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When we walked into the donut shop, the bells jangled. The woman working at the cash register froze, her mouth falling open, in the middle of handing change to a female customer with short blond hair. The customer turned and her eyes blatantly roamed over Liam's body.
Who could blame them? He was a sight to behold with his chiseled body and intense gaze that could make any woman weak in the knees. But I didn't feel jealous, I felt possessive. I understood the complicated, chaotic amazing man under the handsome surface. Liam was mine, and I was his.
I moved closer to him,pressing my side against his, and his arm slid around me in response. Heat radiated off his skin. As he talked to Dylan about what kind of donut he wanted, he rested his other hand casually on Dylan's shoulder, and the sight of him, so comfortable and easygoing with Dylan, and the way Dylan grinned at him, made my heart soften. I relaxed into the moment.
It smelled like warm donuts and melted sugar and freshly brewed coffee. Breathing in those scents, with Liam’s warm arm around me, my spirits brightened a little bit.
I walked out of the donut shop with a sugar high and a sense that everything would be alright.
"I'll be right behind you," Liam promised. I carried my iced coffee in one hand and gripped Dylan's hand in the other as we crossed the lots back to where my car was still parked outside the motel.
"Is Liam going to stay with us?" Dylan asked.
"I think so. For a while, honey."
I never made promises.
I inserted the key into the ignition, twisted it, and heard a broken click. I tried again, but it still wouldn’t start.
The engine wouldn’t start.
I slammed my hands against the steering wheel. “Come on!”
Dylan’s eyes were wide in the rearview mirror. I felt immediately guilty for giving into my emotions. But everything was so overwhelming.
I looked frantically for Liam, worried he’d pull out of the parking lot without us.
Luckily, Liam must have noticed. He was crossing the parking lot toward us.
"Liam's on his way," I told Dylan, who relaxed slightly. "The car just won't start."
A suspicion darted through my mind. Maybe Liam had disabled our car so I wouldn’t be able to drive away on my own. Maybe Stone was on his way.
The next second, I dismissed that story as ridiculous. I’d even been afraid my brother and sister might lead me into a trap. But if I couldn’t believe in anyone, couldn’t trust anyone, didn’t that mean Nathan had won?
I always knew he would murder my body one day if I didn’t escape. Now I wondered if he had murdered my soul.
I opened my car door to Liam and swung my legs out of the passenger seat. “It’s dead.”
“Pop the hood,” Liam said.
I joined him at the front of the car and stared at the engine alongside him. Given how much time Liam had spent wolfed out, I asked, “How much do you know about cars?”
“Working in the auto shop was my contribution to the pack,” he told me. His face was intent as he swept his hand over the engine block, searching the connections. “Someone pulled the distributor.”
Liam’s head jerked up, and suddenly he seemed bigger than he had before. His head swung around, his muscles tense, as his gaze swept the parking lot, and he dropped the key fob into my hand. “Get in the car. Get out of here if I don’t make it.”
He didn’t have to tell me twice. I was already pulling Dylan out of the back seat. The two of us ran together across the parking lot for the safety of Stone’s armored car.
We piled into the back seat and Liam hopped in the front. I hit the key fob to lock the car, once again leaving behind the few things that I owned.
But those items weren’t worth waiting around to see who’d fucked with our car.
“The same person who hurt Rose sabotaged my car.” My voice came out remarkably steady. “Or… people.”
Nathan Longroad wasn’t necessarily the worst nightmare lurking around the edges of this sunny morning.
I wish now that I had left Dylan in King territory. At least he’d be safe there. Stone wouldn’t let anything happen to his nephew.
