AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My head was a mess. I couldn’t think straight. Everything Tony said to me was true. Liam was nothing like Terry. He never shied away from getting help when he needed it. He never gave anyone, including me, grief for asking for or needing help. He had the biggest heart of anyone I knew, and I had just stomped on it because I was scared. Tony was right. I was a coward.
32
Liam
I ended up staying overnight at Sean and Jeremy’s place. I couldn’t bear being in my cottage alone with my maudlin thoughts. Sean even went over and got my pajamas and a change of clothes. We stayed up late and watched stupid comedies. I thought about calling out of work the next day, but I needed to keep my mind busy. I was working the afternoon into the evening shift anyway, so there was no excuse for missing work. Except for a broken heart.
When I groggily wandered into the kitchen the next morning, Jeremy handed me a cup of coffee and Sean sat me down at the table and put a plate of bacon and eggs in front of me. They both joined me at the table with their own breakfasts. After we finished, Jeremy turned to me and said, “Tony called me this morning. He asked me to ask you if he could stop by later to talk to you.”
I blinked at him. “I’m confused. Why didn’t he just call me? He has my number.”
“He wasn’t sure you would want to talk to him,” Jeremy replied.
“And you don’t have to,” Sean added curtly. “I don’t know what the hell he was thinking, getting you involved in dangerous shit like that.”
That got my back up. “First of all, dear brother, I have a mind of my own. He asked me back in October, and I thought about it for a couple of weeks before I said yes. Second, I am never in danger. All the former military people do the dangerous stuff. I just go in and patch people up.”
“I still don’t like it,” he grumbled.
“You don’t have to,” I retorted. “Sean, I know you worry about me. I get it. But I have to live my life in a way that feels meaningful to me. I’m the only one who gets to decide what that looks like.”
Sean closed his eyes and sighed. “Yeah, I get it.”
To Jeremy, I said, “I’ll text Tony to tell him he can come by here if that’s okay with you both.”
“That’s fine with me,” Jeremy said. Sean just nodded while wearing a disapproving frown. It almost made me laugh.
I texted Tony.
Me: Jeremy said you wanted to talk to me. I have to be at the clinic by 2:00. You can come over any time before 1:00.
Tony: Great! I’m at my parents’ house in Belmar. How about I come over in half an hour?
Me: Sure. I’ll see you then.
I rose from the table. “He’ll be here in half an hour. I’m going to take a shower.”
I was just coming down the stairs after showering and getting dressed when the doorbell rang. I hurried to answer it but didn’t beat Sean to the door like I wanted.
Sean opened the door, a frown creasing his brow. “Tony.”
“Hey, Sean,” Tony said with a smile.
I jogged over before Sean could go into protective-brother mode. I practically shoved my brother out of the way and said, “Hi, Tony. Come in. Sean is being a pain in the ass, so ignore him.”
Tony looked bemused. “Okay?”
Sean narrowed his eyes at me, and I glared at him. “Let. It. Go.”
Jeremy came over and intervened. “Come on, love. Let them talk in peace.” He turned to me. “You can use the study.”
I gestured for Tony to follow me down a short hallway to the study. There was a large wooden desk on one wall and a loveseat and armchair angled toward each other on the wall across from it. I took the armchair and gave Tony the sofa. He looked troubled, almost nervous. I thought I would put him out of his misery. “Tony, just so you know, I still want to work with your team.”
His shoulders relaxed, and he let out a whoosh of breath. “Thank Christ. I think the team would have mutinied if you decided to quit.”
Surprise rendered me speechless for a moment. “The team knows?”
I noticed, with a pang, that when Tony looked frustrated, he looked a lot like Marco. I guess, technically, it would be the other way around since Tony was older. “Gabe picked up on it when I told him you wouldn’t be coming on as the medic for our security gig. He was pissed because the team asked for you to be there.”
