AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I let out a confused laugh, unable to help it. “We will? What are you even talking about? This relationship has an expiration date. We’re not actually married. Remember?”
He takes me in for several long, tense moments. I don’t know what he’s thinking, but I’m totally thrown off. This isn’t anywhere near how I assumed this conversation would go.
I figured he’d be yelling at me by now. Maybe even his thugs would be dragging me off to the nearest clinic to have this little problem taken care of. Instead, he looks annoyed that I’d even suggest such a thing.
The man’s a killer. He’s a mobster with a violent, bloody past—why would I ever think he’d want a baby in his life?
“I understand the nature of our relationship,” he replies, his tone sounding strained. “But things have changed. There’s a new complication.”
I laugh again, sharply. “Complication? No kidding.”
“The Crowley family is a lot of things, my princess. We are violent. We are ruthless. We are power hungry and we will do anything to further our interests.”
“Great, you’re really selling me on family life.”
“I’m not finished.” He steps closer, staring into my eyes with a sudden, heart-stopping intensity. “But above all, we’re dedicated to each other. My brothers, their wives, their children. No matter what, we take care of our own, and for better or worse, you’re one of us now.”
I blink, shaking my head. “No, no, that’s not right. I mean, we’re fake married, but—”
“It’s the marriage. It’s you in my wedding bed. But most of all, it’s my baby in your belly.”
“Liam, this is nuts.” I stride away, trying to come to grips with what he’s saying. “Do you actually want me to keep this baby?”
“We take care of our own,” he says again, watching me. “I never imagined I’d be a father. I still find the idea hard to swallow. But now that it’s happening, I will not stop it.”
“Great, wonderful, so my husband and the father of my baby won’t stop it, that’s what every girl wants to hear.” I know I’m being irrational. Ten minutes ago, I was convinced Liam was about to dangle me out a window. Now I’m annoyed he’s not sufficiently effusive about my pregnancy.
It’s just I’m having a lot of trouble keeping up with this conversation. I’m updating my assumptions on the fly, but it’s like everything I thought I understood about Liam is suddenly worthless.
And thinking back, I can understand why.
He’s cold, yes, but there’s also a fire inside of him that only comes out when he’s at his most vulnerable. Alone with me, in my arms, in between my legs, it’s like he’s a different man. I catch a glimpse of the Liam lurking beneath his frozen, heartless exterior, and while I won’t pretend like he’s some cuddly teddy bear, at least there’s a sense that he feels, that he needs, that he yearns for something more than himself, that he wants human companionship.
Now I’m trying assimilate that Liam with the man standing before me, and I’m beginning to understand that they’re one and the same.
“It doesn’t matter if you don’t like what I’m saying.” He crosses his arms as if he just came to a decision. “From here on out, our contract is null and void.”
I throw my hands up. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“All the promises, all the legally binding stipulations, it’s all finished. Forget about the contract. Forget about what you thought this relationship was going to be.”
“Liam,” I say through my teeth. “We had a deal.”
“Fuck the deal. My wife’s pregnant. That’s all I care about now.”
I back away until I bump into the wall, but he remains across the room. “You can’t do this.”
“I can. I’m a Crowley, remember? You are my wife, you’re carrying my child, and I am not letting you go when this war is over. You are mine now, just like that baby is mine.”
I flex my jaw, trying to find words, and coming up short. All I can think is a blindingly white-hot anger as it burns into my core. How dare this guy act like he can own me now? How dare he ignore me for weeks, disappear all day long, barely speak to me, then act as though I’m his property?
“That is not how this is going to work.”
“From now on, forevermore, you are all mine, whether you like it or not.”
Chapter 22
Alisa
I move out of our bedroom. By now, the purple sheets are gone, replaced by muted grays.
Instead, I gather all my stuff and ferry it all into a guest room.
“Liam’s not going to like this,” Orin says, fretting the whole time as he helps.
“I don’t give a shit what that controlling dickhead likes or doesn’t like.”
“I take it your conversation didn’t go great?”
“Gee, what gave you that impression? Me moving from our room, or maybe the way I keep telling you what a piece of shit he is?”
