AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You were supposed to wait for me.” Sean said.
“Yeah, well, that was before I found out that you are either an idiot or purposefully trying to get me killed. So, I’m not really worried about your consequences when I probably won’t survive the next twenty-four hours.”
“What the hell are you talking about? How could you think I would try to get you killed?” What the fuck had happened in the fifteen minutes he’d spent wrapping up things with Bank? Her words hurt more than they should have. They might not have talked in ten years, but that Liv might think he could put her in danger made his anger rise to meet hers.
Liv leaned forward and pushed her finger into his chest. He took a step back but remained ready to catch her if she ran. “Exactly one person knew about the video and who took it. You. Less than two hours later, I’m being threatened by Luis Soto in the back of a courtroom. So, riddle me this. How did he even find out about it?”
Luis had been here? And he knew about the video. “Fuck.” He pulled out his phone and hit the speed dial listed under Static.
“What’s up?” Marcus’s voice came through his earpiece.
“Luis Soto knows about the video and is pissed enough to be threatening people in public. Don’t know if he’d go after your friends, but the faster you can get them out of Philly, the better.”
“Got it.”
Liv rolled her eyes. “Glad you are getting your friends safely away. Now get out of my way so I can try to do the same.”
“No.”
“What do you mean, no?”
“I mean, you are coming with me.”
“I don’t think so.” Liv placed both her hands on his chest and pushed, but this time he held his ground. The fire and determination in her eyes were incredibly sexy, but he pushed those thoughts to the side. “Are you forgetting the part where this is your fault? The part where you must have told someone who tipped off Luis then had me sit in a freaking courtroom like an idiot so that he could find me.”
Her words cut him like no knife could have. Was she right? Had he risked her life by telling Nachman? It had been the correct thing to do for his client, but he honestly hadn’t even considered that the man might share the information with Luis. But how had they figured out that it was Liv who had taken the video? There was just too much he didn’t know yet. And there was no way he was going to let her walk out of here alone.
“If this is my fault, then it is my job to fix it. I’ll keep you safe.”
Her breathing increased and he couldn’t help but notice the way her breasts moved with every inhale.
“This morning you didn’t even know who Luis Soto was. Now you think you can keep me safe from him?” She snorted and looked him up and down. “You got out of the slums and never looked back. I don’t need your kind of ‘help’. You have no idea how truly fucked I am. Go back to being a fancy lawyer selling out anyone and everyone as long as your client gets off and leave me the hell alone.”
Their gazes locked and for the first time in a long time, Sean found himself speechless. She was so beautiful and alive. Her words weren’t true, but he didn’t know how to make her understand. He wanted to tell her how hard not writing back to her had been. Tell her how many times over the years he’d wondered what had happened to her. How he still had every letter she had sent him saved in a box in his closet.
Liv had blossomed into a beautiful woman who seemed so full of life. He wanted to let her know that he respected that she was trying to get justice for her sister. That he never would have sold her out for anything, especially a client. Most of all, he needed her to understand that he was going to keep her safe.
“Liv.” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to come up with the right words to make her understand all of that and more. A second deep breath and he opened his eyes. She was gone!
He was an idiot. Sean scanned the room and saw her sprinting through the closest doors that led to the stairs. Not caring what it looked like, he ran after her, trying his best not to knock down every person between him and her. There was no way he was going to let her face this on her own.
Chapter6
Liv
“You kidnapped me!” The living room Liv paced across may have been luxurious, but it felt like a cage to her. Screaming wouldn’t do her any good since what she guessed was Tepes’ house was located on the edge of the city with enough open land that the neighbors couldn’t hear her. But she wanted to vent the feelings inside her somehow, and yelling was better than crying or curling up into a ball to hide from the new reality of her life.
He stood there looking calm and way too sexy in his now slightly rumpled suit. Strong arms crossed, one eyebrow raised over gorgeous eyes that almost sparkled with what was probably amusement. Argh. Why was she thinking about how sexy he looked when he was the one holding her hostage?
“Liv.” Tepes sighed. “You know, it was for your own good. If they are willing to try to kidnap or kill you in broad daylight, then they’d have people waiting at the bus station as well.” The calm, stern tone of his words sent a shiver down her spine.
Damn it, he was right. But anger was so much safer than fear. Her body shook from adrenaline as his words forced her to remember what happened less than an hour ago.
Her plan had been simple. Get away from Tepes. Walk to the Bus Terminal and buy a ticket to take her as far away from Philly as the little cash she had on her allowed. But Luis’ goons had been waiting for her.
Liv’s skin crawled at the memory of how they’d grabbed her and dragged her towards the street. It had happened so quickly that she hadn’t even realized what was happening until they almost had her inside a beat-up gray van. Like an idiot, she’d been silent, trying to understand what was going on. The worst part, she hadn’t fought, instead she’d frozen like a deer in headlights.
Tepes hadn’t frozen. He’d appeared like some sort of superhero or more like a pissed off demon. In less than a minute, he’d knocked out the men holding her and threw her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and carried her away to safety.
