As soon as the door clicked shut, I sank into my chair, and rested my forehead in my hands. My mind was a chaotic whirlwind of guilt, anger, and fear. This wasn’t how things were supposed to go.
“We were supposed to be coming together, to be stronger as a united front. Instead, our alliance was crumbling before it had even taken off.”
Isaiah placed a hand on my shoulder. “You can’t blame yourself for this.”
“Can’t I?” I asked, lifting my head to look at him. “I’m the one who provoked him, who pushed him to this point.”
“Maybe.” He shrugged. “But Liam’s not entirely blameless. He’s the one who chose to walk away when we need him most.”
“Still, I should’ve handled it better,” I said. “We need him on our side now more than ever.”
“Then, you have to do what you have to do,” Isaiah said in that wise tone of his that reminded me why I hired him in the first place. “Go talk to him. Settle your differences and find a way to move forward together. It won’t be easy, but it’s necessary.”
I stared out the window, watching the raindrops splatter against the glass and slide down in rivulets. Liam checking into a hotel didn’t surprise me in the least. Tensions were high, and we all needed some space. It didn’t make things any easier, though.
“Ty?” Liza’s tentative voice pulled me from my thoughts, and I turned to find her standing in the doorway, her hair tousled from sleep.
“Hey,” I said gently, trying to offer her a reassuring smile. “You should be resting.”
“Where’s Liam?”
I sighed. There was no point in sugarcoating the truth.
“Your brother and I… had a disagreement.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “He checked into a hotel. It’s probably for the best for now. We both need to cool off.”
Liza frowned and pursed her lips. “What happened?”
I reached for her hand. “It doesn’t matter. What matters is that we’re going to fix this. I’m going to fix this.” I squeezed her hand, the warmth of her skin against mine reassuring. “I promise.”
“Just tell me, Ty.”
“We argued about what your father did to you,” I said, my own anger flaring up again at the thought. “I couldn’t understand how anyone could do that to their own child, and Liam... well, he sort of defended him. Things got heated, and he left.”
As I spoke, I watched the hurt and confusion play across Liza’s face. She looked away, swallowing hard, and I knew she was fighting back tears.
“I can’t believe he didn’t tell me,” she whispered.
“Maybe he didn’t want to wake you or hurt your feelings. Or maybe he’s just as conflicted about it as we are.”
“Still...” Liza trailed off, and her eyes were bright with unshed tears. “I just don’t know what to think anymore.”
I cupped her face in my hands and tilted her head up until our eyes met. “We’re going to get through this. We’ll figure out the truth, no matter how hard it is.”
The fire crackled in the hearth as Liza and I settled on the couch. The warmth of her body pressed against mine was a comforting presence—one that I needed more than ever with everything going on. Her fingers traced the contours of my face, stopping to examine where Liam had struck me earlier.
“Looks like you made it out alive,” she said softly. “There aren’t that many bruises, but it’s still going to hurt for a bit.”
I thought it was because Liam hadn’t wanted to hurt me too badly, but I kept that to myself. Instead, I offered her a wry smile. “Guess I’m lucky.”
“Or he was holding back,” she said, narrowing her eyes slightly. “I’m not happy with either of you right now. This whole situation is just messed up.”
“Believe me, I know,” I said, staring at the dancing flames in the hearth. “But we can’t let our focus slip. We need to figure out how Castro keeps getting his hands on all this information about us.”
Liza sighed and nestled her head in the curve of my shoulder. “You’re right. It’s like he’s aware of our every move. It’s unnerving. How does he do it?”
“Your guess is as good as mine,” I said, my mind racing with possibilities. Was there another mole within our ranks? Had someone else betrayed us? Or was Castro simply that good at gathering intel?
“Maybe he has someone on the inside?” Liza said hesitantly, voicing my own concerns. “Another traitor, like before, with Cecily?”
