Page 43 of Liberating Lily

“I’ll make sure you are from now on, mo bhreáthracht,” he told her.

“What does that mean?”

“My beauty.”

She wasn’t beautiful. Maybe after Selena, Mother’s maid, had done her hair and makeup she was passable, but definitely not beautiful.

She didn’t take after her mother. She took after her father’s side. And as her mother liked to tell her, there were no beauties in that family.

“You are beautiful, and we’re going to erase everything your mother ever told you, every single lie.”

Lily shook her head, and then she groaned as that movement sent pain vibrating through her brain. He had to stop reading her mind.

“I don’t think my head has ever hurt so bad,” she whimpered.

“Poor baby. Is it still really bad? I’ll get Michaela up here, see if there are some strong painkillers we can give you. And then you can explain the rat-pee breath.”

“I think it’s self-explanatory,” she said. “I really need some toothpaste, a toothbrush, and working legs to get to the bathroom. Have you got my pills yet?”

He grew silent, opening his mouth, then closing it. As though he didn’t quite know what to say. That wasn’t like Harvey.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” she asked, feeling concerned.

Panic started to flare.

“Were you not able to get my pills? I need them, though. I’m sick without them.”

“Listen to me, Lily.” He sat next to her on the bed and cupped the side of her face. Oh, shoot. She hoped he didn’t get too close, or he was going to be taken out by the rat-pee breath for sure. She was certain it was lethal.

She shied away from him, and he snatched back his hand. “Are you afraid of me?”

“No, I’m scared that you’re going to be knocked unconscious by the rat-pee breath.”

He shook his head, giving her a slightly exasperated look. “I don’t care about your breath, baby. We’ve got more important things to talk about.”

Lily didn’t like the sound of that. She wasn’t sure she felt up to discussing important things. Her brain still felt like someone was using it as a conga drum.

“You’re not ill, baby, and you don’t need that medication.”

Great. This was the last argument she wanted to have with him right now, but he didn’t know what she could be like without her medication.

“I am,” she said. “Did you get my pills?”

“I did. I had one of my men go in and grab your handbag.”

That meant she not only had her pills, but also her phone and ID.

Wait, what did he mean, one of his men?

He was a lawyer, right? How did he have men? Unless he was talking about his assistant, but it hadn’t sounded like that. And how would an assistant gain access to her house to get her handbag?

“I need my handbag.”

“I want to give you everything you need,” he told her. “But I’m not giving you that, and I’m definitely not giving you those pills.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, Harvey.” She pushed herself up so she was sitting. She had to grab her head for a moment, rubbing at it as the pain grew more intense. Her stomach rolled nauseously.

“Okay, I see this is the wrong time for this conversation, but just know that you’ve been lied to, baby. You don’t need that medication, and you’re not ill, at least, not in the way you seem to think you are. You’re low in iron, underweight and your nutrition needs some work to get you in fighting shape.”