Meant To Be (Heaven Hill Series) (14 page)

Taking a few deep breaths, she tried to slow the pounding of her heart when the instinct was to run to her child and make sure he was okay.

Liam could see her looking out the window to the office, obviously trying to get a look at Drew. She was such a better mother than the one he’d had. Clearing his throat to stop his show of emotion, he soldiered on.

“Drew and another boy got into a fight over some pretty graphic and lewd comments made to Mandy.”

“Oh my God, are you serious? She’s thirteen years old,” she gasped.

“I know. And Drew did what any brother would do for his sister, he stood up for her. The other boy was suspended for six days, Drew for three. I don’t think he should be punished. He’s such a serious kid as it is.”

He worried that he was overstepping a boundary here. He was essentially giving her advice on how to raise her children. Something she’d done on her own their entire lives. Her reaction to this would tell him just how ready she was for a relationship. Which, in turn, brought about the question he had to ask himself. Was he really ready for this? With her it wouldn’t be fuck and run. It would be waiting on the front porch with a gun when boys came to the house to pick up Mandy for a date. It would mean giving Drew the birds and bees talk – taking him to his first strip club when he turned eighteen. Instead of feeling panicked, he was completely calm. That, more than anything else, told him that he was ready for this.

“I know,” she worried her lip between her teeth. “He is serious, and I’m thankful that he stood up for Mandy. I’m worried about him, but I’m not mad now that I know why he was fighting. I think you’re right.”

“Mandy will be happy to hear that,” he grinned at her.

“Why’s that?”

“She told me that if Drew got in trouble then she should too because he was standing up for her.”

Denise laughed. “Those two have always stuck together – since they were little babies. I think this is an exception we can make. This one time. I do want him to know that I won’t tolerate fighting.”

“I think that’s fair,” Liam agreed.

An awkward silence enveloped them. They had just spoken like parents of two children or maybe a married couple. It was a little disconcerting.

“Anyway, back to the information you got for me.”

She leaned over, grabbing the USB out of her purse. As she bent, the neckline of her shirt fell down, exposing breasts that were cupped by silk. His earlier thoughts wondering about what her naked skin looked like were gone now, replaced with wondering if her nipples were sensitive or not.

“Damn,” he breathed.

“Did you say something?” she questioned as she straightened back up and reached over to hand it to him.

He cleared his throat and let his eyes caught the lacy edge of the bra she wore beneath her shirt. “What? No, let me see what you got.”

He told himself to get his head in the game and pay attention to what she was talking about. Taking the USB from her, he let his fingers brush against hers. It sent a flash of awareness through his body, no other woman had ever affected him like this. With a sigh, he put the USB into his laptop and pulled up the file.

“I noticed that the deed was quit claimed about three months ago.”

“What does that mean?” he asked, loving the sound of her voice. It showed in her inflection that she took an interest in what she had done.

“It means they didn’t go through a bank. The terms of the sale were agreed upon by both parties and done by a lawyer for a small fee. That means it doesn’t have to be approved by a bank, and there doesn’t have to be any financing. When I pulled up the LLC’s name, it showed me they have ten more properties in the Barren County area. All of them were quit claimed three months ago by the same person.”

“Who was it?”

She went behind the desk and reached over his shoulder. He didn’t move when her chest came into contact with his body as she leaned over and grabbed the mouse. Liam watched as she clicked a few buttons to sort the document and then chose a search option. “Umm, looks like a Richard Joyce owned all of them before the quit claims.”

“Son of a bitch,” he cursed slowly. That cooled his desire off like no amount of cold water could. The club had a history with this man.

“You know him?” she asked.

He laughed harshly. “You could say that. Dick, as we like to call him, is a former member of the club and dad’s ex best friend. He’s not even supposed to be around this area.”

“So it’s bad he owned these buildings?”

“It’s bad that he’s got his grimy paws on whatever the shit this is. Thanks for the information. I gotta talk to William about this.”

Gone was the carefree guy who been openly flirting with her a few minutes before. Here now was a man who looked like he could commit cold-blooded murder. The quick change of mood was the one thing that scared her most and made her question the decisions she had made.

Chapter Fifteen

D
enise squirmed, uncomfortable. She had made dinner only to have her children decide they wanted to eat with new friends. After their day at school, she figured they deserved a little bit of time with people who wouldn’t judge. This meant that she and Liam were left alone in his house. Because she’d already cooked, he’d decided to eat with her. It had been a quiet affair so far.

“Have I done somethin’ to piss you off?” he asked, taking a bite of his baked potato.

She looked up sharply. “No, why?”

“Since I talked to you earlier, you seem like you’re either pissed off or scared of me.” He shrugged, rattling his ice in his glass before taking a drink. He watched her closely. It was obvious she wanted to say something, but she held back. “You can say whatever you want to me, I won’t be mad.”

“Are you sure?” she asked, playing with the food on her plate. “Because earlier, you went from a happy-go-lucky guy to looking like you could murder someone with the flip of a switch. It scares me. I have children in this home with you.”

Silence settled over the two of them, so obviously at different points in their lives. Liam thought over how he should answer her. He debated over whether he should tell her the truth or tell her what she wanted to hear. It hurt him to know that she worried about her kids with him. Had he not proven he respected not only her but the kids? Hadn’t he proven that just today?

“Don’t lie to me, please,” she whispered.

“That’s just me.”

That didn’t make her feel better at all. “What do you mean that’s just you?”

“I
am
that guy. I go from 0-60 in two seconds. I can be your best friend or your worst enemy. That’s who I am.” His stomach dropped as he saw the look on her face. For some reason he wanted to impress this woman, and apparently his answers weren’t cutting it. Never before had it mattered to him what a woman thought of what he did. Now, nothing else mattered but what this woman thought.

“Oh.”

Panic welled up in his stomach. In all his life, he’d never scared a woman, and he was confused as to how he had scared Denise. “Don’t do this, don’t be scared of me.”

She got up from the table and walked to the screened-in porch. Hugging her arms around her waist, she looked out into the black of night. Lightening streaked in the distance, and light rain hit the tin roof that covered the porch. The storm building in the atmosphere matched the storm building inside her.

Was she doing the right thing? Should she stay in this situation with this man? Was she too far in to get out? The big question….did she want to leave? For some reason she felt safe in this environment. Much safer than she had felt when she was on her own with her children. It was all so confusing. Denise felt him enter the small area but refused to turn around and face him.

“You’re not used to me and I know that, but you’re going to have to get used to me. I’ve claimed you. If you leave me, which I can tell you’re thinking about doing, you’d have a bull’s-eye on your back. I know you don’t want that for your children.” He felt like a bastard for even saying those words.

She finally turned to face him. “It may sound weird to you, but I feel safe here. In the few days I’ve been here I’ve felt more at home than I did when I was in my own home. Maybe it’s because I don’t have much to worry about here. The only thing that worries me about you, Liam, is the fact that I don’t know how far you would go for your club.”

“What do you mean by that?” he asked, having a seat on the outdoor chaise.

Denise didn’t want to ask this question because she didn’t want to know the answer, but she felt as if it was imperative that she know. “I mean, have you ever killed anybody?”

He swallowed hard. Telling her the truth would mean letting her in on club business, but lying to this woman would break his heart. Liam sighed. Lies were a part of his everyday life, but he didn’t want to lie to her. He wanted whatever relationship they had to be built on trust.

“I could lie to you and tell you I haven’t, but I want you to trust me. I do what I have to do to keep my brothers safe, to protect my club. That has at times meant we’ve had to put someone down. More than once it’s been either them or me. I don’t like telling you this because I know it scares you about me, but I’m not a violent man by nature.”

“I don’t like violent men,” she whispered, gazing at her hands in her lap.

She looked so lost that he wanted to reach out to her. However, he wasn’t sure whether she would welcome it or not. He’d know this woman for mere days, but it felt like forever. They seemed to be cut from the same cloth, yet he knew that she would never be able to kill someone unless they threatened her children. How could he come to her as he was? With blood on his hands?

Gently he questioned, “Did something happen to you?” Suddenly it dawned on him. “Does this have to do with the twins’ dad?”

A hollow laugh echoed from her throat. In the distance, thunder rumbled and lightening flashed across the sky. “You could say that.”

“It’s only fair that you be honest with me, just like I’ve been honest with you.”

Taking a deep breath, she realized he was right. “Their father was a very violent man.”

“Trust me enough to tell me, Denise. We’re never going to get anywhere if you don’t. I’m not letting you go back home, so you may as well just be honest with me. I can’t let you – it could be dangerous.”

She liked this about him, the fact that he was so tenacious. That he didn’t take no for an answer. It tested every instinct she had honed over the last few years. Tears came to her eyes, and she cleared her throat loudly, gathering the strength to begin.

“I met him in high school, senior year to be exact. He was the captain of the football team. I had always been a nerd. More interested in what book was coming out that month than anything else. Books were the most important part of my life at that time. I was painfully shy, and my home life left a lot to be desired. My dad stayed drunk most of the time, and all my mom wanted to do was stay out of his way. He was violent when he drank, and if I had my nose buried in a book, I could stay under the radar when he went off the handle.” She had zoned out as she talked, it was obvious she had transported back to that time. The rain sounded against the house, just like it had that night. Only it wasn’t hitting the tin roof of a trailer, she was now in a home that was well-built and cozy.

“So when the captain of the football team started showing you attention, you were flattered?” Liam supplied for her.

She nodded, tears silently streamed down her face. “But you have to understand how horrible it was at my house.”

The breath she took was heavy and fragile all at the same time, almost like it would break her in half. A loud clap of thunder rattled the house on its foundation. “I walked on egg shells all the time, trying to do what both my mom and dad wanted me to. Matt, the kids’ father, was the answer to my prayers at first. He took me out on dates, took me out to dinner, brought me flowers, and told me he loved me. He invited me to prom, and I finally told my parents we were dating. Miracle of all miracles, my parents told me to go. My dad liked the fact that he was captain of the football team. It was something for him to brag about at the bar when he got wasted. We had been dating for a few months by the time prom rolled around, and I thought that night was going to be incredible.” She stopped, took another shuddering breath, and composed herself.