"No one's going to kill you," Sera assured her.
She wasn't so sure that no one was going to kill her though. Jacob was dead. Liam had killed him. The deadly look on his face, and the wrath emanating from him sent a shiver of alarm down her spine. She didn't know this man before her, she reminded herself. She had no idea what this man was capable of. And right now he seemed fully capable of anything.
"Please," Michelle whimpered.
"Why?" Liam demanded. His voice was a whiplash of malice that sent waves of alarm crashing through Sera.
"I just thought... I just thought that if you saw what a liar she was that you wouldn't want her anymore. I didn't know it was true! I swear I didn't!"
"That makes it all right?" he hissed.
"Liam," Sera whispered.
For a moment her words didn't penetrate his mind, didn't penetrate the killing frenzy that was enshrouding him. Then, he felt Sera's touch on his arm. He turned to her, his eyes spitting fury, as a snarl curved his mouth. Her hand fell away as she took a trembling step back. Mike stepped in between her and Liam. The utter terror suffusing Sera's face finally penetrated through to him.
Sera's heart hammered. For a second Liam's eyes had been a blood red that sent instinctive terror ripping through her. She was tempted to turn and flee from what she had glimpsed in him. What was he? Tremors racked her body, adrenaline raced through her, but her legs refused to move.
She knew what she had seen, what she had glimpsed, and yet her heart, and soul, would not allow her to run from him. She loved him, no matter what, but right now she was utterly petrified of him. She glanced at Mike but he must not have seen it. Otherwise he would have fled by now. Wouldn't he?
She looked quickly back at Liam. His eyes seemed to clear, and the coldness left them as he gazed at her. His body sagged as he shoved himself away from the banister. "Get out of here!" he spat at Michelle.
Michelle glanced at Sera, but didn't stop as she lurched down the steps and ran into the woods. Sera's legs threatened to give out as she was left alone with Liam and Mike. Liam could do anything that he wanted to her; he could kill her, like he had killed Jacob. And yet, something inside her said that he wouldn't. That no matter what, he wouldn't allow any harm to come to her. Plus, Mike was there, he would help her if she needed it.
Liam took a step toward her, but she held up a hand to stop him as she shook her head. "Are you all right?" he inquired.
"No."
"Let's get you out of here."
"No."
He stared at her in confusion and took another step toward her. Mike took a small step away, his eyes were watchful as he glanced between her and Liam. "What's wrong?"
Sera took a deep breath, her shoulders shook but she was determined to know everything. "Where is Jacob?"
He froze as he stared at her. "Sera..."
"Where is he?" Her voice was a little shrill.
Liam stared at her in dismay. Shit, this was all going wrong. He knew that Sera had seen something in his eyes when he'd turned to look at her. The rapid beating of her heart told him that. How much she had glimpsed he didn't know. "He had a knife."
"So you killed him?"
"It was an accident."
"Why didn't you call the police?"
"Sera please calm down."
"Don't tell me to calm down!" she screamed.
"I panicked all right," he said. "I just panicked."
"You seemed pretty calm to me."
"I didn't know what to do." He took another step toward her. "It was an accident."
That was a lie, he'd meant to kill Jacob, and he had enjoyed every second of it. But he couldn't tell her that. She was already looking at him like he was a monster. If she knew the truth, she would run screaming into the woods, and never look back.
