Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 75585 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75585 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Liam tried to free himself from my hold. “No wonder you haven’t been sleeping much. I can’t believe I thought I had some autonomy when you were—”
“Baby, I wasn’t going to let you get hurt.” I tightened my grip on him and rolled until I was on top of him. I knew he wasn’t serious about fighting me when he opened his legs so I could settle between them. “There’s another man after you. This is about something other than a horny asshole deciding he has the right to touch you.”
“What? Why? That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Then why is there someone else watching you?”
I hated the fear in his eyes as he looked up at me. “Are you sure? Maybe you just thought he was watching me because you’re so protective.”
“No. He was at the storage unit last night.”
Liam froze. “What?”
“The man I had on duty saw him.”
“Did he go after him? Did he….”
I let go of Liam’s arms and raised off of him so he wasn’t fully pinned down. I didn’t want to scare him more. “He’s watching the man, and we’ve got a tracker on his truck now.”
“Then where the hell is he?”
“Right now, he’s at an apartment we’re assuming belongs to him.”
“Why would somebody be following me?” I could feel him trembling beneath me.
“That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out.”
“What do you mean? What have you been—”
My phone rang.
I glanced back at Liam. “It’s Vito. I’ve got to take it.”
Liam nodded and slid from the bed, reaching for his clothes.
I kept my eye on him as I answered the call. I needed to make sure he wasn’t thinking of making a run for it. He was scared of whoever was watching him, but he was still angry that I’d put a security detail on him. “What’s up, Vito?”
“Crandall just called. He said he tried you earlier and didn’t get you.”
I pulled the phone away from my ear and glanced at the screen. I had a notification of a missed call. It must’ve come in while I was fucking the hell out of Liam. He was the only one who could ever make me lose my alertness like that, and it was dangerous as hell if someone was after him.
“Did he find something?”
“Yeah. A hell of a lot. This thing goes deep.”
Exactly what my gut had been telling me. “Spit it out?”
“It looks like your man has got a clear connection to the Irish mob.”
“Damn.” I’d really been hoping my instincts were wrong. I turned so Liam couldn’t see my face. I didn’t want him trying to read my expression until I was done with Vito.
“We’re still piecing the story together,” Vito said. “Liam’s father is related to the O’Keefes. When they were in power, he worked for them, but not as an accountant. He was one of their top assassins. He was known as Sharps.”
“You’ve to be kidding me. Sharps is supposed to be dead.”
“So is Pops.”
“True.” Did Liam know all this? Had he lied to me? No, he’d been a little kid when everything changed. No one would have told him, right? I thought of the things I had known as a kid. Could I really be sure?
But what motive would Liam have for working his way into my life? We stayed out of Irish business, and they stayed out of ours. I prayed Liam was innocent. I didn’t know if I’d survive the betrayal if I found out this was all a sham. “What happened after the O’Keefes fell from power?”
“Liam’s father took on his new identity,” Vito said.
“At least now we know why his name didn’t ring any bells.”
“Right. The McConnells took control, and his father hid in plain sight, pretending to have a boring office job.”
I could see where this was going. “They located him, and they had a vendetta to settle.”
“Exactly. Sharps had killed several powerful members of the family. So, they staged the accident that killed Sharps and his wife.”
“And there weren’t meant to be any survivors,” I said. “But why did they wait so long to come after Liam?” And why wouldn’t Sharps want his son to know his legacy?
Liam had headed toward the kitchen, but when he heard his name, he turned back, frowning.
“Go on, make some coffee.” I told him as I shut the bedroom door and demanded Vito tell me everything he knew.
34
LIAM
“Tell me everything you know about your father and don’t keep anything back. If I find out you’re lying, you’ll never walk out of here.”
“What’s going on, Val? I don’t understand.”
He glared at me. “Start talking.”
Tears stung my eyes. Why was he acting like this? “I already told you what happened to him. I don’t know what you want to hear.”
“What did he really do for work?”
“He was an accountant. I already told you that. What’s going on?”