Mom stares at me with horrified eyes, a hand covering her mouth. “My God.”
I’ve come clean, telling her everything that happened with Finn and what Liam’s done for me.
“You should’ve told me sooner, sweetheart.” Her face distorts as she fights a wave of emotion, then she comes to hug me. “Jesus, this will give your father another heart attack.”
Pulling away from her, I say, “That’s why we aren’t going to tell him.”
“But…”
I shake my head. “No, Mom. We don’t tell him anything until he’s stronger. Let’s just wait a couple of months. Okay?”
The last thing I want is for Dad to hear what happened. It will be a death blow.
“Okay.” Her eyes flit over my face. “I can’t believe someone hurt you like this.”
“It looks worse than it feels,” I try to set her at ease.
The worry doesn’t leave her eyes. “Liam helped you?”
“Yes. He’s gone above and beyond to help.” I’ve never kept secrets from my mom, and I don’t want to start now. “He’s arranged security for you until Finn is found and no longer a danger to us.”
Her eyebrows dart up. “Oh?”
When she smiles nervously, I tilt my head and ask, “You know Dad’s a part of the Irish mafia, don’t you?”
Shock flutters over her face. “You know?”
“I found out last week.”
“So, you know who Liam is?”
I nod.
“You have to be careful, Kiara. The mafia’s no place for the likes of us.”
“Liam won’t hurt me,” I say with dead certainty.
“But the world he lives in will.”
I refuse to believe it but answer, “It’s not like we’re dating. Relax, Mom. He’s just helping us out because his stepbrother’s responsible for the mess.”
My words seem to set Mom at ease, then she lifts her hand and brushes it over my cheek. Lowering her eyes, she frowns at the clothes.
“Liam’s,” I explain. “I haven’t had time to change.”
She lifts an eyebrow in warning, and it has me saying, “I’ll be careful.” Not wanting to keep Liam waiting for much longer, I gesture at the door. “Liam’s here. Can you pretend you don’t know who he is? He doesn’t know about Dad.”
“Of course.” She nods. “Yes, don’t let him find out who your father is. That would be a disaster.”
“Thanks, Mom.” I walk to the door but then stop to say, “Please be careful. I’ll ask him to introduce the guards to you. Don’t go anywhere without them.”
She nods quickly. “I’ll be careful.”
Opening the door, I peek into the hallway. Just as I thought, Liam’s standing in the middle of it with his arms crossed over his chest. I gesture for him to come. “My mom wants to meet you.”
When he steps into the doorway, his eyes sweep over the small space, looking just as displeased with it as he did with my apartment.
Can’t blame him. This is why I need to save up enough for us to move.
“Liam, this is my mom, Tara Murphy,” I introduce them. When Mom lifts her hand, I take hold of it, giving her a squeeze. “Liam doesn’t like being touched.”
Mom just stares at him with wide eyes.
“I wish we were meeting under better circumstances,” Liam says, his tone gentle.
“Me too,” Mom murmurs, her fingers curling around mine. “Thank you for all you’ve done for my daughter.”
He only nods, then glances at me.
“I told Mom everything. She knows about the guards, and I thought she should meet them.”
“Good idea.” He pulls his phone out and a couple of seconds later, says, “Gather the men and come to the apartment.”
Subtly, Mom steps closer to me. It’s clear she’s wary of Liam.
Minutes later, four men gather in the hallway. “Boss?” The one who seems to be the leader steps forward.
Liam gestures at him. “This is Rowan. That’s Ian, Caleb, and Hudson,” he introduces them.
“I’m Tara,” Mom mutters, clearly rattled by all the men. I place my hand around her lower back, giving her a sideways hug.
“My mom will be safe with them, right?” I ask for Mom’s benefit.
Liam glances between us. “They’ll guard her with their lives,” he locks eyes with Mom, “But I’d like to move you to a safe house until the threat’s been dealt with.”
“Oh.” Mom glances at me. “I don’t know about that.”
“You can always come stay with me,” I say.
Liam shakes his head. “You’re not going back to the apartment.” My eyebrows furrow. “But if it will make you feel better, I have a couple of guestrooms at the penthouse.”
I blink at Liam, my mind racing a mile a minute.
“We can talk about it in three days,” Liam says, sparing me from having to answer.
“Yes.” I turn to Mom. “Don’t worry about it now. I’ll call you often to keep you up to date with what’s happening.”
“But you’re going to stay with him?” Mom asks.
“Kiara’s safe with me,” Liam interjects. “And I’ve arranged guards for her as well.”
I hug Mom, then whisper, “I’ll be okay. Please don’t worry.”
“Call me every day.”
“I will. I promise.”
We pull apart, then Mom looks at Liam. “Please keep her safe.”
He nods. “I will.”
I feel the words in my bones, which is comforting because this man is all that stands between Finn and me.
I give Mom another hug. “I’ll call tomorrow.”
She nods, then her eyes follow us out of the apartment. We’re quiet as we leave the building, and only once Liam is steering the Bugatti down the street do I ask, “What did you mean when you said I’m not going back to my apartment?”
His eyes flick between the road and me, then he answers, “It’s not safe there. You can stay with me until we’ve made other arrangements.”
Live with him. Liam Byrne. My boss.
Ahh…
“Like I said, we can talk about it in a couple of days.”
Right. Why do I get the feeling the talk is not going to be in my favor?
Do I mind?
Dropping the subject, for now, I glance out of the window at the sidewalks bustling with people.
Suddenly something occurs to me, and I turn my gaze back to Liam. “Don’t you have guards following you around? I’ve only noticed them at the penthouse and company.”
A frown forms on his forehead. “Do I give you the impression that I need an entourage of guards?”
“No. I just thought…” The head of the mafia would have guards. “with you being a CEO of such a big company, you’d have protection.”
For the first time since we met, an arrogant smirk, that’s off the charts hot, tugs at his mouth. “I can protect myself.”
My stomach flutters crazily.
Yep, I’ve got it bad for this man.
My eyes drift over his muscled body and his hands, the veins snaking up his forearms and disappearing beneath the black fabric of the sleeves that have been rolled up.
Liam glances at me, and I quickly look out the window, my cheeks flushing from being caught staring at him.
