to this, really? I already told you.”
Reagan began to giggle. “I wouldn’t get her mad again, dad.”
“You stay out of this, kiddo,” he warned.
“Geez, lighten up,” Reagan said before turning to Felicity. “City? I, uh, need to take care of…this. Then, the book?”
Her choice of words hit Liam like a stone wall he didn’t see coming. The book. As heated as he had become, fixated on both Felicity’s gallivanting and Reagan’s secret, those two simple words were enough to shut him down so he could retreat back into himself. The book. Just the idea was haunting - mention of it was paralyzing.
“City has this one, dad. Please be nice to her. It’s not a dad thing. Nothing is a dad thing anymore,” Reagan said, as she left the room.
Crushed, Liam’s head tilted as his shoulders fell in defeat. “Rea… C’mon. You know if you…need me…I’m here.”
Pausing, she looked over her shoulder. “You want to read the book with me?”
Liam just stared, his mouth moving and head shaking, but words escaped him. What could he say? She was right. He still couldn’t read those entries in her book. It was too painful.
“That’s what I thought.” Reagan left the room, her voice lacking disappointment, which wasn’t lost on him. You couldn’t be disappointed if there was no expectation to begin with. He had a habit of disappointing his daughter. He hated that, but he still couldn’t be who she needed him to be.
“Why the book?” Liam asked Felicity, his view still aimed in the direction Reagan retreated. “What has happened? What milestone?”
“You really want to know?” she questioned. “She started her period. Not exactly a dad talk, Liam.”
“Her what? She’s only…she’s not…already?” Flustered, Liam tried to wrap his mind around the very simple fact that his little girl was growing up – fast. She wasn’t so little anymore, and that pained him even more. He was missing so much of her life, despite being with her almost every day.
“She’s almost twelve. It’s normal. What did you expect?”
“I don’t know. I figured by the time she was twenty-five or something?” Liam ran his hands through his hair, unsure how he really felt as his emotions were warring with one another.
“Stick to computers, Liam.” Felicity shook her head and trailed off in the direction Reagan had disappeared.