Chapter Thirty
Fierce Hope
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I breathed deeply, calming myself by repeating that I didn't need him. Anger rushed up so suddenly I nearly fell over. He'd said that he'd be here at seven. That was twelve hours ago and I hadn't received a call, a message, anything. If this was his idea of payback he could go shove a pike up his ass. He wasn't here. If he really had any feelings for me, other than physical attraction, than he would have at least let me know he wasn't coming back.
I picked up the television remote and threw it across the room. It hit a picture hanging on the wall, the glass cracking. I glared at the webbed lines of the cracked glass. I had the urge to turn the entire suite upside down, leaving the mess for Liam to pay for and clean up. It would serve him right.
Thanks to my motionless state, I could just hear the rattle of the front door knob being turned, gently, and the door pushed slightly forward before the security chain reached its limit and the door could no longer be opened. The intruder made no sound of protest, none that I could hear anyway. I crept across the carpet so I could get the door in sight. There was a gloved hand reaching in the opening, using some kind of box-shaped mechanism to loosen the screw that held the chain in place.
Panic bubbled up my throat. Did I confront the person breaking in? What if it was Jacob? NO! I shouted in my mind. I was NOT afraid of him! I rushed forward, hands outstretched so that I could slam the door, the hand crushed as I did so. I hit the door with my forward momentum, a great force.
It didn't budge, even as my body followed my hands and hit the door with a thump. I crumpled to the floor, everything aching dully. Whoever was on the other side must have anticipated my charge and used his strength to hold the door in place. His hand continued to unscrew until the chain dropped, hanging loosely. I stared at the gold links, dreading the moment when the door opened and the intruder stepped through, bearing the face of my nightmare. It opened slowly, as if expecting me to be standing behind it with a big knife. I wish.
My heart skipped a beat when Liam's head poked around the corner.
"Kayli?" he said, his voice hoarse and dark rings around his eyes.
I turned my head away and pushed myself off the floor. Why had he forced his way in here? Why couldn't he have just knocked?
"Kayli, just listen..."
I spun around, putting all my anger into my eyes so that he could fully understand how mad I was at him.
"I know I messed up. I know! But I needed you. And you weren't there."
I turned back around and ran in the direction of the bathroom, intending to lock myself in there until... well I wasn't sure. Maybe I'd never come out. I just wanted to shut everything out. I hardly made it two steps before strong, warm arms wrapped around me from behind, holding me immobile. Liam's head came down onto my shoulder, his body was shivering but he wasn't cold. I closed my eyes, savouring the closeness, soaking it in like an addict who'd gotten one last fix.
I let out a breath. "Liam..."
He squeezed me tighter. "Not yet. Let me just hold you."
"What happened, Liam?" I asked, a little frightened. He was acting like he had just had a traumatic experience. And if something had scared him then it must've been horrible.
"I - I can't..." He turned me around, his eyes on my mouth. "I need... Kayli, I just need."
His lips caught mine, kissing hungrily. The feeling that overwhelmed me was one I'd never felt. He'd told me he'd needed me before, but not with such yearning and veracity. His kiss was hot and urgent, as if he'd been deprived. His hands travelled down to my legs and with one powerful tug he lifted me off the ground. I wrapped my legs around him, using them to pull myself up further, closer to him, because while this was the hottest kiss we'd shared, I still felt that I wasn't having enough. He took one hand away from my leg and lifted the bottom of my top, pulling it up over my head. His lips trailed down my face, neck to my collarbone where he paused for breath. In that instant I recovered a clear mind and slowly unwrapped my legs from around him, lowering to the floor. His hands caught my waist, preventing me from taking a step back.
"We should talk, before anything... If we don't do it now I'll never forgive myself..."
He looked down at me, desire overflowing in his eyes. Breathing hard, he closed his eyes and pressed his lips to the top of my forehead.
"Okay, I -"
He stopped at the sound of clapping coming from behind him. The clapping was slow, seeming to somehow give the air of sarcasm. He turned his head as I peeked over his shoulder.
"Oh, fantastic reunion," Jacob said snidely. "I'm almost sorry for interrupting it. And I had thought that you'd just been an angry guardian, not actually her jealous lover. Did she tell you how much she enjoyed our kiss? Did she tell you how she moaned in ecstasy? Did this cause you to see red? IS THAT WHY YOU PLANTED THOSE DRUGS IN MY HOUSE? IS THAT WHY I'M NOW ON THE RUN FROM ELITE LASER AGENTS?"
"Would you rather that I killed you?" said Liam. His voice was cool, seemingly unaffected to someone who didn't know him. But I could hear the darkness in his tone. He turned slowly to face my stalker and, from within his jacket, he pulled out a small pistol. He didn't aim it but it didn't matter, Jacob went white as a sheet.
"You wouldn't. You'd become a murderer. No connections of yours could excuse you for such a thing." Jacob's eyed Liam carefully, looking for a bluff.
Liam stepped forward and grabbed Jacob's shirtfront, yanking him forward and pointing the barrel at his stomach. Their faces were inches apart. Fielding's was shocked, he obviously hadn't thought this through, entering the room weapon less.
"Just for touching her." Liam tugged the shirt higher, cutting off some of the sergeant's air. "I would kill you for simply looking at her the wrong way."
My eyes were stuck on the gun. The words Liam was speaking, they hardly hit me, no matter how generous they were. I couldn't tear my gaze away from the killing object, how his hand gripped it so comfortably, the same hand that had supported me barely minutes ago.
"Liam," I said softly, suddenly weak. "Don't shoot."
A memory surfaced; one of my mother on a large screen, dodging bullets... 'Expendable'... Dark, bottomless eyes. They loomed closer and closer until they were all I could see. My entire vision.
"No one is expendable," I whispered, dropping to floor. Unconscious.
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Sorry I could only upload half of this chapter :/
Currently in the middle of a crisis. Bear with me; I'll try to update the chapter soon. Sorry for the shortness.
Sid x
PS. Thanks for reading, champs!
