She stared at the numbers in front of her and frowned. She didn't understand how Liam missed this, she fumbled around the desk she was sitting at for a highlighter and put a line through what she wanted Liam to see.
She didn't come into the office to go over what Liam had sprawled out over his desk; she had originally gone in there to get the gift that Rowen had made him buy for one of her guards' wife. The woman had just given birth and Rowen wasn't going to let that go past without giving her something.
She had grown to like her guards. They constantly reminded her that they weren't friends, but they worked for her. She agreed with them, but she never believed them. She treated them as if they were her friends and she had noticed when they stopped calling her Ma'am and started calling her Rowen.
Liam had tried to talk to her about it, saying some nonsense about it not being professional. But she had gotten him to come to a compromise. When they were in the apartment, she was Rowen. When they were out, she was Ma'am. Liam was hesitant, but she stared him down until he sighed and agreed. He knew he wouldn't win if he wanted to fight her on it.
The papers in front of her looked creased, as if Liam had been picking them up and putting them down, not knowing what he was looking for. It was obvious to Rowen, this was her line of work, and numbers were her thing. She ran the highlighter over a few more things that caught her eye. She could see why Liam didn't spot it, they weren't glaringly obvious.
Someone cleared their throat making her head snap up. Rowen winced when she saw Liam leaning against the doorframe with his head tilted and his arms folded.
"I can explain." she held her hands up, quickly looking at the yellow highlighter in her hand before dropping it on the desk.
Liam took a step into the room. "Please. Do."
Rowen bit her lip. She didn't know if he was pissed, or trying to make fun of her. She knew she needed to tell him what she found, but she looked like a snoop; she was only supposed to get the present. It wasn't like it was hard to spot in the bright orange paper that Rowen had chosen.
"Liam." she swallowed hard. "I found the things you were missing."
He paused and raised a brow. "And how do you know I was missing anything?"
He sounded pissed off now, Rowen took a chance. Taking a deep breath, she showed him just how observant she could really be.
"The paper was creased, like you'd been picking it up all the time. You'd obviously been looking over your father's bank accounts trying to find something that will pin down his location or his plan, since Bennett told you their no longer at the mine and your father has gone MIA." she took a breath. "The money trail is small, not something that many would notice. But it's there."
Rowen pushed the paper forward, the yellow highlighter standing out brighter somehow. Liam took a step forward, his long fingers touching the bottom of the page. He tipped his head and hummed.
"I know what this looks like, but I swear I wasn't snooping around your desk. I saw the numbers, and I saw straight away that something was off with these transactions." she explained. "It's my job to see this stuff Liam."
He didn't look at her, it made her nervous. She started twisting her fingers on the bottom of the plum coloured sweater she was wearing, moving from foot to foot waiting for him to say something. When he looked at her, his lips pulled into a smirk. Normally she would have sighed and relaxed, but normally she wouldn't have been caught going over his paperwork like it was her right to.
Yes he kept her informed now, but that still didn't mean that she had any rights in his world. The other Don's knew about her, she had met them, given them the speech about how they were going to take down Enzo, and they accepted that she would be involved. But Liam wasn't her husband.
Liam lent forward on the desk, pushing the papers back towards her. Rowen swallowed hard, she wasn't swallowing anything as her mouth had dried out with the look he was giving her.
"Sit."
She sat, fell back really. She watched him walk towards the present, pick it up and walk back towards the door. He called out to her guard Gino and handed him the present, before shooing him back to his wife. Gino nodded in her direction, she tried to smile, and she hoped it worked. Gino gave her an odd look before Liam chuckled and pushed him gently.
"Go be with your wife." Liam ordered gently. "Say hello to the Bambina for us."
Liam waited until Gino was gone before he stepped back and shut the door to the office, leaving himself and Rowen locked inside it. Rowen was still sitting, she was staring at him like a frightened mouse and she knew it. She didn't know what he was going to do with her and it frightened her a little.
Liam turned around and smirked at her once more. Rowen chewed on her lip.
"So," Liam started walking towards her. "On a scale of one to ten... how pissed are you?" She asked nervously.
Liam chuckled shaking his head at her. "I'm not."
Rowen opened her mouth and closed it. "But, you... what?"
"I'm not angry Rowen, why would I be? You've found what I've been looking for." he was behind her now, her heart racing in her chest. "I'm contemplating having you go over everything and find what I cannot." he pulled the chair away, his hands under her arms as he lifted her from the chair.
Rowen's body was like water, flowing where he wanted it to. She was still slightly afraid of what he was going to do, but his words made her feel a little bit better about her current situation. As long as he wasn't angry she could deal with the rest of it.
"So, what's going to happen now?" she asked timidly.
"Now." his voice rasped next to her ear before he licked it. "Now I'm going to fuck you over my desk." a kiss to her jaw.
"A-and after?" it was hard for her to breathe, her heart was racing to a new beat, her lungs weren't getting enough air.
"After," he kissed down her neck. "After, I'll let you go over these numbers."
~***~***~***~
Rowen was sitting in Liam's lap, the only thing she had on was his shirt. He had put his pants back on because she wouldn't look at the numbers while he was naked. So he begrudgingly put his pants back on and pulled her back into his lap.
She was armed with a yellow and pink highlighter; she had marked most of the papers. Yellow for what she deemed odd transactions and pink for the ones that were too obvious.
"This is just getting stupid now." she grumbled as she swiped her pink highlighter through another transaction.
"How so." Liam rested his head on her shoulder looking over it.
"It's almost like he is trying to lead you in a different direction. The small odd transactions are enough that most would over look them, mostly under $200. But these ones," she pointed to all the pink. "They're large amounts all over $3,000 and in areas that are in the opposite direction to where the smaller ones are."
"Wouldn't he be where the large amounts are coming from?"
"Well most would think so yes, but it doesn't seem right to me. There is nothing near here that would draw your father, no mines, no old buildings, no vacant lots or buildings. Nowhere to hide."
"What if he doesn't want to hide anymore? Calling me out perhaps?"
"No, it's not that. It's almost like he is getting someone to take out money in all these locations and they're sending him the cash in the mail or something. The smaller amounts are all in the same area and are at hardware stores and garden places."
"He could make bombs with the things those places stock." Liam rubbed his chin on her shoulder. "Hardware stores have way too many weapons and things that could be used to make weapons."
"How do you know?" she asked, raising a brow. Other than the obvious tools, Rowen couldn't think of a damn thing that could be used to hurt someone.
"Rowen." he shook his head. "I'm in the mafia, what do you think I could do with a hammer and some nails?"
Rowen pursed her lips. "Good point."
"Exactly. But I don't think he's building himself a deck. I think he might be making bombs, or building himself something to hurt us with." he shifted her from his lap, standing up. "I agree with you that he might be getting someone to hand him the cash. Now that you've explained it, it does seem a little obvious that he's trying to lead us away."
"So you think that he's here?" Rowen pointed to the map. He was still close to them, which had her stomach flipping with nerves.
"Yes. I'm afraid so." Liam didn't like that he was so close; she could see that on his face. "I'll call Carlos and let him know what you've found." Liam pressed his lips against her hair, walking towards the door.
"Liam," he paused. "Please, just promise you won't rush in there and get hurt."
He smiled at her. "Of cause I won't."
~***~***~***~***~
Rowen decided to make things easier for Liam, and put all the information that she found onto a spread sheet. She had to admit to herself that she was looking for something to do. It had been over a month since she had been to work and she wasn't even sure she had a job anymore.
Thankfully Liam had gotten Maria to call in and let them know that she was sick, she also called her mother and told her that Liam had taken her away on a surprise trip. Liam had to do some quick thinking when her mother noticed that her voice wasn't the same. Rowen still laughed when she thought about Liam scrambling around for some paper to scrunch up in the receiver to sound like the phone was dropping signal.
Things between Rowen and Liam were in a place that she had never been in with anyone before. She had never told anyone that she loved them before, and now, saying it to Liam felt like it was second nature. Almost like she had been doing it for years. She had even gone as far as making sure to tell him that she loved him whenever he left the apartment, kissing his cheek and straightening his tie.
It was all very domestic, and while it was new to them both, it felt so very right.
Rowen didn't know how long this peace would last, she wasn't going to let herself relax and think that Enzo had given up, because she was sure that he hadn't. There was too much at stake for him to just give up because she was back with Liam. They had already realised that it was never about her, it was always about Liam.
Which was why she had spoken to Carlos and asked him to keep a close eye on Liam. She wouldn't put it past Enzo to kill his own son in broad daylight, no matter what the consequences would be. Carlos had agreed and they had been reporting to each other behind Liam's back.
Rowen frowned and stopped typing. She didn't like the idea that she was sneaking around on Liam, but while it was all for his own safety, she thought about what she would think if it was her in Liam's position and she instantly felt sick.
She could have slapped herself for her stupidity. How must she and Carlos look to Liam? Always sneaking around whispering to each other, looking like they were doing something behind Liam's back. And there was no way that if Liam had caught onto their behaviour, that he would think they were talking about his day and what things had caught Carlos's attention.
Rowen dropped her head into her palms. She was an idiot some times. If Liam was doing the same with a female her first thought would be that he was cheating on her. No matter how many times he said he loved her.
Shoving herself out of the chair, she rushed out of the office and went looking for Liam.
She found him sitting on the balcony, sipping on what looked like whisky. She sighed, with her knew train of thought, it almost looked like he was upset, thinking about something that made him a little sad.
Was he thinking that his best friend and the woman he loved were having an affair?
It was the only thing that Rowen was thinking about, and she knew that she needed to talk to him about it before he chose to kick her aside or kill her and Carlos.
"Liam?" she kept her voice gentle. He looked at her with tired eyes. Her stomach dropped.
"Yes?" he sipped his drink, keeping his eyes on her.
"I need to speak to you about something." she edged closer to him. He sighed, gulping the drink. Rowen all but had her confirmation. Liam thought she was cheating on him.
"If it's about you and Carlos," he paused, the grip on the glass tightening. "I don't want to know."
"It is, but it's not what you think." she slowly sat herself in the chair next to his. He glared at her.
"Don't insult me." he snarled. Rowen flinched.
"It's really not." she whispered, realising that she had left it too long.
"Really? Enlighten me! Tell me about how you're fucking my best friend!" he bellowed, drawing Carlos out onto the balcony.
"Who's fucking me?" he asked, his hand still on his gun.
"You and her." Liam spat, pointing at Rowen. By this point she was in tears, her crying wasn't helping the situation, but thankfully Carlos was calm.
Rowen knew that Liam would be upset, but she didn't think that he wouldn't let her explain and would instantly attack her. She knew it wouldn't be a pleasant thought to have, that it would tear you apart thinking someone could do that to you, but if there was an explanation and it turned out that no one was hurting anyone else, wouldn't it be easier to listen first, so you didn't say something you regretted?
Or perhaps, Liam had always felt like this about her. That she was such a slut that she would cheat on him the first chance she got. What if he thought that she was in with Enzo and that he didn't rape her, that she was willing and just playing a part.
Her sobbing was painful. Her chest aching.
He had sex with her not long ago. At the desk she was working on before her brain caught up with her. She still had his shirt on; his scent was all over her. Was that all a lie? Did he do it to see what she would say?
He didn't look at her face, he was behind her. But he seemed fine afterwards; he spoke to her, agreed with her, smiled at her. Was that a lie? Was he just waiting for Carlos and Rowen to slip up and let him catch them?
"You fucking idiot!" Carlos yelled, making Rowen flinch. "I'm not fucking her!"
"Bullshit!" Liam bellowed back. "You think I don't see you huddled together whispering! You don't even bother to hide it!"
"Because we're not doing anything wrong!" Carlos paced forward. "I've been watching you for her, she's worried that Enzo will take you out and I agreed with her, so I've been watching for anything, and I've been telling her what's going on so she doesn't have a panic attack every time you leave the fucking apartment!"
"What?" Liam's voice sounded shocked, Rowen wouldn't look at him.
"Yeah, she's been beside herself thinking that Enzo will kill you. So I went behind your back and agreed to watch over you myself. It made her feel better, and honestly, it made me feel better knowing that I had your back." Carlos sneered at Liam. "This whole time we've been looking out for you, and you've been thinking we're fucking. You think that low of me, of us."
"I didn't know what to think."
"So instead of talking to us, you accuse us?!"
"You think I would do that to you." Rowen's voice was raspy, low and hurting her own ears. She saw Liam flinch at the sound of it. "You think I would cheat on you? I told you I loved you, I stayed with you after your father raped me!"
Liam winced. "Rowen."
"No, its okay." she stood slowly, wiping her face and putting on a mask that she hadn't used while being with Liam. "I now know what you think of me." she nodded at him, before walking past him.
Carlos stopped her, "Don't do this." he pleaded.
"I didn't do anything, we didn't do anything. I came out here to tell him what we were actually doing when he blew up at me. And honestly, I could sort of understand, I knew what I would think and that's why I came out here. But this, what he said." she shook her head sadly. "This is how he thinks of me, that I'll fuck anyone."
"He doesn't." Carlos shook his head. Liam tried to step forward; a glare from Rowen had him stopping.
"Do you think that I let your father and Marcos rape me? That it wasn't actually rape and that I wanted it?" She asked, her voice was cold. She had separated herself from her feelings for Liam. She wanted to protect herself from her love for him.
"No!" he gasped, his hand reaching for her. Rowen flinched away from him.
"I know that going behind your back was the wrong thing to do. You wouldn't have let me suggest you taking Carlos with you; you would have laughed off my worry. So I did it without you knowing, and the whole time you've been thinking that of us. Of me." she felt her chest heave, stopping to catch her breath she looked at him with sad eyes. "I thought you loved me."
"I do!" he took a step forward. "I do love you."
"I don't see how, when you think I'm sleeping, oh no... fucking was what you said wasn't it, yes, fucking your best friend." Rowen pulled away from them both.
"Don't." Liam pleaded.
"I'll find somewhere else to sleep; I know where I stand with you now." She held herself tall as she walked away.
She kept walking until she was in the spare room, on the opposite side of the apartment. Once the door was locked, she slid down it curling herself around her knees. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. All it did was break the damn holding in her emotions.
Rowen sat on the floor sobbing as her heart broke. Unaware that Liam was on the opposite side, his hand resting right where her head was, crying his own silent tears.