"Set Fire to the Rain"
2011 Copyright All Rights Reserved
Chapter 14
Liam stood and and took a protective stance in front of Hope. He glared at Joey before letting his gaze touch on the other men that surrounded them. Hope reached out and grabbed the back of his shirt, letting her hand slip just beneath the hem so that she could feel the warmth of his skin and the moment that they connected the power between them began to hum in the air.
"Don't even think about it," Joey warned, taking an imposing step forward. His gun was focused on Hope but his eyes stayed centered on Liam.
"One little slip of my finger Liam and our pretty little Hope here, well, let's just say she will be out of it for hours on end and in that time I can think of all kinds of things that I would enjoy doing with that fine body of hers."
Joey made it a point to let his gaze roam over her from head to toe and whispered to himself, "Some real fine things, indeed."
The guys around them laughed and Hope tried to shrink herself even smaller behind Liam. She just couldn't believe that this was the same Joey she dated for all those months. The same one that had once promised her the world.
With a sickly smile he then nodded his head towards the other guy on his left who had his gun trained on Liam, "And if you even think about drumming up that power of yours, my friend Ted over there will blast you so hard that you won't be able to do a damn thing about it alien boy. These babies are made especially for your kind and I won't think twice about using it on either of you."
Liam tensed, but kept his face a mask of emotionless expression. His body was rigid with the only complacency being where Hope's small hand touched the bottom of his back. "We're not going with you," he said determinedly and felt Hope's fingernails dig slightly into the skin of his back.
More than anything he wanted to turn around and tell her that it would be okay but that wasn't an option at the moment. Right now, he had to figure out a way to get them the hell away from this place and away from her deranged ex.
Slowly, Liam reached behind him and grabbed her hand, intertwining her fingers with his and giving it a gentle squeeze. He had no doubt that these were elite members of the Secret Service and if they took them into custody that neither Hope nor him would ever see freedom again. Life as they knew it would be officially over and there was no way that he was willing to let that happen to either of them, not on this day anyway.
"You don't have much of her choice," Joey remarked snidely, narrowing his eyes on Liam who was still crouched in front of Hope. He took another step forward so that now they were standing so close to each other that if Liam wanted to, he could reach out and grab Joey's leg
Liam pondered this for a moment. He could easily bring him to the ground, hit him with a jolt of power, grab Hope and get them both the hell out of there but that would be too obvious. He needed to do something to catch them off guard if they had a prayer of escaping.
Liam took in his surroundings, noting the exact position of each and every man before looking back up at Joey. He weighed his options and heard Hope's breath catch when Joey's father cocked the trigger to the gun that he was holding aimed at Liam.
Liam remained calm, projecting his cool facade while simultaneously rubbing his thumb lightly over the back of Hope's hand, only wanting to reassure her while he mentally worked out what their next moves would be.
"There's always a choice," Liam growled out lowly and then with the quickness of a viper he waved his hand in a big circle in front of him, inducing a bright flash of white light that illuminated the night temporarily blinding the soldiers that were attempting to hold them captive.
Wasting no time, Liam turned to Hope and In one sweeping motion he swooped her up off of the ground in a bridal carry and took off through the the woods as if the hounds of hell were after them. Each step that he took he pushed him self harder, running faster knowing that both Hope's and his lives depended on getting them out of these godforsaken woods.
As they continued to race off into the night, Liam began to hear the unmistakable sounds of large branches falling behind them and held back a smile knowing that Hope was controlling her power and causing the distraction, effectively saving their ass.
"Good job, baby," he whispered, holding her close while he leaped over a log. Hope's only response was to bury her head in the crook of his neck as she held on for dear life.
Her mind was boiling cauldron of turmoil, threatening to spill over at any second. Joey's betrayal, her being hunted for powers that she never asked for and then there was Liam who had somehow managed to accidentally bump his way into her life and has now saved her butt more times that she could count. He is also the only link that she has to her true heritage and the only person now that could possibly understand what she is going through. With everything simmering the way that it was, all she could do was continue to hold on and hope for the best.
When he finally reached the truck, Liam wrenched open the door and basically tossed Hope in from the drivers side. She landed with a oomph and he quickly followed in behind her, gently pushing her over to the passenger seat.
"Buckle up," he said curtly while digging in his pockets and pulling out his keys to the truck. In jerky motions he jabbed them into the ignition with much more force than necessary. He wasted no time in cranking up the old truck, throwing it in gear and peeling out of the driveway where he had originally parked it before he went looking for Hope.
Liam didn't look back. He put his foot to the pedal and sped off into the night pushing that little Toyota truck of his to it's limits. He had no intentions of either of them getting caught again. He would not stop until he was sure that he had found a safe place for them to stay.
He remembered all to well the stories that his dad had told him growing up about what how those centers worked that the Secret Service confined the Lyrics to. As long as he heart beat and he had breath in his body, he would never let them take Hope to one of them godawful places. Not if he could help it.
He would never be able to live with himself if he had to watch them steal the fire that he had just discovered in Hope's brilliant blue eyes. Fate had somehow brought the two of them together for a reason. He didn't know why, he didn't know how, all that he was sure of was that he would not let those damnable fools tear them apart.
Liam looked over at Hope who was staring out the passenger window, biting her nails. He reached over and grabbed the hand that was laying by her side on the seat. She turned to him, glancing down at their joined hands before looking back up at him. Their eyes briefly met, gazes locked and a buzz of energy filled the air that spanned between them. It was a low level buzz but one they both felt all the way to their toes.
Hope was the first to look away. Everything that she once thought was so important in life, the next football game, a silly birthday party or even a stupid dress seemed all frivolous now. Life, was what was important. Survival. Staying alive long enough to see the next sunrise.
Liam could feel the shift in Hope's distress. It was in the way that the her energy shifted in the air, sort of like his body was attuned to hers on some other level. It was an odd feeling to be able to absorb her emotions like this and he wondered why his father had never explained anything like this to him.
He breathed out heavily and squeezed her hand, "It's going to be okay," he told her quietly and prayed to whatever higher being was out there listening to him that it would be the truth.
After an interminable amount of silence Hope sat up in her seat and glanced over at Liam. "Will it really?" Hope asked him thinking about everyone that has been captured by the Secret Service . "As long as they are hunting us and other's like us Liam, will it ever really be okay?"
Liam thought about that and in the past he has always looked out for numero uno, himself. Now he had Hope to look after and he didn't want to think of anyone else. It was a dog eat dog world and everyone had their problems. It wasn't up to him to save them all, it was going to be hard enough just to keep themselves safe.
They passed by the sign they said they were leaving Greensboro, North Carolina when Liam cursed, "Dammit!"
"What is it? Hope asked knowing from his tone alone that she would probably regret asking that question when she got her answer.
Liam gripped the steering wheel a little tighter as he continued to stare out the front windshield, "Bethany."
Hope furrowed her brows in confusion, "Bethany? What about Bethany?"
Liam pulled off to the side of the road and put the truck in park. He inhaled a deep breath and turned to Hope with sad eyes. Out of instinct he reached for her hands and held them tight between his own, "She was out there Hope. She wanted to go with me to find you. She was in the woods and we left her there."
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Bethany could not believe what she was seeing. First Joey came out with a gun and pointed it at Hope. Then she spotted his father and a few other people that she had seen around town in the past, all with guns trained on the pair. She had to cover her mouth with her hand to prevent the scream that was begging to be released and forced herself to remain hidden in the brush.
At first she thought it was all a big misunderstanding but soon enough she realized that it wasn't. They wanted to hurt Hope and Liam, but why?
She strained to hear parts of the conversation and with each new word that was spoken she became more and more disgusted. She had to swallow down the bile that built up in her throat after hearing all of the things that Joey had said to Hope. She thought that he loved her.
How could I have not seen it before, she asked herself still shell shocked by what she had just learned.
Suddenly, a blinding white light flashed in front of her, encompassing the night. So bright, that for several long minutes she couldn't see anything at all. She covered her eyes and crouched low to the ground as she heard pandemonium break loose around her. Angry screams were shouted and a string of cursed littered the air around her.
When the light was gone and the blackness of night returned, it took several long minutes for her to regain her focus. When she was able to see clearly again, the first thing that she noticed was that Hope and Liam were gone.
Breathing out a sigh of relief she waited until she was sure that Joey and the men were gone too. When she was pretty sure that they had made tracks Bethany cautiously stood, planning on getting herself the hell out of dodge when a large mangy hand clamped over her mouth,
"Boss," the unfamiliar voice called out from behind her rather loudly, "Look at what I found?"
Bethany struggled tp free herself but the man who held her captive had a vice grip around her midsection, restricting her movements. Joey appeared with a flash light in hand and shined it on Bethany.
He smirked and leaned against a huge oak tree, taking on a misleading restful pose.
"My oh my," he said with a grin that spread from ear to ear, "Look what the cat dragged in."