“Where the fuck do you think you’re taking me?” he grinds out.
I belt out a laugh and smile. “Don’t worry, Officer. I won’t tie you up and fuck you or anything.” I blow out a breath trying to reel in my anger for him snapping me. This is why I’m not nice to people. “You looked like you might pass out, so I’m taking you somewhere where you can calm the fuck down.”
His lip pulls back into a sneer, and I raise an eyebrow welcoming his challenge. Instead of arguing, he releases a long breath and runs his bloody hand down his face. I tense at the action then smile when he realizes what he did.
“Come on, we’ll get you cleaned up,” I offer, turning back around and heading down the hallway not caring if he follows me or not.
Liam keeps his distance, eyeing me warily as we navigate the long hallways. When we finally reach my room, he pauses when I open the door.
“No elaborate security system?” he asks with a smirk.
I smile back, tapping the barrel of his gun to my chin. “I am the security system.”
He rolls his eyes and follows me into my bedroom, coming to an abrupt stop when I shut the door.
“My en suite is over there.” I point to a door to the left of us and he slips his jacket off and places it on the chair that is next to him.
His eyes look around the room before they land on me. Those icy depths sweeping over every inch of my body like he’s finally able to assess any damage. I’m the one that did most of the physical harm to the bomber and am covered in more blood. Add on my own blood from the explosion and I look like I just stepped out of a horror movie. Wonder if he’d be horrified to know how used to this I am. Just another day in the office, I guess I could say.
As for my wound, it’s not his concern.
“Your dad said you were hurt,” he says, finally meeting my gaze.
I groan and roll my eyes, spreading my arms wide. “Just a papercut.” Liam’s lips purse like he doesn’t believe me. “Go wash up. I’ll grab you a towel.”
He dips his chin in understanding, taking one final sweep of my body before walking toward the door I showed him. He doesn’t close the door all the way, so I can see him in the mirror.
Liam spreads his arms wide along the bathroom counter. He bows his head and takes a few deep breaths before he looks at himself in the mirror. He seems so calm and it makes me wonder why he did it.
The bomber was threatening me, and I’ve seen Liam get defensive when it came to me with Bastian. Then what Oren had told me about his hospitalizing him in my honor.
My heart rate kicks up at the thought of Liam possibly loving me despite everything. Air catches in my throat when he sees me staring at him through the mirror. I clear my throat and walk to the other side of the room to grab him a towel from my walk-in closet.
It doesn’t take long for him to get cleaned up and he’s walking out of the bathroom. Looking just as beautiful as he normally does. My fingers ache to reach out to him. I push off the wall and grab the clothes I’ve gathered for after I shower.
“You can hang out in here until I’m done, and I’ll take you back to whether the fuck your car is.” I don’t wait for a response, stepping into the bathroom and shutting the door.
Since I had to be careful with my stitches, my shower took forever. Trying to navigate myself and the water with out it beating down on my sore skin and cleaning it was a task. My spoiled ass would do anything for a sponge bath after that bullshit.
When I reenter my bedroom, Liam is spread out on my bed asleep. I pause not wanting to disturb his rest, but my greedy nature can’t help but to walk closer. He looks so peaceful despite the horrors from the night. My finger traces the planes of his face, letting his shallow breaths fan over them as they run across his lips.
The pads of my fingers graze his beard that he has let grow a little longer. As much as I love when he’s rough with me, the soft moments I have gotten I miss the most. When he thought he loved me. Even though I knew it wasn’t, my heart felt safe in his hands.
“Maybe in a different life, Officer,” I whisper, bending down and kissing him softly on the lips.
His eyes flutter behind his lids, but he stays asleep. I chew on my bottom lip, debating on if I want to crawl into the bed next to him or not only to decide against it.
Liam Brenner just saw pieces of me, and this world I live in, tonight that could potentially shatter any hope. He killed for the first time tonight out of rage. Waking up with me next to him would likely seal that fate.
I’ve done enough.
Instead, I go look for my dad, but come up short when he’s not hiding in his office. I’m sure he’s pissed off that Liam had killed the bomber before we were able to get answers. In a time like this it’s beyond me how he hasn’t burned the city down to get the answers he wants.
I leave the office and my phone pings in my sports bra. I pull it out, hoping it’s some idea of where my dad is, but instead it’s a text from Hazel.
Hazel:Facial recognition identified the bomber as Fernando Silva. Martinez’s cousin.
I sigh.