Slowly, he turns around and takes them off, eyeing me with a deadpan expression. “I have extensive training on not getting attacked. Sorry, princess.”
“Not fair.” I pretend to pout. “Where’d you find those anyway?”
“My friend’s gaming headphones. Noise-canceling.” He smirks.
Liam grunts. “Way to be dramatic.”
“Way to not keep it down.”
I giggle at their banter. “Okay, I’m hungry now. Whatcha gonna make me, Beanstalk?”
The three of us spend the rest of the day hanging out and making a plan for what’s next. Liam described Victoria’s reaction and explained how he handled her. I’m impressed and proud of how he stood up to her, though I’m still worried she’ll find a way to retaliate, but I’ve never felt safer than I do with Liam and Tyler.
I’m not sure what happened to Eric, and I’m too scared to know the truth, so I don’t ask. The question comes up if Tyler is going back home, but Liam wants us here until Victoria signs the divorce papers. Until that happens, she could find us and do God knows what. I’m not convinced she’ll be able to get it done in only a week, but she’s an O’Leary, so if anyone can make it happen, she can. There’s no telling who she has on her payroll. Wouldn’t surprise me if she throws thousands of dollars at her attorney to rush it just to avoid those pictures being leaked. I can only hope, though, because I’m dying to go back to Sacramento.
“Will it be safe for Tyler to go home even then?” I ask while we’re watching TV.
They both shrug, but then Liam speaks up. “Actually, you should probably come with us to California,” he states. “If Eric told her what you did, she’ll know you were the mole and come after you. At least until the divorce is finalized in a couple of months. Then hopefully everything will be cleared, and you’ll be safe to leave.”
“Probably for the best,” he agrees. “Though if she wants to play that card, I have plenty of other shit on her I can use. I followed her for weeks.”
A bad feeling surfaces up my spine, and I hate that Tyler could be in danger because of me.
“Aww, Beanstalk. We’ll be roomies again!” I gush, knowing it’ll annoy him.
“On second thought, I’m willing to risk Victoria finding me.”
“Haha.” I lean over and punch his arm. “You love me.”
“This might be a good time to call Sophie,” Liam states, and I swear my heart stops.
“Really? We can call her?”
He grabs his phone from his pocket and hands it over. “Yeah, let’s put her out of her misery.”
I’m giddy as hell when Sophie picks up on the second ring. “Liam?”
“It’s Maddie,” I tell her. “I’m with Liam.”
“Oh my God!” she screams. “Where the hell are you?”
I swallow hard. “I can’t say right now, but I can tell you we’re both safe.”
“What do you mean? What’s going on?” She’s panicking, and I hate that we’ve had to lie and keep so much from her.
“Soph,” Liam intervenes. “We’ll tell you everything once we’re home, but for now, we just wanted to let you know I had Maddie and we’re in a safe place.”
“Meaning what? She wasn’t before?” she scolds.
Shit.
“We’ll explain when we can, okay?” I say. “I miss you guys.”
“When are you coming home?” she asks. “I’ve been going out of my mind.”
“I know, and we’re both sorry about that,” I tell her.
“If all goes according to plan, we’ll be back in a week,” Liam says.
I smile at him, then grip his hand. “Has everything been okay over there?” I ask cautiously.
“Besides me going nuts? Oh, yeah, sure.” She breathes out harshly. “Can I know this, did you really write that note and willingly leave?”
“No,” I confirm. “That was Victoria’s doing, which is why we can’t come home yet. So if she shows up, don’t let her in and call the police.”
“Is she really pregnant with twins?”
“Yeah.”
“Damn, so no kicking her ass.”
I snicker. “No.”
“Are they Liam’s?” she hesitantly asks.
“No,” Liam answers without explaining more.
I put the call on mute and tilt my head at Liam. “Let’s tell her about us at least.”
He waves his hand toward me. “Do the honors, baby.”
Smiling wide, I unmute the call and clear my throat. “Soph, there’s something else I gotta tell you.”
“What is it?” she asks wearily. “Should I be sitting?”
I snort at her dramatics. “No, well…maybe.” I laugh. “Liam and Victoria’s marriage was an arrangement, and we’ve been secretly seeing each other for the past two months.”
“I knew it! Oh my God, I so knew it!” she shouts. “Are you fuckin’ kidding me? Oh my God.”
“Stop freaking out!” I chuckle.
“I knew there was no way he’d marry that bitch. I hope you knew the truth when you two were…”
“Soph! Of course, I did.”
“Wait…” She pauses. “Did Liam touch you? Like…all the way?”