CHAPTER15
Liam
There was no doubt in my mind that I had fucked up. What the hell was I thinking?
Kyleigh might have let it slide the first time I used my family connection with her boss to obtain her whereabouts, but no way in hell was she going to tolerate my butting into her life on a regular basis. My intentions might have been good, but my delivery sucked.
I had nothing to do but sit in my hotel room and kick myself in the ass for screwing up what could have been a perfect night.
My cell phone rang, and I looked at the caller ID. I was glad it wasn’t Finn, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to talk to Shaun either.
“Hey, Shaun, what can I do for you?” I asked.
“You can explain why I had to give Kyleigh a ride this morning.”
Shit.
“I didn’t know she reached out to you,” I replied.
“That makes it all the worse. What the hell happened? Yesterday you asked me to be honest with you about Tabiq, now I’m asking you to do the same with Kyleigh.”
I wanted to tell him it was none of his fucking business, but I had a feeling he was going to hear about it anyway. “It’s…complicated.”
“Sounds like I should come by your hotel, and you can tell me all about it.”
“That’s not necessary. We can work this out without your help,” I said.
“It sounds like you can fuck it up without my help. But maybe I’ll just call Finn and ask him what he thinks about it,” Shaun stated.
Was this his way of threatening me? I didn’t need anyone bringing my brother into this. I’m a grown ass man who doesn’t need his big brother’s approval for anything. Fuck. That’s exactly what I did to Kyleigh. I am such an asshole.
“How about we meet for a beer?” I offered.
“It’s ten in the morning,” Shaun reminded me.
“Coffee, then.”
“Be downstairs in five minutes. I’ll pick you up,” he said and ended the call.
Shaun had never struck me as arrogant, but I might have to revisit my opinion of him. He obviously wasn’t happy with me right now. And he’s not the only one.
Whatever he was going to say to me, I deserved it.
I grabbed my wallet and jogged to the elevator. I didn’t care about keeping him waiting - I just wanted the inevitable lecture to be over, so I might as well be speedy about it.
When I got outside, his limo pulled up and I got inside. “Before you start, let me tell you, I’m only here because I care about Kyleigh,” I said.
“I know. It’s the same reason I’m here. That and your brother doesn’t need you fucking up things for Reesa.”
“What the hell does Reesa have to do with this?” I asked.
“You picked a woman who works for your brother. He’s a foreigner. Didn’t you listen to anything I told you last night? Your brother has worked extremely hard to gain their trust. The fact that you hurt Kyleigh could very well have a ripple effect. If the people of Tabiq lose faith in him, and in their leader, Reesa, what happens then?”
“An entire country falls, all because I broke her heart?” I asked, thinking Shaun was being a little overly dramatic.
“You don’t get just how fragile this country is. Let me give you a little more background. My brother Alex was captured and almost killed while trying to help overthrow the corrupt government.”
“Alex?” I shot him a surprised look. “I had no idea.”